Curtains Up!

Here’s a highly-recommended Web site. Many of you are probably already plugged into it, but many others may not be. It’s Pollstar, and it is the place to go if you want to check out concert tour schedules. You can find out about when and where artists are playing, and you can also search by city or venue to find out who’s coming to a stage near you.

Why is this useful? If you’re in the booking business, Pollstar is your online bible for routing and finding acts whose tours are coming your way (and hopefully to your venue).

But it’s also useful for performers. Think about this: Let’s say you’re an established blues or soul band in your area, let’s say in the Gulf Coast in Louisiana or Mississippi. You have a pretty solid fan base around the area but always looking for bigger exposure. You want to open for someone with a big name. You check on Pollstar and find out that Johnny Lang is has just been booked to perform at the Cypress Bayou Casino in Charenton, La., southwest of Baton Rouge on Sept. 28. He’s also playing the House of Blues the following night in New Orleans.

You know it’s a fresh booking because it’s highlighted in red, meaning this has just been confirmed in the last 24 hours. (That will change if you’re reading this after Aug. 8; blue highlights indicate a change in the last 72 hours). In fact, if you check out the casino’s own site for a schedule, you’ll see the show isn’t even listed there yet. So if you want to try to snag an opening spot, you can jump in there immediately and send the casino’s entertainment managers a promo kit. Whether you get the gig or not, at least you’re being proactive in putting yourself out there.

Get your gig on!
Mike