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Send a shoutout

A shoutout is a short personal message — up to 140 characters — that the announcer reads over the PA between performances. "The Hendersons are so proud of #23 on the snare line!" That kind of thing. Each one costs a few dollars (the price is set by the host and shown on the form), and the money supports the event.

Write your shoutout

  1. Scan the QR code at the gate and tap Send a Shoutout (or tap it at the bottom of the live schedule).
  2. Fill in the form:
    • Band — pick the band it's for, or leave it as General (no specific band). Picking a band helps the announcer read it near their performance.
    • To — who it's for (optional). "The trumpet section", "Emma".
    • Message — the message itself, up to 140 characters. A counter shows what's left.
    • From — your name (optional).
  3. Choose how to pay, then tap Send Shoutout.

Only seeing Cash?

Card checkout isn't offered at every event. When it isn't, the cash path works exactly the same — you'll get a 6-digit code to take to the shoutout table.

Scan first

At some events, the host requires you to scan the gate QR code before sending shoutouts. If you see "Scan the QR Code at the Gate" instead of the form, that's all it means — walk over, scan, and the form unlocks.

Paying by card

Choose Card, tap Send Shoutout, and you'll be taken to a secure checkout page (run by Stripe, the payment processor) to enter your card. You'll come right back to a confirmation — once it says "Payment received." you're done.

Paying with cash

Choose Cash and tap Send Shoutout. Your 6-digit cash code covers all of your unpaid eligible phone shoutouts for this competition. You can add messages for different bands before visiting the tent; they keep the same code until payment.

Tap My cash shoutouts on the schedule or shoutout form to recover the code and see every included message, band and the current total. Keep using the same browser: your fan session lasts up to 18 hours. Save the code if you may close or switch browsers. If your session expires, a saved code can still be shown to the cash station; an individual message receipt cannot recover all your other messages. The code and private list need an internet connection to load. If the site cannot establish your fan session, it will ask you to retry before saving a new cash message.

At the tent, show the volunteer your code. They review the complete list and collect its full total in one payment. Rejected and already-paid messages are excluded. A changed list or price requires another review before payment; you cannot select only some messages from the batch. Your original confirmation changes to Payment received after collection, and Refresh cash status updates the recovery page. Approval by the event team is still required before a message enters the announcer's queue.

After payment, any later cash submissions receive a new code. Showing a paid code again opens its original receipt and does not collect another payment.

There's also a walk-up option: at the shoutout table, the volunteer can hand you their tablet to type your message right there, then you pay them directly. No phone needed at all.

When will it be read?

Shoutouts are read between performances, whenever the announcer has a breather. Messages tied to a band tend to get read around that band's slot. A quick word of expectation-setting from the form itself: "The event team reviews messages before they are read. Messages may be edited or skipped. Payments for messages rejected for foul language or other inappropriate content are not refundable." Keep it kind and family-friendly and it'll sail through. Some events also set a per-person limit — if you hit it, the form will tell you.

The form and every payment retry show this policy before you continue. A rejected message leaves the cash and announcer queues. If it was already paid, its confirmation still shows that payment was received; rejection does not erase the payment record or issue a refund. A paid message awaiting review is labeled accordingly, rather than shown as ready for the announcer.

If the event team rejects an unpaid message, leave its confirmation page open while asking them about a correction. The page keeps checking and restores the payment instructions if the host approves it again. Do not pay while it says "Do not pay for this message."