A day in the life of a tour manager is a fascinating blend of logistics, problem-solving, and creative thinking as they work tirelessly to keep a tour running smoothly from start to finish.
Developing and applying a standardized day-of-show schedule is something that can help to eliminate guesswork and assist in creating a touring rhythm that all departments can appreciate.
With that said, no two days on tour are going to be exactly the same.
In this example, we will be job shadowing the daily activities of a tour manager who is wearing multiple hats on a club-level tour.
Obviously, schedule adjustments will need to be made, but this is a broad strokes overview of a sample day of show.
Prior to Departure
A smooth overnight arrival begins well before departure ever occurs.
Make sure your bus and truck drivers have up-to-date parking and load-in information 72 hours prior to departure.
This allows them time to do their due diligence and raise any concerns with parking, the route, or departure time.
Additionally, this is a favor to your future self as it helps to streamline the arrival process.
If there any non-standard show day concerns, make sure to raise the issue with the affected parties.
An informed band and crew are a happy band and crew. Eliminate surprises!
On Arrival
If everything has gone according to plan, the bus has somehow magically teleported and you’re waking up in the next city, right where you need to be.
If the bus is parked on a street, provide your bus driver signage they can hang on the interior of the bus door, to remind people to be cautious when exiting.
Venue Access [9:00a]
Without question, one of the most important things in the morning is having access to restroom facilities.
Arranging a reasonable time for venue access will bring great joy to all involved.
Ideally, you want this to occur at minimum an hour before load-in, so people can do their morning routine, get freshened up, grab a bite to eat, etc.
Early venue access won’t be available at all venues due to a variety of reasons, but it’s always worth the ask.
Venue Walk Through [9:15a]
You should have already received a map of the venue during your advance process and have a rough idea of how things are laid out.
However, nothing can beat actually walking through a venue and understanding how everything connects and is laid out.
A good tour manager will do a pre-walk of important artist pathways to be able to navigate backstage with confidence once the artist is on site.
Walking through with post-it notes is a quick way to assign dressing rooms before the band and crew descend upon the venue for the day.
This is helpful to the hospitality person as well since they’ll know where to set up the hospitality rider.
If the pathway from the bus to the venue entrance isn’t entirely clear, sometimes a video highlighting the pathway from the bus to the backstage is helpful.
It can be sent to the group chat, and those 30 seconds invested will improve the morning of everyone, along with saving you from being asked the same question 10 additional times.
Morning Brainstorming
In no particular order, here is a sample of things to think about when doing a venue walk-through.
- Who needs to be assigned to what dressing rooms? IE: Artist, band, crew, production, support.
- Are towels already in the dressing rooms or production office?
- How do I get to the bus from backstage?
- How do I get to the stage from backstage?
- How do I access catering from the dressing room area?
- Where are the restrooms and showers located?
- Is there a viewing area for the artist?
- Is there a VIP area in the house?
- Is there a cross-through to get from stage left to stage right once the show is up?
- What is the pathway from stage to the house floor?
- How do I get to the merchandise area? Have any shipments arrived?
- Where is the box office?
- What are my pathways to emergency exits?
- How do I lock and unlock the doors in case of an emergency?
- Where does hospitality need to go?
- What is the best pathway to get guests backstage?
- Is this a seated show? Where will my comps be located?
- Are there any issues with sightlines? Do we need to kill seats?
- Is the show sold out? Do we need to dress the room?
- Will regional liquor laws affect underage patrons?
- Where will production elements get set? How are cables run?
- How do we get consoles to front of house?
- Where is the venue’s production office?
- At what points will security be placed?
- What’s the condition of the stage?
- Do we have a runner on yet? Is the driver’s room available yet? Are they ready to go back?
Again, this is just a sample. There is definitely more that should be considered based on the needs of the tour you’re on.
Breakfast [Before Load-In]
On tours of this size, you may or may not have the hospitality budget for breakfast.
It really depends on the personal preference of the touring party if this occurs or not.
A happy medium is to stock your bus with breakfast items and let people do their own thing in the mornings.
Load In [10:00a]
Prior to the trailer door ever opening, you should identify how gear is going to come into the venue.
Confirm there are no issues with the stage, and figure out where dead cases need to go.
Take note if the proper amount of local labor has arrived for the call.
Correct labor calls are important for getting the show built, but also for accurate show settlements.
Setting Up / Production Office / Dressing Rooms [10:15a]
Production and wardrobe cases should be labeled to make sure they make it to the correct areas.
Go ahead and get your production office set up.
If you like to stay ahead, you’ve already printed today’s day sheets the night prior.
