When I decided that I wanted to take music more seriously and make it a part of my life forever, I decided that I should get to know some other musicians. I only had one problem… I had no idea how to meet musicians. Through time (and a lot of different trials) I found a few things that worked for me, so I’m here to share them for anyone on a similar journey!
Music Clubs/ Orgs – This is a big one for college/ high school students but it’s also applicable to anyone. If you are at a school it’s always a good idea to get to know the organizations & opportunities that you have, specifically in regards to music here. There’s no easier way to meet musicians then at an event or meeting that is aimed toward music. It’s also nice because you’ll usually find more ‘dedicated’ people at these kinds of events, everyone loves music but if you’re looking for people to collab with or share ideas it’s worth finding people who put in that extra effort to get involved too. If you’re not in school then checking out local community groups is a route you can take (especially online and music stores but more on that below).
Social Media – I’m not ashamed to admit that a lot of my musician friends came from Tinder, this is 2019 after all. Self-advertising has always been a thing (ever been to a music store and seen adds up for band members?). While that can still be a good way to get in contact with people it’s much faster to use social media for this, especially with the power of hashtags. You can search for just about anything on just about any platform and find people looking for the same thing as you. It can also be used to promote your work, I have a lot of friends with side Instagrams and other media to promote their music and this can help people find you and make you look a bit more legit. Tinder, and other apps meant for meeting people, is also not a bad place to look since it’s people trying to meet people. People use tinder all the time for business and as long as you make things clear in your bio you have a good shot at finding people this way.
Concerts – Like I said before there’s no easier way to meet musicians then at an event or meeting that is aimed toward music. As an added bonus you already have an artist in common so it’s likely you have a similar taste in music. Especially if you go to a show alone, all you have to do is find someone who’s also alone and say hey, I did this once and met a DJ from UNC. A bonus here is that you’re at a concert so no matter what happens it’ll be enjoyable.
Record/ Music Stores – This one is a classic. This is a common place for people to put up personal ads and a lot of local stores play little concerts, so if you keep up with that you may even be able to meet small local bands. This is a great way to get involved in your local music scene.
Anywhere – Something important to remember is that musicians are just people and can be anywhere. Recently I was at work, in Carmichael Gym, and a man walked up to talk to me and my co-workers. After a bit of talking he told us he was performing with a local band and that he free-lances as a bassist sometimes. I kept the conversation in music and told him that I’m a DJ at the campus station and now whenever we see each other at the gym we talk a bit (mostly about music). Moral of the story, musicians are everywhere and the more you go out and try new things the better your chance of running into some fellow music lovers
– DJ Psyched