Bluegrass Bookings

[sachmo63]

Hello Fellow Cafe'rs

I'm contacting venues for our Bluegrass band to play in 2012, does anyone have a generic form letter for that I can send to prospected employers that you can forward me.

Any tips for getting gigs would also be appreciated.

Thanks

S :cool:

[JeffD]

I haven't done this a lot, but I have found that sending out what amounts to junk mail is totally useless. (Unless you are a known quantity, and so you can say "We are filling our 2012 schedule and don't want to leave out our long time partners and old friends." )

But if you don't already have a following, I have found its a person to person in person kind of thing. If the other bands are finding the cutest girls they can to hand carry their press kits and CDs to the venue, I don't think a form letter has a chance.

[Willie Poole]

A lot of places do have a web site and you can click on them and send them an e mail and offer to send a CD, if you have any, if not ask if you can come and play a sort of audition for them....I find that if one out of 20 places contact you back you are doing great....sometimes it is better to show up a place where a band is playing that you are familiar with and ask if your band can play a few songs while they are on a break....Also try and get a web site of your own and post a U-Tube video where you can be seen and heard....

Form letters never have worked for me, a phone call does work sometimes though, try and sell your self with sounding like you are over doing it....

Good luck.....Willie

[barney 59]

I little while back I happened to stumble into a radio station and came upon where they stored cds and even LPs and there were thousands of promotional copies still in their wrappers and untouched,going back years and years. I imagine that would possibly be the case for a popular club as well. You need someone to get the word to whoever does the scheduling that there is a band that they need to hear and then approach them, if they have heard of you already they may take the time to listen.. I guess that is what an agent does.....

[Steve Ostrander]

I've sent lots of form letters and I don't think one has ever worked. 99/100 times it's word of mouth, friend of a friend, that kind of thing that gets the gig..

As a day job worker, I just don't have enough hours in the day to personally call on every club owner/manager. If you phone them, they are always too busy to talk to you. Don't call them at lunch or dinner time, they just won't take your call. Booking bands is a sideline to them, and one that they don't like to do, because they are always busy with the problem at hand--the cook is sick, the waiter just quit, etc.

Best bet is to drop by and leave a demo disk. A demo disk only needs 2 or 3 songs, and don't bother putting the whole song on the disk, since they will only listen to and make up their mind after about 15 seconds. Live music from a gig with lots of people people screaming for more is ideal.

They love it if you play for tips only. Don't expect to make much. This will sound sexist, but get the cutest girl or waitress you can find to pass the hat or take your tip jar around, then give her a tip.

I'm using clubs as an example, but the same principles apply for music in the park, farm markets, etc. BTW, I've yet to see a farm market that pays. It's always for tips, and drunks tip better than people shopping for veggies.

[allenhopkins]

Re: demos -- back in the days when a demo was a cassette tape, it was reported that the guy who booked acts for the Winnipeg Folk Festival, used to bulk-erase the demos he got, so he could use them to record music he liked, and play on his car stereo.

Of course, bands could break off the little tabs on the cassette, so they couldn't be over-recorded. Of course, the guy could then put a piece of Scotch tape over each hole...

[Charlieshafer]

OK, here's what I look for:

1: Personal recommendation from a previous performer. For example, after a show, and we're relaxing, talking about upcoming shows, a John Jorgenson or Claire Lynch will tell me he or she knows a hot young group, and I should really look at them. At the same time, they'll also say, after eying the stack of demos I'm previewing, be honest about how they are in a show, their personalities, easy to work with type stuff, the whole deal. I always check out the recommendations, and usually get our up-and-coming shows that way.

2: I'll look over an email from a band or performer quickly, and see if they even bothered to look at our website. If they're touting themselves and tell me they have availability on Feb. 26, or whatever, and I already have Solas booked, and it's clearly on the website as such, then they flunk the I.Q. test and the delete button comes into play.

3: If I get an email and it's some small local guy trying to tell me he's a perfect fit, and the audience would love him right after a Hot Club of Cowtown show, I might be slightly amused. That is only if he can follow up with not just a cd, but a performance DVD. Doesn't have to be great quality, but I need to see what this guy looks like on stage. If he has neither, and just sends me to his myspace page where I can here two tracks, forget it. Delete.

4: Letters. Does anyone open any mail anymore?

5: Agents. I usually don't take agents recommendations unless I've known the agent for a long time, and he knows me. Most of the agents I deal with have taken the time to fly out to Connecticut for a show so they really get the concept behind our series as opposed to others. Those guys I trust, and I've never been let down. Usually I know who I want, and contact the agent.

All that said, boil it down and you get this:

1: Personal friend recommendations
2: Have a performance DVD made of your band at a gig so the buyer can see what you do, and most importantly, how you interact with the audience.
3: Get the DVD's in the right hands by knowing all the potential places to play in your touring area. Check their websites. Are you really a good fit, or is it just wishful thinking. There are venues for every type and size of band, so there are places for you, just pick the right ones.
4: Can't find venues off the top of your head? easy. Pick bands that fit your level of playing and experience. Go to their websites and see where they're appearing. Make a database of all those places. Soon, many patterns will emerge. Again, hit the websites of those places and do a double-check. Email the place, make an initial contact, and after a little fawning small talk, as presenters have bigger egos than musicians, tell them you'll send them a DVD. Then send it, without waiting for a reply. After that, a few, well spaced follow up emails and eventually some will hit. Take those gigs and add them to your resume.

Up in this neck of the woods, many will play a "hot spot" in Northampton, Mass, as a resume builder, and that's about it, as they have the worst record for paying the agreed price. Then they come play our place for fame and fortune (yeah, right, but we do pay on average 4X what the other guys do.)

And then, keep trying and working it. Oh, and good luck, as that's probably the most important element.

[Willie Poole]

I know two or three bands that send out demos that have some super pickers on them and then if and when they get a gig scheduled they show up with different pickers and not near as good as the demo....If you have or can make a U-Tube video that you can suggest to the client to watch then he will get an idea of what you sound and look like, or as was suggested, a DVD of your band....

To Steve, one of my bands highest paying gigs is at a huge farmers market/orchard when the put on their October Fest and they have loads of things for the family to do, mostly for children, like pony rides, face painting, petting zoo, bean bag toss for small prizes, a maze cut in the corn field, In fact we are playing there this coming weekend, its in Germantown Md, called Butlers Orchard...

Hpws that fro a commericial?

Willie

[Patrick Sylvest]

Offer to play for free at Art events or request to busk different community activities that don't have a lot of music and could possibly use it. Do this also at coffee shops and places that don't normally book acts..... you may even get a muffin. Find a quaint cafe' and see if they'll let you play on the sidewalk outside the door on a Saturday afternoon.

Want to play at a venue? Go to that venue frequently and befriend the patrons and owner.

Most importantly! Practice and become a good band! If you're making good music, you will get noticed!