Summary: How To Get Gigs For Your Band, Local Band, Or Garage Band
How to get band gigs and shows for your local band? It's not always easy to get out of the starting gate and get a gig. You can get a show booked for your garage band, local band, or indie band with a little hard work. Your rock band should have a strong music set, quality song material, and should play well in a live setting. It is now time to take the next step and book gigs for your band.
Press Kit - The first thing your indie act or garage band should do is to get a band press kit together. The press kit, press package, or media kit will have everything you'll need to get started. Visit our Press Kit Page for tips on getting the press kit together. Once you have your press kit, you'll have a vehicle to start promoting your indie band.
Demo CD/Tape - For most gigs, a club owner or party planner will want to hear how your music sounds. So record your indie band Demo CD or Tape. You may want to buy or rent a portable home recording studio at your local music store. Make sure your songwriting is of professional quality. Songwriting is a trial and error process and may take time. Many rewrites may be needed when writing songs. It's just part of the songwriting process. Portable home recording studios or computer recording software should give you sufficient quality for most local venues. Once your act is more established, you may want to get into a local reputable recording studio. Many professional indie bands use a computer program called Pro Tools or Cubase software for recording. While this is an expensive venture, it may be just as cost effective to learn the software than booking studio time.
Open Mic Nights - Start off playing open microphone (Mic) nights at local clubs. Not only will this give you a little experience on stage, you'll actually have a built in audience. Many open mic nights are hosted by more established local bands or indie acts. Make valuable contacts for the future with the hosting bands and other local bands playing at the open mic night. Check your local music newspapers, perform an internet search for open microphone nights in your city, or search music websites to find this information. This is a great starting point to play gigs and shows in your area.
Offer to Open for Free - The reality is that your not going to get paid when you first start out. Offer to be an opening band for free for a local band you know. Network with bands than you may have met at an open microphone night. E-mail more established indie band in the area and offer to play an opening gig for them. Many indie bands love opening acts. They don't have to pay you much and they don't have to play as long of a show set. This is the time to start promoting your garage band too. Hand out business cards and press kits to any clubs you play. Make sure to follow up with the venue after you have given them your press kit. Call or e-mail to make sure they get back to you. Be persistent. Booking agents and club owners are always getting approached by prospective indie bands and garage bands.
Solicit your Press Kit - Now that you've played gigs at open mic nights, start calling clubs and soliciting your Press Kit and Demo. It's a good idea to visit clubs that play your style of music and talk with the booker of the club. Leave them a press kit and demo CD. Give the club booking agent a day or two to listen to your demo. Call back and get some feedback. Ask for the gig or show for your band. Again, be persistent.
Approach Town Fairs, County Festivals, or City Concert Venues Another way to get exposure is to gig for a large audience at a local fair or festival. Most of these gigs your band would play for free to get exposure. Some festivals do pay bands once they get a following or fan base. Do some research on the internet to see what local agencies take care of bookings for festivals or town fairs. Give out your band business cards at the show. This is a good promotion tactic. Someone in the audience may want to book your indie music act in the future.
Booking Agents - Most booking agents take a percentage of the money that you get for a gig. Booking agents can be a valuable resource for getting some better paying gigs. Do a lot of research and be sure they are reputable. Do a search on your local yellow pages. A lot of booking agents only take well known acts, so shop around and see if they will deal with your local band. Stop by in person and take your demo and press kit.
E-mail Local Newspapers - Have your show dates added to local newspaper concert listings. Most papers will list your gigs for free. Contact any free papers that list band show dates. Also, see if they will do an article on your garage band or review one of your gigs or your CD.
Band Manager - Look into having a band manager who will help out with promotion. This person can help book you indie act. Has someone that you have known taken an interest in your garage band or music career? See if they would help book your indie band. Relatives may do this for free or a small fee designated by you. Watch out for people that get to meddlesome in your band and try to control your band goals. Negotiate for fees charged for such services.
Battle of the Bands - Send your demo and press kit to any local battle of the band competitions. Most competitions locate up and coming talent in the area for battle of the bands shows. The great thing about these competitions is that you can network with the promoters, other bands involved, and get exposure. Many of the competitions are promoted on the radio, internet, and newspapers. The winner usually gets a decent prize like studio time or free promotion. Have your business cards ready at every portion of the competition.
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