There is a lot more to putting on a great live show than simply booking an act, finding a venue and opening the doors.
Behind every performance are countless decisions about production, sound, lighting, marketing, ticketing and, occasionally, solving problems nobody knew existed until five minutes before they needed solving.
That's why our partnership with Backseat Events has become such an important part of what we're building at Start Events.
Working closely with David and Jake gives us the opportunity to bring different areas of expertise together from the very beginning of a project. Start Events can concentrate on developing shows, finding the right venues, marketing them and building audiences, while Backseat brings the technical knowledge and live production experience that can transform a performance into a proper night out.
And that distinction matters to us.
We don't want audiences simply to watch somebody perform a collection of great songs. We want the lighting to hit at exactly the right moment, the sound to have the impact the music deserves and the whole production to feel like an event from the moment the audience walks into the room.
The partnership also means we're able to think bigger when developing new productions. Instead of treating sound and lighting as something to organise once everything else has been decided, production can be part of the conversation from day one.
That approach is already helping shape some of the projects we're developing together, and it gives artists the freedom to concentrate on delivering the performance while we take care of what is happening around them.
It helps that the relationship works just as well away from the technical side of things. We share ideas, challenge each other when necessary and usually manage to find a solution when live entertainment inevitably throws something unexpected into the mix.
There will always be cables, spreadsheets, late-night messages and conversations beginning with the words "I've had an idea..."
But that's part of the fun.
As Start Events continues to grow, the aim isn't simply to put more dates into the diary. It's to keep improving what happens when those dates arrive.
Working alongside Backseat Events gives us another piece of that puzzle, combining the promotion and creative side of Start Events with experienced live production to build shows we're genuinely excited to put in front of audiences.
And we've got plenty more planned.