The Lineup · app alert voice · Brand/Creative · June 14, 2026
The alert is the friend-text, delivered
The north-star is “would you text a friend, want to go?” An alert is the only place the app gets to literally be that friend — so it has to sound like one. Not a generic events app. The friend who knows your bands and texts you the good stuff. This is the reusable voice system for every alert the generic engine sends — bands first, venues and offers and proximity later, same shapes.
Playful in tone, precise in content. The failure on one side is flat-and-forgettable; on the other, cute-and-useless. The target is the friend-text: warm, but the fact lands first.
Too flat — forgettable
“A band you follow is playing nearby tomorrow.”
★ Aim here — the friend-text
“Heads up — Mt. Joy’s at the Signal tomorrow night. Want to go?”
A little more playful — still precise
“Mt. Joy’s in town tomorrow — the Signal, doors at 8. You in?”
Too cute — avoid
“guess who’s playing nearby…” (buries the fact, wastes the tap)
Every message the engine can send, with its small rotating set written in voice. Facts-first, the ★ line is the lead. {band} {venue} {date} are slots — the same shapes carry venues, offers, and proximity later.
1 · New show announced
A band you follow just announced a single show. Flex: delighted. Fires on discovery, daytime window.
★ “Good news — {band}’s coming to {venue}.” {date}. Want to go?
“Heads up — {band} just announced {venue}, {date}. You in?”
“{band}’s playing {venue} on {date}. Want to go?”
“That’s one of yours — {band} at {venue}, {date}. In?”
2 · Deduped tour
A band announced several dates — one alert, never one per date. Entice the tap without naming a date that might not be the right one.
★ “{band} just announced {n} shows near you →”
“{band}’s touring — {n} dates near you. Take a look →”
“{n} new {band} dates just dropped near you →”
3 · Day-before reminder
An event you’re tracking is tomorrow — the make-a-plan nudge. Flex: warm, a nudge.
★ “Tomorrow: {band} at {venue}.” You in?
“{band}’s at {venue} tomorrow night. Still want to go?”
“Heads up — {band} plays {venue} tomorrow. Doors at 8.”
4 · Day-of reminder
It’s today. Flex: matter-of-fact. The fact is the message — no need to sell a plan they already made.
★ “Tonight: {band} at {venue}, doors 8.”
“It’s tonight — {band} at {venue}, doors 8.”
“{band} plays {venue} tonight. Doors 8. You saved this one.”
5 · The digest ★ primary frequency tool
Same-intent alerts collapse into one. The hard part: summarize without going vague. Lead with the count + the noun; the “→” is the enticement; never lie about specifics.
★ “{n} of your bands play this weekend →”
“{n} of your bands just announced shows near you →”
“Big weekend — {n} of your bands are playing. See the lineup →”
“Your weekend’s stacked: {n} bands you follow are out →”
6 · Weekend Lineup — Thursday push
The opted-in weekly rhythm, matched to the newsletter day. The home-market roundup. Flex: anticipation.
★ “Your {market} weekend, sorted. Here’s what’s good →”
“Thursday roundup: the weekend’s best in {market} →”
“Weekend’s taking shape — here’s the {market} lineup →”
+ Venue / offer same engine
The generic detector covers venues too. A place you follow added an event or an offer. Same voice, the {venue} is the subject.
“{venue} just added a show you’ll want — {band}, {date}. Want to go?”
“New at {venue} (you follow it): {thing}. In?”
offer → “{venue}’s running {offer} this week. Worth a stop?”
± Starting-soon opt-in · later
Not a default — opt-in only, rare, stands alone at its moment. Pure fact, no flourish.
“Starting soon: {band} at {venue}, doors now.”
“{band}’s on in 30 at {venue}.”
Reusable across the generic engineBands ship first, but the engine is generic — venues, offers, and the later proximity “near me” layer ride the same rails. Writing these as slotted shapes ({band}/{venue}/{date}/{n}) means a new alert type inherits the voice instead of inventing one.
Consolidation is the frequency guardThe digest isn’t a nice-to-have — it’s how we stay under ~3/day without hard-capping and dropping things. The voice has to make a summary feel like a gift, not a batch. That’s why type 5 gets the most rotation.
Don’t merge across urgencyA “plan” alert (tomorrow) and a “go now” alert (tonight, doors) never collapse together — merging dilutes the urgent one. The voice flex (warm-nudge vs. matter-of-fact) reinforces the separation the timing model already enforces.
The promise underneathEvery one of these is an alert the user asked for by following. The voice can be warm and familiar precisely because it’s never an unrequested push — the friendliness is earned, not presumed. That’s the brand soul made audible.