I've signed up to newsletters and stuff, but still no luck. I know some bands do advertise it, like Muse did with War Child 2013, but most don't. :) Thanks for any advice.

Well if it's a secret gig probably only the right people will know about it...

If it were in the newsletters it wouldn't be a secret gig. You just have to know people who work at the venues or are in some way connected to the local music scene. It's a by word of mouth kind of thing. I don't really see you getting word long enough in advance to plan a trip or anything.

I guess it depends on what exactly you mean by a Secret Gig. Secret as in, most people don't know about the gig itself, or secret as in the band announces they will have a gig but the secret is where it will be?

 

For example, Coldplay had "Secret Gigs" that were announced to the public a month or two in advance. They disclosed the city, but the venue itself was a secret; the venue was announced the day of the event.

By secret I mean with only like 1000 people, like at a club not a massive stadium

That's not really secret, that's just a small gig... and maybe the bands you are talking about just don't do those sorts of gigs?

Would rock bands do them to promote an album or something?

That's not really secret, that's just a small gig... and maybe the bands you are talking about just don't do those sorts of gigs?

 

That's a secret gig, as long as it isn't publicized. I'm pretty sure a lot of bigger bands to it too. I once had a recording of one Coldplay did at the start of the VLV tour. But it seems to me it's most often about knowing people and being involved in the music scene.

When I think of club, I think of 200 people, not 1,000. Anyway, most "secret" gigs don't involve buying tickets. Some of them you have to win your way into with a contest, some involve a band tweeting about a show that happens in 2 hours in a certain location and it's first come get in, and a lot of them are just private events. So keep your eyes peeled to social media, follow bands' tweets and FB posts about last-minute surprises, etc.