Booking Your First Gig

The Groundwork

So you got together with a couple of your friends in the garage with some used instruments and started making noise.

Eventually that noise morphed into songs, and pretty damn good ones at that!

The house party you played last week went nuts, they loved it. And the cover songs you learned were spot on.

That’s it, you’re ready for the stage. But now what?

So how do you go about booking your first gig?  Well, hopefully you have a page on the current social media sites with at least one decent pic and song up, a bio, members’ names and what they play and most important, contact info.

Create a Network

Next, instead of going to clubs trying to convince them that they should book your band (who has yet to play in a real venue), seek out acts within your genre that are playing locally. Befriend them, go to their shows and show support. Which I’m sure you’re doing already;).

Ask them if they need an opener at one of their upcoming shows. Let them know you’re flexible and hungry, but also be patient. Being approachable and easy to work with goes a long way.

Make sure to ask well in advance also, 2-4 months is best, in order to make sure you have enough time to promote and hype up your first gig.

If they haven’t heard your music yet and you don’t have a way to give it to them physically, send them an email with a link to your music.

Do not send an attachment unless they ask for one.  No one wants to download something before they even know if they like it.

Make It Successful

And be ready, when you have that gig booked, treat it like your baby.  Show up on time, know what you need for the sound engineer and play to the best of your ability.  And if I can only leave one tip for marketing and promoting, make sure you have an email sign up sheet.

I don’t care if its hand written on a lined piece of notebook paper- those emails are your life lines to your fans.  Have one.

In closing, I’d like to give you a couple more articles with more useful tips and help here and here.

Now get out there and start making those dreams come true!