Meet Sarah McPartland | Booking Agent/Promoter/Band Manager

We had the good fortune of connecting with Sarah McPartland and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Sarah, how does your business help the community?
As a booking agent, promoter and band manager, I play the role of the connecting link between venues, bands/musicians, art/product/service vendors, other promoters, etc. in order to create and find accessible opportunities for all client parties involved. It’s a mutualistic relationship in that I can engage and entertain an eager crowd, providing support and exposure to musicians, which brings business to venues and vendors; not to mention, I get to make so many amazing friends through the whole process! As fun as it may sound though, it ends up being much more labor-intensive than you might expect; otherwise, there wouldn’t be a demand for people in the role. I end up having to make huge spreadsheets that delineate details pertaining to each party, and keep up with them daily; for example, for each band that I’ve worked with before (several hundred total) I document band name, genre, members, city of origin/residence, social media information, contact information, any booking contacts and my experience booking with them in terms of cooperation, timing, effort, performance, and so on. In order to impress each party, I must verify that all details are mapped out ahead of time; I prioritize paying bands and bringing in a large enough crowd for venues and vendors, but need to find balance between that and making sure I receive some compensation for the hours that I put into scouting out talent and venues, in addition to securing dates. I also receive a plethora of daily inquiries regarding booking, and if I don’t respond quickly enough, they really pile up. Still though, I enjoy my freelance independent booking job so much!

What should our readers know about your business?
I began my path towards professional booking unknowingly as an art vendor; after selling my art at several different types of events, I fell in love with music-and-arts collaboration events and joined a small, local organization that puts them together. I enjoyed that position, but after doing it for about a year, I saw all of the corruption and lying that was happening behind-the-scenes (especially pertaining to money) and couldn’t morally commit to fueling that dishonesty anymore despite loving the overall role. After gathering loads of connections with this experience, and learning about everything that makes a successful event, I decided to branch off and do my own independent booking. Now that I work on event organization independently, I get to oversee all parts of the operation to make sure that everyone involved can get the most out of the gigs. It’s definitely more work doing all of the booking independently, but I think it’s better to have 100% of the details in one brain so that problem-solving is more fluent and efficient.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I stay in Denton, TX. Clearly, I have a bias towards live shows and performances, which there’s luckily an abundance of in this town. Live music can be found here on any night of the week, so going to a bar for a drink and seeing talented artists perform would definitely be on the agenda if a friend were to come visit. There’s also a farmer’s market just off of the square every Saturday morning, which is a really cool place to meet other small business owners; the market has everything from apparel to paintings to food and so on, so it’s easy to spend a couple hours there! Right across the street from the market location is another local business called Juliet’s Jewels. The woman who owns this business has plastered the wall with cool articles about her journeys around the world, where she acquires the products that she sells – mostly crystals, spiritual items and authentic clothing. She is very kind and open to conversing about anything in the store, regardless of how little knowledge one may have of the item(s). A few blocks away is a meditation sanctuary called the Rudra Center for Enlightened Awareness that follows that same authentic-and-spiritual vibe; they’re very welcoming to all and provide a variety of classes pertaining to things like meditation, yoga, tai chi, lunar rituals, Buddhist worship, and more, and have a huge beautiful garden complete with statues of spiritual icons, altars with relics, and several different buildings for all lessons to take place in. It’s hidden in plain sight, and such an amazing place to go to work through troubles in a calming environment – spiritual practice is not required: they’re very open to all walks of life pursuing a happier and healthier way to live. In the nearby square, there’s a restaurant called Barley & Board that specializes in charcuterie boards and craft beer; I’ve loved every meal I’ve eaten here, with my personal favorite being their Lacey salad with steak added in. Free Play is another great attraction on the square: it’s an arcade with a low entry fee that grants access to unlimited arcade games, complete with a restaurant and bar. I also enjoy sitting out on the lawn on a picnic blanket with a book or art project.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
My role wouldn’t be possible without cooperation from several other parties – mostly musicians and venue employees; in order for a large concert to be successful, clear communication and quality participation is necessary. Musicians put a lot of time and effort into formulating and practicing their sets, and venues hold themselves to high standards when it comes to being fair to everyone involved and maintaining their space to create a safe and fun environment. If I were to shoutout one specific party involved, I’d appraise Rubber Gloves Rehearsal Studios: a concert venue in Denton with three stages and a bar. In my experience there over the past several years, they’ve done a great job with being kind and reasonable to musicians, vendors, agents, audience members, etc. while providing creative opportunities and fun, clean atmosphere, despite being a popular venue with high demand.

Instagram: @DentonRhapsody

Other: DentonRhapsody@gmail.com

Image Credits
John Dalfonzo, Sara Huynh, Sarah McPartland, Hunter Spears, Valerie King, Daniel Herrera