How to Get Gigs at Restaurants (Phone, Walk-In and Email Scripts)

Who you're really pitching

A restaurant isn't hiring a musician. It's hiring a better night at the bar and a dining room that stays longer. The owner wants to know one thing: will you help them make money on a slow night? Everything in your pitch should answer that.

That also tells you what to leave out. Your bio, your original music, your goals, your resume and how badly you want to play there are not why an owner says yes.

Gatekeepers: get to the decision maker

The host, the server who answers the phone and the bartender are not the person who books you. They're the gatekeepers. Be kind to every one of them (bartenders will become your biggest advocates once you're in), but don't pitch them.

• Call in slow hours. 2 to 5 pm, or 10 to 11 am and earlier. Nobody listens to a pitch during the dinner rush.
• Ask for the decision maker like they're expecting you. "Hi, is [owner's first name] in today?" lands better than "Hi, I'm a musician and I was wondering..."
• If the owner isn't in, don't give your name. Say "OK, I'll try another time. When is [owner] usually in?" and call back then. Once they know your name, they can screen your calls.
• If the owner gets on, mention the person you spoke with first: "[Gatekeeper's name] said you'd be in this afternoon."
• Keep a log. Venue, who answered, the owner's name, when they're usually in, what happened. A simple spreadsheet works.

Build your restaurant pitch scripts

Fill in the boxes. You'll get a phone script, a walk-in script and a short email, all with your details in them.

Fill in the boxes above.

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Walking in: slow hours, real confidence

Popping in works, at the right time. Go between lunch and dinner, when the staff can breathe. Order something and tip, even if it's a soda. Ask for the owner or the booker by name if you have it. Stand like you've done this a hundred times, because the owner is reading you the way they'd read a new bartender.

Be ready to speak their language. If they ask what you charge, say your number plainly and be ready to explain what it covers: the PA, the drive, the setup, three hours of keeping a room going. Don't apologize for it.

The email: short, with reviews

The email is a follow-up, not a cold open. Send it after the call or the walk-in, to a person, while they still remember your face. Keep it short enough to read on a phone between tables.

Hi! My name is [Name] and I've been
playing guitar since I was nine. I'd
LOVE to play at your restaurant!!
Here's my bio, my Spotify (originals),
my EPK, and my rate sheet. Let me know
what you think!

Hi [Name], thanks for the time today.
Acoustic covers, 70s to today. I keep
rooms in their seats and ordering.
"[real review line]"
Video: [link]
Two Thursdays open: [date], [date].
Would either work?

Before you send anything, make sure an owner can find you. Can they see you on the web? Can they find you by searching your act name? Can they watch you doing the exact gig you're pitching? An MP3 of a studio track doesn't show them a dining room.

For more email versions, see the booking email template.

When the restaurant doesn't respond

"Venue not responding" is one of the most common complaints in musician forums. Players in forum threads say email is easier to ignore than the phone, and that calls start getting returned once a venue sees you're not going away.

Not going away is different from being a pest, though. Calling over and over and leaving messages, or emailing over and over, is how musicians get crossed off a list. A short follow-up on day 3, a call or walk-in during slow hours on day 10, one last note on day 30, then a line in your log and a date to try again next season. The timing and the words are in Follow-Up Email to a Venue.

Once you're in: how to stay booked

Getting the first date is the easy part. Restaurants cancel when things aren't perfect: a rainy night, a slow week, a new manager, a bartender who didn't like the music. Unless the place already has an established clientele, plan on it being short-term until you've proven yourself.

• Ask for two dates a month, not four. Weekly gets stale, and four dates a month at one room makes you look less in demand.
• Show up an hour early. Set up, learn the staff's names, and ask the tables closest to your speakers to tell you if it's too loud.
• Tip out the bartenders and shout them out. The owner usually isn't there at 9 pm. The bartender is, and they'll tell the owner how the night went.
• Play to the room, not to yourself. Keep it moving and keep it upbeat enough that people order another round.
• Ask for a review after a good night. Testimonials are what let you raise your rate later, and they go straight into your next pitch.

If an owner asks whether you have a following, don't promise a crowd. There's a straight answer for that in How to Get Gigs Without a Following.

Build your list before you call

Start with where other solo and duo acts in your area already play. Look at their websites and social pages for their calendars, write down every restaurant that books music, and put them in your log. Tag venues when you post photos and videos from your gigs, so the next owner sees you in a room like theirs. Then make the calls, a few each afternoon, in slow hours.

Made-up example Chris, a solo singer-guitarist, lists 20 restaurants that book acoustic acts. In week one he calls five a day between 2 and 4 pm. Eleven owners aren't in, so he gets their names and best times, and never leaves his own. He reaches six owners on the callback, sends six short emails the same day, and books two rooms at two Thursdays a month each.