Festival Slot

What Is a Festival Slot?

A festival slot is a time slot at a music festival. Each artist gets a certain amount of time to perform. For example, 1pm to 2pm could be a festival slot for one band.

Festivals have many artists playing over several days. Each artist gets a slot. The slot tells them when they go on and when they must stop.

Slots can vary in length at the same festival. Usually headliners get the longest slot at the end of the day.

The slot also tells the artist where they perform for large festivals with multiple stages.

How To Get a Festival Slot

Getting booked for a festival slot starts with understanding how festivals build their lineups.

Most festivals work with a booking team or a head booker who curates the lineup.

Larger festivals typically go through agents, while smaller or independent festivals may be more accessible to direct submissions.

Festival planning starts early. Most festivals begin booking their lineups 6 to 12 months in advance, sometimes even longer for major events.

If you want to play a festival next summer, start reaching out in the fall or winter.

These are some of the things festival bookers are looking for:

• Fit. Every festival has a vision. Bookers look for artists who fit their genre, vibe, and audience.
• Draw. Draw is usually the most important factor beyond fit. But it is very hard to predict. Streaming numbers, social media presence, and recent releases can all help bookers predict how many fans will show up to see an artist.
• Festival Experience. Having festival experience helps. If you have played other festivals, mention that in your pitch. It shows you know how to handle a festival crowd and production.
• Agent Recommendation. Having the right agent can help. Many festivals rely on local agents to tell them about new artists with good draw. If you are looking for an agent to help you book festivals, ask about their festival relationships before you sign with them. As you grow, an agent becomes more valuable for accessing larger festivals that do not accept direct submissions.

How Much Time Should There Be Between Festival Slots?

Time between festival slots depends heavily on whether the festival has one stage or multiple stages.

With two or more stages, festivals can stagger performances. While one act performs on Stage A, the next act sets up on Stage B. This means they can always have a performance happening on at least one stage. And there can be ample setup time.

A multi-stage festival may have 45 minutes to an hour between performances on any given stage.

For a single-stage festival, it is more critical to keep music playing without breaks. They may not want to have 45 to 60 minutes go by without a performance. A single stage show may only have about 15 minutes between performances.

Backline equipment helps keep things efficient. If the festival provides amps, drums, keyboards, and other gear that multiple acts can share, there is significantly less load in and out between performances.

Each artist may only do a quick line check before starting their set instead of a soundcheck.

Single-stage festivals may also be dealing with solo artists. Fewer performers make changeovers far less challenging.