The band scheduling app for bandleaders who hire the band

If you book the gig and then hire the band, scheduling isn't finding a date. It's getting a yes from a drummer, a bassist and a singer for one specific night, finding a sub when one of them says no, and knowing for sure who's coming. GigPenguin does that part.

How scheduling a gig works in GigPenguin

1. Write the gig sheet once. Date, venue, call time, load-in, set times, attire, pay, notes. Your last gig of the same kind is copied in as a starting point, lineup and all.
2. Pick who plays each seat. One seat per instrument or role, each with its own pay. Your regulars and subs come from your roster, and the seat you play yourself is marked as yours.
3. Send. Each band member gets their own text or email with the date, the venue, the pay and one tap to answer: in, tentative, or out.
4. Watch the answers come in. The gig page shows every seat: offered, seen, answered, and whether they've seen the latest version.
5. Let the follow-up run itself. Anyone who hasn't answered gets a reminder each morning, their time, until they do. Nothing goes out overnight.
6. Fill the gaps. When someone says no or drops out, you get told, the seat shows up on your home page, and you pick a sub. The offer goes out the same way.

What makes it different from a shared calendar

A shared band calendar tells everyone when the gig is. It doesn't tell you who's actually playing it. Calendar apps, group chats and availability polls are built for a fixed band where everyone comes to everything. Most working bandleaders don't have that. The lineup changes gig to gig, half the players are freelancers in five other bands, and the question that matters is "who's confirmed for Saturday?"

• Per-seat offers, not a group invite. Each band member is offered one seat, with their own pay. Nobody sees what anyone else is paid.
• Answers you can count. In, tentative or out, with a respond-by date if you set one. Overdue answers are flagged on your home page.
• Reminders you don't send. No more "just checking you saw this" texts. GigPenguin reminds them each morning, and you can pause it any time.
• Subs without the scramble. When a seat opens, it's one tap to offer it to the next person on your list.
• Rehearsals too. Offer a few possible times, band members tick the ones they can make from their link, and you confirm the final time. More on rehearsal scheduling.

Nothing for your band to install

The most common reason band scheduling apps fail is that half the band never sets them up. With GigPenguin, band members don't need an app, an account or a password. Their gig sheet is one page that opens from the link in the text or email. It's always the current version, they answer with a tap, and they can add the gig to their own calendar from the same page.

Who it's for

Bandleaders who book the gig and hire the band for it: wedding and corporate bands, function bands, jazz and cover bands with a deep sub list, church music directors, and theatre contractors. If you run several bands, each one has its own roster and gigs under the same login.

What it doesn't do

GigPenguin starts once the gig is booked. It doesn't find gigs or clients, and it doesn't do contracts, invoices or payroll. Pay is on the gig sheet so everyone knows the number, and that's where it stops. It doesn't manage songs or set lists either. If you need those, see the best band management apps, by what they do.

Questions

Can band members tell me which nights they can do?

For rehearsals, yes: send a poll of possible times and each band member ticks the ones they can make. For gigs, every answer is to a specific offer for a specific date.

Do my band members get texts or emails?

Whichever reaches them. Texts go only to band members who agreed to get them, never overnight, and the first one says how to stop. You can also copy a band member's link and send it from your own phone. It still counts as sent.

How much does it cost?

Your first 3 gigs are free, no card needed. After that it's $29 a month or $290 a year for every band you lead, and band members never pay.