Booking Information for Agents and Performers

IMT has been presenting traditional music in Montgomery Country for 30 years. We present events in a range of venues, from weekly concerts in rooms with 150 to 240 seats, to our Next to the House concerts suitable for emerging performers new to the DC area, to special events and icon concerts in halls seating 500 to 1,000. We work with artists and agents to find the right venue for each performance.

IMT CONCERT SERIES & VENUES

Weekly Concerts

IMT presents its Weekly Concert series beginning in late September and running through late March. On the second and fourth Wednesdays of each month, the Weekly Concerts are usually held in the 154-seat auditorium of the Comunnity Center in Takoma Park, Maryland. In other weeks, the Weekly Concerts are held on Mondays in the 240-seat Fellowship Hall of Saint Mark Presbyterian Church in Rockville, Maryland. Occasionally, we present the weekly concert in a larger hall or on a weekend night.

For the weekly shows, performers usually need to draw an audience of 100 or more people to have a succesful show. Advance ticket prices start at $15 and are usually not higher than $25.

Special Events

IMT presents occasional special event concerts on weekend nights. The shows may take place in one of our regular venues, or we may use a larger venue of 300 to 500 seats.

Next to the House Concerts

For performers who may not be able to do a weekly concert, IMT started the "Next to the House" (NTTH) concert series in Takoma Park. The shows usually take place on weekends in a space that is provided to IMT without cost or at very low cost, and all or most of the ticket revenue is paid to the performers. IMT usually does not present more than one NTTH concert in a month.

While the NTTH shows are somewhat like house concerts, they have the same professional sound and receive the same publicity support as IMT's Weekly Concerts. They take place in public spaces, not private homes, and have advance and door tickets sales. But like a house concert, they are low-cost shows, so they can be a good venue for a performer that does not have an established following in the DC area.

Ticket prices are $12 to $18. Depending on the performer's expectations, an audience of 30 to 40 people can make a succesful show. IMT does not provide a guaranty or housing for these shows. (We can help find housing.) The NTTH shows usually take place the weekend before the second and fourth Wednesdays of the month

Harp Concerts

IMT presents a series of concerts dedicated to traditional and contemporary harp music. The concerts are usually held on Saturday or Sunday nights in Takoma Park. The Washington Area Folk Harp Society sponsers the shows, and WAFHS members receive a discount on ticket purchases.

Workshops

IMT occasionally presents workshops. Workshop instructors are performers of note who are generally considered masters of their style and instrument, and should be able to attract 10 to 15 students at ticket prices starting at $35 per person. Workshops may be associated with an IMT show, but do not have to be. Workshops get the best attendance if scheduled on a Saturday or Sunday.

Monthly Family Concert Series

Beginning in fall 2011, IMT presents its monthly family concert, the Family AWESOME Concert Experience, in the 154-seat auditorium at the Takoma Park Community Center. The shows take place on the first Saturday of the month, with two one-hour shows each afternoon. Tickets are usually $10. Bookings for the family concert series are by invitation.

IMT CONCERT SUPPORT

Sound

IMT's Weekly, Next to the House and Kids Concerts series include professionally produced sound by engineers experienced with acoustic music. Performers will need to submit a sound specification and stage plot at least two weeks before the show.

Marketing & Publicity

All of IMT's activities are supported by a professional publicist and are also promoted through IMT's website and mailing list. IMT will work with performers or their publicists to get coverage by local newspapers and magazines and to get radio airtime for the performer's music and, if possible, to arrange on-air radio interviews.

Performers are expected to provide IMT with promotional materials:

• Band descriptions.
• Performer biographies.
• CDs.
• Digital copies of print-quality photographs. Photos should be color, at least 300 dpi resolution and approximately 1,800 by 2,400 pixels (for portrait orientation). Photos should be provided in both portrait and landscape orientation. To get the photos published in a newspaper,we also need the photo credit (the name of the person who took the photo) and the names of the people in the photo, from left to right, if it isn't obvious who they are.
• Performers should have a well-maintained and up-to-date website in addition to any social media sites they may use.

We generally need to book shows at least two months in advance to meet promotion deadlines, and prefer to book weekly shows well in advance so that they can be included in our season's advance promotion.

IMT performing artists, managers and agents: Please feel free to contact the IMT publicist, Ruthie Logsdon, directly for media lists and media questions. Email: ruthielogsdon@verizon.net. Phone: 301 270-9113.

Video

IMT has an all-volunteer video crew that can shoot and edit three-camera video of our shows, using the audio from our board mix, to produce high-guality clips that artists can use for promotion.

BOOKING SUBMISSIONS

If you are interested in discussing a booking, please send information to:

booking@imtfolk.org

In addition to information about the performer, please include links to:

• the performer's website,
• a location where we can listen to their music, and
• video of live performances.

Be sure to tell us what kind of IMT event you are interesed in and when the performer will be available for a show.

Please provide information about the location and attendance for past performances in the DC area. If you are introducing us to an artist who is new to IMT or the DC area, it is critical that you provide some general performance history (venues, attendance, ticket prices).

Please also tell us about other venues the performer will appear at around the date of any proposed IMT show. Note that IMT usually requires that performers not book shows within sixty miles of the IMT venue for 60 days before or after an IMT show.

Review the Calendar page to see what dates are already booked.

If sending a physical press kit, post it to:

Institute of Musical Traditions
P.O.Box 5930
Takoma Park, MD 20913

Submissions by email will generally be looked at sooner than mailed submissions.

Submissions should be for music that fits within the range that IMT's established audience expects in a IMT show. Consult the Past Shows pages to see range of shows that IMT has presented.

IMT cannot guaranty that all submissions will be reviewed.