It’s never too early to start planning for the holidays—especially if you’re a gigging musician! In the latest episode of Profitable Musician’s “Christmas In July Part 1,” host Bree Noble and co-host Cayla deliver a treasure trove of actionable advice for booking holiday gigs and getting organized months in advance.
Get a Head Start on Holiday Bookings
Bree kicks things off by emphasizing the importance of planning holiday events well before December. “If you don’t start thinking about them now in July,” she warns, “when you get closer, you’re not going to have enough time. People will have already booked out their entertainment and you won’t have enough time to get those releases ready.” The golden rule: Start reaching out to potential venues and clients as early as July and August.
Where to Book Holiday Gigs
The episode is packed with practical ideas for venues and event types that are especially active during the holidays. Some top suggestions include:
– Churches and Cathedrals: “A lot of times they have a lot of special events for Christmas…you could connect with and see if they’re looking for a soloist or an open something like that.”
– Women’s Clubs and Community Groups: Bree’s calendar used to be “filled with those…my Tuesdays, Wednesdays, Thursdays would be full of this kind of stuff.”
– Senior Centers and Long-Term Care Homes: Don’t forget to follow up with places you’ve played before.
– Outdoor Events, Festivals, and Malls: “A lot of times these are on weekends, like Friday, Saturday…sometimes you’re like, maybe thinking, well, this community event, they’re going to pay me 50 bucks and some food…but even if I was performing there for free, I would get so much free publicity.”
– Restaurants, Hotels, and Resorts: “They treated you really great, they paid you really well, and you just like, interact with the guests and stuff and sing carols.”
– Libraries, Schools, Universities, and Corporate Events: “Pretty much every company does something for the holidays.”
Leverage Your Network
Don’t overlook your own contacts—friends, family, and local business owners might want live entertainment at their holiday parties. “They may have not thought, oh, how cool would it be to have someone come and sing Christmas carols…if you mention it to them, oh my gosh, how cool would that be? That’d make my party better than ever.”
Be Organized and Professional
Bree encourages musicians to have their program and pricing ready: “You want to map out a complete program depending on the different time limits…have a price list. If my program is this long, it’s this price. If my program is this long, it’s this price.” She also stresses the importance of securing key dates with a deposit and a contract, especially for those prime holiday weekends: “Holiday dates are in high demand…for the weekends, I highly recommend that you get a deposit because you want, you are giving me this deposit to hold the date because I have other people that might want to book me for that day.”
Set Yourself Up for an Annual Success
Lastly, Bree shares inspiration from the community: “One of our academy, longtime Academy members, Catherine Mahler. She does an annual Christmas concert…like the people in town know and they…specifically plan to come to that every year.”
Key Takeaway: Don’t Procrastinate!
If you want a packed performance schedule this holiday season, start making your lists, reaching out, and planning your programs now. Early birds get the best gigs—and set themselves up for annual traditions that fans will look forward to year after year.
To hear more tips on planning holiday music releases, tune in to the next episode!
