3rd Annual Brewery Symposium at Wing & Tap!
BlairOutLoud TRIO will be performing for the 3rd Annual Brewery Symposium at Wing & Tap! What makes this particular date interesting.. is that Jeremy Would Let Me Drown is actually playing at the same venue later that evening! It’s a 2 for 1.. really a 2 for 0.. and we’d love for you to be there!
Hello all.. hope you are finding unique ways to stay cool on this ridiculously hot summer that we’ve had here in the ATL.
I’ve got TWO events on ONE particular day (at the same location!) that are going to be fun.. a bit of a challenge for me and the drummer.. but fun nonetheless and we’d love to see you there!
The Wing Cafe & Tap House in Marietta, GA is holding its 3rd Annual Brewery Symposium, as they’ve titled it. They are excited to host 4 specific Breweries in the area that have products that they will be debuting and discussing.
This event is on Saturday afternoon, August 17th, starting at 2pm. They will have a Q&A session with the brewers on stage (outside in the alley way of Wing & Tap), and then there will be music starting at 4pm…. featuring BlairOutLoud TRIO!
$1 per pint will go to benefit FIRST RESPONDERS via the Terry Farrell Firefighter’s Fund
Here’s our flyer.. click on it to take you to the FB Event for directions!
Now here’s where it gets interesting..
Jeremy Would Let Me Drown was already scheduled to play at Wing & Tap that evening 8-11 inside on the stage.
So.. Jeff Wheeler, the drummer for JWLMD, is playing drums in the BlairOutLoud TRIO sets (with Gary Stone on bass) outside 4-7 for the Brewery Symposium event. And then… Jeff and I will be moving our equipment inside to then perform a couple of JWLMD sets inside later that evening.
Basically.. if you come to this event.. you’re getting a TWO for ONE.. however both shows are FREE.. sooo, you are actually getting TWO great band events for free.. or the price of food and some brews! 🍻 Pretty great right?
BlairOutLoud TRIO will play a killer mix of classic rock, 80s hits, and 90s alternative that we think you’ll dig. And then later that evening, Jeremy Would Let Me Drown is bringing you the best of Pearl Jam, Alice In Chains, and Soundgarden to the stage!
It’s going to be a great day/night. We would love to see you there.
Thanks for reading this far!
-Tom Blair
LOTS of new dates hitting the calendar soon!
We have a number of announcements to make regarding events coming in the next few months and in to the Spring. The calendar will be updated as soon as possible! Thanks for your support of BlairOutLoud.. HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Thanks for your patience friends and fans!!
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!
We have ton of new dates that will be added to the calendar very soon, so keep checking back when you get a chance! Many new events have been confirmed and as promo and ads are created, they will be added to the calendar asap!
Thanks for all the support in 2021! BlairOutLoud had an amazing year, and 2022 is shaping up for another great one! Today I added some of the repeating events at the Los Magueys locations, and got some of the events happening the first week in January. There is a mountain of stuff to update, and it will all be coming soon.
As always, the calendar here will get the first updates, and then Facebook and BandsInTown will get follow-up promo to push all the announcements out to those and other platforms.
See you in ‘22! Thank you SO MUCH!
-Tom Blair
PS: I’m going to try and get an “end of year” blog entry on here soon (next few days)!
Facebook's new format squashes events.. so...
My Facebook Page is where I first started the BlairOutLoud brand. I love the tools and promotion that you have access to.. but lately, musicians are finding it harder and harder to promote their events. I’m NOT quitting FB, but in terms of posting Events.. yeah.. I’m about done with that..
Greetings Friends and Fans!
My apologies from my absence on the blog as of late. The expectations of a number of items that the BAND and I were working have come up short, and I’ve actually had a pretty rough time trying to process where to turn next. That and a host of just day to day personal stresses have put me into a bit of a coast.
There are actually no complaints here however. I could start this entry by complaining about a number of wishlist items that are once again on hold, due to circumstances somewhat out of our control. But honesty, none of it was crucial.. only desired.. (The promo material, and a concept of the “request songs live” that we are building has certain promo and website logistics that we are putting together). But when we get back out of the weeds of that, truth is, all of my musical projects from solo to full band have been thriving lately and we’ve had great events!
Anyway, I wanted to once again express my deep gratitude to friends, fans, and family that have been supporting our endeavors this year! Your support through sharing the events, messaging other people to get them excited, sharing pics and video that you capture, and subscribing here to the Newsletter, etc have kept us working hard, learning new songs, crafting better live shows, and helping us to succeed in our efforts.
