Book the Gig

Want to find great summer gigs to build your summer tours, open new markets and develop new audiences? Spring, summer and fall are a great time for community based and outdoor gigs. Sure there are all those large festivals, performance sheds, pavilions and state fairs. But, let’s face it; they are looking for major acts to bring in the crowds. If you are one of those acts, then you’ve got lot’s to do at this time of year. If you are not quite there yet, then you also have some great opportunities to get yourself in front of local communities looking for outdoor, daytime or evening events. So before the…

Juggling tour dates—frustration or flexibility? When I was booking tours, I used to map out my ideal tour route and then begin to line up dates to fit into my route. At the start of the process, everything looked so neat and organized to fit my plan. And then, BAM! Someone wanted a date that threw the whole darn thing into a complete mess. Of course it was one of the important high paying dates that we really wanted to do. It was one of those anchor dates that was originally the reason for the tour in the first place. But they wanted a date at the end of the…

These 3 top factors to book great gigs must be an essential part of any artist's tour planning. If you want to get great gigs that pay well, where you sell your merchandise to an appreciative audience, you MUST know the following 3 Top Factors to book great gigs. These three career-changing factors are the difference between struggling to book your tours and booking great tours with ease. # 1. You must know what you are offering. It's not sufficient to simply put it out there that you are an artist. It doesn't matter what type of artist you are, whether you are a singer/songwriter, a classical pianist, a storyteller,…

Do you ask your fans for gigs? Are you concerned about where to find great gigs? Perhaps you are missing the number one, fantastic source for new gigs—and it’s right under your nose—or, really at your fingertips. How often have you come right out and asked your fans about great places to play in their town? How often have you looked over your fan list and selected some of your super fans and then wrote them a personal email asking them specific questions about their town or surrounding area? Here are three things that you might do this week to really make use of YOUR fans and stir up some…

Are you concerned about those elusive return bookings? The gig went pretty well you think to yourself as you head to the dressing room. It was a great audience, pretty full house, very responsive. You felt great! You were pleased with your playing and your banter—a good night. These thoughts roll around your mind time after time and yet those elusive return bookings are so baffling. "What went wrong? What continues to go wrong? What am I doing that turns a great gig into a one time only gig?" One of the main factors that may be the cause of those elusive return bookings is probably something you never even…

Book gigs strategically with your career goals in mind. Do you ever get the feeling that you are chasing the same gigs every other performer you know is after or is playing? You keep asking yourself, "Why not me?" First of all, seeing those venues on your performer friend's itinerary doesn't tell the whole story. You have no idea what kind of deal they negotiated or anything about the situation, you only see a particular venue listed on their itinerary. So before you get all envious about the fact that they are playing somewhere and you are not, let's look at this from a different perspective. Start with your goals…

I know all about those gigs that make you pay to play in their venue. I’m sure you’ve come across a few. But that’s not exactly what I want to talk about here today. I want to help you realize when you are actually paying to play in other situations when you don’t even know that that is exactly what is happening. And I want to help you avoid those situations in the future. It’s easy to spot one of those gigs that are upfront with their charges to pay to play at their venue. It’s not so easy to spot the gig that offers you a certain fee, you…

Gigs you should be playing are the ones where the whole community comes out for a local event. Some events will have entertainment. Are you playing at any of these events? If not, then we need to talk. What’s so great about playing at community events or celebrations on special holidays? Well for one thing, you would be seen by your entire community, perhaps, some will be seeing you for the first time. An event like this could introduce you to some new fans. So if you are not playing any of these events, let’s plan on researching these types of events for the rest of the year. Think about…

Want to find some interesting places to play? Tired of the same old venues and fighting the competition for a gig? If you’ve run into too many other performers trying to get the same gigs you are trying to get, why not try something new, something off the beaten path. Here’s a list of interesting places to play where people gather for other events and where you might find a fresh new audience to sell your merchandise and sign your mailing list. Wineries: Summer and fall are their big seasons for tourists and tastings. Do you live in or near an area that has many wineries. You will be surprised…