Guide
Beginners Guide
Running a show without the right files is a bit like running a soundcheck without power. You can try to make it work, but you’re setting yourself up for stress, delays and frustrated artists. If you are new to organising events or you’ve ever found yourself scrambling for last-minute details, digging through old emails or trying to guess what a band needs on stage, this guide is for you.
I’ve spent years on both sides of the stage: as an artist, as a sound and lighting tech, as an organiser, and now as a co-founder of Stage Portal working directly with small and mid-sized venues every day. I know exactly where things fall apart, where time is lost and what actually smooths out the experience for everyone involved.
Today, I’m going to walk you through the five files every event organiser should have ready before a show. These are the documents that decide whether a night runs smoothly or descends into unnecessary stress.
If you are running the event at your own venue, or another, this article will give you clarity and a practical system you can start using straight away.
Most gig-day problems don’t start on gig day. They start weeks earlier because the right information wasn’t captured, updated or shared.
Here’s what usually goes wrong:
These aren’t dramatic technical failures. They’re admin failures, and they cost event crews and venues hours they simply don’t have.
We experienced this time and time again, information being missing or the wrong info being sent due to venues, event crew or the artists being busy running from one thing to another. And when I started speaking to grassroots venues across the UK, almost all of them shared the same bottleneck: “We know how to run a great show. We’re just drowning in the admin and logistics.”
That’s why these five files matter. They’re the difference between running the night and firefighting the night.
The advance sheet is the backbone of gig communication. It’s the file that tells everyone involved what’s happening, when and who’s responsible.
A good advance sheet includes:
When this file is missing or vague, the entire event gets shaky.
Bands turn up to an empty venue with no idea where to go, bottle necks in communication because no one knows who the main contact is for the event and everyone wasting time having to relay the same information again and again.
This was one of the driving points for Stage Portal, we have built it so all of this key information is automatically in one place, allowing everyone to access the information they need at the point they need it.
This is the document that prevents 90 percent of avoidable gig issues, and is not just for the big artists. A clear, well constructed rider for a band of any level can improve the show so much.
A tech rider tells the venue:
Without it, venue or event crews spend the night improvising and improvisation is rarely fast or stress-free.
The biggest issue I see, apart from a non existent rider, is outdated riders. A band updates their setup, but the version the venue has received is from last year. In the past I have had a band turn up to play who had an additional four members, which meant we didnt have enough channels on the sound desk. All of this could have been avoided if the correct rider had been sent through.
With Stage Portal, artists can update the rider once and it automatically updates for every venue on their upcoming gigs or tours. That single change has saved some festivals and venues hours of unnecessary stress and troubleshooting.
If you want to reduce soundcheck stress dramatically, this is the file that is often over looked, especially for smaller shows but one to prioritise.
A stage plot shows:
This one diagram saves more time than almost any other document.
Especially for events with a number of bands playing, we would get people turning up to stage and saying, oh no, I stand over here. This leads to sound techs spending half the soundcheck rearranging microphones instead of tuning the room and making the band sound good.
If you want a guide on how to build a stage plot that will be loved by every tech you work with and a free template, check out our guide here.
This one is overlooked by new organisers, but it causes immediate friction when mishandled. Even if you are not providing food there is key information you need from the bands.
A hospitality and guest list sheet should include:
The classic mistake is having this information scattered across texts, emails and DMs. Then doors open, the person checking guests in has no info and everyone gets frustrated, with ‘but i’m with the band’ being repeated over and over.
Running venues have told me guest lists cause more confusion than nearly any other file simply because no one centralises the information. One venue we worked with had the lead event organiser being radioed constantly by security confirming if the person was actually part of the band, now they are using Stage Portal it automatically generates guest lists from the artist information and keeps them updated in real time.
Top tip, if you are not supplying food, for bands or artists traveling in from different towns or cities, including a list of nearby restaurants can be a life saver.
If the advance is the backbone of communication, the run sheet is the heartbeat of the night.
A run sheet includes:
If you’ve ever been part of a night that “just felt smooth”, it’s usually because the run sheet was tight and everyone followed it.
When venues don’t have one, or when everyone is following a different version, the night quickly becomes disjointed. We have had events in the past where the run sheets were stuck on the walls around the venue, but something changed and not all had been updated leading to confusion and stress from the crew and bands.
Stage Portal automatically has all of the run sheet details based on the event details. If something changes, it updates instantly and everyone sees the same information.
This one isn’t essential for running a show, but it’s essential for running a venue.
A simple inventory prevents:
Venues often rely on memory or handwritten lists, which isn’t scalable. With Stage Portal, equipment can be booked automatically based on the tech riders for that night, so nothing gets forgotten, double booked or misplaced.
Across all the venues I’ve spoken to and worked with, a few mistakes come up repeatedly:
These mistakes cost time, stress and reputation. If you rely on one person to hold all of the information and they are not there for setup or sound check, which easily happens then it is frustrating for the rest of the crew and bands to have to relay the information once again.
Small venues rarely have large teams, which makes standardisation even more important.
Stage Portal was built by people who run events, not by people who only analyse them. We know exactly where small venues lose time and how to fix it.
Stage Portal gives event organisers and venues:
Venues using Stage Portal have reported saving up to two hours per gig just from eliminating scattered information.
Having the right files ready isn’t just admin. It’s the foundation of a smooth night, a better experience for artists and a calmer experience for your team.
If you want to run more professional shows without increasing your workload, this is where you start.
You can try Stage Portal free for 30 days and see how much smoother your next show feels.
Start your free trial today at stageportal.gg
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