If you’re planning on building a new
for your or project, it helps to look at what other musicians are doing right.In this article, we’ve pulled together 9 examples of which do a great job at keeping things simple, stylish and effective… websites
Whilst there is not one simple ‘right or wrong’ when it comes to an site, these examples should give some ideas of best practices that you can incorporate into your own plans, whether working with a designer or using one of the various builders out there.
It doesn’t matter whether your #1 focus is industry promotion (ie booking gigs, getting press) or audience development and fan engagement: your website can play an important role.
When searching for these examples sites, we were looking specifically for musicians who incorporate these key features into their :
- Strong visual imagery
- Simple, clear layout
- Streamable
- A concise explanation of who they are and what they do
- Easy-to-find video content
- A way to buy their
- Up-to-date gig listings
- A way of connecting with them (such as a newsletter)
- Links to their social profiles ( , Instagram, , etc)
So, with all that in mind, here are examples of just 9 of the best websites we pulled together!
#1 Pick: Joshua Espinoza
Latino-American jazz pianist Joshua Espinoza’s is a great example of how a striking visual and careful use of content can combine to make a site that is both easy to view and totally informative.
The full-page header does everything it needs to: tells the visitor who the site is about, what they do (“pianist”) and shows them a high-quality photo of the On top of on an eye-catching yellow background, there are no other distractions, except for the social icons in the header that readers have come to expect.
This site is also notable for being all on one-page. Whilst the long-scrolling homepage has become best practice in our mobile-first world, most sites tend to use a couple of extra pages for more details.
This one doesn’t, yet misses nothing:
- a prominent video allows the fan, promoter or journalist to quickly get an impression of the .
- 4 well-defined boxes send people to his four preferred listening platforms
- A big list of tour dates are embedded from Bandsintown
- One effective quote from a known press source
- A short biography to give the visitor a taste of his story
- A signup form for his newsletter
Whilst the occasional visitor might wish for more detailed information about his biography, it’s a brilliant example of a well-thought out and well-designed .
Key website : The video section is actually a ‘slider’, which means that on first glance it’s just a nice full-width video, but once you stop you have the option to scroll across for more video choices.
Visit Joshua Espinoza’s website
Lakecia Benjamin
As with a couple of other examples in this article, the homepage is used to ‘tease’ content which can then be accessed by visiting a dedicated page:
- Upcoming events are limited to three, with a button to view more
- Two recent press cuttings are displayed, above a ‘see all’ button
- A short 1-paragraph version of the bio is alongside a ‘read more’ button
If you’re looking to quickly show the first-time visitor that you’re operating on a high level, can be a valuable tool.
Whilst this is typically testimonials or quotes, Lakecia highlights her endorsements with saxophone brands such as Yanagisawa, Vandoren, Key Leaves, Conn & Selmer as a way of showing that she is an established name in the industry.
The menu on this is probably about as simple as it could be, which helps make it clear and easy to use:
- Home
- Tour
- About
- Press
- Contact
What more do you need?!
Key website : where a lot of sites feel the need to separate a video page, listening page and buying page, this one combines all together.
Each release is listed with a short description, the album artwork and a button which goes to a page which then allows the visitor to choose their platform of choice (Spotify, Bandcamp, iTunes, etc)
Visit Lakecia Benjamin’s website
Anthony Strong
As with almost all examples of modern-day , this site from British -pianist Anthony Strong favours a full-screen cover image which showcases a choice quote (from none other than blues legend BB King) to draw the visitor in.
After that is a tagline which sums up his for the first-time visitor.
The homepage (built on , rather than it’s drag-and-drop alternatives) is not a long one, but it incorporates the most important elements that a visitor might be looking for:
- A teaser-list of the next three tour-dates (via Songkick)
- An album cover image from Bandcamp which doubles up as a streaming player
- A video graphic leading to the videos page
- A signup form for the newsletter
- A ‘latest news’ thread pulled from his feed
Aside from this immediately-viewable homepage content, there is a clearly laid out menu which links to the necessary additional info on the rest of the site.
