If you are trying to make it in music today, it is likely that you're writing at least some of your own songs. This can be a daunting task considering the seemingly inexhaustible volumes of music in the world today. And yet, the hits just keep coming. (Granted not all the music you hear on the radio is created equally, but I digress.) So what can you do to make your songs the best they can possibly be? Let's chat.

As the days shorten and nights become longer, many cities across the US have found ways to lighten and lifts our spirits by embracing the magic of this time of year. Festivals, and events fill the streets and enrich our days and nights all over the country. Snow piled forests and frozen rivers offer a magical ambiance with winter recreational activities providing an added excitement.

While many are familiar with the iconic and beautiful holiday displays put on in New York City, between the traffic and tourists, it certainly wouldn’t be considered a winter wonderland-esk experience. So what are the cities and towns that can truly give you the breath taking and magical winter wonderland experience, combined with the holiday cheer and livelihood of shopping, event and festivals? To find out, Rocket Homes conducted a study to ranks the best places all over the US to experience a winter wonderland that also offer a variety of holiday festivals and events.

How do you become the best manager for a successful event? According to research, the most desired quality in prospective managers is a good personality. Surprisingly, an individual is more likely to be hired based on their character rather than their skill set. The specific personality traits that topped the list were drive, creativity, and open-mindedness.

So how can you take this knowledge to improve your event management skills? See the list below for a list of the top 5 qualities that make up a sussessful event manager.

I've been drawing from the time I was old enough to clutch a crayon in a pudgy hand. There was never a doubt about what I'd be when I grew up; my dreams were clear and well-defined.

As much time as you spend in your rehearsal space perfecting your sound, it won't mean anything if it's botched coming out of the PA. All the money you spent on new pedals, amps, guitars and strings doesn't matter if the mix is off in the club.The sound guy (or gal) is the most important component of your show that most bands don't really think about. He (going with he for this piece out of ease - and most are men) can break your set (few sound guys can actually MAKE your set if you suck).

Showcasing your work at art festivals, craft shows, or any other event is a great opportunity to gain exposure. So, the more you can do to make your booth customer-friendly, the greater chance you have of selling your work and gaining new potential customers. Here are a few tips that have worked well for me:

1. Label your pieces clearly

The first two questions customers tend to ask when viewing your work often involve medium and price.

Putting labels on each piece that state the title, size, medium and price will answer those questions before you even have a conversation with your customer, letting them quickly decide if they're interested in knowing more about your technique or purchasing your work. Remember, your booth is functioning partly as a store—you probably don't like to ask what everything costs when you go shopping, and neither do your customers.

People love a reason to get outside and celebrate and holidays provide a great reason to do just that. 

Like everything else in the music, booking needs to be approached like a business. The first step is gaining some understanding of who you're trying to contact. If you were a venue owner and your email inbox lit up with 20 booking emails every day, would you respond to everyone? Probably not. You'd only respond to the ones that stand out.

Do Some Research

Spamming every venue in town with the same pitch isn't going to do you much good. That's where a majority of amateur musicians make their mistake. They don't realize that talent buyers have seen it all and can pick out serious inquiries from punks with a computer.

The key to a serious inquiry is research. Before even considering where you would like to play, make a list of every venue at your disposal and learn as much as you can about them. What's the booking agent's name? What's the capacity? What does their upcoming calendar look like? If it appears that you’re not a good fit, don't waste your time reaching out. You only get one chance at a first impression, after all.

We here at FestivalNet received this call to action and wanted to share it with our community!

TogetherWell brings to you "Attuned: Communications Beyond Words" on World Mental Health Day, October 10th 2021.

What: A mental health awareness campaign to decrease stigma while marketing you as a performer and highlighting your support for mental health.

Why? To decrease stigma, create awareness of services, and support TogetherWell. 

When: World Mental Health Day, Oct. 10, 2021. All Day.

Where: Stream music live or on demand on your social media pages.

If you’re planning a music festival, you probably have a lot on your plate already. From booking the venue to approaching the right performers, you need to make sure everything goes perfectly. But unfortunately, none of this is enough to make your event a success unless you have the key component.

An effective promotion strategy.

The way you market your event is integral in determining whether your festival will be a hit. To sell tickets, you need to create enough hype to get your audience excited. But how do you go about generating excitement for upcoming events?

People often ask me for any tips and tricks when using the member's event search AKA "Pro Search." One awesome tool to put to use is the "event duration" menu, located in the "Include" box. 

Have you noticed when you search by "state" and "month", the first page or so of your search results are events that are "on-going" like markets and other monthly artisan shows that might take place all year or part of the year? 

Hot Works is a fine arts exhibit firm which has a great and friendly staff that works hard to make our Events fun and productive. From the artists, sponsors, vendors, restaurants, etc., everyone is treated with respect and appreciation; it is our goal to make this a pleasant experience for all. In addition, if you participate in our Events, know that you are dealing with true Event professionals!


Hot Works
Fine Art & Fine Craft Shows
Your Art. Our Passion.
An Awesome Line Up!


October 23 & 24, 2021 – 26^th Estero Fine Art Show

Outdoors, JetBlue Park, Fort Myers, FL
Winter home of Boston Red Sox

A home is the biggest investment most people will make in a lifetime, so it stands to reason that when they’re building, remodeling, or upgrading they want to see and touch the products they’re thinking about incorporating and find the right person to do the work.

Going to Home and Garden shows will give them the opportunity to explore several vendors at once, which makes it imperative that businesses nail it in terms of enticing and educating customers—and ensuring they’re chosen for the job. Here are some valuable strategies and practical tips you might want to consider at marketplace events.

At some point we all find ourselves standing in line. Never fun, but it feels better if it moves at a nice clip. The thing is, you can get the same effect by making the line appear to move quickly. Managing appearances means managing your customer’s perceptions. Here’s how:

Queue Management

• Be sure to have a line, not a crowd, standing in front of your service window. An orderly progression towards the service window gives customers a sense of calm.

Whether you play for tens of thousands of people every night as part of a world tour, or 20 people at a backyard barbeque, most of the mental anxieties musicians experience while playing live are the same. In almost every case the negative little voice in your head is centered around fear (fear of rejection, self doubt, etc.). We all have experienced some level of fear or nervousness when playing live at some time or another. You may have felt a fear of failure, fear of making mistakes, fear of what the audience will think of you, your music or your band. Have you ever asked yourself questions like:

• "What if I make mistakes?"
• "Am I even good enough to be playing on a stage?"
• "What if the crowd doesn't like the band, the music, or me?"
• "Is this show going to be a disaster?"