How to organize a concert in 5 easy steps

Ever since the coronavirus pandemic, we have seen a major draught of offline events worldwide. People miss social gatherings of all kinds, and as we’re getting closer to summer, that feeling is ever more present. 

We can be thankful that restrictions are starting to loosen up almost everywhere in the world, so it’s the perfect time to start learning how to organize events. Let’s get started with some basic tips on how to organize a concert in the near future.

1. Set a Budget

First and foremost, before even starting to plan stuff out, know how much money you’ve got. The money you can spend will dictate most of the things you can do. Don’t be discouraged if you don’t have as much money as other gig organizers. Some of the most legendary concerts have taken place in small pubs with limited participants.

However, you do need to be aware that, as with any gig, you might want to rely on event insurance in case something unpredictable happens. After all, the laws and regulations regarding public health and safety seem to be constantly changing, so you want to be covered financially in case of any failure.

2. Find the Right Spot

Concerts come in all shapes and sizes, but also in different tastes. If you’re planning to organize a metal concert, you might want to avoid organizing it near a church for example. First and foremost, your venue needs to fit the atmosphere you want to create for a concert. If you’re organizing an underground concert, then we don’t recommend a high-class venue, but rather something relatively small and dimly lit.

3. Search for the Appropriate Bands

Ok, let’s say you’ve already decided on the main band. Or maybe it’s your own band. However, a respectable concert should also include at least one opening band as well. If you don’t have ideas about what local band you’d like to play for you, we’d like to suggest searching for similar acts on Spotify or checking out the numerous lesser-known bands on Bandcamp. 

4. Plan the Necessary Equipment and Other Amenities

Finally, we can now get to the part that actually pertains to the event itself: the equipment. While some bands like to bring their own sound system and other stuff, many others rely on the venue’s stuff. 

In other instances, you might have to rent a sound system and a team of sound engineers. This ties directly into our first point regarding the budget. It’s always good to be able to spend extra money than what you were initially planning, just to be safe.

5. Logistics and Marketing

Now comes the really tricky part. If you prefer creativity rather than practicality, the word “logistics” might scare the hell out of you. Regardless, you’ll still need to get a few things done before the event itself.

First, book a date when it is convenient for you, the participants, the band, and so forth. Then set up the necessary marketing channels, such as social media events, hashtags, posts, posters, flyers, and so forth.

Set a timeline for the day of the gig, including when the performers and any staff need to arrive. You should include the security planning, stage planning, and so forth within the timeline. Also, take note to follow all the necessary health guidelines for events.

Finally, set up a ticketing process with a trusted vendor, authority, and so forth. There are many platforms where you can legally create tickets depending on categories and other factors. Alternatively, if your concert is small, you can just sell tickets at the door and be done with it.

Now you’re ready to promote your concert. Think carefully about your target audience and make sure to set the appropriate parameters when sponsoring a post on Facebook, Instagram, and other social media platforms.

Final Thoughts

If you follow the steps above, you should be able to undertake a small concert without many worries. Do keep in mind that we recommend having an entire team organize and plan everything, as doing it alone can be quite tedious, especially for beginners. With that said, we wish you the best of luck.