1. Questions to ask the band before booking
Experience & reputation
- How long have you been performing together?
- How many private/corporate events do you perform each year?
- Have you performed events of this size and profile before?
- Can you provide 3–5 references from recent clients, preferably similar events?
- Can we see recent full-length live performance video, rather than promotional clips?
- Who are some of your recent corporate/private-event clients?
- Have you performed at major hotels, venues, galas, fundraisers, conferences, or similar events?
- Do you carry liability insurance?
For a high-profile event, I would put considerably more weight on recent live footage and references from comparable events than on social-media followers or a polished promotional video.
The actual musicians
Ask:
- Who exactly will be performing?
- Are the musicians shown in your promotional material the musicians who will perform at our event?
- Do you use substitute musicians?
- If a key musician becomes unavailable, who replaces them?
- Will the substitute be of comparable experience and ability?
- Does the contract identify the minimum number of musicians?
This is an important one. You don’t want to book an eight-piece band based on seeing eight excellent musicians and discover that the contract allows them to show up with six different people.
2. Ask specifically about their performance
Get very specific about what you expect.
- How many hours will you perform?
- How many sets?
- How long are the breaks?
- How long is the band actually playing versus being on break?
- Can we specify particular songs?
- How much control do we have over the setlist?
- Do you take requests?
- Do you provide a DJ between sets?
- Can you provide background music before, during breaks, and after the performance?
- Do you provide an MC?
- Can your vocalist make announcements?
- Can you learn a special song for our event?
- Can you accommodate a particular first dance, entrance, awards presentation, or finale?
I’d also ask:
“What happens if the event schedule runs late?”
And:
“If the event runs 30–60 minutes late, can you extend your performance, and what would that cost?”
Get the answer in writing.
3. Sound, lighting and production
This is one of the areas where misunderstandings can become expensive.
Ask exactly what is included:
Sound
- Do you provide the PA system?
- Is it appropriate for the size of the venue?
- Do you provide microphones?
- Wireless microphones?
- Microphones for speeches?
- Do you provide a sound engineer?
- Is the engineer with the band throughout the performance?
- Who handles sound checks?
Lighting
- Does your price include stage lighting?
- Dance-floor lighting?
- Special effects?
- LED lighting?
- Do you provide a lighting technician?
Stage
- Do you require a stage?
- What minimum stage dimensions do you require?
- How much electrical power do you need?
- Do you require dedicated circuits?
- How much setup space do you need?
Ask them to give you a technical rider.
For a significant event, I would attach that rider to the contract so there is no dispute later about who provides what.
4. Arrival and setup
This is another big one.
Ask:
- What time will you arrive?
- How long does setup take?
- How long does sound check take?
- When must the venue be accessible?
- How many people will arrive?
- How much equipment are you bringing?
- How much loading/unloading space do you require?
- Do you require parking?
- Do you require meals?
- Do you require a green room or dressing room?
Most importantly:
“What is your contingency plan if something goes wrong with your equipment?”
A professional band should have a meaningful answer.
5. Travel and expenses
Get all of this nailed down before signing.
Ask whether the quoted price includes:
- Travel
- Mileage
- Hotel
- Parking
- Meals
- Equipment transportation
- Setup/tear-down
- Sound engineer
- Lighting
- Overtime
- Additional musicians
- Special song preparation
You don’t want a $10,000 band turning into a $13,000 band because the agreement didn’t specify what was included.
6. The contract — pay particular attention here
I would not sign a band agreement until these areas are clearly addressed.
Payment
The agreement should specify:
Total fee: __________
Deposit: __________
Balance: __________
Payment dates: __________
Also determine:
- Is the deposit refundable?
- What happens if you cancel?
- What happens if the band cancels?
- Are credit-card fees involved?
- Are there additional fees?
- Is overtime charged by the hour or portion thereof?
Avoid vague language such as “additional charges may apply.”
7. Cancellation provisions
This is extremely important for a high-profile event.
The contract should clearly explain what happens if:
You cancel
For example:
- 180+ days before event — X% refund
- 90–179 days — X%
- 30–89 days — X%
- Less than 30 days — X%
The exact percentages are negotiable, but the schedule should be explicit.
The band cancels
This is even more important.
I would want language addressing:
If the band cancels for any reason other than a force majeure event, the band must refund all amounts paid by the client and make reasonable efforts to assist the client in securing a replacement band.
For a major event, I’d go further and ask:
“What happens if one of your principal performers becomes sick the morning of the event?”
The agreement should distinguish between one musician being unavailable and the entire band being unable to perform.
8. Force majeure
Make sure you understand the force-majeure clause.
It should address things such as:
- Severe weather
- Natural disasters
- Government restrictions
- Venue closure
- Transportation disruptions
- Power failures
- Acts of war/terrorism
- Other circumstances genuinely outside the parties’ control
But be careful with overly broad language.
For example, “illness” deserves attention. If one band member gets sick, does that allow the entire band to cancel?
You want to know the answer before the event.
