How to Write a Band Bio in 6 Easy Steps (with Examples)

Aspiring musicians always start from scratch. They should be as creative as possible in making themselves known to the whole world.

Thankfully, this is no longer impossible. You do not even need a PR manager (although having one would be a good idea) to stir a buzz about what your band has to offer in the world of music. All you need is a creative mind and knowledge of the internet to get the ball rolling.

The internet has opened avenues that PR talents of the past could only dream of. Today, you can set up your band’s official website that will serve as a virtual gateway – a window – for anyone and everyone who want to learn more about you and your band’s music.

The question now is how do you write a band bio that exceptional? I’m glad you asked. Read on and get ready to let your imagination fly.

Here Are the Steps to Write a Band Bio

1. Know Your Audience

I know bios are supposed to be about us or your band. However, you really cannot expect everyone to care so much about what you write on your website, unless you know exactly what they want.

The internet is such a huge place that it can reach even the farthest reaches of the globe. A farmer in Nebraska may want to listen to a kind of music that is different from the hippies of San Francisco or the youngsters of Seoul.

A corporate slave who describes his usual day as starting behind the desk and ending up with a computer screen before shutting his eyes off for the day will have a very different requirement for a band bio than someone who takes life more leisurely.

The point here is to always try to learn more about who the audience of your band music really is.

I have seen bands and other musicians who put so much emphasis on their accomplishments or even the awards that they have won. These can work. However, I also know many people who are not really interested in your accolades.

There are also bands that put the magnifying glass on the big-name artists they have shared the spotlight with. For example, maybe Madonna graced one of their gigs and this is already a big deal for the band.

Yeah, it sure does create an impression. But the real question here is did that big-name artist spend a long time with the band? Most audiences couldn’t care less.

Do you think your audience will also like to know if you have a college degree or even a Doctor’s degree? A small-town guitarist can be a lot better than someone with a Ph.D. Educational attainment matters not if you are into music, although I can think of many brilliant minds who also excelled in music.

Everyone knows Einstein as a genius. But very few know him as a violinist.

What I am trying to say here is that people will know you for the remarkable things that you do and not necessarily for the manner how you got there.

Some bands also put their radio airplay and the names of the CDs they have released. Some people may be interested in knowing what you have already accomplished. However, most of them simply do not care.

So, what do readers of a band website expect from your bio?

First, they will want to know if your band is fun. Bands are not orchestras that play very serious music. Bands provide a very fun form of entertainment that will make you want to shuffle your feet, flail your arms above your head, and even do a head-bang.

Second, if your band is not into some real fun, is the music that you create compelling? Does your music resonate through the lives of your audience? Will they feel touched by your music? If so, how will you convey this message?

Third, your audience will also want to know if your band is professional enough. They want to know how you handle your commitments and how you interact with your fans. You may be an up and coming act, but if your band’s persona is only good on paper, what’s the point of following you?

Fourth, will people like your music? You should describe how your readers and audience will be able to relate to the music you create. You may also want to describe how people liked your music in the past.

Fifth, people will want to know if your music will be a good fit for them. Let’s face it. Not everyone likes rock ‘n roll, heavy metal, or pop. Some will be more inclined to listen to blues or even jazz. In other words, you will have to be very precise in describing the kind of music that will appeal to the right audience.

2. Create an Engaging Introduction

Once you have identified who your target audience is, it is time to write an engaging introduction. Unfortunately, there are no secret formulas that you can adhere to when writing an introduction.

Some will go the straightforward route. They simply state the name of their band and where they come from. While this may work, it does not really capture the fancy of certain members of the population.

Again, go back to your audience. If you are catering to the blue-collar workforce, then a straightforward approach might be preferable. Introducing your band to teens and young adults may require a different approach.

It can still be straightforward but do give it an artistic twist. Make it exciting to read. Don’t just say that your band is called so and so and that you come from a small town somewhere in the north of the country.

Write as if you are transporting your reader to the very place where your music started out. It also helps to give your band’s name a theatrical introduction.

Make sure to include the kind of sound or music that you like as well as play. Don’t forget to include your influences. It can be a rock legend or an opera singer. Make sure to establish a clear relationship between your music’s influences and your career.

Now, coming up with all these pieces of information is easy. What is tricky is putting all these bits of info in one to three sentences. That’s tough. You will have to put your whole life’s work into just a couple of sentences.

Don’t forget about the tone of your introduction. Everything depends on your music style, your audience, and your personality.

If you have a fun personality, then injecting a bit of humor into your introduction should be great. If you have a more serious persona, something that appeals more to white collar workers and techies, then you might want to go deep.

