Getting your band or solo act booked at the hottest bar in town is tough, and sometimes, getting a second gig is even tougher. When you’re trying to build a career as a musician, it’s almost more important to know what not to do while booking than to know what you should be doing. Many bands make little mistakes that cost them big-time shows.
Here’s a look at some of the biggest mistakes that bands can make when trying to get booked at a bar.
Not Getting To Know The Bartenders – In most bars, the bartenders are the ones who book the shows. This isn’t always the case, but it never hurts to have a friend behind the bar who can put in the good word for you.
Get to know your bartenders well, especially if you think that you’ll be bringing your band back to a certain bar on a regular basis. Stop in when you don’t have a show and chat. Always tip and don’t be a hassle. Part of regularly booking gigs is being as sociable as possible, and as a musician, you’ll have to work on getting to know the people who can help you out.
Emailing For A Show – There are some bartenders and bookers that prefer to work electronically, but in most parts of the country they’re few and far between. Bartenders usually prefer to book gigs in person or over the phone, because they don’t want to be checking email and doing a lot of work when they’re not getting paid for it.
Find out how your booking guy or girl likes to be contacted and don’t forget. Otherwise, you might be wasting your time with emails and Facebook messages.
Not Getting The Specifics Ahead Of Time – Bars will hate it when a band is late or way, way too early. Avoid any confusion by calling ahead and figuring out all the basic info that you’ll need to play your gig. Find out whether the bar has a PA system, who runs the PA, how payment will be arranged, what drink specials are for bands and anything else that might be important. Don’t make assumptions. That’s a quick way to annoy the people who have the power to book your band or to ignore your phone calls.
Not Confirming The Bar Gig- Confirm your shows in one way or another, especially if you book a few months in advance. Confirming a show only takes a few seconds and bars will see it as a professional move. Bartenders are only human, and so are musicians. Mistakes get made and bands no-show or find out at the last second that the bar’s overbooked. A quick 10-second phone call will prevent this from ever happening.
Have any other tips for booking a band at a bar? Share them below.