Well, just as we predicted at our appearance at NACA Nationals in Denver, Covid would blow over in no time…

Ok maybe I was slightly majorly incorrect on that, but either way, there is a beautiful feeling in the air. Call it optimism, call it hope, but whatever you call it, recognize that is coming on as fast as the wave of fear and dread hit last March…The roaring twenties are coming.

Our phones have already started ringing again and live events are back on the menu!

Even though we are still awhile away from being back to normal normal, people are booking, and it’s time to start gearing up for a rocking fall.  Here are some tips from an artist’s perspective on what to expect this fall!

1. Expect artists to have tight availability, so BOOK EARLY.  Schools have pent up demand for live events, pent up funding for live events, and artists have a limited SUPPLY of time. Get on the phone early with your Neon agent to get the artists you want on the books, and try to find blocks to jump on, since we are expecting a lot of block booking this fall.
2. Check to see if your artist is fully vaccinated.   Both of us in I.N.K. are fully vaccinated, but not all artists have been yet. It may not matter on your campus if your artist of choice has been vaccinated, but at some schools it could be a point of consideration.
3. You may want to offer limited in person meet and greets for your artist.  If there are still artists or students that haven’t been vaccinated, it may be a good idea to give the artist an option to finish the show and slide out quickly, even if you generally have a meet and greet with the artist or your programming staff. We recently had a show out of state and they gave us this option and it was nice! We offered a virtual meet and greet that evening.
4. Communicate with the schools in your “booking block” to see what their timeline is on booking.  Knowing how the other schools are booking can let you know which schools to contact when you have an artist you are looking to book. Some schools may not be doing anything live, or they may have a tightened budget due to covid.
5. Get ready to have streaming options for your shows.  The “bell” of streaming and virtual events may not be “un-rung” for a while, and you may have students requesting a “virtual option” for your live events this fall.  As weird as it sounds, it’s become normal for a lot of people, and it may be pretty normal for people to request it.

That’s all for now! If you have any questions reach out to the team at Neon Entertainment. As with everything in this decade, information is changing very fast, so stay in touch with the experts to see your next move.

As for I.N.K. we’ve loved doing virtual shows this last year, and even got to do some outdoor and safely distanced events.  We’ll be a little sad that virtual events will be dying down, but we are so excited to get back to the face to face connections that we’ve missed out on, and to GET to travel. Maybe, if we are super lucky, we’ll get to see all the people we met at NACA Nationals in Denver, when we were still shaking hands!

See you soon on the road, in our home away from home.

-Your favorite college spoken word poetry duo, I.N.K.

Instagram-@inkspokenword

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For more info on these programs and more contact your Neon Entertainment agent at info@neon-entertaiment.com or 800-993-NEON (6366)!