Booking
Holy Smokes Booking is an independent promotion agency responsible for several venues in Charlottesville, VA, both as an in-house and outside promoter, including Twisted Branch Tea Bazaar, The Box, Trinity Irish Pub and a handful of others.
If you're interested in booking a show with us, email (no Myspace or Facebook messages, please):
jacob (at) holysmokesbooking.com
Please include a link to a page where I can listen to your music, and please try to be as specific as possible about what date you're seeking. We generally book at least 6 weeks in advance.
Here's some simple, universal booking tips that'll help you book shows with me or anywhere. Also, let's just get this out of the way so we're not wasting each other's time. I don't book anything remotely rootsy/jammy. Not gonna happen.
BOOKING TIPS FOR TOURING BANDS
Start booking early. This is absolutely the most important thing you can do. Give yourself three months or more.
Sum it up in the subject line. The title of your email should include the name of the band and date requested (and not much else).
Be concise. Describe your band in three sentences. Comparisons to other artists are helpful. The more you write, the less will get read.
Be specific. What exact dates are you looking for?
One click to tunes. Your recorded material should be accessible in one click. Try to put only one or two links in the email.
Best foot forward. You’re may not get much more than 30 seconds to make an impression -- put your best track up front!
Presentation. Web presence is an important part of introducing your band. Blank slate sites like SonicBids and ReverbNation rob your band of character.
Know the venues. Don’t waste your time emailing venues that clearly don’t book your genre or are too big for your band. Play where your peers play.
Travel light. The more bands on your tour, the tougher it is to book any show.
Local support. Make friends. Swap shows. Find like-minded bands to play with you. Don’t count on the venue to bring a crowd.
Be cool. Being relaxed, friendly, and professional is the surest way to get great shows in the future.
Sample format. Here's what an ideally constructed booking request looks like.
Subject: [DATE] - [BAND NAME]
Hey there,
Do you have [DATE] available for [BAND NAME]?
A little background: [BAND NAME], from [HOMETOWN], recently released their debut LP on [RECORD LABEL], a collection of dizzying rock anthems built on early punk influences, grungy guitar-driven psychadelia a la [SIMILAR BAND], and the bombastic power-pop harmonies of [SIMILAR BAND]. They've recently shared bills with [PROMINENT BANDS], and have previously played at [VENUES IN THAT TOWN].
Please let me know whether or not you'd be interested in putting something together. Dates may still be flexible.
Best,
[YOUR NAME]