10 TIPS FOR YOUR BAR BAND: Get your new or existing band booked playing bars/restaurants. GET PAID!

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Wanna get PAYING gigs for your existing band? Get booked at bars/restaurants. Here's my 10 TIPS FOR YOUR BAR BAND!
The Working Musician is all about the business of playing live gigs, how to start a band or solo act, how to get your band booked, and how to make money as a musician while doing what you love!

[@patsyrussell5039]

They are brilliant tip I have to say and I agree with you some people want to hear themselves and forget about out front sound

[@theworkingmusician8842]

Thank you, Patsy, and have a great weekend!

[@Flamadiddle2]

Great advice. Have a longtime friend who plays the bars in South Florida. It's tough finding a good band. I've seen so many bands that think it's all about them, but you're right, we are there to entertain them, not the other way around. Also, many bands want to play obscure music because it's what they like, which is another recipe for disaster. It's best to stick to top hits that are immediately recognizable to the crowd. Otherwise, they tune you out, plant their face in their phone and/or start chatting with friends. When asked about the band the next day, they will respond with a deer in the headlights look.

[@theworkingmusician8842]

Thank you, so much, and have a great week!

[@richardday4139]

Great advice. I agree 100%. Been playing gigs for 20 years now.

[@theworkingmusician8842]

Thank you, Richard, and have a great weekend!

[@wharman1]

Great video! I play with an established band in Northern NY and we operate as a three piece (Guitar/Vocal, Bass, Drums) and a Seven Piece (three horns, keys, bass, drums, guitar/vocal). The gigs that depend on bar sales are less likely to book the bigger band. Corporate, Festival and Weddings will pay top dollar. Venues here generally won't pay more than $100 per musician. If we book a gig they want to know how many people in the band. Another point regarding tip jars. Some venues expect you to share tips with servers. We generally over tip servers for drinks and food to make up for this. Here is a helpful hint: PUT YOUR TIP JAR ON A STOOL. No one puts money into a tip jar when it is on the floor. I know it sounds crazy but I have seen it time and again. We find we get WAY MORE tips when the jar is up where you can see it. Also, have a funny way to ask for tips. "All are tips tonight are going to put the bass player through clown college."

[@theworkingmusician8842]

Good advice. Tips can make all the difference. Thanks!

[@Jobotubular]

1. cover tunes 2. they aren't there to see you = venue gig 3. 4 hours of music 4. can introduce originals between covers 5. Fri/Sat 6. you are there to sell alcohol for the venue 7. how much money? 300-500 whole band 8. flat rate. Percentage is dicey. Fewer members = more pay per member. Tip jar 9. can be worth adding great lead singer / audience entertainer = more money. can save money doing your own mixing 10. don't be too loud. Low stage volume. Use PA.

[@theworkingmusician8842]

Good summary. 😃

[@jonwanrocks]

i have been gigging in the bars, every weekend, for the past 5 years and STILL learned something from this video! cheers from your newest subscriber!

[@theworkingmusician8842]

Thank you, Jon! Welcome!

[@stimulantbeats7607]

PLEASE MAKE A COMPLETE TUTORIAL VIDEO OF CONNECTING MIXER GUITAR AND VOCAL MIC TO PA SYSTEM IF ITS MY FIRST GIG

[@theworkingmusician8842]

Great idea!

[@CaliforniaCreedence]

Amazing! I plan to follow you! It is so funny, I recently did a video with almost exactly the same points including the "driving the audience back when you are loud." So many don't know that! We, here in CA. started like you said, and, now we charge a minimum $1000, and we are busy. We have a great singer, which is crititical. Thanks! Can't wait to see more!

[@theworkingmusician8842]

Thank you, John! Have a great week! 😃

[@radarlove6283]

Since listening to your experience about how the music group should sound on stage, this comes in handy because I'm a sound engineer and a musician. Just like being in the studio, every musician should bring down their volume except for the drummer and the sound man will make all the final adjustments when it comes to volume control. By the way... This is excellent advice and experience! I'm going to relay this information to all the guys in the music group! - Many Thanks!

[@theworkingmusician8842]

Thank you so much! I'm glad that it was helpful. Have a great week! 😀

[@ArnoldVeeman]

Great tips!! Thank you!!

[@theworkingmusician8842]

Thanks, Arnold!

[@simbaking6338]

Very good info u giving ma bro...there's something in it for everyone to learn....keep up the good work

[@theworkingmusician8842]

Thank you! Have a great week. 😀

[@susandeane6716]

I am sooo glad I stumbled across your video. As a newbie band leader, this advice is more helpful to me than you know. :)

[@theworkingmusician8842]

I'm glad that you're here. Thanks, Susan!

