Time for Wimbledon, Henley Regatta and Alfresco entertaining
Time for Wimbledon, Henley Regatta and Alfresco entertaining
Live music can really make an event come to life, and this is never truer then in the case of events that are held outside. There is nothing better then listening to excellent music in a beautiful setting. However, although to the causal observer it may all seem to come together easily, any organizer will tell you that their careful planning leads to a successful event! The secret is in the preparation.
Here are 10 tips to ensure your event is a great success.
1. Think about the location of the musicians. Sound travels very differently in enclosed and open spaces. For example place musicians by a wall will sound a lot better then placing them in the middle of an open field because there is a surface to reflect the sound waves back. Also make sure the musicians are not positioned in a place where they will get in the way or be blocking an emergency exit!
2 Let the musicians have a break- Although musicians might be playing for three hours; they will have travelled to the venue; set up and had sound checks, all before they start playing. This is all hungry work, and like anyone else, they will perform better if they have breaks. It is normal to perform 45 minute sets' and then to take a break. Recorded music could be played through sound systems to maintain the continuity of music.
3 Put up some sort of cover for the musicians- Some instruments: string instruments in particular can be damaged by direct sunlight and even the best musicians in the world will struggle to perform well under these conditions. It is important to place musicians in either a shady area or to have a gazebo for them to perform in.
4 Provide power at the location you wish musicians to perform at - this one might seem obvious but it is always a good idea to make sure you check because it can be a really nightmare if it turns out to be a problem on the day. Also make sure that if there are wires, they are covered in case of rain and out the way so people will not trip on them.
5 Have a secure place for the musicians' personal belongings- whilst musicians are performing, they need to store personal belongings and their instrument cases. It looks awful if bags and cases are on the stage, so ensure you provide a safe place for these.
6 Plan for all weathers - It is beautiful having music outside in lovely surroundings, but always prepare for the rain, no matter what the proceeding weeks weather is like. It can come at a moments notice and can ruin you day if you don't properly plan for it. Have a room in side that is free for guests to go in to if it starts to rain, preparing for little things like this can really help ensure you are cover for all circumstances.
7 Consider the surface the musicians will be playing on- the best idea is to put up some sort of stage or temporary flooring. The last thing you want is a musicians' chair slowly sinking into the muddy ground as they play. You may not have to put down any kind of stage (the conditions might be perfect for you to play on grass) but again considering issues like these means that you are in a better position should something go wrong.
8 Feeding your musicians as mentioned before, the musicians will be travelling, setting up, doing sound checks before the performance. This is all hard work, and providing food and light drinks is always gratefully received. No one works well when they are hungry. Don't feed musicians at your peril; we heard of a string player that played at the Grove in Hertfordshire, at a celebrity wedding. He wasn't fed, so made his own tuna salad; opening a tin of tuna at the reception. This caused the guests to complain about the smell.
9 Make pre event check lists - make check lists and go through them. For example make a check list for the month the week and the night before the event so you can make sure everything is in order. A list for a month before the event might include things such as checking contracts and equipment (for safety issues i.e. PAT tests). For a Week before the event, a list might include making sure people know where to be and when. For a day before the event a list might include checking equipment (to make sure it works). Again all these things help to get you to start thinking of issues that might arise and plan for them in advance.
10 Always have a back up plan- The most important thing to remember is that you should always prepare for the unexpected. No matter how well you plan your event you will be surprised at what can wrong, and over preparation that is unneeded is a lot better the having no contingency plan when it is needed.
This is by no means an all inclusive list of factors to consider but it is a good start. Hopefully it gets your mind thinking about what could go wrong, so you can put things in place deal with theses issues. The difference better a great live show and a terrible one isn't that one has no mistakes or upsets and the other does; it's that one has more preparation put into it. By planning for the worse possible outcome you will be covered for whatever might happen. If you have any other tips then please feel free to send them to us so we can put them put here.
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