Booking your first show: DIY field guide w/ Brendan Morrow

By Joaquin Lewis

Local Music Journalist

San Marcos is home to a bubbling DIY music scene, where venues, such as Private Park, have developed themselves as cultural pillars. With this new landscape of venues allowing for the growth of this scene, there’s never been a better time than now to throw your own show. While booking, organizing, and promoting a show may feel mysterious and out of reach, this article aims to shed light on the entire process with the assistance of local booking talent Brendan Morrow.

What is Private Park?

Since its official opening in June 2020, the owners of Private Park have aimed to provide a space for “people of all ages to celebrate life together as privately or as publicly as they want.” Situated on an acre of secluded land just off the San Marcos square, this reservation-only venue is ideal for hosting movie nights, afternoon gatherings, and DIY music events.

Who is Brendan Morrow?

Brendan Morrow began booking shows in May of 2023 after attending countless DIY events at the west campus co-op houses in Austin, Texas. Inspired to bring this scene to San Marcos, Morrow organized a show for his birthday, leveraging his connections to bands from his videography and photography work. When the initial venue fell through, Hannah Baratang suggested Private Park, a then relatively unknown venue. “I was basically going in blind because not much was known about the logistics of using the space back then,” Marrow said.

Down below is a helpful step-by-step guide for how to throw your own DIY music show, with helpful tips and advice from Brendan Morrow!

1 – Developing a concept

When first putting together a show, it’s important to envision a concept. Whether it’s centered on a genre, a headline act, or your favorite artists, clarifying the concept of the show is always an important first step. When discussing the lineup for his first show, Morrow said, “The lineup was really interesting, and looking back, it’s pretty funny that none of them questioned the mix of genres when agreeing to play. I really didn’t want to limit the show to one type of music.”

2 – Finding a venue

After settling on a show concept, the next step is to contact potential venues to check on their availability for the date(s) you expect for your show. It’s advisable to begin planning one to two months prior to your event as venues and bands tend to get booked up in advance.

Pro-Tip: “Venues in San Marcos are starting to become super busy and booked up, so it might take even longer than that to find an opening,” said Morrow.

3 – Booking the event

Once you’ve confirmed the availability of a venue for your chosen date(s) and received interest from potential artists for the event, you can move forward with finalizing the show. By officially booking the venue, confirming with the artists in your event, and discussing any logistical information, you can consider your event booked! Regarding his own process, Morrow states that “these steps don’t always have to follow a set order, but there are some variables that might make it harder or easier for me depending on what I book first.”

4 – Promoting the event

Once your event has been successfully booked, the next crucial step is to promote it effectively. For DIY music shows, promotion often comes in the form of distributing flyers, using social media platforms, such as Instagram, and physically posting advertisements around town. It’s recommended to start promoting the event two to three weeks in advance, depending on the type of event.

Pro-Tip: Morrow states that when promoting an event, he typically will use “clips of the bands on the lineup, or my own videos if I’ve seen them before. I post on my photography page with a few flyers, memes, and the videos.”

5 – Throwing the event

Arriving before your event starts to handle set-up is crucial. This may include preparing any supplies and equipment, doing sound-checks with artists as they arrive before their set time, coordinating logistics and responsibilities with staff members, and more depending on your specific event. The owner of Private Park recommends you use a generator to access electricity for multiple appliances.

6 – Enjoying the event

As doors open, and people begin to trickle in, the final step in this process is to enjoy all the hard work you’ve put into booking, promoting, and throwing your awesome event! Morrow said, “No show will ever be perfect, but if you’re passionate about promoting bands you love and building a community around local music, it will always be a success.”

Parting thoughts

Throwing a DIY music event might seem overwhelming initially, especially without support or prior experience. However, the Austin and San Marcos DIY music scene is a community first and foremost. Morrow emphasizes the importance of reaching out to others who have organized DIY shows before, as they are likely willing to offer guidance and answer any questions you may have.

“I think the most important aspect of booking a show is that you have a personal passion for it,” said Morrow. “The whole point of doing shows in San Marcos is to build a community, so working together is the best thing you can do!”