This week I’m talking with Christian music artist Tom Golly. Tom is a successful independent artist who has had a lot of success touring and working the festival circuit on his own initiative. We are discussing how to reach out to churches and music festivals as an indie artist when booking tours and how to have the best chance to make it on the main stage of festivals. Plus, the importance of hiring band members who will become like family to you, not just employees. Sponsors: Edenbrooke Productions - We offer consulting services and are offering listeners a 1-hour introductory special. To request more info on consulting services, email Marty at contact@johnmartinkeith.com.  In this episode we talk about: *The state of the Christian music scene. *You’re only as good as the people you surround yourself with. *the process of hiring players to tour with you. *Have a servant’s heart. *Dealing with other’s limitations. *Treat your players better than you treat yourself. *Give your musicians the space to do what they are great at. *Build a family, not employees. *Booking festivals as an indie artist. *Learn how to craft an email for booking shows. *Beware of scammers who claim they can get you gigs. *How to make a booking agent want to hear more. *Perspective is everything. *The Tom Golly Official podcast on You Tube. BIO: Tom Golly is a Christian singer/songwriter from Nashville Tennessee. Born and raised in Long Island New York. Since 2010, Tom has immersed himself in music and has never looked back.  Following his move to Nashville, TN he recorded his first EP "Not Going Back".  The project was written with Jake Jones and Justin Forshaw of As We Ascend at RMS Studios. Much of the music reflects Tom’s life experiences and journey through of faith. Tom’s music is a unique energetic blend of Christian Contemporary Pop & Worship with a little bit of rock edge that has seen much success on streaming platforms .His last 3 releases have done well on Spotify seeing his music added to major playlists and has had as much as 40,000 monthly listeners. His first radio single " Let Your Heart Be Found " made it to the Billboard  " Most Added " Charts. Tom has found much success touring nationally and sharing the stage with some of Christian music’s biggest acts such as, Matthew West, Mandisa, Matt Maher, Tauren Wells, NEWSBOYS, Matthew West,  Francesca Battistelli, For King & Country, Danny Gokey, JJ Weeks, Zealand, Chris August, Jordan Feliz, Zach Williams, We Are Messengers, Carrolton & many more.  In May of 2019 Tom released a new single " KEEP FIGHTING " which has rocketed to over 150,000 Spotify streams in less than 4 months. Following the success of the single, Tom has since launched The " Keep Fighting Movement " Which is not only a website aimed to be a place for those in need of prayer and encouragement, but a resource page for those seeking help.