Playing at Neighbourhood Sessions

​We're always open to submissions and genuinely attempt to listen to everything that comes in. That said, we're a small team running this alongside the rest of life, so please bear with us — we can be slow to respond, and we don't always manage to reply to everyone. It's never a reflection of the quality of what you've sent. Before you submit, it's worth having a look at the artists we've featured and the videos on our Videos page — that'll give you the best sense of what we're about

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What we look for

Neighbourhood Sessions is about the music first. When we mix live, hearing the words is our top priority — so singers and songwriters who have something to say tend to fit well. Beyond that, we're drawn to great singing, songs that tell a story, interesting instrumentation, skilled playing, and harmonies. A stripped-back performance is essential.

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For headline slots, it helps to have an album or two on a streaming platform we can listen to in advance. A video of you playing live is really helpful. As we only host 4/5 events a year on a voluntary basis, we will want to be genuinly enthuased by who is coming which magically generates the energy for promotion! This also means that sometimes it can just be a preference from the team, but if you don't ask you don't get and we love listening to new music so please tell us about it!

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A few practicalities

We can't accommodate drum kits (though percussion is fine), and we generally have a maximum of three or four performers on stage. We don't typically book rock bands, metal, or dance music.

 

Who we book

We try to maintain a diverse range of artists — across americana, folk, pop, soul and blues, and across gender and ethnicity. We often find acts through recommendations from artists we've already worked with, but we're equally happy to hear from artists and booking agents directly. And if you're within five miles of Beckenham — we especially love hearing from artists on our doorstep.

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Submitting your request

The form below takes a few minutes to fill in, and it really does help us. Rather than us searching around for your music, socials and videos ourselves, having everything in one place means we can give your submission proper attention more quickly.

 

A few pointers:

Links to your music and socials — Spotify, Bandcamp, SoundCloud, Instagram, whatever's most representative. The more we can hear, the better.

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A video of you playing live: a phone recording from a gig, a rehearsal, a living room session — it doesn't need to be produced. We just want to hear and see you play. YouTube, Vimeo, Google Drive, a social post — any link works.

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Your EPK or press pack — if you have one, great. If not, don't worry — the rest of the form covers what we need. Just drop a link if you have it (Google Drive, Dropbox, your website).

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Your pitch — no need to oversell it. A few sentences about who you are, what you do, and why you think Neighbourhood Sessions might be a good fit. That's all we need.