One of the questions we get asked more and more is, “I’d love to put on a LOUD WOMEN event – how does it work?”
The short answer is that every collaboration is different.
Since LOUD WOMEN began in London in 2015, we’ve put on festivals, gigs and showcase events across the UK, Ireland, Germany, the USA, Canada, Japan and Australia. Along the way we’ve also collaborated with brilliant grassroots venues, independent promoters and festivals on one-off gigs, showcase stages and co-promoted events. Every city is different, every venue is different and every music scene is different, so there isn’t a single formula for making it work.
What there is, though, is a way of working that we’ve developed over more than a decade of putting on DIY music events.
This guide explains how we usually approach planning a LOUD WOMEN event. If you’re interested in collaborating with us, it’ll answer a lot of the questions we get asked before we’ve even had our first chat. If you’re not working with LOUD WOMEN, hopefully it’ll still give you some useful ideas for putting on your own grassroots event.
Ready? Let’s get started.
Step 1: Start with an idea
Every event starts with a conversation. Tell us about your idea, your local music scene and what you’d like to achieve. Maybe you’re thinking about a one-off gig, a festival or a regular series. Maybe you’ve promoted events before, maybe you haven’t. At this stage, you don’t need to have everything worked out. You just need an idea and the enthusiasm to make it happen.
A few good questions to ask yourself are:
- What sort of event do I want to put on?
- Who is it for?
- Why does my local scene need it?
- Who could I work with?
- Could this become something bigger in the future?
Step 2: Lock in the logistics
Once you’ve agreed the basic idea, it’s time to start putting some shape around it.
First, agree a date. If we’re collaborating, we’ll make sure it works with the wider LOUD WOMEN calendar and doesn’t clash with any nearby events. We’ll also look at whether there are any touring artists who could tie in with your event.
Next, choose your venue. Think about capacity, accessibility, transport links, backline, curfews and whether there are multiple spaces you could use. Be realistic – we’d always rather see a packed small room than an empty big one.
Now sketch out the day. Is it an evening gig or an all-day festival? What time will doors open? What time do you need to finish? How many bands can you comfortably fit into the running order?
Step 3: Set your budget
Now you know what sort of event you’re planning, it’s time to work out what it’s going to cost. If you’re the local organiser, you’ll usually be responsible for putting the budget together, but we’re always happy to help. It’s much easier to adjust your plans now than after you’ve announced the event.
Start by listing all of your likely costs. These might include:
- Venue hire
- Sound engineer
- Security or door staff
- Artist fees
- Hospitality
- Marketing and printing
- Equipment hire
- Insurance
- Contingency
Once you’ve got your costs, work backwards. How much will tickets cost? How many people do you realistically expect? What’s your break-even point? We always aim to pay artists fairly, so make sure your budget reflects that from the outset.
Here’s a very simple example budget. Every event will be different, but this should give you a starting point.
Venue capacity: 200
Target attendance: 120 (60%)
| Income | Calculation | Total |
|---|---|---|
| Advance tickets | 100 × 15 | 1,500 |
| Door tickets | 20 × 20 | 400 |
| Total income | 1,900 |
| Expenditure | Total |
|---|---|
| Venue hire | 250 |
| Sound engineer | 200 |
| Security | 100 |
| Marketing | 100 |
| Hospitality | 100 |
| Artist fees (10 bands @ $100) | 1,000 |
| Contingency | 100 |
| Total expenditure | 1,850 |
Projected surplus: 50
This is just an example, but the principle is always the same: build your budget before you announce the event.
It’s also worth looking into grants and sponsorship. Depending on where you are, there may be funding available from local councils, arts organisations or community foundations. If you’re collaborating with LOUD WOMEN, we’re happy to provide background information about our work to support relevant funding applications.
Step 4: Build an intersectional, inspiring lineup
This is the fun bit.
If it’s a LOUD WOMEN event, we’ll always be involved in the booking decisions. That’s not about gatekeeping – it’s about making sure every event reflects the values we’ve been building since 2015.
Our preferred approach is to combine an open call with invited artists. Open calls help us discover brilliant new bands, while invited artists help shape the lineup and attract audiences.
We’re looking for exciting, varied lineups guided by the principles of intersectional feminism. That means making a conscious effort to create opportunities for women and non-binary musicians, while also considering race, disability, neurodiversity, class and sexuality. Diversity doesn’t happen by accident.
