How to Advance a Show: The Bandleader's Checklist
Most gigs that go wrong were losable weeks earlier. The PA turns out to be two powered tops on sticks, the load-in door is up a flight of stairs, the curfew is 22:30 rather than midnight, and nobody knew because nobody asked.
Advancing the show is the conversation that prevents all of it. Here is what to cover, when to do it, and what to send.
What Does It Mean to Advance a Show?
Section titled “What Does It Mean to Advance a Show?”Advancing a show means contacting the venue or promoter ahead of the date to confirm every logistical detail in writing — times, sound, access, hospitality, and contacts.
It is not a formality reserved for touring acts. A function band playing a hotel ballroom benefits as much as a support act at a 500-capacity club, and the checklist is largely the same.
The important thing is that it runs in both directions. The band sends what the venue needs to plan the stage. The venue confirms what it is actually providing. Advances fail when only one half happens — a band that emails a rider and hears nothing back has not advanced the show.
When Should You Advance a Gig?
Section titled “When Should You Advance a Gig?”Between two weeks and one week out for a normal club or function gig.
Earlier than a month and the details are still soft: engineers change, set times move, support acts get added. Later than a few days and there is no room left to fix whatever the advance uncovers. If the curfew is an hour earlier than assumed, a week is enough to cut two songs and a support slot; two days is not.
Festivals and support tours usually advance through a production manager on their own schedule. Follow theirs.
What You Send Versus What You Ask For
Section titled “What You Send Versus What You Ask For”The two halves are worth keeping separate, because they have different owners.
What the band sends. The technical rider, the stage plan, the input list or patchlist, and the hospitality rider. This is the band’s own paperwork and it should not change gig to gig — write it once, keep it current, send the same pack every time. The venue cannot plan a stage without knowing how many inputs the band needs and who stands where. Soundcheck prep covers what belongs in that pack in detail.
What the band asks for. Everything below. These are the answers only the venue has.
The Advance Checklist
Section titled “The Advance Checklist”Five sections. Get all of it in writing, and treat a verbal answer on the phone as something to confirm by email afterwards.
Schedule
Section titled “Schedule”| Field | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Load-in time | When gear can come into the building — often earlier than the band expects, and sometimes the only slot |
| Soundcheck time | Sound on stage before doors, if there is a soundcheck at all |
| Doors time | When the audience is let in, which caps how long soundcheck can overrun |
| Set times | Which act plays when, and for how long |
| Curfew | The hard stop for live music |
Curfew is the field most often left vague and the one most likely to cut a set short. A venue with a residential licence may stop music at 23:00 regardless of what the poster says. Confirm it as a time, not as “late”.
Sound and PA
Section titled “Sound and PA”| Field | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| PA responsibility | House, band, or hired — three genuinely different evenings |
| Backline provided | Drum kit, bass and guitar amps, keyboards |
| Stage power | How many outlets, and where they are |
| Tech rider received | Confirmation the venue actually has the rider, not just that it was sent |
“There is a PA” means nothing on its own. A house system with a resident engineer and a pair of powered speakers on sticks are both technically a PA. Ask which, and ask whether an engineer comes with it.
Backline matters most for fly dates and shared bills. If a drum kit is provided, find out whose it is and whether the drummer is expected to bring breakables.
Hospitality
Section titled “Hospitality”| Field | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Catering | Meals, drinks, and dietary requirements |
| Green room | Somewhere to put cases and get changed |
| Guest list spots | How many, and who to send names to |
Guest list is the one that causes friction on the night if it was never agreed. Get the number, and get the address to send the names to.
Parking and Access
Section titled “Parking and Access”| Field | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| Parking | Where, whether a permit is needed, and how long you can stay |
| Load-in access | Nearest door, and any stairs, lift, or ramp |
| Address notes | Anything awkward about finding or entering the building |
Load-in access is worth a specific question rather than a general one. “Ground floor, double doors off the side alley” and “up two flights, no lift” produce very different call times, and the second one is a reason to bring another pair of hands.
Contacts
Section titled “Contacts”| Field | Why it matters |
|---|---|
| On-site contact | Who to reach on the day — name, phone, email |
| Sound engineer | The venue’s engineer, if there is one |
A mobile number that will be answered on the day is worth more than the booker’s office email. The person who signed the contract is frequently not the person holding the keys at 16:00.
Turn the Answers Into a Day Sheet
Section titled “Turn the Answers Into a Day Sheet”An advance that lives in one person’s inbox has solved half the problem. The band still does not know what time to arrive.
The output of a good advance is a day sheet: one page with the address, the times, the parking, and the phone numbers, sent to everyone playing. It ends the ritual of four separate “what time are we on?” messages the morning of the gig.
In Gigmeister this is built in. Advance templates are reusable across gigs, the organiser fills in a shared link rather than a chain of emails, and the confirmed answers become a read-only day sheet you share as one link — the whole lineup, and the promoter, open it in a browser or print it, and the fee stays off it. The Backstage pillar covers how the calendar, shared inbox, and rider pack fit together, and function bands tend to lean on it hardest, since corporate and wedding work is almost entirely logistics.
What Goes Wrong When You Skip It
Section titled “What Goes Wrong When You Skip It”The failures are consistent and all of them are cheap to prevent:
- Arriving to a locked building because load-in was 15:00 and nobody confirmed it.
- A set cut short because curfew was earlier than assumed.
- Not enough inputs because the venue never received the patchlist and set up for a four-piece.
- No parking at a city-centre venue, so the van does a lap while the drummer unloads onto the pavement.
- Nobody to call when the side door is locked at 16:00 and the booker’s phone goes to voicemail.
None of these are unlucky. Each one is a question that was not asked.
Frequently Asked Questions
Section titled “Frequently Asked Questions”What does it mean to advance a show? Contacting the venue or promoter before the date to confirm every logistical detail in writing — times, sound, access, hospitality, and contacts — while sending the band’s own technical requirements in return.
When should you advance a gig? Two weeks to one week out for a normal club or function gig. Festivals and support tours advance on the production manager’s schedule.
Who is responsible for advancing the show? Whoever booked it — bandleader, manager, or tour manager. One named person on each side, rather than four band members separately messaging the promoter.
What is the difference between a rider and an advance? The rider is the document the band sends describing what it needs. The advance is the conversation confirming the venue can meet it, and establishing what the venue provides in return.
Do small gigs need advancing? A pub gig for a familiar landlord needs a text message confirming times. A first-time venue needs the full list. The cost of asking is five minutes; the cost of not asking turns up at 19:00 on the night.