Planning an event with live music doesn’t have to be a complicated and stressful to take on. There are a few key things you can take to streamline the process and assure you are taking all the necessary steps for the best outcome.

Here are the best tips for planning an event with live music.

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1. Decide on the Type of Event

Do you want to set up something that appeals to a wide swath of age groups, that will draw in a wider public? Are you interested in showcasing eclectic groups of all types? Do you want to appeal only to a particular subculture or group of people, like a showcase exclusively showcasing queer artists?

These are all things that you should decide before doing anything else. It’s best to sit down and have a solid idea of your intentions before committing to the process of organizing a recurrent event. 

2. Draw Up A Budget

As the event organizer, unless you have financiers willing to put their foot forward and fund the event, you’ll be footing the bill for most. That means booking an event venue, arranging for any type of food and drink, and the cost of paying bands to perform at your event.

Luckily ticket prices can offset the cost, but not by much, given that a fair price for a local event hovers around $8 to $10 dollars per ticket, and a venue can only have so many people attend. 

3. Book the Event Venue

The venue is likely to make the biggest dent in your wallet, and also dictate the size of the audience. It will also tell you what kind of acts you can hire, depending on their equipment availability and amenities. Is it close to transportation so that attendees can get there easily?

Does the venue have low ceilings in brick walls, which are known to be ideal for sound reverberation at comedy nights? Does the seating availability match your anticipated audience and promotional budgeting? Is there a preparation space (known in the biz as a Green Room), bathrooms, a bar? You’ll want to consider all these things when choosing a venue so that both the entertainers.

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4. Find A Live Band to Perform

There are numerous ways to seek out local and nonlocal musical acts, ranging from word-of-mouth around town, to specific searches in search engines. One of your best bets for hiring booked talent is to find performers that are ready for hire.

The biggest tip to provide in the arena of booking acts is simply to get yourself out there and develop familiarity with the local music scene, not only to see what bands you will hire, but to see what the audience is looking for in the area. 

5. Advertising

While social media is still the hallmark of event promotion in the modern age, you’ll still see print posters taped up to utility poles in cities and towns, alike. While it’s best to make event pages on social media platforms like Facebook and invite as many people as possible virtually, it’s also beneficial to make a poster to hang up around town.