How to write a band bio

A promoter reads your bio to fill in a listing, and often pastes the first two lines straight into it. Write those lines as the ones you would want printed under your name.

The one-line version

Your name, what you are, where you are from and what you sound like. It is the line under your name on a listing or in a festival programme, so it has to stand on its own.

The bio: two short paragraphs

The first says who you are. Where you are from, what you sound like, how many of you there are. Comparisons help here: a booker puts a bill together by them.

The second is the evidence. Who you have supported, what you have released and on which label, the rooms and festivals you have played, a line of press or radio if you have one worth quoting. End with what is next: a release date or a tour.

What to cut

Every adjective that would be true of any band. "Formed in" as the first words. The full story of who joined when. A list of influences nobody reading has heard of. Anything you would not want read out by a stranger introducing you.

First person or third?

Third person. "The band are a three-piece from Leeds" reads as a bio and pastes into a listing without editing. Keep "we" for the about page on your own site.

A template to fill in

Swap each bracket for your own words, then cut anything that is not true yet.

One line
[Band] are a [genre] [three-piece / duo / solo artist] from [town], for fans of [act] and [act].

Short (about 50 words)
[Band] are a [genre] [three-piece] from [town], for fans of [act] and [act]. [Latest release]
is out [now / on date] on [label / self-released], and they have played with [act] and [act]
at [venue or festival].

Full (about 150 words)
[The short version, then:]
Since [year], [Band] have [played over X shows / toured with Y / supported Z].
[Release] was [a line of press, with who said it]. [A highlight: a session, a festival slot,
a sold-out show]. Next: [a single in Month / a tour in Month].
Booking: [name], [email].

Write it in your press kit: the editor counts the words as you go →

Questions

How long should a band bio be?

Two versions: one line, about 25 words, for listings; and two short paragraphs, about 100 to 150 words, for your press kit. Longer than that and the first lines, the ones that get used, are lost in it.

Should I name everyone in the band?

In the line-up, yes, with what each of you plays. In the bio, only where a name will mean something to the person reading it.

How often should I change it?

Whenever the second paragraph has something new in it: a release, a support slot, a line of press. Changed in your press kit, it is right on the same link straight away.

More for your press kit

The free EPK builder: one link to send promoters, venues and press.
What to put in an EPK: what a promoter looks for, in the order they look.
Tech rider and input list template: a page to print and fill in for the engineer.
EPK templates: five looks and six presets, each one click from a kit of your own.
One-sheet maker: a single page or a post, made from your press kit.
EPK examples: real press kits made here, and what each one does well.
How to email a promoter or a venue: what to write, with emails to copy.
DJ press kit: what a club or festival booker wants from a DJ.