You dont even need to go even in lane if your team can survive till mid game 40% cdr will give you tons of cc and heals making it impossible to engage on your team and impossible to kill your ad carry or carry jungler.

Any champ that can all in aatrox irelia and riven are a big threat that can all in you if you step up in lane too far

Try and get the 3 meeps before lane to get early lvl advantage and leave lane when you push enemy into turret to grab more getting to 15 meeps is ideal early for two meeps and strike through dmg. This strike through AOE cone that is added at 15 chimes is a big part of bards wave clear and damage late/midgame with his meep auto attacks. It is important to try and picture where behind the enemy charector/minion this AOE cone will hit so you can start laying down massave AOE damage. Make sure to grab as many meeps as u can throughout the game because bard's meeps do not have a scaling limit.

With the slows from ice born gauntlet and empowered meeps as well as hard cc from your Q and an attack speed bonus from ardent censor bard can start throwing down some serious AOE damage during the late game team fights with a 3 or 4 meeps. I think rylai is a great last item for damage and the slow applies on top of the slow from meeps make it impossible to run away from bard during the late game.

I Personally like playing bard in a few different stages throughout the game but its really up to you to decide what items you think work best for your playstyle and what role you want to play for your team. But here is how my role/playstyle changes throughout the different stages of the game.

Early Game 0:00 to 20:00

During the early game i try to be a lane bully if I'm against a melee opponent or weak early game champion. I like to try and back for an early sheen for lots of unexpected damage and to help get turret plates easier. I look to push in waves and leave lane for short periods to grab meeps that are close to top lane.

If i am in a hard matchup i look to play safe under turret and try to early back a dark seal and cloth/magic resist to survive lane until i can my core items Iceborn gauntlet/Athene's and then i look to group with my team.

Mid Game 20:00 to 30:00

During mid game i turn into a support carry as i look to group with my team in the mid lane and follow around my carry laners jungler/adc/midlaner and provide them with heals so they don't poked back to base and can clear waves mid safely. I also look to land ultimates and try to catch out enemies with a cc chain with a R into Q cc chain combo and follow that up with an iceborn slow.

Late Game 30:00 to end of game
When Bard gets his full build with Ardent censor, Spirit Visage and Ryali on top of the Core Build of Athenes and iceborn gauntlet. Bard becomes an AOE damage carry, With 4+ meeps to throw, an 80+% slow in a cone with around 300 AP and with a little added attack speed bonus from ardent censor bard can throw his chimes pretty quickly laying down crazy AOE damage during late game teamfights.