Play More Gigs

Playing live is the ultimate goal for most musicians. Here’s how you can get out of the practice room and onto the stage this year

Refine your sound

Having weekly practices and playing through a set is all well and good, but as with practicing guitar, you need to be rehearsing the right things. Knowing your parts should be a given, now it’s time to focus on really working your repertoire into a finely-tuned set. Think about the song order, and mechanics of transitioning between them (tunings, guitar changes etc), time your set to make it as efficient as possible, and think about extra material to include as a contingency/encores. Once you’re a welloiled machine, start booking gigs.

Get a demo

This should go without saying. If you’re going to be approaching venues and promoters about playing, they’re going to want to hear you. These days, it’s easy to get a decent quality demo together in no time. Choose three or four songs that best represent the sound of your band and get them recorded. This could be as simple as a live recording from one of your gigs, or a full studio recording.

Find bands like yours

We’ve all been there: the seven-band bill with a disparate mix of styles. It’s not comfortable and doesn’t make for a great gig. Instead, find local bands who play a similar style to you and team up for gigs. Between your followings, you’ll pick up new fans and help to build your own scene full of like-minded people.

Get out of town!

You’re the heroes of your local scene, but you’ve found yourselves playing the same three venues on heavy rotation. It’s time to look further afield. Just like raising your profile in your own town, finding bands who are a good fit is a good place to start. A gig swap – where you share a bill in both of your scenes – will be mutually beneficial for both of you, and will give you a chance to find new venues and promoters for next time.

Befriend promoters

Promoters are the gatekeepers of local venues. Get in their good books and you’ll find that opportunities come your way. Some venues will have in-house promoters who book every gig, others might have a handful of different regulars who cover different styles. Take a look at gigs that are happening locally, find out who is putting them on and get in touch. You could be the perfect local support band for bigger acts who are coming through the venue.

Think ahead

If you’re a covers band and looking to step up, think ahead. Map out the major events in the calendar; weddings, seasonal parties, New Year’s Eve and the like are usually booked well in advance, so you need to be prepared. If you have a few regular pub gigs between now and the type of events you’re targeting, make sure you’re armed with information when potential clients approach you. Rates, availability and contact details are gonna make bagging gigs later in the year a lot easier.

Put on your own event!

Felling locked out of your scene? Try putting on your own gig! You’ll need a suitable venue and enough of a following to cover your costs, but a great way to start is to hinge a gig around an event (Halloween, Bank Holidays, etc) and you can try putting together a line-up of bands if you don’t have enough material. You’ll need to tell as many people as possible, and start small – you don’t want to end up shelling out more money than you take on the door.

Be selective

Yes, this is about playing more gigs in 2016, but you still need to be selective. If you take every last-minute offer for unpaid work that promises ‘good exposure’ for your band, you’ll find yourself becoming the band who always gets that call. As well as this, you’ll fill your diary with dates which might mean you can’t accept a better gig. Weigh-up the pros and cons of each date – travel, expenses and the amount of labour you’ll have to put in versus the exposure/opportunity for picking up better gigs/actual payment. Oh, and stay away from those dodgy ‘flyer’ deals. We hate them.