Local concert organisers can do better

THE time is quarter to summer, so social and cultural events and concerts are in full swing. Besides the annual award ceremonies or end-of-year functions, I want us to focus on musical or entertainment concerts. It is always refreshing to see artists or event organisers doing the most in terms of stage design or inviting international acts to grace their stages, but they never get it quite right.

There is always a flop in one way or another, it’s really trying to see. As a media practitioner, I know where my confines are when I am at a concert, but if I cannot do my job right and you end up mistreating me in any way shape or form, then as an event organiser, you do not know the value of good communication and may need to hire a new communication team, but that’s a story for another day.

However as an ardent festival goer, my experience should be one you should value and appreciate.

People attend concerts because they enjoy belonging to a community with similar interests, indeed it is not only listening together but also the opportunity to discuss and critique among friends which makes the live music experience preferable to sitting at home with a recording or the radio.

We also want to have fun, but sometimes local show organisers make it hard. I mean, at first it was security, but now it seems like the Safety and Security Ministry is finally interested in protecting festival goers. So security is not that big of a deal anymore.

I just have a problem with the overall set-ups, programmes, and timing of performances, food and beverage services, as well as the lack of quality sound and unfriendly staff.

Event organisers should know that one key industry secret to a successful live music show is that it should be planned out to the very last detail. Many people think that the best live shows are the ones at which the artist goes ballistic and does their own thing, and that carefully planning a concert would suck the freedom out of the show. No, it is imperative to plan.

As the saying goes, “If you fail to plan, you plan to fail”.