How to Find (and Vet) a Venue for Your Next Gig
Saying yes to the wrong venue costs more than an awkward night. Wrong crowd, no PA, a promoter who doesn't pay what they promised. Vetting a venue properly before you commit takes ten minutes and saves you from finding all of that out on the night instead.
- 1
Check it actually books your genre
A venue that's mostly acoustic singer-songwriters on a Tuesday isn't the room for your five-piece function band, and vice versa. Look at what's actually been on there recently, not just what the venue's own description claims to book.
- 2
Look at who else has played there
Bands roughly your size and genre already gigging a venue is the best signal that it's a real, working room, not a promoter's first attempt or a room that's about to stop doing live music altogether.
- 3
Ask the practical questions early
PA and backline provided or bring your own? Load-in access and parking? Curfew? Green room or nowhere to put your gear? Ask before you agree, not when you're stood outside with a van full of amps.
- 4
Get the money in writing
Fee, split, or door deal, whichever it is, get it confirmed in writing before the gig, not verbally agreed and hoped for on the night.
- 5
Use a real address and a real activity history
A venue's own website is often years out of date. Venue pages give every UK live music venue a real address, directions, and every upcoming gig actually booked there from bands' own diaries, so you can see at a glance whether a room is genuinely active before you reach out.
None of this needs to feel like an interrogation. Most venues will happily answer all of it in one message. The ones that dodge the questions are usually telling you something too.