Office Admin [ALL DAY]
Welcome to your windowless production cave! Travel the world they said…
If you’ve been a very good tour manager, the tour gods might bestow upon you a window with natural light to the outside world.
A large portion of the day will be spent in the production office dealing with whatever needs attention.
This could include advancing shows, organizing guest requests, creating credentials, other ticketing issues, reviewing pre-settlements, tour accounting, reviewing menus, coordinating promo, the list goes on.
Lunch Orders [10:35a]
A lot of tours of this size aren’t going to have the budgets for proper in-house catering, or a dedicated catering room.
So, it’s up to you (or a PA if you’re lucky) to gather meal orders from everyone.
Give yourself more time than you think to collect orders as you’re going to be pulled in a multitude of different directions.
Beyond 12 people on a tour, you really start to get into the territory of needing dedicated catering as it becomes time prohibitive to take orders.
It’s difficult for the crew to reply to orders because they are setting up, and some of the band may not even be awake yet.
Buyouts can sometimes work, but for most of the crew, it’s not a possibility to walk away.
On Deck [11:30p]
Living in a production office all day is no way to live.
Stretch your legs and go check in on the crew to see how they’re doing and if they need anything.
If the bus driver hasn’t gone back to the hotel yet, they are probably ready to head out.
Lunch Arrival [~12:30p]
In an ideal world, lunch has arrived and it’s already properly labeled.
Sometimes a restaurant will be kind and apply meal name labels if you provide them.
More often than not, that isn’t the case and you have to figure out what is what.
Dinner Orders [1:30p]
Keeping the hospitality train rolling is a never-ending struggle on a tour of this size.
You’re constantly having to look ahead and figure out what restaurant you’re going to order from next.
This becomes increasingly difficult if you’re working with a group that has a variety of dietary restrictions.
Good catering makes all the difference in the world to a TM or PA on a tour of this size.
Yes, you did just eat, but you need to get dinner orders collected before people get stuck on deck doing their jobs.
It normally takes around an hour to get everyone’s order in.
If you wait until after sound check to collect orders, you’re late.
Timing starts to scrunch up the closer you get to doors and lots of things can go sideways quickly.
Crew Line Check [2:00p]
Line check is when the crew will go through and ensure that everything is functional and prepared for soundcheck.
This includes making sure everything is in working order and ensuring that signal loss, ground hum, and feedback are non-issues.
Running a virtual soundcheck from a previous show is a great way to get to a good starting point.
Additionally, the lighting designer can continue to work on focus and make sure fixtures are set where they need to be.
Band Sound Check [2:30p – 4:00p]
Ideally, any technical issues should have been sorted out prior to the band’s arrival on stage.
It’s much easier to problem-solve when not in a pressure cooker.
Having the band run a few songs of varying instrumentation will help to ensure the audio engineer is able to optimize everything for the performance.
If for some reason the artist is not going to be there for soundcheck, it’s a good idea to communicate that to both the band and crew and adjust accordingly.
Support Load In [3:30p]
Normally, support will be arriving while the headliner is wrapping up their soundcheck.
They can start to load in and build gear and equipment on the floor or in the wings while things finish up on stage.
Assuming this is their first day on the tour, it’s a good idea to remind them of set times and lengths, distribute credentials, and review how everything is going to flow day to day.
Make them feel welcomed!
Support Sound Check [4:00p – 5:00p]
It’s important to make sure support has adequate time on deck to address any technical issues, feel comfortable on stage, and get the levels they need.
On the flip side, you or the stage manager need to ensure they are staying on schedule for any events occurring after their check.
Press [TBD]
If you are running any type of in-person press at the venue that day, you’ll have to figure out the best window to do it in.
This can sometimes prove challenging with a loaded production schedule, and limited places to conduct an interview.
Or rather, you may have the space to conduct an on-camera interview, but any type of active soundcheck will cause audio interference.
VIP Local Hello [5:00p]
Oftentimes, tours will sell some type of VIP package that will allow for early or first entry into a venue before GA doors.
If the tour is not traveling with a dedicated VIP person, you will need to introduce yourself to the local VIP person and make sure they have everything they need to run a successful activation.
Security Meeting [5:15p]
Prior to any guests entering the venue, you’re going to want to conduct a security meeting with the venue manager and head of security to make sure everything is up to standards, review protocols, and go over the pass sheet.
The guestlist should be ready at this point so you can discuss the types of passes you will have in the room so security can be aware.
Before anyone is granted access to the venue, make sure both the tour and the venue are aware of how things should flow.