The point here is to create an introduction that not only introduces your band to the world. It also provides your audience with a glimpse of the character of your band.

Don’t be disheartened if you cannot write a very compelling and engaging introduction the first time. You will have to rewrite it many times over until you are satisfied with what you read.

Make sure to write in the third person. This makes it easier to understand, while also improving your website’s searchability. Media practitioners, venues, and bloggers will also find it easier and more convenient to lift content from your bio.

Here’s an example of an engaging introduction for a band bio.

“Hailed as the happiest music of Americans, jug band music is an exciting mix of early American jazz traditions, old-time folk, and timeless country blues. XYZ Band has been bringing their good-time, old-time jug band music to audiences in Southern California since 2010.”

3. Provide Short but Relevant Background Information

Your introduction is like a sneak preview of your band and your music. The succeeding sections of your bio will deal more into your history, career, and accomplishments.

Make a chronology of your band’s history. How did it start? Was it after attending a gig right at the local pub? Was it in your garage while tinkering with something?

Try to engage your bandmates in a discussion to find out how best you can convey to your audience the things that brought you together and form a band. It could be the interests that you share or the passion that each of you has for a kind of music.

Unfortunately, writing the background information for your band can be a bit tricky. You might be tempted to write a detailed history of your group. That is not necessary. You will only need to provide your audience with a general idea of how you got into music.

Keep this section of your bio as brief as possible. It could be one or two very interesting sentences. Make sure to include only those things that are relevant to your band and your music. Filter and leave out everything else.

It is important to drum enthusiasm from your audience. If they felt compelled to read your bio because of that engaging introduction you made, now is the time to make your background information even more engaging.

It is always best to think about the audience who will be reading your bio. This will direct you in how to approach the subject. The tone should always flow from your introduction.

4. Describe Your Music

Your followers already know what kind of music you are offering to the world. However, there will always be people who may not have the slightest idea of what you are providing.

Make a conscious effort to describe your music in a very colorful and meaningful way. You could describe your music as an elegant juxtaposition of homespun instruments with traditional string instruments. You get the rustic sounds of kazoos, washboard, and jugs, while also immersing your notes in the unique tones of the fiddle, banjo, guitar, banjolin, and doghouse bass.

Your readers will want to ‘feel’ the music that you have for them. When they read it, they know exactly what you are talking about.

For example, if you are offering old-time country blues, it is often not enough to say it like it is. Is it more elemental or are you offering a more modern vibe? When you play your music, does it reflect the everyday struggles and dreams of the rural South? Or do you wish to convey another message?

Rock bands will also have a very different description. You may use machine-like precision or even very accurate measurements in every rhythm that you play.

The point here is to employ the different senses in the formulation of your music description. Describe how your harmonica can provide a different texture to your music or how a lowly bugle can add a sense of oomph to your piece.

If you are not sure about the genre of your music, then it would be quite impossible to make an accurate description.

Go back to your roots again or the people who have their major influences on the creation of your music. There is a good chance that some elements of your music will fit into any of the major music genres.

As always, keep your description as short as possible. One to three sentences should be good enough. This is if you are aiming to create a short or medium length bio.

After describing the kind of music that you offer, you might want to keep your audience updated with the important happenings in your musical career. If you have just been to a studio to record your masterpiece, then you may want to include this. What’s even better is if you have recently released a single or have collaborated with another artist to create music.

Make sure that the things you include are relevant to your music.

5. Explain What Have You Accomplished So Far

I’m not talking about your accomplishments as a person. We’re talking about the highlights of your journey as an artist and as musicians.

This will not be an issue if you have already been playing as a band for some time. You may already have gigs that allowed you to perform as a front act or even as a backup for some other band or even a well-known artist.

Did you know that many of the famous bands started as front acts for other stars?

A good example of this is the Beatles of 1963. While the British quartet was established in 1960, their popularity did not skyrocket overnight. It was in 1963 when the Liverpool boys fronted for Orbison, who gave us the hits like ‘Pretty Woman’, ‘Crying’, and ‘Only the Lonely’.

The UK tour headlined Orbison. But it was the Beatles who stole the limelight and forever catapult them to stardom.

And who could ever forget Queen’s front act for Mott the Hoople? Now, the songs of Mott the Hoople were written by music legend David Bowie. You’d expect the band to have a very strong following. However, like the Beatles, Queen upstaged Mott the Hoople. Today, even with Freddie Mercury already gone, the songs of Queen can still be heard worldwide.

