This past weekend, I had the opportunity to attend a portion of the annual Brumley Sing in Lebanon, Missouri.
If you've never attended this fine event, it is one to put on your "must" list. First and foremost, the talent is high caliber from the first note to the last. Secondly, with good sound and video work, every seat becomes a front row seat - minus the strained neck from looking up at the stage.
But this is just much more than a four-night concert. This is a genuine "Happening." You will be hard pressed to find an event that garners as much support from the city of it's location and the excitement that is generated by just walking into a restaurant or store and reading "Welcome to the Brumley Sing" or "Welcome Gospel Music Fans" on posters, signs and even on buttons worn by employees. It is as though the entire city gets involved, shows it's support by welcoming fans from (this year) 42 states, Canada, and South Africa (yes, you read that correctly), and lets all visitors know that they are glad to see you in town.
The city's hotels were filled to capacity. Restaurants were overflowing. Local media was present to report on the activities and during each evening's concert, the local government and civic leadership was well represented.
I don't think you'll find this kind of welcome anywhere else. For example, even though Louisville, Ky., does show some support for the NQC, you don't see the overwhelming outpouring like is found in Lebanon, Missouri. In fact, I've taxed my brain trying to come up with a comparison to Lebanon, and so far, I've struck out. I'm not sure of the exact amount that this event and Southern Gospel puts into the city's coffers, but that number is
not insignificant.
Now that I've bragged on Lebanon - and the city's citizens and businesses have rightly earned it — let me switch gears and talk a little shop. Everyone who's ever thought of promoting a concert needs to learn from this event.
The Brumley event is also a shining example of how hard work pays off. If I'm correct in my understanding, the
smallest crowd at this year's event was on opening night - Wednesday - and the crowd was nearing the 5,000 mark. That's excellent, no matter how you slice it.
Throughout the entire year, Bob Brumley, Duane Garren and the rest of the staff make sure the word gets out for this August event and they
never leave any stone unturned. They don't hope for a free mention in the local newspaper's religious calendar, they don't seek a free PSA (public service announcement) on the local radio station, and they don't mail a poster to a friend of a friend. They don't even count on a pastor mentioning it during the morning announcements. (All too often, what I just wrote is the extent of typical concert promotion.)
In other words, they
promote the event. Their formula works; it's proven to be successful time and time again. Radio. Print. Electronic Media. And more. They use every available option at their disposal and they use it well.
And while there are some hard working promoters out there, you'd think that more people would follow the example of Brumley and crew - instead of blaming everything but the lack of promotion when the crowd doesn't materialize. More than once, I've been to a "secret singing," only to hear the artist get the blame for not drawing a crowd. All anyone has to do is listen to local radio, read the local newspaper, and look at storefronts and it won't take long to get a good idea of what level of success a concert is going to be.
There are some other reasons that contribute to the success of this event. Like I mentioned earlier the technical side of the event is good, the facility itself is above par and even though no one really likes to talk about it in a public way, there's a large portion of the crowd that simply enjoys not waiting through up-and-coming groups to get to the more established artists. (You also hear that last comment in conjunction with discussions about the concerts of Frank Arnold, Bill Bailey, Hayne Tatum, Harold Marshall, Twila Roher and a few others. But that's not the point of today's diary entry.)
It all starts here: Get the word out
properly and the people will come.
Just ask Bob Brumley.