Recently, I put on a small restaurant show locally and it was a bunch of fun. The process is surprisingly easy. Find a place that’s kind of struggling. What restaurant isn’t? Go there a few times to establish yourself as a customer. Chat up the owner/manager. Pop the question directly “How would you like to try live music some tiime?”
When they say yes, and sure they will, contact a band. In my case, it was Jasper Manning, a young up and coming grasser who’s father is Chad Manning the well known fiddler. Jasper was on board right away and its was fairly pain free to settle on a date. Mando champ Teo Quayle joined Jasper for this gig.
Print up as many fliers and handbills as you can. My local library lets you make a certain number of color copies free per day. Or your work might “donate” a few copies for the cause. Put up fliers everywhere you possibly can.
Tell everyone you’ve ever met, and post about it on InstaScam or Fakebook. Make sure the band and restaurant fluff it as much as possible and hope for the best.
Regarding payment. Sticky question as most restos can barely afford to pay their waitstaff much less a musician. I ended up funding most of the band’s fee myself and it really wasn’t much for the enjoyment I got in return. They got tips of course and seemed happy.
Do not expect serious musicians to play for tips only. That’s for open mic nights.
If you have a larger home or backyard, its even simpler.
Have you ever wanted to put on a show? Go ahead. Whats the worst that could happen?