Key website f : the homepage is full of ‘teasers’ which draw people deeper without overloading the initial content.
For example:
- The ‘ ’ section shows only the next three gigs, with a button to view the rest
- The video graphic links to the videos page to see all the videos
- The album artwork brings up an option to buy which links to Bandcamp
Visit Anthony Strong’s website
Emma Rawicz
Made with the Wix, this is yet another example of a scrolling 1-page site which pulls together all the key features a visitor might be looking for.
The prioritisation of a video (right under the full-width cover image) is a great idea for newer artists as it lets the would-be fan, booker or other industry contact immediately get a feel for the and its style.
The images chosen all have a consistent in terms of colour and style, which gives the site a professional look without the need for fancy graphics (or an expensive !).
The inclusion of an embedded Instagram grid is also a nice touch as it allows the to keep the site fresh with visual content, without having to log-in and update it; simply post on IG and it will appear on the .
Key website fthe . The bottom right corner of this site features a ‘let’s chat’ button which (in theory) connects a visitor to a live chat with This is common in many industries, but not something we’ve seen much on websites.
It would be interesting to know if this gets used and if it helps strengthen fan connections, but it’s a great way to try to stand out and give that VIP access they love.
Gregory Porter
When looking for for your DIY , it can be a useful exercise to check out what artists with a major label machine behind them are doing.
Jazz singing superstar Gregory Porter (Universal Records) is a great example of this…
Firstly, note the beautiful full-page image which dominates to homepage; as long as you have some good quality photos (which every needs!) you can easily replicate this concept.
The next part of the homepage is dominated by calls to buy or listen to his latest release; this makes sense for a big name where the likely visitor is looking for exactly that.
If your current goal is actually building that audience (rather than selling to them) you might not want to replicate this exactly, but it’s a good reminder that you should put what you think your average visitor is looking for most prominently on the site.
The inclusion of a video on the homepage also reinforces the idea that most people – whether or industry – want to see an (as well as hear them) so should be able to do this as easily as possible.
Whilst there might be one or two items in the menu that could have been combined for easier browsing, it does show the key elements that every needs to display:
- About
- (Listen/Watch/Stream/Buy)
- Gigs
- links
Key website : The videos page includes a whopping 47 videos at last count. A good reminder that, whilst you don’t want to overload people with choices the moment they land on your site, if they go to a specific page such as ‘videos’ there’s no harm giving them *all* the good videos you have!
Visit Gregory Porter’s website
Linda May Han Oh
Bucking the trend for long, mobile-first homepages, bassist Linda May Han Oh nevertheless presents her and projects in a simple and visually appealing way.
The initial page you arrive on is actually a ‘landing page’ which gives the visitor the option to bypass the site and go directly to listen to or buy the album on Bandcamp.
Whilst it might feel counterintuitive to send people away from your site before they’ve even arrived, if your end goal is a new follower on Bandcamp (for example) then why not put that front and centre?
This page also makes great use of a [blurred] video background which provides some action on an otherwise static page.
Whilst the news area is a leftover from pre-covid 2019, it’s an otherwise easy-to-navigate which presents high quality images alongside key information such as a biography, press quotes, tour dates and contact details.
Key website : the site makes good use of sub-menus; rather than clutter up the header with 10+ items, the key ones (such as ‘About’) lead to the option of sub-menus (such as ‘Biography’ / ‘Press’ / ‘Education’).
Visit Linda May Han Oh’s website
Dave Douglas
Anyone who knows American trumpeter, bandleader, composer and record label boss Dave Douglas (who we interviewed here) will know that he has a lot of things going on!
With that in mind, his is testament to the ability to make a simple online home with even the most complicated of careers!
