Playing live is an essential part of being a band, and an important factor for both self-promotion and increasing your fan base. This week on the blog, we will be looking at what happens behind the scenes of playing live, and what work you have to put in in order to secure those all important gigs.
The early gigs that any band do should be used to find out who you are as a performing artist, and to get the feel of being onstage. Once that’s out of the way, you can really begin to use gigs as a platform for marketing and broadening your amount of followers.
Finding gigs
For any unsigned band or artist, your local live scene should be your priority, as it is a brilliant starting block for getting loyal fans. Get familiar with all the venues and promoters in your area, as they are the ones that will be booking you for gigs at the start. If you don’t know any yet, go along to other gigs and ask around there to see if you can get a slot. Make sure you have a demo record to hand to the promoter so they can hear what you are like. Many gig venues have their own websites where you can submit a demo in order to be considered to play.
If you can, make up a press pack of a bio, demo and interesting press cuttings, as well as your contact info, as the more you can give a promoter the better.
