How To Find Your New Favourite Band – Part II – Locally

This part of the series looks at listening to and sharing music locally.

Whether you live in the middle of nowhere or the centre of a bustling city there is always a local music scene of some kinds.

It could be a band which play in a small village pub every week for free or a multi million selling artist who’s gig has been sold out for month, no matter what there is always music not far from your doorstep. Sometimes the hardest part is finding it, in this article I’ll try and make it easier for you in the future.

First things first you need to find out who is playing where. The easiest way to do this is to head down to your local independent record store which should be full of leaflets, flyers and posters advertising upcoming gigs and tour dates.

Head over the the local venues where you know bands and artist perform, there you will be able to find an extensive list of dates for the venue, and most probably other local spots too.

If you’re not lucky enough to have a record store nearby and venues are quite a distance away then try checking out independant clothes shops and local bars and café’s as they will often have just as much information available.

So you’ve got your flyers with who’s playing where, the hard part now is deciding who to go and see. Don’t just go and check out acts your familiar with, diversify.

Ask your friends, work colleagues, flat mates about some of the lesser known bands and artists, can they recommend anyone? Do they want to go and see anyone with you?

Check the latest music magazines, often they will have listings in the back which highlight some of major towns and cities in your area or country.

If you’re still struggling for inspiration on who to see then do some research online, don’t delve too deep, listen to a couple of songs or an album and make a judgement, follow your instincts.

If you want to play it safe then go and see a band you know but get there early and check out the support acts, often they will be local bands who need all the support they can get.

You don’t need spend much to see great acts. If all you’re after is checking out some of local bands then you will often be able to pick up tickets to see two or three acts in one night for as little as a fiver. Sometimes, if you’re lucky, there will be free gigs taking place just to showcase new and local band, don’t miss the opportunity to see bands for free, it doesn’t happen often.

Hopefully now you will have a good idea of some of the acts you want to see. Go check them out but don’t be disheartened if you weren’t a fan, chances are you didn’t pay too much to see them and still had a good night. If you were a fan then support the band by heading over to their merch table and checking out what they’ve got on sale.

The last thing to do is spread the word on any bands you were a fan of. There are loads of ways you can do this, whether it be word of mouth or online every little helps.

The next part of this guide will feature a special guest post from an industry insider, stay tuned for that next week.

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