PROGRAMMING: The primary mission of the Wayward Music Series is to provide an affordable, well-equipped venue for various kinds of new and “experimental” music with few other available venues: contemporary composition in the classical lineage by (mostly) living composers, free improvisation and the avant fringes of jazz, electronic and electro-acoustic music, sound art, and other unusual forms of sonic expression. While we do not typically present more mainstream/popular styles of music that are already well-represented elsewhere, we remain open to considering proposals from artists who are genuinely challenging and expanding the boundaries of those forms. We welcome and encourage adventurous artists of color and of all gender identities to present their work on the Wayward series.
If you book a Wayward show and decide later to add other artists to the bill, we ask that you please make sure they also support the goals outlined above.
For events that are not part of the Wayward Music Series, the space may be rented from Historic Seattle (subject to their approval).
HOW IT WORKS: Nonsequitur leases the Chapel at Good Shepherd Center ten times per month for the Wayward Music Series. We share those ten nights with like-minded presenting organizations and self-presenting artists at a subsidized rate. If you make less than $200 at the door, there is no charge to use the space; if your door take is $200 or more, we ask for 20% of total ticket sales to help us cover the rent. We also have two rehearsal nights per month available on a first come/first served basis. (If both are booked, extra rehearsal nights can be rented from Historic Seattle at $60 per hour.)
Admission for most Wayward shows is a $5 – $20 sliding scale “suggested donation” at the door; that means people pay what they can afford, and we don’t turn anyone away if they can’t pay. We strongly recommend this approach as we’ve found it generally works very well, but you can charge a set admission fee if you prefer. Likewise, you can set up advance online ticket sales with a third-party service like Brown Paper Tickets, Stranger Tickets, or Eventbrite. If you want to do a show with all free admission without asking for donations, you will have to pay a flat rental fee of $375 to use the space.
YOU ARE SELF-PRESENTING! There is no staff here to assist you with running your show. An on-duty caretaker will give you the keys to the space and the cash box and that’s it, so plan on being self-sufficient or enlisting friends to help you. If you are not prepared to do your own promotion, provide someone to run your lights/sound/box office, set up chairs, and clean up after yourself properly, then this might not be the right situation for you.
TOURING ARTISTS need to find a local person or organization to produce their show, or share the bill with a local artist who can sign the rental contract and be in charge of the event. We do not do contracts with people who live outside of the Seattle area. Also, experience has proven that it is very difficult for touring artists to promote their shows effectively from a distance or attract an audience. People come here for specific shows that interest them rather than just drop by randomly, so it’s important to have someone local involved to help bring people in. Otherwise, expect a very small turnout.
BOOKING: Wayward Music’s ten nights per month are typically filled 6 – 8 months in advance. Friday and Saturday nights go especially fast (the building is closed on Sundays). There are occasional cancellations or date changes, so it is sometimes possible to find an open night on shorter notice, but don’t count on it. Plan on booking at least several months ahead of time. For all bookings, send an email to Steve Peters with your event proposal and preferred dates.
Due to high demand, individual artists or groups can book events on the Wayward Music Series no more than two times per year. Exceptions: organizations or ensembles presenting different artists at each event; artists who are in more than one group, or want to do a solo show outside of their usual group.
WHAT IS PROVIDED: Use of the performance space, lobby, spacious dressing rooms and rest rooms; chairs, folding tables, cash box, lectern/podium; grand piano; 5 – 10 sturdy music stands; sound system; lighting system, gaffer tape; insurance coverage.
NOT PROVIDED: Recording, video, or projection equipment; piano tuning; event promotion; staff and technical crew.
SALES: We do not take a percentage of sales from merchandise or concessions. You keep all of that.
INSURANCE: Nonsequitur carries liability insurance to cover audience and performers for the Wayward Music Series only. Our insurance does not cover Chapel rentals outside of the Wayward Series.
RESTRICTIONS: In order to maintain good relations with our neighbors in the building and the neighborhood, the following restrictions apply to all events:
- Events (including sound checks) can not begin before 5 PM on Monday – Friday, although it is possible to load in and begin setting up earlier than that. Saturdays are a little more flexible.
- Performances must be limited to the Chapel only; you may not use any other area of the building or outdoor grounds for your event.
- The building must be empty by 11 PM, so events should end by 10 PM at latest to allow time to clean up, put away chairs and sound gear, etc.
- Maximum audience is 85 on week nights, 150 on Friday and Saturday.
- No alcohol may be served to audience or consumed in the Chapel when the house is open; artists and crew may have it in the dressing rooms, but please haul away your own bottles.
- Volume level should not consistently equal or surpass that of a basic rock band; if the sound is clearly audible on the main floor or outside the building with the Chapel windows closed, it is too loud for this venue.
PROMOTION: For events in the Wayward Music Series, we send weekly announcements to subscribers to our e-mail list and post info provided by the presenter on this web site. We will also create an Event on our Facebook group and make you a co-host (if you are a member of the group). Presenters are responsible for all other promotion for their shows. What we need to promote your show:
- One scintillating sentence for our weekly e-news that captures the essence of what you will be doing.
- One or two paragraphs that describe who you are and what you’ll be doing in such a way that people who don’t already know you might find it of interest and feel encouraged to attend.
- Start time – most shows start at 8 PM, but it’s up to you.
- Admission – most Wayward shows use a $5 – $20 sliding scale suggested donation at the door, with no one turned away for lack of funds. If you want to charge more or use a set fee, you can.
- Advance ticket sales – most shows don’t sell tickets in advance, but if you decide to do that we’ll need that info and link.
- Web links relevant to the show – artist web sites, BandCamp, YouTube, etc.
- Image – one good-quality JPG (600 x 400 landscape/horizontal), preferably a photo of the artist or some other evocative image related to the show. If there are multiple artists on the bill you can send us a single composite pic, but please do not send multiple pics as we will only use one. Do not send digital “posters”, as these generally contain redundant info already posted on the site
STAFFING: All presenters must provide their own staff for their events: box office, ushers, concessions and merchandise sales, clean up, stagehands, stage manager, house manager, sound and light crew – whoever you think you will need to make your show run smoothly. There is no one here to help if you are under-staffed. We can provide you with a list of our approved freelance audio techs. (They typically charge about $100 – $200 per night, depending on the complexity of the show.) Anyone not from our list will need to be vetted in person.