Is Your Band Ready To Go On Tour????



This article is going to look at the "big Ticket" promotional item- Touring. Entire books have been dedicated to setting up, booking and going on tour so instead I will cut wide path, touching on some of the activities, tips, and hints for getting out on the road.

If you band has been successful in local clubs then you might want to consider building your fan base by enlarging the geographical area in which your band performs. This is a serious step and calls for a band meeting. There are several aspects of touring that your band needs to consider.

The first is answering the question "should you go on tour?" Your band needs to be aware that going out of tour is a costly proposition and you need to make sure that you have a really good reason to hit the road. The best reason is the most obvious one- touring to support your new CD. Let's say you a CD that is currently in production, you may all shake your heads "yes" to the idea of touring to promote it.

The next step is to make sure that everyone is on board with the idea of being on the road touring and what that might actually means. (i.e. where should you go, how many days, how many shows, how you would travel, etc.) Make your first band meeting an open "brainstorming" session just to get a feel of how everyone feels about the concept of being on tour. Make a band calendar, pencil in everyone's personal commitments that cannot be re-scheduled. You'll begin to see how feasible and complicated planning a tour really is.

Something else to think about is what being on tour really means- it means you'll be living on a budget, stuck in a vehicle with the other band members for a lengthy amount of time, etc. Just make sure you look at the myriad of problems that you run into doing local shows and then multiply them by a thousand. Although it sounds cliche' the stress of touring can either bring a band together or cause them to break up.

If your all in agreement to hitting the road, then you need to take a serious look at the responsibilities, logistics and of course timing. Bands planning their first tour can seriously underestimate what it takes as far as money, planning, and you time.

Make sure you have a solid press kit complete with performance history. Venues will be more open to booking an unknown band of you have a great press kit.

Plan your tour route, pick good potential venues, and of course, a good booking agent!


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Jackson Browne, Running On Empty
Tool, Sober
Elton John, Crocodile Rock
Pantera, Broken
Green Day, Time Of Your Life

Local Artist Of The Day:

Count The Days