[@georgecruces1953]

Great advice. thank you.

[@theworkingmusician8842]

Thank you, George, and have a great week!

[@BANESTADVENTURES]

Neat Vlog, now I need a band!

[@theworkingmusician8842]

Rock on!

[@Roamingfigures]

Extremely great advice on purchasing your own mixing board for live performances. I learned a lot in the span of 15 minutes. Feeling extremely inspired too. My band has a goal of playing our first set of shows by Feb. 2022. Currently looking around to purchase PA speakers, monitors, and a digital mixing board.

[@theworkingmusician8842]

Sounds great, Ryan! Good luck to you and your band.

[@spookyish6713]

this was extremely helpful tysm

[@theworkingmusician8842]

Thank you, and have a great weekend!

[@james-tm1rm]

Great stuff. Thank you!!!

[@theworkingmusician8842]

Thank you, James. Have a great week!

[@petermoore4629]

Great vid, from being in a bar band...hit all the good points, i wish i woulda said what you said...exactly right!!!!

[@theworkingmusician8842]

Thanks, Peter. Have a great week!

[@tomasmigra]

Pretty useful tips, thanks! new subscriber 👍

[@theworkingmusician8842]

Thank you, Tomas!

[@xseaangelx]

Thank you.

[@theworkingmusician8842]

Thank you!

[@dannyjamerson7158]

You didn't mention a tip jar in your list. We have made upwards of $100 dollars in tips alone. We don't count on it and if its $20 or less we give it to our bass player who owns our PA

[@theworkingmusician8842]

Absolutely! Tips can be significant. Thanks, Danny!

[@babsdolson]

Here in Chicagoland, it's pay to play. What's your draw? That's the first thing bar owners & booking agents ask. Too many bands, not enough fans. Market is oversaturated.

[@theworkingmusician8842]

Thanks for you comment, Barb. Your analysis of your local market is probably right, and very common. There are always far more bands than venues. Although pay-for-play is not the norm here in Florida, the market is similarly over-saturated with bands, so the average pay is pretty low. However, once you figure out how to pack the house every time you play, then the venues will be competing for YOU. I discuss that in "Make Your Band Income Explode". If it's too tough to even get in the door in Chicago, you might consider finding a venue out of town, perhaps in a nearby smaller town or city. The drive might be worth it, if you can find gigs where the competition isn't so thick. Once you get established, then you can work your way back into the big city. Is there a town within a couple of hours drive that might have some other opportunities?

[@NoCoverCharge]

I’m a disagreeing with this …but I come from a different perspective…played in bands in Atlanta, Athens and Macon Ga areas for 15 years … and there you just don’t play covers …I never knew cover bands existed during that time … you didn’t get paid a lot most time you got free beer … but when your doing your own music money was never the reason we played at all.. in those 20 years I never took one dime for playing music and if we got paid I just threw. MY share into the band fund but we never played covers and the audience in all the places we played and we played every two weeks the audience expected original music… now that I’m in Florida it’s 4 hour cover band universe… you get paid better but for me it’s just not as fun but I keep doing it .. good video

[@theworkingmusician8842]

But, you can't be a "Working Musician" if you don't get paid. ;)

[@kennymac1911]

What’s the best way to book a gig from a new venue? How do you approach a venue?

[@theworkingmusician8842]

I talk about this exact topic here... kzbin.info/www/bejne/mnOtZ5h4nbSbmJo Thanks, Kenny!

[@Bargeonin]

Do you call the venue or do you show up in person to request a gig? If they don't call back how long do you wait to call them?

[@theworkingmusician8842]

Actually, neither, for the first contact. I explain it in this video... kzbin.info/www/bejne/mnOtZ5h4nbSbmJo

[@EscapeGoat-Band]

Totally in a band. Lol

[@theworkingmusician8842]

😃

[@DirtJunkie1620]

Good tips! My favorite tip, Turn the fuck down.

[@theworkingmusician8842]

Thank you so much! No doubt. Gotta keep the stage volume under control.

[@Brosef522]

Do you do anything with Facebook ads for private parties?

[@theworkingmusician8842]

I'm not sure how effective that would be. Advertising money is best spent when you can target your audience, but there's no way to know who is having a party. All of my private party gigs have come from someone seeing us play somewhere. However, people might search the web for a party band for their event, so be sure to have a website and listings on other sites.

[@richardchubb3152]

The musicians being beer salesman,? Yes.... 45 minutes? Forget it. When you stop playing people will leave. The bar stops making money and your tip jar stops filling up. There is some good advice here.

[@theworkingmusician8842]

For sure. If the crowd is good, keep playing! Thanks, Richard, and a great week! 😀