7 Steps To Book Better Music Gigs

In This Article, I describe the 7 Steps that got my band to play in front of 100s to 1000s of people. After playing numerous shows in an empty venue, we made a simple change to only seek out Free Public Events in our local area that would fit our niche. Finding them was easy but booking them was difficult. Yet, with persistence, we were able to get these gigs, build a fanbase and create great relationships that got us paid bookings to many great events.

The 7 Steps

Explained in our Post - “Do This One Thing To Get Better Music Gigs”, Events and Festivals hosted by the city, state governments or local communities usually have a big draw and are free to attend. They normally provide good food, local vendors and music entertainment. Lots of people attend these events looking to have a fun time. The goal I had was to get my band hired as part of their entertainment program. This is where the real work began. 

Step 1: Research

Before reaching out to any local event, the first step we took was to research which event would be a good fit for our band.

My band’s genre is Rock en Español with pop elements. Most of our songs are sung in Spanish with a few songs in English as well. With this in mind, we first started to research events related to Holidays such as Mexican Independence Day, Dia De Los Muertos and Cinco De Mayo. We also researched events happening in our county as we were from there and can be considered local entertainment. Anything that sounded like a good fit was added to a list so we can refer to it later for deeper research.

In order to not waste our time and other people’s time, we wanted gigs that would be beneficial to everyone.

Step 2: Find Contacts

Now with a list of Events, we started to search the internet for who ran these events. It sometimes was as simple as visiting the Event’s website and seeing they had a contact form. Sometimes we had to do deep research into Government websites, finding the Event Coordinator’s name, searching for them on linkedin, Instagram, Facebook etc. and hoping to find an email address. The ultimate goal is to get their email address. 

One tidbit I’d like to mention is that I personally prefer emailing people as I believe it looks more professional. I want the introduction of my band to be from a formal email as we are reaching out to people in powerful positions. You’re free to do what you want but I’d think twice before messaging a decider on social media.

Step 3: Make it hard for them to say NO

Before emailing anybody about wanting to perform at their Event, we looked at what we could bring to the table outside of being a good fit musically. Some of our assets that would make it hard for the Event Coordinator to say No were that we would play for free and our singer can MC the event in Spanish and English (which is something most events lack).

Now some might think playing for free is bad, but we saw it as an opportunity cost to get the exposure we were looking for. We did play plenty of big events without pay but those relationships created with Event Coordinators and staff lead to paying gigs in the future. 

Apart from having these assets, we needed to look and sound professional when reaching out. Our website and social media accounts were updated to look visually modern and we created an Electronic Press Kit. We were ready to get the gig. 

Step 4: Get to Yes

Now that we had all our ducks in a row, it was time to reach out. Keep in mind that some events could be planned up to a year in advance so you may be booking potential gigs out in the following year. I started by cold emailing Event Coordinators and would say I was the Booking Manager for an up and coming local band. Since most of these Events were local, I would write something like this

Dear (Event Coordinator’s Name)

My name is Sebastian and I represent (Band Name Here) which is a great local band in your county. We saw that you had (Event Name) coming up on (date) and wanted to see if you were in need of any local musicians to perform as my band may be a good fit. (List why your band is a good fit for the event). Please see the link to the Band’s website and EPK and let us know if you have any questions. Thank you for your time and hope you have a great day

This is just 1 example but the more information you can gather on the event and the coordinator to make it more personable, the better chances you may have to get to “yes”.

Step 5: When You Get A No

After 100s of Emails, we got back a lot of very nice responses though they were all NOs. A good amount of them were NOs because they had already planned out the event’s entertainment but appreciated that we reached out to help. Instead of giving up and letting the lead die, we thanked them for the response and politely asked when they usually start planning the next event and if our band could be considered. Some responded back again and we marked our calendars on when to follow up on that same email thread at that time. This would turn out to get us more gigs in the future.

Step 6: When You Get A Yes

So we had all these NOs with maybe a chance to perform the following year. That didn’t stop us from researching and looking out for Events anywhere we could. Sure enough, after a lot of persistence, we got a Yes to perform a Big Event for Dia De Los Muertos at the City Plaza. There would be local vendors, food trucks, performances from bands, dancers and theater artists but the best part was that there were 100s upon 1000s of people attending. We finally landed the gig but the real work was just beginning.

Step 7: The Golden Rule

The last thing an Event Coordinator wants is to deal with a bunch of Prima Donnas showing up late to the Event while demanding a back stage area with free snacks and beer. It is common sense not to do this but you’d be surprised the egos I’ve seen. I, along with my wonderful bandmates follow the Golden Rule. 

Treat others how you want to be treated.

We show up on time and are ready to help. We learn everyone’s name, especially the people running sound. They are the ones who will do everything in their power to make us sound good if you respect them and make their jobs easier. We act professional and are courteous. We setup our gear fast and tear down fast while helping the upcoming band setup.

If our set needs to be cut short so the event doesn’t run late, we happily oblige. These little things go a long way and often, we are not only asked back to perform from Event Coordinators, but get offered other events with pay. Even sound engineers and stage managers would reach out to us for other events they were working on because they knew how easy we were to work with. We were now playing to 100s to 1000s of people who we didn’t have to sell tickets to or pay a bigger band to open up for and we made great friendships with many people in the Events Space.

Conclusion 

If you are an artist or in a band, and you can provide entertainment for others that fit in your niche, it may be beneficial to research Free Public Events in your local area. The exposure of your art and music to reach people who are generally in a happy mood is something hard to come by. I hope this helps you in searching for better gigs. If you have any questions or would like me to go more in depth on any of these steps, please leave one a comment.