The travels are currently on a bit of a hiatus with a full plate of college courses keeping me plenty busy, once again. The summer tours are wrapping up anyways, so this is now the time to start saving up some $$$ and checking out other shows in the area. I have been pleasantly surprised by the amount of quality entertainment around here lately. Many of these shows were last minute decisions at venues I had never been to before and artists I had never seen live before. It may not have been a road trip crossing timezones, but catching a local show can bring any given average night a whole new element of fun and spontaneity. Get your friends on board for something new to do. No need for excessive planning and for all you know, a great show could be coming right to you in your town.

Make sure you keep up with the touring schedules of your favorite artists so you can anticipate when they’re coming to play near you.

A few tips:

• Fan Clubs: For those acts you can’t get enough of, pay the annual fee and get a yearly fan club membership. Depending on the fan club, you should get pre-sale access and even opportunities for premium seating, VIP packages, meet & greets, and various exclusive online content. It’s all about the fan experience. Connecting the artist and their overall brand to their costumers in a rewarding and personal way will not only benefit the fans, but the artist as well. Examples of such artist/client services that connect and drive all sorts of access to the fans are Music City Networks, ground(ctrl), and Bamsmash.

• Social Media: I also suggest following artists and local venues on Twitter and on Facebook. Everyone is taking advantage of social media nowadays to get information out quickly. Everyone is sharing the content too, so it can reach a lot of people in a very short amount of time. I recently deactivated my MySpace account which was just collecting cyber dust. But if you find a use for it and find it helpful, then by all means take advantage of that as a resource as well.

• Digital Subscriptions: If you go to websites and subscribe to e-mails, newsletters, and other various notifications, then you really don’t have an excuse when it comes to being in the loop, now do you? All of the insight is out there, make it available to yourself! Everything you need to know will be right in your inbox, mailbox (Hey, there’s nothing wrong with traditional old school methods of delivery), or even in a handy dandy text message. Whatever floats your boat, yo.

• Ticketing and Promoter Services: A good place to start is Ticketmaster and Live Nation — a debatable and even controversial merger, but nevertheless, the biggest ticketing and promoter service out there. However, it is important to also know the services used for some of the smaller local joints, such as clubs and bars. They may privately promote and sell tickets in addition to using a service. It all depends, so make sure you know what to look for.

• Alternative Resources: Don’t forget to check into box office and print at home options to avoid any additional service charges and processing fees. It’s worth the small effort and you might be able to save yourself a couple bucks and the hassle. Hey, times are tough and you’re spending your hard earned dollar. Why not make it easier on yourself if you can?

Any favorite local joints to catch show? Who has come to play your town recently? Any artists, bands, or notable venues worth checking out again? What or who has impressed YOU? Leave a comment!