40 Watt Club / Doug Fir Lounge / Monterey International

Episode #44: Whether it’s your first show or your dream venue, one of the most daunting tasks as a musician can be booking a gig. From the outside, it’s hard to know just how much planning goes into each concert. On this installment of our Music Industry 101 series, we talk to talent buyers and booking agents about what they do and how they do it. Booking agency Monterey International represents over 100 artists, from Van Morrison to Anais Mitchell. After agent Josh Brinkman offers his perspective as an artist representative, we hear from Velena Vego of legendary Athens venue the 40 Watt Club. She’s celebrating 25 years as the 40 Watt’s talent buyer. Then local tastemaker, Eric Gerber, talent buyer at Portland’s Doug Fir Lounge, gives us the nitty gritty details of what he expects from artists.