Depending on the popularity of an act, these festivals may include the likes of Glastonbury and Reading/Leeds, or the smaller localised festival circuit.
Whichever festival a band is hoping to perform at, the experience will give media exposure and often the opportunity to perform to a wide audience.
Hard work pays off
Not surprisingly, competition for festival spots is fierce, and therefore bands who are successful are most likely to be those who are relentlessly playing shows, attracting a growing fan base and demonstrating a passion for their music.
Festival promoters are much more likely to honour a hard working, yet relatively unknown band, than a band who fails to even promote their own gigs.
Whilst bands may aspire to playing the main stage at Glastonbury, the best starting point is to approach a local, small town, festival.
Not only do smaller festivals tend to be easier to get onto but offer a great opportunity to network promoters, therefore gaining more gigs. Also, performing as a festival folk wedding band can be a great way to gain experience.
Utilise the press
When applying to festivals, promoters will pay close attention to the amount of press – both good and bad – a band has received.
Utilising the use of a mailing list to inform people of upcoming shows will help a band make every show count.
If a band is creating enough of a buzz, journalists will eventually start paying attention, however there is no harm in inviting local music hacks to gigs.
These can be local music bloggers, newspaper or magazine reporters and whilst they may not initially write a story, if they like what they hear they will likely be back for more.
Only target journalists who write about your style of music. A jazz magazine doesn’t care about your metal band!
The application process
A quality media pack is crucial when applying for all festival slots. Due to the amount of competition, the first impression means everything.
Many bands today use electronic press kits, which are often great for presentation but do not prevent spelling mistakes, punctuation errors and dull band bios/photos.
In this case, always get one or two people to read through the application and press kit before sending to a festival promoter.
If possible, use your networking skills to meet festival promoters face to face.
A successful media pack will:
- Include two of the band’s best songs, but be prepared for the promoter to only listen for 30 seconds!
- Highlight the best qualities and USP, whether it be a passionate and exciting live show or the singer’s soulful voice.
- Include quality images
- Make it easy to follow links and find contact details – multiple phone numbers are best.
The bands who are perform at festivals are predominately hard working and do not sit back, waiting for the right gigs to fall into their hands.
Particularly in local music festivals, a promoter will be interested if bands are creating enough of a buzz, therefore networking and taking an active role in a local music scene is crucial.
Most Popular Festivals
Check out our article listing the most popular music festivals in the UK alongsde lots of other useful stats: UK Music Festival Statistics.
Sources
- http://www.indieandunsigned.com/how-to-get-booked-at-a-music-festival/
- hhttps://www.lastminutemusicians.com/search/indie_bands.html
Do you perform at music festivals? Let us know your booking tips below!
