11 Sep
2013
11 Sep
'13
8:57 p.m.
Kalia wrote:
The way we book here is on a quarterly basis. The
programmers (each
venue has their own) request the available dates from callers and
musicians partway through the previous quarter, and then assemble
the next quarter's program from who's available. There's a sort of
limbo period when you've sent out your dates to lots of different
series, but don't yet know which ones are going to book you.
Sometimes they all do, and you wind up with a quarter filled with
insane 3-gig weekends. Sometimes none do. There's usually some
flex, though, so if you find yourself overbooked on a given weekend
you can often get the programmers to jiggle things around a little
and rearrange the schedule.
I am very curious about how the programmers have decided to schedule
in this way, Kalia. Did they get together and decide to do it this
way, or did this just naturally happen? In the last few years, I have
noted that it can be a real challenge to try and schedule gigs, since
the time frame varies so significantly from dance to dance. A few
dances, such as the Concord MA Scout House, follow the quarterly rule
(with exceptions for traveling callers/bands from far away). But
others seem to schedule up to a year (or more!) in advance. I would
also enjoy knowing the thoughts of other callers on this subject.
Thanks! Linda