9. Substitution clause
I would specifically ask for a provision stating something like:
No material substitution of the band’s personnel may be made without the client’s approval, except in an emergency, and any substitute must be reasonably comparable in experience and performance ability.
You don’t necessarily need approval over every musician, but you should have protection against the band materially changing after you’ve booked them.
10. Exclusivity / other performances
Ask:
“Are you performing another event immediately before or after ours?”
If your event is particularly important, you may want to know whether the band is:
- Performing somewhere else earlier that day
- Traveling several hours beforehand
- Performing another event immediately afterward
This isn’t necessarily a problem, but it can become one if they’re exhausted, delayed, or stuck in traffic.
For a high-profile event, I’d rather see the band arrive well ahead of schedule.
11. Insurance and liability
Ask for a certificate of insurance (COI) if your venue requires it.
Find out:
- Does the band carry general liability insurance?
- What are the coverage limits?
- Does the venue need to be named as an additional insured?
- Who is responsible for damage caused by the band’s equipment or personnel?
The venue may have its own requirements, so coordinate this with the venue’s event manager.
12. Music licensing
There is an important distinction here.
The band generally isn’t simply “licensing every song” themselves in the same way a streaming service does. Public performance licensing can involve performing-rights organizations and the venue/event organizer.
For your event, ask:
“Who is responsible for any music-performance licensing required for this event?”
And ask the venue what licenses it already maintains.
The U.S. Copyright Office recognizes musical works and sound recordings as separate copyright interests, so don’t assume that “we hired a band” automatically resolves every music-rights issue.
For a significant corporate or public event, I’d have the venue or event-production company confirm the licensing requirements in writing.
13. Recording, photography and social media
This is particularly important for a high-profile event.
Decide beforehand:
- Can the band be photographed?
- Can the event be videotaped?
- Can the band’s performance be recorded?
- Can the event be livestreamed?
- Can clips be posted to social media?
- Can the band use photographs/video of your event for its advertising?
- Can your company use footage of the band’s performance?
If there are celebrities, executives, sponsors, or confidential material involved, this becomes even more important.
You may want a provision stating that the band cannot use the event, attendees, logos, photographs, or video in promotional material without written permission.
14. Setlist and “do not play” list
I strongly recommend providing two lists:
Must play
Songs you definitely want.
Do not play
Songs that are inappropriate, overplayed, offensive, or simply don’t fit your audience.
Also specify:
- Desired musical style
- Approximate age/demographic of audience
- Dinner music
- Cocktail music
- Dance music
- Finale
A good band should be able to take that information and build an appropriate set.
15. References — ask the right question
Don’t just ask:
“Do you have references?”
Ask:
“Can you give me the contact information for three clients who hired you for events similar in size and importance to ours within the last 12 months?”
Then ask those clients:
- Did the band arrive on time?
- Did they perform as promised?
- Was the sound quality good?
- Were they professional with guests?
- Were there unexpected charges?
- Did they honor the contract?
- Would you hire them again?
- Was there anything you wish you’d known beforehand?
That last question can be particularly revealing.
16. Red flags
I’d slow down if you encounter any of these:
- 🚩 They won’t provide a written contract.
- 🚩 They won’t provide recent live performance footage.
- 🚩 They have no references from comparable events.
- 🚩 They are vague about who will actually perform.
- 🚩 The contract gives them broad rights to substitute musicians.
- 🚩 Cancellation terms are heavily one-sided.
- 🚩 Large “additional fees” aren’t defined.
- 🚩 They can’t explain their backup plan for equipment failure.
- 🚩 They don’t have appropriate liability insurance when the venue requires it.
- 🚩 They are difficult to communicate with before you’ve hired them.
That last one matters. The booking process itself is a preview of what working with them may be like.
17. For a high-profile event, I’d put these 10 items in writing
If I were creating the agreement, these would be my non-negotiables:
| Item | Should be clearly defined |
|---|---|
| Date & venue | Exact date, location and room |
| Performance | Start/end time, number and length of sets |
| Personnel | Number of musicians and substitution rules |
| Fee | Total price and everything included |
| Production | PA, microphones, lighting, engineer, etc. |
| Setup | Arrival, load-in and sound-check requirements |
| Overtime | Rate and authorization process |
| Cancellation | Both client’s and band’s cancellation obligations |
| Force majeure | Exactly what qualifies and what happens financially |
| Insurance/liability | Coverage and responsibility for damage/injury |
I’d also attach the setlist expectations, technical rider, event schedule and any special requirements as exhibits to the agreement.
One final recommendation
For an ordinary party, you can probably be relatively informal.
For a high-profile event, I would have the band agreement reviewed by your attorney or event-production counsel before signing—particularly if the event involves substantial money, corporate executives, celebrities, sponsors, recording/broadcasting, or reputational risk.
If you already have a band contract/proposal, you can upload it here. I can go through it clause by clause and identify the provisions I’d want clarified or negotiated, including cancellation, deposits, substitutions, overtime, force majeure, insurance, production requirements, and liability.