Dinner [5:30p]
This is more or less the same process as lunchtime.
Sometimes you have a production runner who is able to go pick up a meal, or maybe you are using Uber Eats to deliver the food order.
Confirm that meals have arrived, label the boxes, and set them out for consumption.
VIP Check-In [5:30p]
If the tour is running a VIP activation, the venue needs to be aware prior to the day of the show so they can accommodate an early call for venue staffing needs.
A dedicated VIP company will often do their own advance with the venue, but it’s up to the tour manager to connect the dots and make sure everything is prepared for show day.
A simple radio check-in with the VIP rep is good for knowing that there are no issues with getting this process started.
VIP Doors [6:00p]
Normally, with a VIP activation, there is some type of early entry component.
If this is a part of the tour’s activation, make sure the house is aware before anyone is let inside.
GA Doors [7:00p]
10 minutes before doors are open you want to confirm with all departments that they are in fact ready to open GA doors.
Typically, if a VIP activation was run, house music and lights will already be set how they need to be.
If they were not, now is the time to make sure everyone is good to go.
Support Performance [8:00p]
10 minutes before support goes on, you’re going to want to check in with them to make sure they’re good to go.
A kindly 5 minute reminder at 8:25p never hurt anyone.
Showtime [9:00p – 10:30p]
Showtime is always a magical moment.
No matter the size of the venue, when house lights go down, and the crowd roars, it is a special feeling.
All of your efforts have helped to play a small part in what could be someone’s first show, their fifteenth, or an experience they will cherish for the rest of their life.
Photo Policy [TBD]
Typically, artists have a photo policy that allows professional photographers in the pit for the first three songs.
It’s a good idea to stick close and make sure security clears the pit when they are supposed to.
If you’re traveling with a tour photographer, make sure that security is aware that they have access to all areas.
Front of House [TBD]
It’s easy to remain in the backstage bubble, but it’s a good idea to walk into the house and get a sense of the fan experience.
Simply walking around and observing can really make all of those e-mails come alive!
Show Settlement [TBD]
Once things are running smoothly, a tour manager is often able to settle the show while the band is on stage.
Every artist is different, but generally, if the band has proper crew support the TM can step away.
Other Responsibilities [TBD]
There is so much that happens while the band is on stage.
Ensuring trucks are repositioned, verifying local labor is on standby for the out, and organizing any aftershow food deliveries.
This could also include checking in on merch, dealing with security issues, and preparing for the next day.
And make sure you have enough shower towels for after load out!
There is always something needing to be done.
Audio Curfew [TBD]
If there is a hard audio curfew, make sure to put it on the band’s radar earlier in the day.
This is not something that should be mentioned 5 minutes prior to the band walking on stage.
End of Show
Before the artist comes off stage, make sure the corridors are clear.
Give the locals a heads-up that this is their last song.
If the artist has any type of walk-off music, make sure no hands prematurely walk onto the stage.
Once the show is actually over, you can give the all-good signal to start the load-out process.
Aftershow Backstage
After a show, things can get a little hectic backstage.
Once the band walks off stage, make sure to create the space they need to decompress.
Tell security not to let anyone backstage until you give the all-clear.
Once the band is ready, you can start to let back aftershow guests.
If dressing rooms overlap a load-out path, remind guests to be cautious of moving production equipment.
Load Out
Figure out a system with your crew to create efficient load-outs.
Normally, someone will send gear from the stage, and someone will receive it at the trailer.
Make sure to do a dummy check on the stage, as well as in the dressing rooms.
There is the production load out, but there is also the hospitality load out.
Make sure hands stay on to help get merchandise out as well.
Merch will always be the last thing because they are having to count out product and settle.
However, once that trailer door shuts, what a glorious feeling it is.
Showers
Most venues are good about this, but make sure they will stay open an hour after load out to accommodate showering.
Double-check that you have enough towels for everyone.
Being just one short can ruin someone’s night.
Bus Call
If the tour has an early bus call, the production runner can pick up the driver.
Be sure to include the driver in aftershow meal counts as that will be their breakfast.
If it’s a later bus call, the driver will need to take back a rideshare or taxi.
Make sure that radios get put back on the charger for a pleasant start to your day tomorrow.
Then, step through the portal and begin again.
Conclusion
Trying to sum up a day in the life of a tour manager is a largely impossible task.
Without question, this does not capture everything you could possibly encounter while working as a tour manager on a club tour.
Deciding where to be can often be a struggle for a tour manager wearing a lot of hats.
Hopefully, this begins to give you an idea of the nuance that goes into making a successful show day happen.