Rather than bombard the first-time visitor with all that information, they are greeted by:
- A simple but high-quality full-width image (which is actually a slider, so it gradually shows more projects)
- A tagline which sums up what he does
- A call-to-action to check out his latest release on Bandcamp or Spotify
In terms of functionality, the homepage is largely used to embed or link out to the main things:
- About/Trumpeter/Composer/Educator all link to their own pages
- A full-width ‘sign up’ module is hard to miss and easy to use
- Sheet links to Bandcamp
- Latest news is covered with embedded content from and Songkick
- An embedded player (also via Bandcamp) is used for on-site streaming.
Key website : This is an excellent reminder of the basics of good visual ; it uses one primary colour (black) with a secondary colour (red) for buttons and highlighted text. This makes for a remarkably easy-to-skim site which pulls your eye to the key parts such as “listen here.”
Michele Thomas
Chicago-based Michele Thomas is using to deliver a clear and stylish .
As with almost every example in this article, the homepage is dominated by a full-screen image which sets the visual tone for the rest of the site.
The homepage content is divided into clear sections, with the alternating white and dark grey background colours making it easy to navigate.
Aside from promotion of the new album, the main of the homepage is a press section, pulling out quotes from various sources.
For an connect with journalists and concert promoters as well as , this is a great way to quickly show the level of the project to first-time visitors. building a profile and looking to
Rather than try to integrate an into the site, the ‘shop’ button simply links the would-be customer to Bandcamp which (in our opinion!) is the best way at converting that sale!
Key website : Aside from a simple menu, Michele makes great use of the top right corner button (a typical ) to promote her latest release.
The simplicity of the header coupled with one simple call-to-action, gives the visitor a clear direction of where to click.
Visit Michele Thomas’s website
Little North
This rising-star Danish trio Little North is perhaps the textbook example of the clean and simple style which allows musicians to easily utilise. by
- Full-width cover art ✔
- Clean, white background ✔
- Consistent straight margins ✔
- One-page scroll ✔
The site makes smart use of embedding content from platforms that they want people to connect with:
- Streaming is via the embeddable album-artwork-turned-player from Bandcamp
- Tour dates are via Bands In Town
- A secondary streaming option is via Spotify
- The neat video grid is via .
As long as you are uploading great visual content to these platforms, there is no need to ‘ ’ anything further on your site as these embedded pieces take care of that.
Key website : For many touring bands, the needs to be just as functional for clubs, festivals and agents as it does for . Little North take care of this through a simple button labeled ‘Download Press Kit.’
It links directly to a Dropbox where the keep all materials a would-be booker could want. Of course, you need to keep in mind that anyone can access this, but as long as that is not an issue, it’s a super easy solution for both you and the other party.
Round up: Musician Website examples
Hopefully these nine examples have given you some good ideas for how the next iteration of your website could do an effective job with plenty of style.
Of course, there are lots of other great examples out there and, if you’re working on a new site either alone of with a web designer, it pays to find ones that you love.
If we zoom out and think about what similarities many of these great examples have, it’s probably this:
- Consistency in style (font, sizing, imagery)
- Simplicity in design (space, straight lines, colour scheme, no excess content)
- Utilising other platforms (embedding from Bandcamp, Spotify, Youtube, Songkick, etc etc etc)
Got other examples to share?
Feel free to use the comments section or join us in the Jazzfuel community on Facebook.

International jazz booking agent, manager and host of Jazzfuel.
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We need to know how much the website would cost
Hi Ferdinando,
The cost of a website depends a lot on what platform it’s build on and who’s building it, so we can’t accurately tell you how much these example sites spent.
If you make your own on Squarespace, for example, you will just pay around $12-18/month for their hosting. Bandzoogle/Wix/etc similar. Wordpress can be cheaper but it needs some technical skills to make it look good.
If you’re paying a web designer to custom-build a site to your specifications, you could easily spend hundreds or thousands.
Our service is making Squarespace sites, as outlined here: https://jazzfuel.com/services/squarespace-websites/
Hope that helps
Matt