We’re also looking for bands who want to be part of the community, not just play a gig. We read every application, and we’re interested in what artists do off stage as well as on it. Do you organise gigs? Support other bands? Champion your local scene? Those things matter.
Finally, we listen to people we trust. Our worldwide network of organisers, writers, photographers and musicians is constantly recommending artists who are not only great live, but are also positive, collaborative and generous with their time.
Great festivals don’t just have great bands – they build great communities.
Step 5: Create a team
No one puts on a great festival alone.
One of the best things about grassroots music is that people genuinely want to help. Don’t be afraid to ask. Every LOUD WOMEN event is powered by volunteers, and we’re constantly amazed by how many people are happy to roll their sleeves up and get involved.
Think about all the jobs that need doing, not just on the day but in the weeks leading up to the event. You might need stage managers, runners, merch sellers, photographers, videographers, social media volunteers, drivers, people to help load equipment, or someone creative to make signs and decorate the venue.
You’ll also need a street team. People who can put up posters, hand out flyers, share the event locally, contact community groups, local press and radio, and generally help spread the word. A handful of enthusiastic volunteers can make a huge difference.
Give people jobs they’re excited about, make sure they know what’s expected, and don’t forget to thank them afterwards. If people have a great experience volunteering, they’ll come back next time – and they’ll probably bring a friend.
Step 6: Build excitement
The moment your event is announced, the countdown begins.
Promotion isn’t just about selling tickets. Every LOUD WOMEN event is an opportunity to amplify the artists involved, well beyond the people who actually come through the door. Even if your event sells out, thousands – hopefully millions – more people can still discover those bands through your content.
Start promoting early and keep it consistent. Introduce the bands one by one, share their music and videos, tell people why you’re excited about them, and keep giving your audience reasons to come back.
Use every channel available to you. Social media is essential, but don’t stop there. List the event on local what’s-on websites, create a Facebook event, share it in relevant Facebook groups, put up posters, contact local press, blogs and radio stations, and encourage every band on the lineup to spread the word too.
If you’re collaborating with LOUD WOMEN, we’ll help promote the event through our website, mailing list and social media. We’ll usually ask to be added as collaborators on Instagram posts and as co-hosts on Facebook events, and where possible we’ll also pitch the event to local, national and international media, as well as radio. We’ll work with you to create engaging content that celebrates the artists and helps the event reach as many people as possible.
The event lasts a day. The content can keep introducing people to those artists for years afterwards.
Step 7: A day to be proud of
The big day is here.
If you’ve planned well, you should be able to spend less time firefighting and more time enjoying it. Make sure everyone knows their role, keep communication flowing, and have a plan B (and C) for the things that inevitably won’t go to plan.
Bands get stuck in traffic. People get ill. Amps blow up. Running orders change. That’s all part of live music. Stay calm, trust your team and solve one problem at a time. A good WhatsApp group is worth its weight in gold.
Most importantly, look after people. Make your artists feel welcome, support your volunteers, and create an atmosphere where everyone feels safe, included and excited to be there.
Remember, you’re not aiming for perfection. You’re creating an experience that people will want to come back to.
Step 8: Keep the momentum going
The festival doesn’t end when the last band leaves the stage.
Share photos and videos as soon as you can. Thank your bands, volunteers, venue and everyone who came along. Publish reviews, tag the artists, and keep talking about the event while people are still buzzing.
Take some time to look back too. What worked? What would you do differently next time? Ask your team for honest feedback while it’s still fresh.
Finally, keep championing the artists. If there were bands who were fantastic to work with, tell people. Recommend them to other promoters, festivals and venues. Share opportunities, make introductions and help them get their next gig. That’s how grassroots music scenes grow, and it’s how bands get their next big booking.
Every LOUD WOMEN event should leave your local scene stronger than it was before. If you’ve helped artists find new audiences, inspired someone to start a band, or encouraged someone else to put on a gig, you’ve done exactly what we set out to do.
Ready to get involved?
If you’ve read this far and found yourself thinking, “I’d love to do this,” we’d love to hear from you.
Whether you’ve got a fully formed festival plan or just the seed of an idea, get in touch and tell us about it. Tell us about your local music scene, the community you’re part of, and what you’d like to create. We’d much rather have a conversation early on than after you’ve already made all the decisions.
LOUD WOMEN has grown because people all over the world have stepped forward and said, “We need this where I live.” If that sounds like you, don’t wait for someone else to do it.
Drop us a line at info@loudwomen.org. We can’t wait to hear your ideas.