Application Questions
Name: Your artist name. Not your real name. Unless your real name is your performance name. This is what you will be listed as on the poster.
Live video URL: Original music or poetry only. No covers. Live performance only. Links accepted from youtube, facebook, vimeo. Link to ONE video only please, not your main website or youtube home page. Tip: You can upload a video to youtube and make it 'private' so that it is only visible to those you send the link.
Contact email: Exactly this. We will not add you to any mailing lists without consent, or bother you with anything else other than potential SoapBox bookings. We just need to be able to contact you if we have any questions. Note: Please do NOT add Amy or the SoapBox team to your mailing list without explicit consent. We are avid social media users so probably already keep up with your activities and gigs on facebook or twitter.
Phone number: This is primarily requested as a point of contact in the run-up to the Festival. For example, if the artist hasn't checked in on site and the stage time is forthcoming we need a phone number to contact. Again, we will not share this with any other individual or organisation. Ever.
Number of members: How many members are in your band/group?
Instruments played: Put 'voice' if a poet or storyteller. We like to know what instruments our artists play as we work hard on booking a broad range of performances. We have limited slots for solo male guitarists and this category is always over-subscribed. If you play something weird you may have a better chance of getting a slot, if you play it well that is.
Travel cost: We always cover travel costs, at a minimum.
Expected performance fee: We are one of the smaller stages onsite at FolkEast. 200 capacity. We mainly book local artists, and we are fiercely non-corporate, unfunded and advertising free. Our budget for the stage reflects all of these factors. We always provide all of our participants with travel costs, a hot vegetarian meal on the day of performance, and a drink at the bar
What is your link to East Anglia?: Quite straight forward. Do you live here? Did your granny live here? Did you used to live here?
Short description: 10-12 words about who you are and what you do. This will be used in the printed Festival programme, if you are invited to perform.
Long description: 100-200 words that will be used on all digital promotion, website, press releases, etc. This is essentially an expanded version of the question above. Who are you? What kind of music and poetry do you perform? Who inspires you? What is your subject matter?
Why do you want to perform on the SoapBox stage at FolkEast 2020?: This is for SoapBox eyes only and will not be made public. We work very, very hard on the SoapBox stage. It is a real labour of love and we put in thousands of hours creating a unique experience. We want to book artists who are as passionate as we are. If you can't find one reason why you think you will be well received on the SoapBox stage, then this is not for you. Have a look through our website, our archive. SoapBox is our vocation. Its not just another Festival stage. It is completely unique, driven by an amazing community of artists, poets, musicians and creatives. We want to find like-minded artists who share our ethos.
What does 'folk' mean to you?: What do you think? We have a very flexible definition of 'folk' on the SoapBox stage. However, your music must have some kind of link, however tenuous, to folk music. We can not host rock music, drum and bass, hip hop, death metal. And yes, we have genuinely recieved applications from bands in all of those genres. This question helps us get to know you better and is not made public.
Various digital and social media links: Website. Facebook. Twitter. Soundcloud. Bandcamp. Youtube. Just enter what you have and leave the rest blank.
One Photo: To be used online and in print. Must be a jpeg, 1600 pixels wide or tall. Please wait for it to upload and be patient. The image will appear once uploaded.
Final note: If a red icon appears, this question/field is mandatory and must be answered.
End of the Application form questions.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS:
I only play covers, can I apply? The short answer is 'no' but its not quite that simple. We love supporting artists who make original work, and this is at the core of everything we do. However if you are a new/young/emerging artist and you play interpretations or reimagings of other artists songs, then please do get in touch. We would love to hear from you. We fully appreciate that folk music is a tradition and covering other songs is part of that. But, if you only play popular songs, exactly how they already sound, then no, this isn't for you.
I don't have a link to East Anglia, can I apply? The short answer is 'yes', we will consider you. But we are proud of supporting our local community and that is our focus. Most of our line-up is locally sourced. You will have a much harder time getting one of the handful of spots we offer to artists from outside the region. SoapBox has East Anglia in its heart and about 90% of our artists come from the local area.
I've not played a Festival before, should I apply? Hell yes! We like to book a mix of complete newcomers, amateurs and professionals, so even if you've never played a Festival before please get in touch. We absolutely love supporting new and emerging artists, of all ages - we know not all new performers are young - so don't let anything put you off please. If you play and write your own music/poetry, and live in the East, you are exactly who we want to hear from.
What do you consider when you book your line-up? We spend loads of time thinking about who we book and why. We consider a whole host of factors in the process of booking, starting first and foremost with the art. Do we love your music? Does your poetry make us laugh and sigh and move our hearts? The main booker for the stage is Amy Wragg. At the first stage of application she will pick her favourites, and bring these to the SoapBox Creative Team, who give their much valued opinion on who we should invite to perform on the SoapBox stage at FolkEast. We have been running this stage since the very first year of the Festival, so we know what works, what our audiences expect and what we love the most.
Firstly we listen to and categorise the quality and tone. We only book artists we are absolutely mad about and think are ruddy brilliant! No exceptions. We will be cheerleaders for your work so we only book performers we are genuinely impressed with. We also want a balance of style and pace over the three days. We love work that is celebratory and uplifting - in keeping with the Festival spirit - and music that is atmospheric and contemplative. SoapBox is also committed to gender parity, and in the interests of readdressing the gender imbalance nationally in Festival line-ups, we also consider gender in our booking process. We are working harder on becoming more inclusive and particularly welcome applications from a diverse range of ethnic heritages. SoapBox is a supporter of the LGBTQIAP+ community and creates a welcoming environment for all artists regardless of gender, race, sexuality and ability. If you have any access concerns, please do email us to discuss and we will support you to the best of our ability. Lastly, we are very keen to support new and emerging artists at the beginning of their journey - regardless of age - so please get in touch if you have just started out, old or young (or anywhere inbetween).