how to host
a side a night.

• Choose the record: the one you would play if you could only play one. Not the impressive one, the one you love. Guests can tell the difference.
• Confirm the room, the date and the seat count. Small is the point. Twelve seats in a living room beats forty in a bar.
• Send your invitations. Invite people who will listen, not just attend. Side A lists the night, but your crowd is your part of it.

• Play the actual pressing, on the actual setup, at the volume you'll use. Listen from the worst seat in the room.
• Know the flip: turn the record between sides until it's smooth.
• Where do coats go? Where do people sit? Kill the overhead lights; lamps and candles do the work.
• Put a small note by the door: phones away for the duration.

1. two hours beforeset the room.Chairs in place, record on the turntable (not playing yet), water out, lights low, the way out clear.
2. doors · 30 minutes beforegreet everyone yourself.Take coats. Say the one rule out loud, warmly: phones away while the music plays. People accept it when it comes from the host, not a sign.
3. welcome · 5 minutesthree things, sixty seconds.When the room is seated, stand and say: welcome, what we're about to hear, and why this record matters to you. Then sit down.
4. side a · in fullfirst groove to last.In order, no skipping, no talking over it. This is the whole thing. Protect it.
5. intermission · 15 to 20 minutesflip the record. stretch.Now people talk, about the side they just heard. This is when strangers become the room. At a bar, this is when the bar serves.
6. side b · in fullsame as side a.Lights stay low.
7. close · 5 minutesthank the room.Tell them where their song stories live: when guests RSVP, the story they share becomes a card on their wall. Say goodnight while the last note is still in the air.

• Pick a bar with a real system and a room that talks over it. Ask for a quiet weeknight or an early slot, three hours.
• The pitch, in one breath: most of your room talks over the music. Give me three hours and I'll fill it with people who came to listen, and they'll stay for a drink after the record.
• Agree in writing before you list the night: date and hours, the headcount, the door split, who runs the bar, and that staff keep quiet during each side.
• Split the door, not the bar. A common start is 60/40 or 70/30 in the host's favour after Side A's share. The bar keeps everything it sells over the bar.
• The bar's licence and insurance cover the room and the drinks. Ask the bar to confirm both, and to add you (and Side A, if its policy allows) as an additional insured for the night.
• Record the bar's name and share when you create the night, so you, the bar and Side A see the same numbers.

• One rule: a seat pays for the night, never for food or alcohol. Selling a seat that includes drinks is selling alcohol without a licence.
• A free night at home is a private gathering: pour for your guests and cook for them, free, as you would for friends.
• A paid night at home: you don't pour and you don't cook. Keep it to snacks and soft drinks, let guests bring their own, or book a licensed bar service or caterer that sells under its own licence.
• At a bar or venue, food and drink come only from its own licensed bar and kitchen. You never pour or sell.
• Whatever you serve, write what it is and its allergens in the night's food note. Guests see it before they book.
• Never pour for anyone underage or already drunk. Keep water out, and nobody who has been drinking drives home.

• Guests confirm their age when they ask for a seat: 21+ in the US where drinks may be present, 18+ elsewhere. If someone looks under age, ask for ID or turn them away.
• Keep the count honest: no more than 20 at home, and never more than the venue allows.
• Keep the way out clear and lit, even with the lights low. Know where the exits and the first aid kit are.
• You can refuse entry or ask someone to leave: drunk, aggressive, or not respecting the room. Their safety comes before the record.
• If someone is hurt or unwell, call the emergency number first, then tell Side A.
• Check your home insurance covers guests, or take out a one-night public liability policy. Bars and venues use their own.

• Phones away for the duration of the music.
• The album plays in full, in order. No skipping, no shuffling.
• No talking over the music. Not even whispering.
• The host listens too. You're not staff; you're in the room.

• The actual pressing, cleaned, on the actual turntable.
• Speakers placed for the room, not for show. Test from the worst seat.
• Volume: present, not loud. People should feel the bass, not shout over it.
• If the needle skips twice, clean the record. If it keeps skipping, say so and switch to your backup copy.

• Seat the restless near the back, the deep listeners up front.
• Someone talks during a side: a glance the first time, a quiet word at intermission the second.
• Watch the intermission. If the room is buzzing, your welcome worked.

• Guest requests come through Side A. You approve them.
• Expect a no-show or two: invite slightly over, keep a short waitlist.
• If the night is under half full 48 hours before doors, tell Side A. A small room still works; an empty one doesn't.

• You set the seat price, or keep the night free. Guests pay at checkout, into your own Stripe account: you're the seller. Side A's 18% comes off automatically as its booking fee.
• Stripe pays you out on its own schedule. Side A never holds your money.
• You're the seller, so Stripe's fees, refunds and any chargebacks on your sales come out of your Stripe balance.
• At a bar: you pay the bar its share of the door after the night, as you agreed. The bar keeps what it sells over the bar.
• Guests who cancel 48 hours or more before doors get a full refund. Later than that, no refund, but they can pass the seat to a friend with your approval.
• If you cancel, every guest gets a full refund, including Side A's share.
• Once the first seat is taken, the price is locked, so every guest pays the same.

If you need to cancel, write to Side A before you do anything else, so every guest is refunded.

• Thank your guests the next day. One message is enough.
• Add your own song story to your wall. Hosts have walls too.
• Note what worked and what didn't while it's fresh. Your second night will be better.

needle skips

Clean the record, check the tracking weight. Backup copy ready.

low turnout

A small room still works. Shrink the seating; don't apologise.

a talkative guest

A glance first, a quiet word at intermission, a firm word after.

tech failure

Say it plainly, fix it or switch to the backup. Rooms forgive honesty.

• The room is wrong: too big, too bright, too noisy.
• The sound is bad: untested setup, wrong volume.
• The host talks over the music.
• Phones stay out.
• The album doesn't get played in full.

Avoid these five and the night takes care of itself.