How To Choose The Right Venue For Your Performance
Danielle DePalma
When I was 19, I self-booked my band, Generation Traitor, on our first tour. I thought I could do it all: play, do sound, become an agent and a promoter. I booked us everywhere from anarchist squats to frat house parties, seedy dive bars, and proper venue shows. We saw the good, the bad, and the ugly and learned a hard lesson of what never to do. Now, after five years of managing a concert venue, and many more years of tour managing bands, I finally found a sustainable rhythm of great shows in great spaces.
Tips For Choosing The Right Venue For Your Show
First consideration: local or long distance? Are you thinking about a tour or your album release show in your hometown?
For multiple dates, make a list of some "must-haves." This process will help to shape your band's rider and help you or your agent know what to advocate for you.
Are gender-neutral bathrooms important? Does every band member need to have their own monitor mix? Did your friend make some incredible visuals for your set that you have to project? Do you need a private green room space? Will you need your hospitality rider fulfilled every night? Is safe parking for your vehicle important? Are age restrictions helpful or prohibitive to you? Take some time to make a list, turn it into a rider, and be ready to negotiate. I have certainly negotiated the construction of a four-foot stage extension because the singer was too close to the drummer. Deal breaker! These are great starting places, and if a venue cannot check all of the boxes, weigh your options. What are your deal-breakers, or where can you find workarounds?
For detailed information about each venue, check out my favorite database from Indie On The Move or ask your agent or musicians’ union for similar databases they have compiled.
Two More Important Tour Considerations: Health/Safety and Routing
Health
Unfortunately, it is still not always common practice for a space to clean every night or ask patrons to smoke away from the business. Venues need to hear your voice and feel your influence over their business. If you'd like for a space to encourage wearing masks, speak up. The Bowery recently implemented vaccination-only entry for EVERYONE, ahead of New York City's mandate. A large percentage [90%] of our bands are entirely on board, and about 50% of those are asking for more restrictions like requiring wearing masks while not actively eating or drinking. The remaining 10% are unwilling to comply with the guidance and have canceled or postponed their shows.
Venue Security - Is it Safe?
Pay attention to the venues that provide secure parking. I have had a full trailer stolen from the back of our van when taking chances with public parking. Advocate for a well-lit area with security cameras, and rely on venue staff to help you out. Also, ask about green room space and ensure there are safe spaces for you and your gear, especially if you need to change clothes before and/or after a performance.
Pro-tip: If you are staying nearby after your gig, check with the venue to see about leaving your gear overnight and loading out the following morning. It may be safer and more convenient than a hotel or friends' house.
Routing - Travelling the Spaceways
Routing is another important consideration that unfamiliar booking agents may overlook. If your show is production heavy, and your workday is eight hours long (load in through load out), your drive time between gigs should ideally be six hours at most to allow for a proper rest and travel time buffer. You should regularly strive for half of that drive time to avoid burnout. If that is not possible, consider adding a travel day or breaking up the tour into manageable, regional chunks. Artist managers can work with you on making this financially feasible. If you want to do it yourself, a simple spreadsheet of costs vs. payments helps you visualize what is possible.
I have found Music Nomad to be helpful for a vehicle rental database split up by region. This site is where you can also consider adding some crew on your tour, especially someone who can help drive. Then you can split up driving shifts in ways that make sense and are healthy and always factor in the many pee breaks.
Play Local
Local shows can be a bit more fun and lend themselves to careful thought and decisions. And, hopefully, you can invite some friends to the show to cheer you on!
First, think realistically about the number of people you are expecting to attend. Then filter your options based on capacity and also age restrictions. If you need your show to be 16+ or all ages, cross that bar gig off your list. The easiest way to determine this is through a venue's website. Look at the shows they list. At Bowery, for example, each event is different, and we change our age restrictions based upon the artist's request.
Once again, Indie On The Move is great for this.
For something a little less traditional, try DoDIY
Or try Pollstar if you're a stats nerd like me
If you're thinking like a promoter, choose a venue that you can sell out. Filling a venue will give you leverage for future shows that you want to be a part of both locally and nationally.
Now that you've whittled down your list to something a bit more manageable, here comes the fun part: thinking about the vibe of the space and what they offer in terms of production. In New York, we have everything from local bars wallpapered with old posters to stages with backdrops made from ashtrays to Turkish sultan-room-styled venues with impeccable sound to performing in the Egyptian wing of the Metropolitan Museum. And yes, there are still warehouse shows, subway performances, and everything in between. If you can, take a visit to the venue beforehand. If not, social media is a great substitute.
For gear savvy folks like myself, I LOVE a tech pack. It's a document detailing what the venue offers for audio, lighting, backline, rigging, and video and is usually provided by the sound person, production manager, or venue manager. The tech pack tells me everything I would need to know about how well my music will translate live in the room and the tools I can use to create a captivating performance.
When you head out on the road, the tech pack is your lifeline for knowing what to expect from the venue. With time, you will start to notice similarities and can make comparisons. It is a great way to set the bar in advance so, come the day of your show, you are not disappointed by your expectations versus the venue’s reality.
Before booking, feel free to email a space and ask for their tech packet, or check the website to see if it is listed online. Some venue’s tech packs, like the Bowery, are more detailed, hoping to make a tour manager’s job easier. If a space does not have either option, management likely prioritizes tech needs lower on their list. At the very least, I would advocate for having a dedicated soundperson there for your event from load in through load out.
Bowery Ballroom Venue Production Info
You can see from this one page that this stage is a great size for a 3-8 piece band. There is a separate setup for stage monitor mixing, we have some rigging points in the building for backdrops, lights, or other props, and we can build drum or DJ risers. You can also see that we have a noise limit, and we do not allow pyro or glitter. So, if your show is extremely loud, or requires special effects that we prohibit, this is likely not the venue for you.
Finally, think about the performance deal and compensation. Rarely are pay-to-play "opportunities" actually opportunities. Pay to play refers to a band or artist putting money up front to play a show. This practice comes in several forms, including a promoter asking that you buy tickets in advance that you must sell to your fans/friends; or paying a headliner to get a support slot on a big tour. There's even taking a gig that does not pay anything, leaving you uncompensated for your travel and instrument expenses, dinner breaks, time, energy, and all the valuable elements that go into doing what you love. The music industry put me into debt well before my education ever did. So think carefully, and do not let someone profit from what they call a "great opportunity."
This Musicians' Union site lists the standard types of payment you could receive from a gig.
The specifics will differ from venue to venue. So crunch some numbers and ensure that if you are financially investing in this performance yourself, i.e., taking a loss, or spending your own money on sound, visuals, band members, etc., that you still get a return on that investment in some way (press, promo, increased fanbase, future opportunities).
That's it!
I hope these few tips and tricks will help you avoid the regrettable gigs and instead find some great opportunities with community support. I cannot wait to see you out there kicking ass at a show. Have fun and stay safe.
Danielle DePalma is a live sound engineer and the Production Manager of the Bowery Ballroom. She has been fortunate to tour with artists like Sharon Van Etten, Florence + the Machine, Emily King, and Josh Ritter. During the pandemic, Danielle has kept sane through motorcycle rides and adventures with her new adopted puppy, Huck.
