10 Band Bio Examples and How to Make Yours Great

Your band sounds tight, and you’re ready to start gaining exposure and working gigs. But, have you set up your website and written your bio yet? 

One of the best ways to make your band look professional is to put together a band bio page. A biography is essential for new groups so that bookers can learn about the artists before hiring them. 

An interesting, personal bio creates a positive first impression. A quality biography will help give fans and potential bookers a real sense of who you are. We have some tips and samples to help you write the perfect bio.

The first tip is to have a website that has the band’s name in the URL so people can find you. Too many new bands and artists don’t even have a website, the foundation for your music business. 

Not sure where to begin? Get a website, then write a bio using the following tips.

Make Your Own Band Bio Right Here

Stop wasting time trying to find band bio examples that you can model your own off of.

Just use this tool to generate a great bio for your band right now! Answer 23 quick questions and you'll have a great new 150-200 word band bio.

How To Write A Band Bio That's Captures Attention

Let's start off with this great video from Jen at Publicifi. She breaks down 3 key elements you can use to write a band bio that is memorable and that doesn't put people to sleep!

How Long Should A Music Bio Be?

Some agencies suggest writing three different bios, short, medium, and long. A quick rule of thumb is:

• Short – 50 words
• Medium – 100 words
• Long – 5 to 6 paragraphs

Most visitors and bookers will only read the short version. As such, your short bio should be a part of your electronic artist press kit. However, the extended version works well on your website or concert promotional literature.

These three versions of your bio won’t just help bookers, but you’ll use them throughout your own social media and various online accounts too. Having a single place where all your bios are kept current really helps streamline and make your self-promotion battle an easier one. 

What Should A Band Bio Include?

There are six elements to crafting a useful band or artist bio.

1. An engaging introduction
2. Background and historical info
3. Description of your music or musical style
4. Your highlights and achievements
5. Media quotes or testimonials (If you have them)
6. Current information (like shows and album releases)

Your bio page and EPK are living, breathing documents that tell the world who you are and what you’re doing. Always keep them current with the latest information, such as any new projects, music releases, collaborations, or upcoming gigs.

If you’re like most normal people and feel you might forget to update your band bio or EPK every month or two, set an alert in your calendar to remind you every month or two. Just changing a sentence or a date might be the only tweak you need to make the resource relevant and current again.

If you’re unsure how to write your bio, use the six elements above and write them in that order. Write in the third person, as if a reporter was talking about you on TV or a magazine.

Ten Great Band Bio Examples

Before we jump into these examples, we wanted to point out an interesting observation. While creating this article, we noted that it's actually quite difficult to find quality band bios for most of the well-known bands out there. 

It seems to be that once you reach a certain level of fame, there ceases to be a need for a band bio on your website. Just try to find one any of the websites for popular stars like Beyoncé, Bruno Mars or U2. These artists have bios on Wikipedia, but their website is primarily for promoting upcoming tours and albums. When you're that famous, people already know who you are and what you do, so bookers and clients don't need to rely on your bio to get to know you.

If you're not yet one of these big famous artists though, don't think you can get away without a bio. It's a stepping stone you can't skip. Bookers, clients and potential fans need to get to know you before they commit, and a YouTube live performance video just isn't going to cut it.

So, how about some band bio examples...

1. The Phonix Dance Band

Quite often, fans will want to know more about their favorite band member(s). As such, we always recommend that you include your individual musician bios somewhere on your site too.

Check out this band for some great musician bio examples. At a glance, you know who each musician is, what they do, and one interesting detail about them. Short and sweet.

2. Felix and Fingers Dueling Pianos

What makes this bio unique is the number of players and their locations. Felix and Fingers Dueling Pianos has offices in seven states. The website has tabs for each state listing the bios of the piano players that cover each area. Each musician has a humorous blurb, a link to more information, plus an interview-style video bio. 

Just like the last sample, this is a great place to look for musician bio examples.

3. Art d’Ecco

This biography is unique because it’s not a biography. Instead, the artist uses a very descriptive quote about his performance.

4. Shawn Austin

This solo country artist packs everything into one page, including his “About” info. Fans and booking agents can quickly find everything they need to know.

5. Snotty Nose Rez Kids

This Canadian Hip-Hop duo uses their bio to chronicle their musical accomplishments. The bio touches on their indigenous heritage and their musical beginnings.

6. The Funk Hunters

Music comes in all forms. These two DJ’s have a professional bio highlighting music awards, albums and international music festivals where they have played. It’s a simple layout with their photos in the header and an easy to read biographies.

