Post-show recap email by Hive Backstage

---
name: post-show-recap-email
description: Draft the morning-after recap email to attendees and the venue's full list, opening with a real moment from the show and hooking to what is next on the calendar. Trigger whenever an operator says "write the recap", "draft the post-show email", "the [artist] show was last night, can you write the email", or pastes setlist notes, crowd notes, or post-show observations and asks for a list email. Also trigger when they share a Granola or notes doc from the night and want it turned into a recap. This skill is the back half of the show cycle. Use it the morning after a show closes, before the next announce email runs. Do not use it for social captions (use `post-show-social-pack`) or longer-form blog content (use `recap-blog-opener`).
---
# Post-show recap email

## What this skill does

This skill writes the email that goes out the morning after a show, to ticketholders and the full list. The job is twofold. Reward the people who were in the room by capturing the night honestly, and pull the people who were not into the next show on the calendar without making the email feel like a sales pivot.

The recap email is the most voice-sensitive email in the cycle. Get it right and the list trusts every announce email that follows. Get it wrong and the list reads marketing copy and tunes out. The skill leans heavily on the venue voice profile.

## When to trigger

Trigger when an operator says a show happened last night and they need the recap email out. Trigger on phrasings like "write the recap", "post-show email", "the [artist] show was great, can you do the email", or when they paste notes from the night, a setlist, or quick crowd observations and ask for copy.

Do not trigger this skill if the operator is asking for a social caption (use post-show-social-pack), a longer recap blog (use recap-blog-opener), or a logistics email (use before-you-go-logistics-email). This skill is the email only.

## Required inputs

The recap email needs real, specific inputs from the night. Without them the email will read generic and the skill will produce a worse version than the operator could write in five minutes. If the inputs are missing, ask once.

Artist name and show date. Confirm spelling.

One or two real moments from the night. Examples of what counts: the song that got the loudest reaction, a moment the artist talked to the crowd, a guest appearance, a stretch where the room felt locked in, a quiet song that landed, weather that made it memorable for an outdoor show, a story from the support act, anything the operator actually noticed. Setlist context is welcome. Specifics are non-negotiable.

Next show on the calendar. Artist, date, and ticket link. This is the soft CTA at the end. If there is no next show booked, ask the operator what they want the close to do instead (signup for the list, follow on socials, etc).

Optional: a real quote from the artist or a fan if the operator captured one. Pull-quote style works well in recap emails.

Hard rule: if the operator cannot offer at least one real moment, do not draft. Reply asking for one. Recap emails written from nothing read like every other recap email, which is what kills them. Do not invent a moment to add color.

## Voice

Read the venue voice profile if one exists. Recap emails are where voice matters most because the email is reflective and observational, not transactional.

Default Backstage operator voice if no profile exists: warm, observational, in-the-room. The writer was there, or close enough to it that they know what landed. Avoid sounding like a press release. Avoid sounding like a friend who is trying too hard. The bar is "warm host who saw the show".

Hard voice rules:

No em-dashes. Use commas, semicolons, or periods.

No fragment chains. Use complete sentences with rhythm.

No fabricated specifics. If the operator did not give you the moment, do not invent the moment. This rule matters more here than in any other email in the cycle.

No "thank you for an unforgettable night" sign-offs. They are filler. If the night was special, the body of the email is doing that work.

No selling. The next-show mention at the end is informational, not a sales pitch. The reader has just been thanked. Do not flip into close-mode.

## Structure

Always draft in this order.

Subject line. One option. Default patterns: a line from the night ("Goldlink closed with The Parable"), a feeling about the room ("Last night was a long one"), or a simple anchor ("[Artist] at [Venue], last night"). Under 55 characters. No all caps unless the venue voice profile uses them. No "thanks" subject lines.

Preheader. One sentence. Use it to set the scene or quote a moment. Twelve to eighteen words.

Scene-opener. The first two to three sentences put the reader in the room. Lead with the specific moment the operator gave you. Not "what a night". Not "we had a blast". The specific.

Reflection. One short paragraph, two or three sentences. What the night felt like, why this artist mattered, what the room did. If the operator gave you a quote from the night, this is where it goes, set on its own line.

Nod to next. One short paragraph, two to three sentences. Name the next show. Tie it loosely to the recap if you can (same kind of room, same kind of crowd, returning artist) but do not force it. If the link is weak, just name the next show cleanly.

Soft CTA. Single primary link to the next show, or whatever the operator chose if there is no next show booked. CTA copy should match the venue voice. Default fallback: "See what's next" or "Next on the calendar".

Close. One line. Optional sign-off if the venue voice profile uses one.

## Length cap

Body copy sits at about 150 words. Recap emails earn a little more room than announce emails because the job is reflective, but anything past 180 starts to drag.

## Common failure modes to avoid

Opening with "what a night". This is the most predictable recap opener possible. Cut it. Open with the specific moment.

Listing every song the artist played. The recap is not a setlist. Pick one or two moments. The setlist is a social caption job.

Pivoting hard to the next show. The transition from recap to next-show should feel like a host pointing at the calendar, not a salesperson closing. If it reads like a CTA, rewrite it.

Generic gratitude language. "Thank you to everyone who came out" tells the reader nothing. If you are going to thank the room, thank them for something specific.

Treating the support act as an afterthought. If the support act delivered, name them and what they did. The list will remember.

## What to deliver

Return:

Subject line (one).

Preheader (one).

Email body, ready to paste, with quotes set on their own line if used.

CTA copy and the destination URL for the next show, or the alternate close the operator requested.

If you had to ask for missing inputs to draft, name what you used and what is still thin in two or three sentences at the end. Do not walk through every word choice.