Tour checklist

Before you book anything 0 of 3

If you can't tick at least two of these, play more shows at home first and come back to this list.

• People come to see you at homeA good general guide: you can bring 30 to 50 people to a show in your home city on a normal night, without a release show or a bigger act on the bill bringing the crowd.
• You're touring around somethingA release, a video, a festival, a showcase. A tour with nothing to announce is hard to promote.
• You can afford for it to lose moneyEarly tours often do. Plan the tour so the worst case doesn't break you.

Booking 0 of 5

Four to six months out.

• Goals set for this tourMoney, new cities, or relationships. Pick what this one is for.
• Cities picked from where your listeners areSpotify for Artists shows your top cities.
• Drives kept short between show daysAround 300 miles is a long day of driving, so treat it as a limit, not a target. Cluster shows near each other.
• Dates confirmed with the deal in writingYour fee or share of ticket sales, the costs that come out first, and when you get paid.
• Vehicle booked

Confirm the details of every show 0 of 10

By email, one to two weeks out for smaller venues and short runs, two to four weeks for festivals, major tours and special events. Bookers call this advancing the show.

• When to arrive and load in, the address, which door to use, and parking
• Soundcheck time, set time and set length
• Sound engineer: the venue's or your own, with a name and number
• Gear: what the venue provides (the backline) and what you bringSend your stage plot and input list.
• Ticket price and the link to buy tickets
• Food and drinks, or cash instead (a buyout)
• How many guest list spots you get
• Merch: the venue's cut, where the table goes, who sells
• Deal memo in handThe written deal: your fee or split, the costs that come out first, and when you get paid.
• A contact for the day of the showA cell number for the person actually running the night.

Before you leave 0 of 8

• Vehicle checked, roadside assistance active
• Gear photographed, serial numbers listedYou'll need them if anything is stolen.
• Insurance checked for touringMany personal auto and renter's policies don't cover paid gigs or gear used for work. Ask before you go.
• Lodging confirmed for every night
• Offline maps downloaded
• Small bills for making change at the merch table
• Merch counted and listed
• Road kit packedTape, zip ties, strings, sticks, batteries, chargers, first aid, earplugs.

Every show day 0 of 6

• Call ahead to confirm when to arrive
• Arrive early, and be good to the sound engineer
• Merch table set up before the doors open
• Something posted from the day
• Settled up with the venue before you pack upCheck the math yourself with the box office report.
• Money and miles logged that nightWhile it's fresh.

Within 72 hours of getting home 0 of 7

• Thank-you notes sentEvery venue, engineer, local act and host. It's how you get asked back.
• Recap posted and sent to your email listAsk which cities they want you in next.
• Final numbers for every show and the whole run
• Contacts updated with everyone you met
• What worked and what didn't, written downWhere you'd go back, and where you wouldn't.
• Listener growth checked by cityIt shows which cities turned into new listeners.
• RestA few days of nothing.