In Conversation With : Varun Govil
We catch up with Leeds based promoter Varun Govil where he gives tips on putting on shows, finding new artists, and shares his knowledge of Leeds nightlife.
What’s your role at Super Friendz?
I’m a promoter which in short means I book gigs in Leeds. In more words than that, I try to give venues we work with calendars filled with cool, exciting nights, concept new live music events, and then find ways to get the shows as busy as possible. I largely work with venues like Belgrave Music Hall, Headrow House, and the somewhat newly opened Project House.
Tell us a bit more about Super Friendz - who are they and what do they do?
According to our website: “Super Friendz are a Leeds based team of music promoters, event producers, marketers, content creators and designers helping create and deliver memorable experiences, spaces and brands. As well as programming their own calendar of cultural events across the region, Super Friendz also provide events, marketing and branding expertise to a number of clients in the cultural, hospitality and corporate sectors.”
In short, we do marketing, events, and branding! Got a great team of bookers, designers, reps, marketers, and social media experts amongst others
How did you first get involved in promoting shows?
Over lockdown, me and two of my friends started a music and arts blog, DRABmag. The initial motives were partly to give us something to fill our time with but also because we felt no one was really focusing on all the really good music coming out of Leeds. We covered loads of new punk and weirdo music coming out at the time and as lockdown started to ease, a band we’d covered (Beige Banquet) messaged us asking if we knew anyone who promoted gigs in Leeds. With maybe a bit too much hubris, we said we could do it and it turned out we could - managed to sell out our first night and really loved doing it.
A couple of us, me included, had been playing in bands for a while so we knew what we liked from promoters and going to gigs, and more importantly what we didn't, which helped a lot. Meant we could try and make sure everyone from the band to the punters to the venue all got a good night. From there, I stumbled around a few industry jobs that I got thanks to various funding pots including Youth Music and the now defunct kickstart scheme until I saw Super Friendz were looking to take on someone and they took a chance on me
Did you go to university and if so, what did you study - was it helpful? If not, what did you do instead?
Yeah I came to Leeds for University to study music (Popular Music specifically) at Leeds College Of Music, now Leeds Conservatoire. I knew I wanted to work in music - though originally I wanted to be a performer, I don’t think I’d really understood you could get a salaried job in the music industry. I still play in bands and do other things outside of my day job which the things I learn in uni help with but I don’t think I really learned anything about promoting or gigs during my course.
What I most wanted to get out of Uni though, and what still helps me to this day, is being around a density of people who live and breathe music. I knew basically no one growing up who gave a shit about music, let alone who wanted to make it their life so I thought if I wanted that, I would have to go to Uni. It introduced me to loads of people I still work closely with, showed me loads of music I wouldn’t have found otherwise and made me realise there are a lot more paths that I can go down than I originally thought.
There’s a misconception that you need to move to London to have a career in music. What’s it like working in the music industry in Leeds?
I think it's definitely tough when you’re first starting out but definitely doable and rewarding if you have the required tenacity - most of the people I know who are consistently working in the music industry, whether its part time or full time, took a couple years to find their feet. There’s obviously never going to be as many jobs as there are down south and remote working didn’t do as much to open doors as maybe we first thought but saying that, but everyone I know who tried to work eventually did get there without having to move.
Leeds is also a really big village - you’ll end up meeting or knowing most of the people doing similar things and everyone, even the ones you might be competing with, are super supportive and genuinely excited by people doing things that are cool. Everyone is really invested in each other’s success and the pressure is a lot less than working in London.
What’s special about night life in Leeds? What are some of the best venues and places to go out?
There’s so much going on from so many different scenes that you’re rarely at a loss for things to do and nights to go on all with a really strong DIY spirit. There’s always loads of really great bands across genres - think Leeds has always had a super strong hardcore scene, weirdo noise scene, jazz scene, and in recent years a really blooming alt-folk scene (plus a little bit of everything else). Loads of incredible DJs playing everything from chuggers to trance to disco to garage and everything in between (remember going to a gabber rave in first year one night then a beautiful art-rock gig the next day). Really feels too that no two projects or artists are the same, everyone is doing their own thing and doing it really well
We also have always had some amazing venues, though sadly that is being increasingly challenged by rising costs and predatory developers. Some of my favourite venues in the whole country, Wharf Chambers and Mabgate Bleach are both in Leeds. Places like Belgrave and the Brudenell regularly bring in huge names to play. Sadly a lot of night clubs like Wire have shut down but we still have incredible club nights like Rat Party, Booty Shakin’ Besties, Pleasure Maxx, and Cosmic Slop. Loads of things to do if you’re not into music too but then you probably wouldn’t be reading this…
How do you go about finding acts to play your shows?
