WHEN ARE YOU COMING TO MY AREA?

Often times people say “We’d love you to have you come sing next time you’re passing through our area.” But the truth is, I have a tendency to be a “weekend warrior” of sorts when it comes to my travel schedule. My ideal situation is to fly out on a Thursday, sing Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights. And, ideally, I also like to schedule Sunday morning at a Church somewhere. Then it’s back home on Monday.

Thus, I don’t have an extended touring schedule where I’m traveling by bus or airplane or both. With that model, artists sometimes stay out for weeks, if not months at a time. They work their way region-by-region across the country, so every couple years they really are passing through a particular area.

In my case, what most often happens is that a staff person at a Church or even a longtime listener extends an invitation for a specific date or weekend. Once on the calendar, that becomes an “anchor date” as it gives me the reason I’m headed that direction. If ”when you’re passing through our area” can turn into a possibility with some definition and a date on the calendar, then we can go to work. Once I’m actually headed somewhere I like to fill-in the days around that main booking. But remember, in this scenario any add-on date is dependent upon the anchor date remaining solidly in place without cancellation or rescheduling. It rarely happens and usually everything works out fine, but it’s a possibility .

These days, quite a few people are opting for a House Concert. In this situation, a person, a family, or several families, band together to commit to all of the necessities to get me in the area. These costs might include round-trip airfare, hotel/meals, transportation help, and an honorarium. Under those circumstances, the date becomes a solid ”anchor date”, not dependent on any other Concert Sponsor’s fortunes.

I hope that helps to explain why “when you’re in the area” is a little more elusive a concept than “Okay Bob, let’s schedule a date”.