So.. speaking of live shows, specifically.. Announcements of live events:
I will be implementing some changes on the BlairOutLoud Facebook Page in regards to FB Events:
Starting this summer:
I will slowly begin to NOT create FB Events for my live shows. I will instead keep this website’s calendar and my BandsInTown site updated, and I’ll share back to FB each week with a Pinned Post.
Creating events on Facebook has become increasingly problematic and the whole process of creating, posting, and getting the venues to share in the co-hosting of events (so that our event will pop up on their pages) is becoming a HUGE MESS. Musicians and venues are slowly starting to figure out that this whole process does not do much good for all involved. The ROI (return on investment) is so low it’s just not worth it.
Below is a screenshot of my Page on desktop, where you can still click on the Events Tab and see my Upcoming Events. But this will all change soon….
Here’s the older FB formatting where the Events Tab is visible. I’ve managed to hold on to the old formatting for just a little longer.. but I am guessing they will permanently transition everyone over soon…
Facebook asks you to pay to get your event in front of more of your “Followers”, and I use that term in quotes, because unless you pay to boost your posts, less than 10% (as best I can figure) actually see anything from you. If the actual percentage is different, then let me know.. I can’t tell you how many times I was astonished that people that follow my BlairOutLoud FB page still had no idea where I was playing around town.
Upgraded formatting does look cleaner.. but it squashes the Events Tab (they’re in “About” but how would you know?)
The new formatting of Pages on Facebook is really problematic for musicians trying to promote for Events. Here’s an example of my buddy Roy Saunders (go follow him.. he’s great!).
He switched over to the new FB format and his events are still there.. but you gotta go dig for them.. Spoiler: You have to click “About” now and scroll way down to find them. What a pain.. that is.. not him… he’s great!
VISIT ROY!
Below is a screenshot of my BlairOutLoud Page on mobile:
The old format showed much more information upfront, but I would agree with some that it’s boxy and cluttered. However, you can clearly see the Events Tab and click on it to see where I’m playing.
Older formatting is boxy and cluttered, but viewers can instantly see my Events Tab..
When you click on Events, you actually went to a full page of events, and the thumbnails are still in wide-screen format.. so any artwork that you produced for the event in a wide format is pinned to each event properly… and you see reoccurring events at the top before scrolling down to see special events below.
On the new format, you have to click on “About”.. then scroll past artist Bio, Details, Page Transparency, etc.. to finally see “Upcoming Events”. But it only shows a preview of 2 events. If you then click “See All”, you FINALLY get to a full page of events, although when you are on desktop… Your full page of events that you finally get to all have square formatting for the thumbnails.. therefore discounting any nice flyer that you designed with wide-screen formatting in mind.
Here’s Roy Saunders’ FB Page on Desktop:
What I notice is that, you have two places to dig for Events.. you can click on About and scroll, or you can click “More” and then “Events”, and then you finally see Upcoming Events with square thumbnails for the pics.
Roy Saunders Music FB Page on desktop
And one more thing: Facebook choose to move your Profile picture (circle) and place it on top of your image at the top of your Page (so if you had a great video, or a great custom image for your brand, then the Profile pic covers the middle of it, so that’s a bummer as well.
Notice Roy putting all his August Shows on one flyer and sharing it to FB… gotta hand it to him, this is probably the best way to get the word out and move on, on this format moving forward.
Roy, if you’re reading this.. I applaud your tenacity, and keep kicking ass brother!
I appreciate my FB Page, and after all, I got BlairOutLoud started there before I built my profiles everywhere else. I’m thankful for all of the tools for promotion that we have on that platform, but when it comes to Events.. I can see the writing on the wall. It’s a pain to keep up, and with the new FB formatting changes, Events are squashed to the point that you can’t hardly find them on most updated musician’s pages.
I’m usually all for change, but for musicians, the latest FB changes in formatting are not helpful at all for promoting events and helping people find where you’ll be easier.
So..in conclusion: I’m done with all that.
Officially, I will be promoting by Calendar Page here (and don’t forget the calendar on my HOME page at the bottom), and I’ll share artwork, flyers, and other content back to FB when it will benefit the most.
Take care of yourselves.. Please be careful out there this summer with the rise in Delta covid exposure. See you around town!
Tom Blair