How to Choose an Artist for Your Event

The most expensive artist available is not automatically the right one. The right one is whoever your specific audience responds to, in the slot you have, on the stage you can build.

Start with the audience, not the artist

A mixed-age wedding crowd, a corporate audience of 800 employees and a private party of forty want very different things. Ask what proportion of the room knows the artist’s repertoire. Recognition drives participation more than technical brilliance does.

Match the act to the slot

• Opening slot — high energy, familiar, short
• Mid-evening — the headline set, when the room is fullest
• Late — a DJ handover that carries the floor without a reset in energy
• Ambient and roving acts — best during dining or arrival, not competing with a stage

Check the technical rider before you commit

A rider lists sound, backline, monitoring, power and stage requirements. If your venue cannot meet it, either the production budget rises or the performance suffers. This is the single most common cause of a disappointing set, and it is entirely avoidable.

Questions worth asking

1. 01What is the standard set length, and is it flexible?
2. 02What does the fee include — travel, stay, backline, sound?
3. 03Do they carry their own sound engineer?
4. 04What are the sound-check requirements and timing?
5. 05What are the cancellation and replacement terms?
6. 06For corporate audiences: are they briefed on content and language boundaries?

A note on prices

Be sceptical of published artist price lists. Fees move with date, city, travel and demand, and a number from last season is usually wrong. Ask for current quotes against your actual date.

Share your date, city, category and budget range and our artist management team will come back with matched options.