Make it an Event!

Ahoy!

I’ve been performing as a bassist for more than a decade. I’ve performed with groups of all sizes and even done several solo gigs. I could rattle off a list of many favorites and the ones that have meant the most to me. Instead, for your benefit, I’m going to tell you about one of the worst.

Aside from being a bass player, I have a substantial background in guitar, even studying classical guitar as my major instrument as an undergrad. There was a time I could literally play any Dave Matthews song you named on guitar. An off shoot of playing so much guitar was that I started writing lots of songs. They were simple, but they were my creative outlet none-the-less. I did some really low budget recordings in Audacity and played for family and friends occasionally. Eventually the idea came up of putting on a solo show. I booked a venue, borrowed the pieces of gear I didn’t own, rehearsed like crazy and awaited the day to arrive for the gig. And then no one showed up.

I didn’t make this gig an event. It was just something else people could do that night, and they chose not to attend. I thought it was cool music; I was super excited about it. But no one else was. I see this time and again with inexperienced musicians who wonder why no one showed up to their gig. YOU HAVE TO MAKE IT AN EVENT! I can’t stress this enough. If you want people to show up, you have to give them something more than “just the music.” And I am not referring to the type of theatrical performances given by modern pop stars. I recently gave my masters recital which was highly attended. Here’s a short list of the things I did differently this time around, after spending 10 more years learning how to promote a gig.

1)      Original works: One of largest pieces to my promotional material was that I wrote or arranged all of the seven works I did on my recital. This might not sound like much to those of you who have all original creative projects already but inside the academic college setting it is rare that you’ll compose everything you’re about to play. This is an extra draw for friends and family who know nothing about music because they can now connect to it through just knowing you. They’ll want to hear the music that comes from you not just the music you choose to learn.

2)    Visuals: There is so much you can do in the way of visuals and thousands of dollars can be spent here. However, I went the easy route. I know many great visual artists. From painters, to photographers. I asked several of them to create works based on the music I wrote and had them displayed on a projection screen while each work was performed.

3)      Radio: Luckily I live in a college town and I know several of the DJ’s. I was able to book a radio spot and do an interview/play a preview track. I’ve had the chance to do this exact thing with several bands. Get a head of the game though. If you know you have a big gig coming up book your spot early!

One big thing to realize is that not all gigs are equal. I haven’t promoted every gig I’ve played this year the same way. While every performance does get mentioned on social media, and I tell friends about it, they don’t all get the full treatment. This is huge if you don’t want to run out of money on promotion after the first couple shows. You have to decide which gigs are the “big ones.” The ones that REALLY count. There are ones where you NEED everyone to show up. A lot of the time I play in places that have built in crowds and I’m not the band leader/in charge of promotion. But when it’s all on me, this is how I think. “How can I make this an event? How can I make it so people say ‘I really wish I was there?’” Also, while venues SHOULD do their part to promote artists, they don’t always and they definitely won’t care as much about your music as you will.

I’ll leave you with this. After the initial writing phase, the majority of my time was spent on promoting this event. Obviously I worked on the music and conducted rehearsals. But I spent months generating word of mouth and explain to everyone what I was trying to do with the event. In the end, it paid off.

Until next time,

Heard