Members guitarguy19 Posted October 23, 2012 Members Share Posted October 23, 2012 Hey Everyone, After being almost exclusive to the bar scene for a few years now, we want to try to land a couple festival gigs for summer 2013, and I figure now's about the time to start inquiring. So far after gathering a list of about 5 events we'd be interested in (to start), and visiting their websites if I could find them, the only real contact info I can find is directly to the city offices. Is that a good place to start? I'm hoping some cold calling will eventually lead me to the right place, i.e. the people who actually coordinate the events. Any other good hints/tips/tricks/etc for landing these types of gigs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Christhee68 Posted October 23, 2012 Members Share Posted October 23, 2012 Call the city office and ask "Who's in charge of booking entertainment for your (Fall Fest, Spring Fling, etc)? Can I speak to that person?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nchangin Posted October 23, 2012 Members Share Posted October 23, 2012 contract contract contract and get paid before you play. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members race81 Posted October 23, 2012 Members Share Posted October 23, 2012 We started diggin at festivals last summer. Hard for a unknown group to land those. But the way I got in touch with those that matter was spending a lot of time on the phone, hunting down the right ones. I felt like a stalker. But if nothing else, the next time someone mentions us to one of them, they might remember the call and the band name... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members SoundWrangler Posted October 23, 2012 Members Share Posted October 23, 2012 Guitarguy19, since your profile indicates metro Detroit area, you might check out these folks: Michigan Festivals and Events Association If it works like the equivalent in my state, at annual conventions they put on entertainment showcases: two alternating stages, FIFTEEN-minute sets per act! We found the (well liquored-up) attendees to be very enthusiastic, cheering on the acts. You PAY to be there. However, they typically provide a breakout area where you get a table, can hand out CDs, biz cards, brochures, set up display photos, etc.. And all the people there are truly involved in booking entertainment. Some folks I know have had pretty good luck with this... IF your act is truly appropriate for the civic summer fair, the local zuchinni festival, old-timey days, the Hooterville street festival, etc. events that these folks put on. If your combo is more an alt-rock original thing, for example, probably not (although there is a university entertainment association you should check out) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted October 24, 2012 Members Share Posted October 24, 2012 Originally Posted by Christhee68 Call the city office and ask "Who's in charge of booking entertainment for your (Fall Fest, Spring Fling, etc)? Can I speak to that person?" yep. Also the local fire departments and city chamber of commerce/Jaycees organize a lot of the stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MDLMUSIC Posted October 24, 2012 Members Share Posted October 24, 2012 Those types of gigs can be a lot of fun and quite lucrative, just be aware that you'll have to jump through a myriad of hoops to land one. It's not like the bar where the bartender pulls a handfull of twenties out of the cash register at the end of the night and hands them to you. At one of our gigs we had to put out a couple of hundred up front to pay for "insurance", supposedly to cover any damage the band might cause to the park gazebo (??!?!?). We were reimbursed with our paycheck, but it still was quite surreal. I can't imagine what other bands must have done previously to make the C of C think this was necessary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members wheresgrant3 Posted October 24, 2012 Members Share Posted October 24, 2012 I guess my question is (and things may be different in NY) is how a general bar cover band would land a festival. Most of the festivals in NY are either ethnic in origin or revolve around original music. We have Irish festivals, cajun festivals, polish festivals, prog rock festivals. I just don't see where a band like ours would fit in the mix? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tlbonehead Posted October 24, 2012 Members Share Posted October 24, 2012 Originally Posted by MDLMUSIC Those types of gigs can be a lot of fun and quite lucrative, just be aware that you'll have to jump through a myriad of hoops to land one. It's not like the bar where the bartender pulls a handfull of twenties out of the cash register at the end of the night and hands them to you.At one of our gigs we had to put out a couple of hundred up front to pay for "insurance", supposedly to cover any damage the band might cause to the park gazebo (??!?!?). We were reimbursed with our paycheck, but it still was quite surreal. I can't imagine what other bands must have done previously to make the C of C think this was necessary. we've done a ton of them and have never had to jump thru hoops. And at least half the time we've been paid in cash, although I'd just as soon have a check when you get in the $1K plus range. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members TIMKEYS Posted October 25, 2012 Members Share Posted October 25, 2012 Originally Posted by wheresgrant3 I guess my question is (and things may be different in NY) is how a general bar cover band would land a festival. Most of the festivals in NY are either ethnic in origin or revolve around original music. We have Irish festivals, cajun festivals, polish festivals, prog rock festivals. I just don't see where a band like ours would fit in the mix? when I lived in kalmazoo they had a pretty solid event sched down town. great band shell, a good piece of property where they could charge at the gate, good parking.They had blues fests, rib fests, ethnic fests with all kinds of food booths, They circle the food wagons and have a big party. Beer , bands and food. I could see the nuts on the roster. Most of these festivals had several bands. play. Put on some local favorites and their crowd comes to see them play the big stage. Brings people in. At least they know one band. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Tommy Guns Posted October 25, 2012 Members Share Posted October 25, 2012 I live on the southside of Chicago (burbs) and I have 120 festivals listed in the Chicagoland area that go from early May to early October. Most hire cover bands and pay well. Here they start booking bands for next summer starting in Sept thru Jan. Sometimes you can secure a slot if a band breaks up before summer but they usually book bands that have been around a while. What I try to do is contact the local Chamber of Commerce, look at the township's website which might list a "special event coordinator" and if all else fails call the city's offices trying to find out who hires the festival's entertainment. Not an easy route but the first one is always the hardest. I know in a lot of cases the festivals contact the bands directly (word of mouth) to book or re-book them again for next year. Good luck with this, I'm curious to hear how you do!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarguy19 Posted November 30, 2012 Author Members Share Posted November 30, 2012 Just an update on this...I've contacted (or at least left messages with) a few different festival coordinators. I feel like we're close...although we haven't officially landed anything yet. I'm optimistic that if I stay on it and keep following up something will come of it. Originally Posted by nchangin contract contract contract and get paid before you play. This may have been talked about here before...but what type of contract is used in such a case? Anyone have a template? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kmart Posted November 30, 2012 Members Share Posted November 30, 2012 Originally Posted by wheresgrant3 I guess my question is (and things may be different in NY) is how a general bar cover band would land a festival. Most of the festivals in NY are either ethnic in origin or revolve around original music. We have Irish festivals, cajun festivals, polish festivals, prog rock festivals. I just don't see where a band like ours would fit in the mix? Region/locale plays a massive difference in this... tommy guns summed it up for around here: there are fests and what some might consider street fairs (although often corp sponsored and budgeted very well) in excess in and around Chicago, and practically ALL of them are heavy on cover bands...it's basically how a number of acts keep in the green, because they all can pay well. Beyond Taste of Chicago are dozens and dozens of neighborhood fest from spring through fallFor perspective, a major fest in the far flung burbs, Naperville Ribfest, runs like 5 days/nights leading up to July 4. A quick check of their site shows next year's headliners will include Joe Walsh, Steve Miller, moe., and ZZ Top.the World's Largest Block Party is as the name implies, benefitting a church parish in Chicago. This summer they had Ben Folds 5 (reunited) and Lifehouse as headliners.In any case, in both of those examples, there are probably a couple dozen cover acts of all sorts supporting and playing all day long...most stages for these type of events start around 11:00 AM or by 1:00 PM and go until 10:00 pm with 45-75 minute sets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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