• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Gigging Bassists - How is Summer 24' stacking up?

#41
My main band that I joined after moving to the Gulf Coast is gigging less this year. I am leaving to join a 30 year old band that gigs a decent amount and doing sub gigs with whomever.

The band lead from the aforementioned first band canceled a gig due to no rehearsal at one of our favorite places to play… yet, we performed at another venue that same week. I’m done with the petty nonsense. Too much money to be made / fun to be had!
 
#42
We’re booked through end of year and actively booking 2025. We just lost our 3rd drummer in 3 years through no fault of the band, we’re on good terms with all of them…looking for #4…so most of the summer will be with subs which means we actually have rehearsals and auditions. :rollno:
 
#43
Within the last couple of months I got a lot of requests for this summer - 5 full or partial runs of shows: Memphis, My Fair Lady, Spamalot, Summer Equity Showcase, and another one that escapes me right at the moment. Unfortunately, I couldn’t take any of them due to travel and/or commitments.
 
#44
Around here, a half way decent cover band can be pretty busy if they don't care too much about the pay. We have more gigs played or on the books than last year and our fall is still pretty open, so we'll get quite a few more I'm sure. We've had to turn down gigs the past couple months since none of us want every weekend committed.
 
  • Like
Reactions: WI Short Scaler
#47
2024 is certainly stronger than the past 3 years for me. I'm gigging in 3 originals bands and have 28 dates on the calendar so far and would expect another 4-6 of those by Dec. I've also done 5 sub dates thru June and would expect to have another handful of those before end of year. Not gigging, but I have a reasonably busy session calendar for this year too.

Given that I aim for 2-4 gigs/month, I'm pretty much right where I want to be, and doing much better than '22 and '23 when I had as few as 12 booked gigs.

Of course, this is way off the pre-covid pace when I was doing 50+ dates. Bands dissolving during covid, and just some normal musician/band stuff happened for me in 2020. One really busy steady band fell apart just from exhaustion.
 
#49
Feels slow to me.

My gig is a "two weekends" a month band - and looking at the calendar, we are pretty much booked two weekends every month for the next few months.
I think the past fall and winter we were more like 2.5 - 3 gigs a month, so now it feels slow.

Anyway, got some HOT ones coming up in July and August... and by that I mean playing outside in Houston, TX.
 
#52
We have a busy summer booked. 30+ gigs, our guitar player always wants to do more but this is plenty for me. So far the weather has not been our friend. We have only had one gig with no rain. We haven’t been rained out yet but it has been a pain and we have been moved indoors a couple times. Once again this Saturday we have a great gig but heavy rain and wind will likely force us under cover to an alternate stage. We’re getting paid better for a lot of the gigs and have a few private parties in the mix. We’re not getting rich but we are always pushing to raise the bar, it’s good for all of us. If only everyone would do that.
 
  • Like
Reactions: WI Short Scaler
#53
I’ve had three different gigs in three different parts of the state over three weeks get cancelled due to flooding. June is officially a dud. Hoping things improve and our packed schedule is unaffected July though October!

IMG_1855.jpeg
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: portpc and WI Short Scaler
#56
portpc said:
Just curious how others are finding business -

My variety trio is heavily booked thru September. It's busier than Summer 2023. Civic events - Tiki Bars - Wineries for the most part.

Private parties however are down a good %. My conclusion is that inflation is eating into folks disposable income & while they may have a big bash over the summer it will be more cost effective using their "nephew the DJ" or some other entertainment source.

I'm on the North Shore of Long Island close to Wine Country & the Hamptons. How are things shaping up in your neck of the woods?
Is you schedule affected by inflation?..
Click to expand...
My main band is based out of Northern New Jersey and we gig from Westchester County NY to the NJ shore. Our calendar was a lot lighter than I expected at the start of the summer. But things have been trickling in and we’re hitting between 10-12 gigs a month for the summer. Plus I’ve been booking a few fill in gigs here and there with some other bands on drums.

I’m actually finding the % of private party gigs the main band is getting has been going up. But then again, before I joined 10 months ago the band made a conscious decision to drop a lot of the lower paying bar gigs and try to fill them with better paying private events. The quantity isn’t there yet but the pay quality has definitely improved for me from last year.
 
  • Like
Reactions: portpc
#57
Bookings have been pretty stable since the bounce-back post pandemic. I've actually been trying to slow it down, and be more selective about what gigs we accept. Demand is still high, but I'd like to keep us at about 4-6 per month.

We celebrate our 10th anniversary in November. 3 piece, classic rock covers plus originals.
 
  • Like
Reactions: portpc and matt_s
#60
This summer has been great for gigs so far. I had 9 gigs in May, 15 booked in June, 9 gigs booked for July, and 7 in August so far. I play in a few different groups on electric and upright, and sometimes run sound for gigs or weddings. Tonight's was a park gig on electric. We played a mix of Brazilian, jazz and originals. I got to play melody on Three Views of a Secret. We closed with Stratus! It was a great night!
 
  • Like
Reactions: portpc and Pocket Dave

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back