Category Archives: Event planning tips

Venue Spotlight: Paradise Rock Club

Introducing our new blog series: Venue Spotlight – a featured where we will highlight popular spots to catch a great show in Massachusetts! Event planners, show promoters and touring bands pay attention to these as you may discover the next location for your event!
Credit: SoundofBoston.com

 Paradise Rock Club

Venue Breakdown
aka: The Paradise
Address:  967 Commonwealth Ave, Boston MA
Capacity: 933
[General Admission ]
Tickets / Show Schedule 

The Paradise Rock Club, formerly known as the Paradise Theater, opened on September 27th, 1977 . Its relatively small size is of mass appeal for top local rock, alternative and American bands in or visiting Boston.

Some say The Paradise experienced it’s “claim to fame” when U2 played their first Boston show there in 1981. It has consistently been a “first stop” in Boston for many foreign touring acts. Show goers always enjoy this cozy venue- with it’s full-length bar along the back, great visibility from all sides (one exception being the two metal pillars in the middle) – and the wide stage. The venue’s dimensions and overall energetic vibe offer an excellent, intimate experience for all music lovers.

Upcoming 2016 events include:

April 20th, 6pm : Journeys Presents Atlast Genius (w/ Skylar Grey, The Young Wild) – Tickets

April 22nd, 7pm: Good Charlotte (w/ Waterparks, Trophy Wives) – SOLD OUT

April 23rd, 8pm: Pink Talking Fish (w/ the Indobox) – Tickets

April 28th, 7pm: The Noise Presents NOFX + Special Guests – The Hepatitis Bathtub Tour – SOLD OUT

April 29th, 8pm: Elephant Revival (w/ Chadwick Stokes) – Tickets

May 4th, 7pm – The Darkness – Back to the USSA Tour (w/ RavenEye) – Tickets

College/University Concert Planning: Things to Consider

If you want to produce a major concert at a college or university, be prepared, as it will take a lot of time, patience and hard work. Concerts at schools come with a specific set of circumstances that are usually not seen when booking with ‘for profit’ venues.

To make all of your concert planning efforts worthwhile, be sure to review our list of ‘Things to consider” before you start:

* The first step of this process, is to determine a clear purpose for the event. Why should this concert take place?

  • To entertain the student body.
  • To raise awareness and/or money for a cause or community.
  • Teach event committee how to produce a concert.

Identifying the purpose of your event will help determine what act to book, how much money to spend, when/where it should happen, etc.

* Next, consider the goals of the event and the factors that will impact the planning process- such as:

  • Is the concert closed to students or open to the public?
  • Does the entertainment need to meet certain criteria (ie: genre- rock, comedy, hip hop) to ensure community interest?
  • Will this concert be free or will attendees need to purchase tickets?
  • What (if applicable) is the break even point? Does money NEED to be made?
  • Will the event appeal to all student demographics? If not, can adjustments be made so it will?

Event Planning Tips: Industry Keywords

 

If you are someone who hasn’t spent much time planning comedy, music or theatrical shows the process can be quite overwhelming. Don’t let industry lingo complicate your event planning experience! Take a look at our list of most commonly used terms and their definitions as they pertain to event planning, below:

Advance (in context: “I have to advance the rock show”): When someone affiliated with the act (usually a manager) calls to discuss event details such as arrival time, production requests, rider changes etc.

Backdrop– A large colored or painted cloth hung at the back of a stage to serve as a setting (theater) or background for the performance/event.

Backline Musical equipment requested/required by the hired performers. In most cases, a tour manager will provide an artist ‘Rider’ (see below for definition) which will indicate what musical equipment is needed. In most cases, production companies like us are able to fulfill those requests.

Bid – an offer of a price for  a service. Event planners often deal with many bids from potential vendors (providing the same service) and will usually pick the most budget-friendly price. Bergsten Music is frequently asked to provide/enter a bid when our services are being considered for a large scale event.

Break Even The point where revenue generated from ticket sales is equal to the amount of money spent producing the show.