Questions to ask a venue before you play
Most awkward gig nights are not caused by anyone behaving badly. They are caused by two sides assuming different things and neither of them checking. The fix is a short list of questions, sent before you confirm, while it is still easy to say "actually, that will not work for us".
The night itself
- What time is load-in, and what time can we soundcheck?
- What time do we go on, and how long do you want us to play?
- Is it one set or two? If two, how long is the break?
- Is there anyone on before or after us?
The room and the gear
- What PA is in the room, and is there an engineer, or are we running it?
- What monitoring is there?
- Is there backline we can use, or are we bringing everything?
- How do we get gear in — is there parking, and how far is the door from it?
The agreement
- What is the fee, and when is it paid?
- Who is our contact on the night, and will they be there?
- What happens if the night is cancelled — by either of us?
That last one matters most
Cancellation is the question people skip because it feels pessimistic to raise. It is the one that causes the most bad feeling later. Asking it early is not distrust — it is the same instinct that makes you check the load-in time.
You are not being difficult by asking. A venue that programmes music regularly has answered all of this before and will have the answers to hand.
Send them in one message
Not a drip of individual questions over a week. One short message, grouped like the lists above, is quicker for the venue to answer and makes you easy to deal with — which is a large part of getting asked back.
If you are approaching rooms you have not played, their listing is the place to start: look them up and see what they already tell you, so you only ask what is genuinely missing.
