23 Aug 2017, 10:03 AM
I initially had 14 house concerts confirmed but 3 hosts canceled after I had already worked out my routing. I picked up a few bar gigs to fill the open dates. I ended up performing 11 house concerts and 3 bar gigs throughout NE, KS, IA, SD, MN and WI. I averaged $200 per show, donations and merch sales combined.
I would get pretty sweaty while loading in my equipment, so instead of arriving already dressed in my performance clothes, I learned to arrive in casual clothes and then excuse myself to the bathroom to dry off and change into nicer clothes before guests arrived.
On one show the host had designed and printed his own posters for the event. He offered them free to his guests. Although it's great that a host went to this extra effort, I feel that it hurt the sales of the tour posters that I was trying to sell at my merch table.
I ran into a few annoyances with backyard shows. The cicadas would occasionally get so loud it was hard to hear the music. During one show a neighbor started to mow their lawn in the middle of my set. Several people also brought dogs, which occasionally became a distraction. By the time I was ready to load-out my equipment it was dark and I needed a flashlight.
Sometimes a host would want to delay the start of the concert because they were waiting for a specific guest to arrive. Mostly it worked out fine, but a couple times it seemed to stretch the night a little too long and guests became restless.
On two shows the host insisted on having local support. Neither of them seemed to help turnout or donations. Having openers seemed to diminish the impact of my set.
One host had a video crew on hand to capture the show. The lights and cameras were positioned between me and the audience, which really seemed to eliminate the feeling of intimacy.
I would appreciate any thoughts or suggestions you may have.
I would get pretty sweaty while loading in my equipment, so instead of arriving already dressed in my performance clothes, I learned to arrive in casual clothes and then excuse myself to the bathroom to dry off and change into nicer clothes before guests arrived.
On one show the host had designed and printed his own posters for the event. He offered them free to his guests. Although it's great that a host went to this extra effort, I feel that it hurt the sales of the tour posters that I was trying to sell at my merch table.
I ran into a few annoyances with backyard shows. The cicadas would occasionally get so loud it was hard to hear the music. During one show a neighbor started to mow their lawn in the middle of my set. Several people also brought dogs, which occasionally became a distraction. By the time I was ready to load-out my equipment it was dark and I needed a flashlight.
Sometimes a host would want to delay the start of the concert because they were waiting for a specific guest to arrive. Mostly it worked out fine, but a couple times it seemed to stretch the night a little too long and guests became restless.
On two shows the host insisted on having local support. Neither of them seemed to help turnout or donations. Having openers seemed to diminish the impact of my set.
One host had a video crew on hand to capture the show. The lights and cameras were positioned between me and the audience, which really seemed to eliminate the feeling of intimacy.
I would appreciate any thoughts or suggestions you may have.