I am not saying that your band can be the next Beatles or the future Queen. What I am saying is that there is no shame in performing as a back-up or opening act for somebody else.

Imagine how your readers will feel if they know that you opened for an artist that they adore. Now that would be a real statement.

Your participation in major music festivals would also be very noteworthy. Getting invited to play a piece at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival or the Glastonbury Festival will be very interesting talking points to put in your bio.

However, if the only festival your band has ever played in is the one that only your community celebrates come summertime, then it would not be that significant. Only those who live in your community will be familiar with the festival. This limits the reach of your bio.

You might also want to include any work that has performed well on the charts or has enjoyed significant airtime on the radio. You may also have songs that are quite popular on streaming platforms. It is always a good idea to include these in your bio.

Try to list all your achievements as a musician. From this list, pick only those that are impressive.

Whatever you do, always be factual. Don’t make up awards that you clearly did not earn. Your audience will know if you’re fabricating things or you’re the real deal.

6. Include Other Relevant Information

Some of the most important pieces of information you may want to include in your bio are media quotes. These are the positive views of influential people about your music. They can be music bloggers or other persons who have clout in the world of music.

However, I do advise you to state the quote in such a way that it blends well with the rest of your bio. Pick those phrases that mean a lot and which can convey the kind of message that you want your readers to get.

Including media quotes in your bio lends credibility to your narrative. If someone whom people look up to for advice when it comes to music says something very nice about your music, then you can be sure that people will also follow.

But what if a music blogger hasn’t written a review about your music yet?

Well, you can always turn to what other people are saying about your music. This is less credible than having an influential person say something nice about your music. However, when played well, you can expect it to have a remarkable impact on your bio.

You could quote an eloquent and zealous fan who likens your band’s music to the sounds that angels make as they greet souls entering heaven’s gate. It can be the magical candy that never fails to bring a smile to the faces of both young and old alike.

Some may question the veracity of the claim. However, it does provide your bio with enough information for readers to paint an accurate picture of the kind of music you provide.

You know what I mean.

Here Are Example Band Bio Examples

I could blabber all day long about how you can write a good bio for your band. However, I think it would be a lot better if I showed you some examples and why I consider them great.

1. A Legend Capable of Knocking Pluto Out of the Solar System

Read the full bio here.

The introduction of this bio is very ambitious, to say the least. How do you knock off a planet from the Solar System? Is it even possible? The artist must be kidding, right?

Regardless, it did get the attention of the reader.

The jokey implausibility of this statement encourages the reader to never take it very literally. What the sentence does is it gets the reader wanting to know more about the musician. It intrigues the mind to coerce it into looking for more information that will support the outlandish claim.

Venson follows this up with the accolades they have earned from the press. I love the idea that Venson focused more on the descriptions and not lifting the words from the press verbatim. I have seen bios that quote writers straight off from the source without bothering to give it a twist.

The band also made use of their own words to create a story that many readers can relate to. I like the idea of how music is not only an act but also an integral aspect of who we are.

The last section provides readers a glimpse of what the artist is currently doing, without really going into the tiniest details. This leaves the reader with enough information to decide to whether follow the artist’s musical journey or not.

2. The Coven

Read the full band bio here.

This is a classic example of a medium-length bio that caters more to those with a very vivid imagination. The introduction is very straightforward, while also being vague at the same time. The intro is powerful enough to get readers interested in what the entire bio has to offer.

The sentences are short. They do not have meaning on their own. It is this nature of the sentences that prompts readers to continue reading the rest of the bio. It is only when they get to the end of the bio do, they realize what Covenhoven is all about.

The artist also did not flaunt about any accomplishments. This can work for or against him. It can give the impression that the artist is very new and is yet to make a name for himself. It is also possible that the artist is only being modest, preferring to let his work do the talking.

What we do know is that the band looks at its music as a book of stories, filled with memories to create a symphony that anyone can relate to.

3. The River from North Carolina

Read the full band bio here.

This bio is rather long. Not only does it include something about the artist. It also includes other bits of information including tours, festivals, media moments, and upcoming events.

What is good about this bio is that you already have an idea of who the artist is right from the very first paragraph. Sure, the introduction is not as engaging as our first example. However, it does give you a sense of what to expect.

I like the way the band compared their current recording with their very first one. It gives you an idea about how much the band has grown. The way they told their story is also noteworthy. It gives you the feeling that you are with them in their journey.

While the content is very detailed, the bio itself is creative. It combines the meaningful use of flowery words without sacrificing style.

