Do I need a contract for a gig?
Yes, but it doesn't need to be a legal contract. For most club gigs, private parties, and bar bookings, a clear email or text confirming the terms is the agreement. Nobody is going to court over a $400 bar gig. What actually causes problems is not having anything in writing at all, so when the night goes sideways there's nothing to point to.
The goal isn't legal protection. It's making sure you and the venue agree on the same set of facts before you show up with gear. Almost every bad gig story — the one where the band eats the cost, or shows up to a room with no PA — traces back to something that was assumed instead of confirmed.
What to actually pin down
Six things cause almost all the arguments. Get these in writing, even informally, and you've covered yourself.
The fee, and what kind of fee it is. "$500" is not the same as "$500 guarantee against 20% of the door" or "door split, no guarantee." State which one it is. If it's a door split, confirm who's counting the door and when you get paid — some venues settle that night, some the following week. Get that in writing too, because "we'll figure it out" is how bands leave without getting paid.
Load-in, soundcheck, and set times. Not just your set time — when you can get in the building, whether there's a soundcheck window, and what time the venue actually wants you finished. A band told to "come by around 8" with no load-in time can end up setting up during dinner service, which annoys the venue and eats into your own prep time.
Deposit. For private events especially — weddings, corporate parties — ask for a deposit, usually a portion of the fee, non-refundable if they cancel close to the date. Say the amount and when it's due. A deposit is also the easiest way to find out if a booker is serious. If they won't confirm one, that tells you something before you've blocked out your calendar.
What the venue supplies. PA, mics, backline, a monitor engineer — confirm exactly what's provided and what you're bringing. "They have a PA" can mean anything from a proper system with an engineer to two speakers on stands with no one running them. If you need a bass amp and they assumed you were bringing your own, that's a fight nobody wins on the night.
Cancellation. What happens if the venue cancels a week out versus the night before. What happens if you have to cancel — illness, a member out, a broken-down van. This doesn't need lawyer language. "If either of us cancels with less than 7 days' notice, the deposit is forfeited / owed" is enough for a bar gig. For a wedding, be more specific, because the stakes are higher and the couple has less flexibility to rebook.
Who feeds you. For anything longer than a two-hour bar set, say plainly whether the venue is providing food and drink or you're bringing your own. This sounds minor until you're four hours into a wedding reception on an empty stomach because everyone assumed someone else had it covered.
The mistake that costs a booking
The mistake isn't skipping a formal contract. It's confirming verbally and leaving it there. A phone call where the promoter says "yeah, $600, doors are at 8" feels like an agreement, but a week later neither of you remembers the same numbers, and there's no record to check. Always follow up with an email or text that restates the terms: "Confirming Friday the 14th, load-in 6pm, set 9-10:30, $600 flat, PA and monitors provided, no backline." If the booker doesn't reply, that silence is worth noticing too — send it anyway so you have a timestamped version of what you agreed to.
When you actually want a real contract
For bigger private events — weddings, corporate bookings, multi-night runs, anything where the fee is large enough that a cancellation would actually hurt — a written contract with signatures is worth it. Plenty of templates exist for this, and it's worth having one on hand once your average fee crosses into territory where a no-show or a cancelled deposit would be a real financial hit. But for the weekly bar gig, the house party, the open mic that turned into a paid slot, an email confirming the six things above is the right amount of paperwork. More than that, and you're the band that emails a three-page contract for a $300 gig, which reads as a red flag to a lot of small venues.
Keeping track of it
Once you've got the fee agreed, get it invoiced and paid without it living in a text thread you'll lose. Roadshow's gig invoicing (on paid plans) lets you bill a venue directly, mark it paid, and pull a year-end summary for taxes — with no cut taken out of what you're owed. Combined with the press kit and site every plan generates, it's one place to keep both the pitch and the paperwork.