Getting Involved in Your Local Music Scene: It's Easier Than You Think
by sam keeler
sam is the creator of half&half, a music blog heavily dedicated to local music. these tips are straight from a local music connoisseur herself, dig in!
Being involved in your city’s local music scene can be a great way to meet friends with similar interests, learn more about music, and of course have a good time. Going to small local shows may seem scary and daunting but once you make friends and more regularly attend shows, it is worth those first few awkward shows. Or maybe you won’t feel awkward at all and that’s just me. Either way here are some tips for becoming more involved in your local music scene:
Look for event flyers and posters in your city, big or small. Once you start looking, you’ll probably see these flyer everywhere…your favorite coffee spot, telephone poles, community bulletin boards.
If the flyer approach fails, Facebook is the best place for finding events. I can almost guarantee that every concert going on will have an event page on Facebook.
On that note, use Facebook to find artists in your area. After you find one or two you will start to find a bunch more. Follow the ones you like and you can stay updated when they play any shows.
Once you’ve found an artist you like—go support them! It’s rare that a band will ever play alone and they usually will have bands that open or play after them who have a relatively similar sound. You might end up finding some new favorites this way.
At the gigs it is ~so important~ to get out of your bubble and talk to the people around you. Make some new friends! Soon you’ll realize that most local music communities are not that big and once you talk to a few people you will start to recognize more and more faces when you are at a concert.
And after you start making friends, you will have new incite to what events are going on.
Another way to stay up to date with what is going on in the community is reading local magazines or blogs. Find the music section and see what artists everyone is talking about! Also- support these blogs and magazines, follow them on social media, interact online, you will learn a lot about what is going on this way.
If you really want to get involved in the industry side of things, there are many options for you. You can join the street team at your local venue, find internship opportunities at venues, get in touch with your local radio station, contribute to a blog…there are lots of ways to get your foot in the door.
Have any other advice? Leave us a comment below.
Sam Keeler, Author
Sam is a member of the Gold Hand Journalism Team
Tall, blonde, and slightly awkward, Sam is a creative currently taking a break from living in Portland to spend the summer in New York City. She’s fuelled by music, tater tots, dogs, girl power, and of course caffeine. You can probably find Sam taking photos of her latte art in a cute coffee shop or eating pad thai and binge watching any Shonda Rhymes show.
Instagram: @samkeeler
Averi Campbell, Graphics
Averi is our Creative Director and a member of the Gold Hand Creative Team
Averi Campbell is an art student, multi-musician, and all around music enthusiast. Any indie garage band or badass girl band puts her in a daze, and that sound has carried over into the music she creates herself. Music and art have played a huge role in her life and she is very fortunate to have encountered so many fearless and driven women, both in the arts and music industry, all which have impacted the woman and artist she is today.
Instagram: @avepcam