For example, describing their guitar patterns as clock-like or their percussion as machinery-like is enough to provide a very accurate description of what kind of music the band plays. It is accurate and intriguing at the same time.

More Tips to Building a Great Band Bio Page

I presume that you are writing a bio for your band’s official website. Keep in mind that your bio is only one of the elements of your website. It is the most important page, of course. However, it would also be best to observe the following tips to make your band bio page even greater.

1. Polish Your Content

By content, I mean your band bio itself. You can look at it as your narrative or your professional resume. You will want it to be compelling and very interesting for your audience to read and learn more about you.

I already covered this in the main section of this article. However, I am more than inclined to point out the following very important points.

Make sure to introduce who you are, your music, and your influences. It would be also ideal to provide your readers with a glimpse of what is happening in your career at the present.

Providing a bit of background as to how you got your band to come together is also ideal. Be brief. Make sure to include only the relevant things. The same is true with your career. Highlight only those that are worth mentioning.

These elements are not absolute, of course. I gave you a good example of how you can create a bio that can still be very compelling even without citing your accomplishments or even putting media quotes.

Be honest about what you write. Keep your content current, too. Write, review, and revise. Then do it again until you think you can no longer make your bio even better.

2. Use Effective and Compelling Images

Don’t ever underestimate the power of photos to convey the kind of message you want for your audience. Rather than picking from thousands of stock photos, I strongly recommend getting a professional photographer take a very compelling image of you, your band, and your music.

Make sure that the image matches your style of music. It should also complement the template colors or theme of your website.

Place an image in your header. Spice it a bit by adding a text. Doing so will give your page a more modern look.

You can also add multiple images. For example, you can put a picture of each of your band members. It is important to choose the images to ensure harmony of composition and color. They should be complementary to one another.

You can also place a compelling image as a background in one of your website’s sections or webpage. Make sure to tweak the image’s transparency. Your audience should still be able to read the text in this section even with the image background.

It is also possible to freeze the image with scroll movements. An alternative will be to let the image move with the page. Some people may not like the idea of having the image moving with the page as it can obscure their view of the text. So, keep this in mind.

3. Use Sections

You don’t need sections if you are opting for a short bio of between 50 and 150 words.

However, if you think you need to write more, then you might want to divide your bio into sections.

A good example will be to produce a section for your band, your career highlights, and your current music. You might also want to include a recent tour.

I recommend adding an appropriate image and relevant text for each section. Adding background images or colors to the different sections can also give your bio page a modern vibe.

4. Give it a Name

Most bio pages come with an “About” name. While this is okay, I think you can be more creative. Why not put “Meet the Band” instead?

The idea here is to make it very easy for your readers or audience to go to that page where they can learn more about you. The name for your bio page should be concise. However, it should also convey your creativity, giving it the impression that you worked hard for the creation of your page.

5. Try Expandable Bios

This is quite tricky. However, if you can create a bio that can expand to provide readers more information, then it would be one of the most amazing bios ever.

The trick here is to write a long bio. Next, divide the bio into sections to make it more of medium length. From this shortened version of your bio will come the short and concise narrative.

The idea is to present your short bio first. It must be very compelling that the reader will want to learn more. He can then expand on your bio to read the medium-length version of it. Make sure that this will provide your audience with enough information, while also tempting him to learn more. If he does, he will have to click on your bio to expand it even further.

What makes this approach very tricky is how you can put all the right information into the short and medium-length versions of your bio. It should answer the basic questions that any band audience may have. At the same time, it should also encourage the reader to continue reading the bio in greater detail.

The short bio is very critical. It appeals to those who hate reading long bios. The bio should be short, concise, and very compelling. The goal here is to introduce your band to the audience in as few words as possible and still make your audience follow you.

They no longer must read the expanded version of your bio. Only those who want to learn more about you will do.

6. Let Others Read Your Draft Bio

I honestly think you should try getting the opinion of your friends and family members about what you have created. There will be bias, of course. But, if they truly want the best for you and they are supportive of what you want to achieve, then they will have to be brutally honest.

Take their criticisms to heart. Make sure to be clear about the strengths and weaknesses of what you have written. If they praise your bio, prod them to describe the things that make your bio good.

Writing a band bio is like writing a resume for a once-in-a-lifetime job. You must put your thought into its creation.

It is not easy, I know. That is why I came up with this guide to help you create the most compelling and most fascinating bio page for your band.

Do remember that you may not get the right band bio the first, second, or even the third time. Don’t be disheartened. You will have to keep going until you have created a good bio that introduces your band to the rest of the world.