Booking

Sahara books entertainment five nights a week, generally three to four bands per night. We have a few residencies and Saturday nights  reserved for Africa Night. You are welcome to take a look at our calendar to look for open dates.

Equipment

We have an eight channel PA and eight mics and stands available for band use. Bands can choose to run sound themselves, bring a sound engineer or hire our house sound engineer at $15 per hour.

If you rearrange anything on the stage or with the seating, please return to its original place. We are not responsible for forgotten gear.

Volume

Because we are in a neighborhood, with homes across the street, we ask that bands keep to a moderate volume. It is a relatively small room with a low ceiling and plenty of wood for good acoustics. Dancers enjoy our wooden dance floor!

Promotion

The Sahara Lounge is a “destination venue”. We are not downtown and do not have a built in crowd. Your audience will be here because they came out to hear you and the other bands that night. We count on you to avoid booking competing shows within a six day window and also to promote to your fans.

We run a display ad every week in the Austin Chronicle and send in calendar listings to other publications. We also send out a weekly newsletter of upcoming shows. Bands create Facebook events for the shows and include the other bands playing that night. Send us a link to your Facebook event and we will post on our site. We are happy to post your fliers in the club and suggest you get them to us a few weeks before the show.

Financial Arrangements

• Bands play for the door minus any production costs of door person or sound as requested by the bands.
• Band members get two free drinks - well liquor or domestic beers.
• Cover charge is $5 on weekdays $10 on Friday and Saturday.
• On busy nights, a door person is available at $12 per hour.

Food

Musicians receive ½ off the price of food. We offer a grilled cheese menu.

Parking

Free parking is available in the parking lot, on the street (avoid the bike lanes) and in the parking lot of the Webberville Baptist Church next door to the club.

Load In

You can load in through the back gate on the parking lot side of the building. PLEASE close the gate when you are done bringing things in so that all customers will enter through the front door. Come in through the front door and out the back to open the gate, prop it open and please have one of you stand and watch that customers do not enter through the gate while you are loading in.