Gigs & business
Artist liaison
An artist liaison looks after performers on the day: meeting you, getting you accredited, showing you where the stage is, handling the rider, and making sure you are in the right place at the right time.
In practice
Get the liaison’s number in the advance and use it. They are employed to solve exactly the problem you are having.
Introduce yourself when you arrive rather than when something goes wrong, and tell them your actual constraints — the train you need to catch, the fact you have not eaten, that you would rather see the booth before your set. All of that is easy for them at four in the afternoon and hard at midnight. Treat them well: liaisons talk to bookers, they remember everyone, and they are frequently the person who becomes a booker themselves.
Their number
What to get in the advance
On arrival
When to introduce yourself
Everything
What they can actually fix
Where these come from: Festival and event production practice, not a catalog figure.
Why it matters
They are the single most useful person on a site and the one DJs most often fail to find. Almost every day-of problem — a missing pass, a taxi that has not arrived, a booth question, a change of stage time — is theirs to solve, and they solve it faster than anyone you could otherwise ask.
Getting their number in the advance is therefore worth more than any other contact detail. A promoter is busy running an event; a liaison is specifically employed to answer your call, and the difference at eleven at night is total.
Frequently asked
Who do I contact on the day of a festival?+
The artist liaison, not the promoter. They are employed specifically to handle artists and they will answer, which the person running the whole event may not.
What can an artist liaison help with?+
Accreditation, transport, the rider, finding the stage, changes to your time, and almost every other day-of problem. If they cannot fix it, they know who can.
Do club bookings have an artist liaison?+
Rarely as a job title, but there is always somebody doing it — a resident, a bar manager, the promoter’s partner. Ask in the advance who will actually be in the building.
Related terms
Accreditation
Accreditation is the pass system controlling who may go where on a site — laminates, wristbands and colour codes, each granting a defined set of areas. It is issued on arrival against a list submitted in advance.
Advance
Advancing a show is the exchange of practical information between artist and promoter in the days before it — times, equipment, travel, contacts. The document that results is usually called an advance sheet or day sheet.
Stage manager
A stage manager runs one stage: the running order, the changeovers, who is on it and when they get off. On the day, their word about timing is final regardless of what a contract says.
Green room
The green room is the space set aside for artists at a venue — somewhere to wait, store equipment, and be away from the floor before and after a set.
Explore: Planning a festival set · Accreditation · Advance · All DJ terms