Where Do I Load In? Introducing the New GigWest Venue Guide

A free, community-driven guide to live music venues across Western NSW, created by a working musician, for working musicians.

After more than 30 years of performing live music, I've learned that every venue is different. Some are an absolute breeze to set up in, while others can present a few unexpected challenges before you've even played your first note!

I've been thinking about creating something like this for quite a while now, and I've finally decided to do something about it.

I've launched the GigWest Venue Guide, a free online resource designed to help working musicians find practical information about live music venues throughout Western NSW.

You can check it out here:

https://venues.gigwest.com.au

The Things We Wish We'd Known Before Arriving

If you're a working musician, you'll know exactly what I'm talking about.

You've been booked to play at a venue you've never visited before. You know the address, you know what time you're starting, and you know roughly how long you'll be playing.

But what about everything else?

Where do you park to unload your equipment? Is there a loading entrance around the back? Are there stairs to negotiate? How far is it from your vehicle to the stage?

And once you've finally got your gear inside, how big is the performance area? Are there enough power outlets? Is there room for your PA and lighting? Can you use haze or smoke effects, or will you set off the fire alarms?

These might seem like little things, but when you're carrying guitars, speakers, lighting stands and cases of equipment, they can make an enormous difference.

A bit of local knowledge can save a musician a lot of time, frustration and unnecessary physical effort.

And that's where the idea for this guide came from.

Sharing What We Already Know

Most of us who regularly perform around the region have built up a fair bit of knowledge about the venues we play.

We know which entrance to use at a particular club, where the closest parking is, which venues have a raised stage, and which ones require a bit more planning when bringing in equipment.

But that information generally stays in our heads.

What if we could share it?

What if a musician heading to a venue for the first time could look it up beforehand and get a reasonably good idea of what to expect?

That's the whole idea behind the GigWest Venue Guide.

It's not intended to be a venue review website, a place to complain about venues, or a way of telling other musicians where they should or shouldn't play.

It's simply a practical resource to help us prepare for the job.

What Information Can You Find?

The guide is designed to build up useful, real-world information about live music venues, including:

• Parking and loading access: Where to park, the best entrance to use, loading areas, ramps, stairs and how far you might need to carry equipment.

• Stage and performance areas: Approximate dimensions, raised stages, ceiling clearance and the amount of space available for performers and equipment.

• Power and sound: Power outlet locations, available sound equipment, PA arrangements and any relevant sound restrictions.

• Lighting: Existing venue lighting, DMX facilities and whether haze or smoke effects are permitted.

• Other facilities: Dressing areas, toilets, storage, Wi-Fi and other useful details.

• Photos and tips: Images of performance areas, access points and helpful observations from musicians who have actually played there.

Some venues have more than one performance area, so the guide can account for those differences too.

The idea is to give you a better understanding of the venue before you arrive, rather than discovering everything while you're trying to set up.

Built by Musicians, for Musicians

One of the most important things about this project is that it relies on musicians sharing their knowledge.

I didn't want to build something that depended on venue managers registering accounts, filling out forms and continually maintaining their own information.

They're busy enough running their venues.

Instead, I wanted something that working musicians could contribute to themselves.

If you've played at a particular venue and know the best way to load in, where the power outlets are, or how much stage space is available, that knowledge could be incredibly useful to someone else.

And the more musicians who contribute, the more useful the guide becomes.

Whether you're a solo acoustic performer, a duo, a full band, a DJ or a production operator, there's information you can share that might help the next person walking through the door.

How Can You Contribute?

It's pretty straightforward.

Visit https://venues.gigwest.com.au and have a look through the venues listed.

If a venue you regularly play isn't there yet, you can contribute information to help get it added.

If a venue is already listed, you can help fill in missing details, suggest corrections, add useful photos or share practical tips from your experience.

You don't need to know every detail about a venue. Even something as simple as identifying the best loading entrance or confirming the location of the power outlets is worthwhile.

All public contributions and changes are reviewed before being published, helping to keep the information useful and accurate.

And if details change over time, the community can help keep those listings up to date.

Free to Use, Wherever You're Gigging

The GigWest Venue Guide is free to access, and you don't need to create an account just to browse the information.

It's designed with mobile phones in mind, because that's where most of us will probably use it.

You can also add the guide to your phone's home screen so it works much like an app, without needing to download anything from an app store.

There's also the ability to save venue information on your device for future reference.

Whether you're planning next weekend's gigs from home or checking a venue's access details before leaving, the idea is to have the information readily available.

It's Early Days, and That's Where You Come In

I want to make it clear that this is a new project, and there's still plenty of information to collect.

I'm not launching it with a complete database of every music venue across Western NSW. That will take time, and I certainly can't visit and document every venue myself.

But I can provide the platform, contribute my own knowledge and hopefully encourage other working musicians to do the same.

I've started with Western NSW because it's the area I know and work in, and where I believe this sort of practical resource could be particularly useful.

We have musicians travelling between towns every weekend, often covering considerable distances for gigs. Being able to prepare properly before arriving at an unfamiliar venue is a real advantage.

And when you think about it, there's no reason we shouldn't be sharing this sort of information with each other.

A Small Idea That Could Make a Big Difference

I've always believed there's value in musicians helping other musicians.

We're all out there doing much the same job, dealing with many of the same challenges and trying to put on the best performance we can.

If something I've learned from playing at a venue can make the next musician's experience a little easier, I'm more than happy to share it.

That's really what this project is about.

It's not complicated, it's not particularly glamorous, and it's certainly not going to change the music industry overnight.

But if it saves someone from carrying a heavy speaker up a flight of stairs when there was a perfectly good loading entrance around the back, then it's already served a purpose!

So, if you're a working musician performing at pubs, clubs and other regular live music venues throughout Western NSW, I'd love you to get involved.

Have a look around, add a venue, share something useful and help build a resource that we can all benefit from.

The more knowledge we share, the easier we make things for the next musician.

Visit the free GigWest Venue Guide:

https://venues.gigwest.com.au

Cheers,

Shane Kerr

Working musician and creator of GigWest