7. The Crescent Sky

Here's a great band bio example from a 4-piece indie band. This group of four makes a personal connection between fans and the individual artist. They post seven engaging questions under the title, “Band Facts.” Then, they list the responses by each musician. 

8. Ill-Legitimate

This group has ten rap artists. Each artist has a photo with his stage name that links to individual bios. And each bio is quite detailed...so check this group out from some more musician bio examples. There is also one link to the Ill-Legitimate (the band’s) bio.

9. Neck of the Woods

We added this bio, not because it tells the band’s story, but how it could be improved. White font on black is always a bit difficult to read. After the bio, they list the band members and what they play. Underneath the list, they post the band’s photo, but there is no way to tell who is who. Sure it’s artsy, but wouldn’t be helpful to put a name and an instrument to a face?

10. Oxlip

The bio for this Irish singer incorporates third-party testimonials. It’s a useful technique of social proof for newer artists because it helps sell the people interested in hiring them.

To summarize, add information that fans and potential bookers want to know. Make it easy to read and not too long.

Keep Your Band Bio Organized and Up to Date

Your bio should be fun and helpful for potential clients who want to get to know you and who want to hire you. Use easy to see links at the top of the Home page to your website. Make sure to highlight each member with at least a sentence or two. 

Your band’s music and gigs change all the time. Make sure you keep your bio up to date with the latest activity and accomplishments.

One tool that keeps you organized is the Back On Stage app for musicians and bandleaders. It combines all the functions needed to keep a busy band on top of their schedules. It’s a repository for all your sheet music, reference recordings, band member info, contact information, integrated calendar, client contacts, invoices and everything else you need to manage your band.

Keeping your profile up to date demonstrates to potential employers that you’re not just another band. You’re serious about your business and your future.

What To Avoid With Your Band Bio

To create a bio that works, here are a few things you don’t want to do.

Not Having a Website

Your Facebook, Instagram or WeddingWire profile pages aren't going to cut it. Set up a quality website. You can pay for it all with one gig. We personally love Shopify because of how easy it is to get running and they’ve got great 24/7 tech support for all us artsy and non-techy types! But platforms like Wix, Wordpress, and even Banzoogle might be a good fit for you.

Confusing or Missing Biographies

Save the poetry for your lyrics. Stick to the information that matters to fans and potential bookers. Forego artsy, flowery descriptions in favor of easy to read details. 

Missing Link

Don’t forget to write a bio for all members, not just a generic one for the band. Make the link easy to see in the top navigation bar. Some groups try to be so clever and different that they forget to create a link to the bio. Why would someone click on your MERCH link if you don’t even have a bio?

Too Many Videos and Photos 

Filling your bio page with lots of photos and embedded videos can make the page load slowly. Cherry-pick the best media and use links to the videos. You can have a separate page or host them elsewhere, like YouTube.

Out Of Date Band or Musician Bios

It's terrible when your recently booked gig gets some press in a local newspaper or website and as soon as it's live, you realize that they used the wrong band photo and your description is out of date. It's also a big turn off to promoters and clients when your bio makes references to projects in the future tense when they have clearly come to pass.

When Should You Update Your Bio?

Update your band bio as soon as something significant happens in your band's career. Here's a list of significant things worth writing about in your bio:

1. New album, EP or single release
2. New member joins the band
3. When you win any new awards or contests
4. When you play a gig for several hundred people at some notable venue or festival and it was bigger than any gig you've done before
5. When you receive a glowing review that is better than any previous review and is from a credible source

How Often Should You Update Your Bio?

As often as any of the above events occur!

That said, it's easy to get caught up in your other daily aspects of running a band, promoting yourself, creating music etc etc. So be safe and set a monthly reminder in your calendar.

If you remind yourself the check in on your bio every month, you'll be sure not to forget about that recent achievement that really should be mentioned. You never know who will be reading your bio and how much a fresh detail might help them make up their mind to listen to your music or hire your band!

Use SEO to Help Everyone Find Your Band Bio

You would be amazed at how many bands don’t bother to have a website. 

If you search for your band’s name in Google, what comes up? Here is a perfect example of doing SEO (Search Engine Optimization) right. The Phonix Band ranks for all the first page positions in Google for the “the phonix band” keyword. 

Every group and solo artist needs to have an optimized website with an easy to find the link to their Bio page.  Using proper SEO will help more people find you. This article, “SEO For Musicians and Bands,” will help you set up your website and bio the right way. 

Share You Band Biography 

Post your band bio sample or or musician bio example in the comments below and show our community of readers what you came up with for your own bio! 

We'd love to see what you've got and what is helping your music career! (Hey, it's free promotion for you and your band - why not?!)