Listening to music every waking hour and being terminally online really helps. I start my days looking at new tours and festivals that are announced in the US and the UK to see if there are new names I need to check out (or the same names appearing repeatedly). Usually keeping an eye on who’s playing the cool venues in London is a good way of knowing who is worth booking and will maybe be making waves soon.
Seeing what radio stations are playlisting or what publications like Crack, The Face, DIY, NME etc are spotlighting is a regular part of the job. The Fader and Pitchfork over in the US too are always great (I think The Fader and The Face are the two publications with the best taste!).
Also talking to people and going to shows will never be beat. I’m lucky to work in an office where everyone is really passionate about music and loves loads of different stuff so there’s always something good that I’ve not heard before playing at work. I’m always super up for talking about new music with people and I try to pay attention to what other people, either in real life or online, are finding exciting so I can understand what makes those acts special to someone.
At Super Friendz we promote across pretty much every genre and from 100 capacity to 2000 capacity shows so I need to be very proactive with keeping up with what’s happening so it's lucky that I genuinely do love finding new music. Leeds is also quite competitive in terms of promoting gigs so you have to be really on it - if you’re a slightest bit too slow on booking an act, someone else will get in there before you even if you love the act and would do anything to book them
Walk us through the basic process of putting on a show
In principle its quite simple but obviously no two acts or nights are the same and you’ll never know which stage will be the one that gets drawn out. If you want to really break it down step by step, I think this would probably be the process:
- Reaching out to or getting contacted by an act you want to book to figure out if there’s mutual interest and what time periods you’re looking at
- Getting availability at appropriate venues to see when the show might be
- FIguring out the right ticket price, estimating how many people will buy tickets, what costs will be, and then presenting the act with a financial offer (+ any extras like hotel, gear hire) that reflects all that
- Get artwork made, coordinate a announce and on sale schedule, set up ticketing and then go live with the show announcement
- Promote the show in whatever way you see fit, usually through posters and social media ads, get the right supports, and then obsess over how ticket sales do
- Then for the night of the show, make sure you have a rider for the artist, someone running the doors checking tickets, the sound engineer has everything he needs from the artists, and hope it all goes to plan!
What’s your advice for anyone who’s interested in becoming a promoter?
Three bits of advice. First is just do it. Find a friends band who’s good and a venue that’s cheap enough to hire and then just give it a go. Even if everything goes wrong, you’ll be fine and then you’ll know if it's for you or not.
Second, especially if you’re doing this for fun, do remember you can say no to things and only book things you’re really proud of. It can take a lot of time, energy and money to put on one night, especially if you’re doing it yourself so there’s no point if you’re doing something half arsed. Plus how can you get people to give up their time and money to come to your gig if you’re not excited about it yourself?
And then lastly, if you want to do this as a career, make sure you’re reliable. Obviously respect your boundaries and have a healthy work/life balance but make sure you’re getting back to people on time, make sure to be polite and considerate, make sure you’re holding up your end of the bargain as best as you can. People will come to you if they know you deliver and are easy to work with (though don’t get complacent!)
What’s your favourite thing about the job?
It’s great for my ego when it goes well! Being able to look at a really cool gig and thinking you helped make it happen is incredible. Also being able to bring people I think are really cool to Leeds and then see them develop and build an audience is super rewarding too.
Also like, to say you’ve booked people like The Dare and Greentea Peng is just cool isn’t it? I’m vain, not going to hide that
Biggest challenges in your line of work?
It can be a very emotionally draining job especially when shows aren’t selling well. You can put in all the effort in the world, think you’ve booked the coolest act, and then realise it just isn’t connecting with people. You can end up losing loads of money and have a really bruised ego to say the least.
Depending on where you work, it can be super competitive as well. Leeds for example has three big local promoters all competing with each other plus a bunch of other more niche ones, loads of club promoters, and then massive national promoters all trying to book the same acts. Plus if an artist only has space to play one show up North, then you’re competing with Manchester as well. You really need to be on it otherwise someone else will get an act you love with all your heart. Sometimes that means losing money booking an act when they’re really small just so you can start building that relationship to book them when they’re maybe hopefully big
There are other challenges as well, rising costs being the main one, but I think that’s true of every sector.
Finally, what music are you listening to atm?
According to my on repeat:
- Clairo and Magdalena Bay put out the best albums of the year
- Chanel Beads, Saya Gray, and Fcukers are the future of music
- Doechii will be a future superstar
Shoutout some Leeds bands too: Adult DVD, Green Gardens, Bug Teeth, BUFFEE… loads more
https://superfriendz.com/