Every once-in-a-while we put on one-off shows with some big name acts. Ian Seigal, Michael Manring, Adrian Legg to name a few and in order not only to cover costs but to ensure a quiet, listening and respectful audience, we charge entry.
Tickets for these events usually go on sale at least two months beforehand yet the majority of people will wait until the last week before trying to purchase them and will inevitably find that there are none left.
For example, for Ian Seigal’s show here recently, at least twice as many people e-mailed and called the bar in the week leading up to the night as those that secured their tickets early and were able to attend.
What’s the answer? Buy yer tickets early! Problem solved. Our next big night is New Year’s Eve. The tremendous Jimmy C & The Blues Dragons will be playing all night long, we will provide a large selection of nibbles all night and a free glass of bubbly at midnight. If the last few NYEs are anything to go by, anyone trying to get in on the night without having bought a ticket will be sorely disappointed!
That’s told ya!

PLEASE NOTE WE ARE NOW SOLD OUT FOR THIS EVENT

It’s coming up to that time of year again and this year we’re extremely happy to announce one of our all time favorite bands:

Jimmy C & The Blues Dragons

Canadian born singer-guitarist Jimmy C learned his chops playing on the West Coast of America, from home-town Vancouver to San Francisco. Having moved to Japan in 1996 Jimmy eventually linked up with American singer Mississipi John L Watson and was persuaded to record with him in London in 1999.

These guys are some of the most entertaining musicians we’ve ever had!
Since we have been around Jimmy has become one of our staple performers and we’re sure that he and the band will make sure that our NYE party goes with a bang!
Tickets are £15 each and can be bought by clicking on the link below. Please note that this includes three sets from the band including NYE countdown, party food & accessories and a glass of bubbly at midnight. A bargain!

It’s been a busy couple of months at ‘Round Midnight, we have had some fantastic bands/performers and some very busy evenings. Thanks to all our new customers and also to the regulars for making such a great start to 2011!

After careful consideration and due to countless issues with late arrivals & cancellations, we have decided that we will no longer be offering a table reservation service on Friday and Saturday nights. Seating will be allocated on a strictly first come first served basis in order to make the night as fair and enjoyable for everyone as possible. If you wish to book a table any other night of the week please follow the usual steps on the contact page as normal.

Thank you for your understanding and see you soon!

Having said that, a local band thatʼs done a decent amount of promotion will add an extra 20/30 people to the bar and as a result, get booked here more often. I’ve been a professional musician for 10 years and Iʼve noticed that the bands that actively promote themselves are the ones that get the record deals, tours, management, etc. Unfairly or not, bands that rely solely on playing the gigs, rarely get far no matter how good they happen to be.
These tips certainly arenʼt a definitive A-Z of promotional tools but instead, just a couple of the really essential ideas that Iʼve picked up as a musician and, more importantly, as a bar owner and music promoter.

Whether the gig pays £600 or £60, promote it like it is the last gig youʼll ever do. Just because youʼre making no money from the show, doesnʼt mean that you donʼt want as many people watching as possible. A packed house almost always leads to something else whether that be an offer to play at someoneʼs wedding, a feature in the local paper or best case scenario, a record deal.

Always send the venue several good quality posters. The better the poster, the more passers by will stop and look at it. At least 30% of our weekly cliental come in because of the posters in our windows. Likewise sending the venue a bunch of fliers for them to stick around the bar beforehand works wonders. When people are in bars, they ALWAYS read whatever happens to be on their table.

Wherever youʼre playing, find out who the music editor of the local newspaper is and send him an e-mail asking for a feature or a mention youʼd be surprised how often they agree and even if they say no, youʼve only wasted a couple of minutes trying. The same thing goes for local radio stations.
If you can financially afford it, try not to do more than one gig a fortnight in the same area. Itʼs more important to play once to a full house that twice to two half full rooms.

Make sure you have a website,myspace page, youtube channel, Bebo account, Twitter, Facebook, etc, etc, etc…. Itʼs mostly free and is used for a reason – it works! Make sure you hand round a mailing list sheet during your gig. So many bands donʼt bother and I think theyʼre missing a trick. You canʼt expect every member of an audience (thatʼs been drinking) to remember your band name, website address and next gig location. Get their e-mail address and once a month/ week send out a band newsletter.

Have something to sell at the gigs. CDs are the obvious merch but thereʼs also t-shirts, lighters, plectrums, etc all with your logo on. Ordering these products in bulk may cost a bit initially but in the long term, youʼll make a profit. The classic example of a musician that promoted himself well is Moby.  Whilst everyone around him was busy doing as many gigs as possible, he supposedly spent his most of his time promoting, making contacts and focusing exclusively on special one-off shows. Not quite sure how he paid the rent at that time but it worked out ok.

Hope these help…!
Michael.

PS – One more thing… be weary of venues that insist on you bringing the entire crowd. It means that the “promoter” isnʼt doing his/ her job right.

We wanted to create a bit more user interactivity in the site, so we have sections where you can comment. Feel free to comment on up-coming gigs etc (and my ramblings!)

Also, we have recently been interviewed by TheBlueSoul.com about the venue and how it is going along so far. If you would like to check it out you can find the interview at http://www.thebluesoul.com/roundmidnight.html