How Artists Should Prepare for Concert Reviews — Before the Show Even Happens
- Sean
- 7 days ago
- 4 min read
Most concerts don’t fail on stage.
They fail after the lights go off.
The sound was fine.
The crowd showed up.
The artist delivered.
And yet, a week later, there’s no story.
No momentum.
No memory that travels beyond the room.
What remains is a few shaky clips, a flyer reposted one too many times, and a vague “last night was a movie” caption that says nothing.
That’s not a performance problem.
That’s a narrative failure.
Here’s the uncomfortable truth: concert reviews are not born at the show — they’re decided before the show ever begins.
Why Most Concerts Die in the Post-Event Window
The biggest myth in live music is that a great performance automatically earns great coverage. It doesn’t.
Reviews, recaps, and post-show conversations are shaped by:
What the media saw
What they were given
What visuals exist
What story makes sense to tell
When none of that is prepared in advance, journalists improvise — or worse, ignore the show entirely.
A concert with no documented story is just a private memory.
And in today’s industry, private memories don’t build careers.
How Artists Prepare for Concert Reviews Before the Show Even Happens
The Pre-Show Question Every Artist Should Ask
This is the part most teams overlook when thinking about how artists prepare for concert reviews — the story has to exist before the performance does.
Before rehearsals, before outfits, before soundcheck, ask this:
“What will people say about this show tomorrow?”
Not in hype terms. In headline terms.
If you can’t answer that clearly, reviewers won’t either.
Was this:
A comeback moment?
A transition into a new era?
A proof-of-growth performance?
A cultural moment for a specific city or audience?
Concerts without a defined angle don’t get reviewed well. They get summarized, skimmed, or skipped.
What Artists and Teams Should Lock In Before the Show
This is where most teams get uncomfortable — because it feels “too calculated.”But the industry doesn’t reward spontaneity. It rewards clarity.
Media Access Is Not Optional
You cannot expect coverage if journalists don’t know:
Where to stand
When key moments will happen
Who to speak to
What’s allowed to be captured
Basic preparation includes:
A media check-in point
Clear photo/video rules
A short show rundown (even loosely)
One point person for press questions
When access is chaotic, coverage becomes shallow.
No journalist wants to fight security, guess moments, or chase approvals after the fact.
Documentation Is Part of the Performance
If your show wasn’t properly documented, it barely existed.
This goes beyond phone videos.
Every serious show should already have:
A dedicated videographer
A photographer briefed on key moments
A plan for crowd shots, not just artist shots
Intentional lighting moments worth capturing
Reviews feed on visuals.
So do timelines. So do blogs. So does history.
If the only footage is vertical, shaky, and dark — your legacy stops there.
Storytelling Must Be Designed, Not Assumed
A strong concert has chapters:
An opening statement
A peak
A moment of surprise
A closing that says something
These don’t need theatrics. They need intent.
Simple examples:
A deliberate song choice to open the show
A brief spoken moment that frames the night
A guest appearance that means something
A transition that signals growth or change
Reviewers remember structure.
They forget randomness.
Promoters: This Is Also Your Responsibility
Too many promoters think their job ends at ticket sales.
It doesn’t.
Promoters shape post-event narrative by:
Inviting the right media
Coordinating access early
Aligning with the artist’s story
Making sure visuals and information flow fast after the show
A well-run concert with no post-show story is a wasted asset.
Ticket sales pay the bills. Coverage builds the brand.
You need both.
The Post-Show Window Is Brutally Short
Here’s what most teams miss:
Reviews don’t wait for perfection.
The strongest coverage usually happens within:
12–48 hours after the show
If photos arrive late, if press notes are missing, if clips aren’t ready — the moment passes.
Preparation means:
Pre-written show notes (updated after)
Fast photo delivery
Clear captions and context
One clean angle the journalists can run with immediately
Momentum is time-sensitive. Always.
The Hard Truth Artists Avoid
Not every concert deserves glowing reviews.
But every serious concert deserves a clear story.
When artists say, “the music should speak for itself,” what they often mean is, “we didn’t plan beyond the stage.”
And the industry doesn’t reward that anymore.
Great shows don’t speak for themselves. Teams speak for them.
If you want better concert reviews, stop treating them as reactions.
Treat them as outcomes.
Design the story.
Prepare the access.
Control the visuals.
Respect the media process.
Because when the show ends, the real work begins — and the artists who understand that are the ones whose concerts live longer than the night.
Totally spot on
Documentation is very important