News from Britt Hill – April 2026
AS THIS ISSUE of the Review goes to print, we’re only days away from our final Britt announcement of the 2026 season! I’m so excited about this year’s lineup. We’re bringing in tons of new bands in addition to some of our most beloved returning acts, representing a broad range of genres and styles. I’m incredibly proud of our programs team and all their work; it is a massive effort to finalize our roster every year.
A question that’s come up a lot lately is, “How does Britt find the bands it books?” While there’s no one single method here, there are some trends, and I want to share them with you.
First, we have the folks for whom Britt is a not-to-be-missed gig. Bands like Chicago, for instance, proactively reach out whenever they’re touring our part of the country. They know they love Britt’s audience, setting, and venue… and they always mention our backstage catering, which is the absolute best in the business!
Next up, we hear from the bands who are on tour and looking for a stop-over between major markets like Portland and San Francisco. Britt is one of the smaller venues on the touring circuit, but our geography is our superpower. Bands often need to spend the night somewhere between larger venues. For those traveling through Southern Oregon, Britt is an appealing way to spend what would have otherwise been an unpaid night off on tour. This is how we end up with some of the up-and-coming superstar acts you love!
We also have our “wish list” roster, and we reach out to those artists proactively to see if we can sweet-talk them into adding our intimate venue to their tour. We’re always listening to new music and taking recommendations (especially from the teens in our lives, who are way cooler than we’ll ever be again!) to try and find those next acts to share with you.
And then, there are the surprises, the things that fall into our lap as the booking process commences. These are the bands we might not know yet, but as soon as we hear them, we know they just have to appear on our stage!
We send out dozens of offers every single year to assemble a season. And as soon as the last show has been finalized for the coming summer? We start the process again for the next year. In fact, we fully anticipate that we’ll make our first 2027 offers sometime this month! It’s a constant process, and we love it.
I hope you’re as excited about 2026 as we are! See you on the hill!
All best, Abby