Kalia wrote:
The way we book here is on a quarterly basis. The programmers (each venue has their own) request the available dates from callers and musicians partway through the previous quarter, and then assemble the next quarter's program from who's available. There's a sort of limbo period when you've sent out your dates to lots of different series, but don't yet know which ones are going to book you. Sometimes they all do, and you wind up with a quarter filled with insane 3-gig weekends. Sometimes none do. There's usually some flex, though, so if you find yourself overbooked on a given weekend you can often get the programmers to jiggle things around a little and rearrange the schedule.
I am very curious about how the programmers have decided to schedule in this way, Kalia. Did they get together and decide to do it this way, or did this just naturally happen? In the last few years, I have noted that it can be a real challenge to try and schedule gigs, since the time frame varies so significantly from dance to dance. A few dances, such as the Concord MA Scout House, follow the quarterly rule (with exceptions for traveling callers/bands from far away). But others seem to schedule up to a year (or more!) in advance. I would also enjoy knowing the thoughts of other callers on this subject.
Thanks! Linda
