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How To Plan A Concert – Gig Checklist

Todd McCarty January 25, 2020 Music 14 Comments

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How To Plan A Concert

Ever wonder how to plan a concert or how to get more people to come back each time? When I was a touring musician, I did a lot of the booking for my band’s shows. Later on as a tour manager and label executive at Fearless Records and Sony Music, I learned even more. So here are some tips on how to organize a concert, event planning, and gig promotion.

Planning A Gig

  • Plan a live music concert event using this concert planning guide.
  • Review the gig checklist (click here) and customize it for your concert.
  • Setup a concert with the venue, and confirm your budget.
  • Do gig promotion online, street marketing, and print media.
  • Handle logistics and technical aspects of the concert.
  • Most of all ensure fans have a good time and come to your next gig.

Not Just Another Show – Come Up With an Event Concept

Make your concert an event, not just a performance. At most concerts activity is limited to waiting around, watching music, or buying merchandise and drinks. So plan other things for people to do while at the event. Give the evening a purpose. Is there a mission or cause? Convert concert goers to fans. Give these people another reason to come back to your next show. Furthermore the media will be impressed if you do something nobody has done before to market your event.

The GOAL is to have more people come out each time you play. At first you have 20 people at your show. Then 40…60. And onto 100, 200, and so on.

Branded concert series for your band. Four events a year. Make each concert bigger than the next.

I got this idea years ago from a Japanese band I worked with called Eastern Youth . They made it an invitational concert series called “Voices of the Far East”. Eastern Youth were the headliner each time, and invited one or two bands to support them. The great thing about it was… they always planned ahead. They got into a rhythm of marketing their events. Also, all of that effort went into promoting THEIR band and growing their fan base.

  • Provide an attractive price to entice people to come time and time again. Perhaps some proceeds from the show go to a charity of your choice.
  • Brand the concert series more like a festival with advertising, sponsors, partners, local press, radio, and it becomes a widely respected and recognized part of the community.
  • As a result, each time you do a local show, it’s a big event and well attended.

MARKET ROTATION – Regional Strategy

Plan to play regional concerts so that you don’t overplay your home market. You can apply all the promotional tips in this article to each event. The goal is to increase your turnout each time you return to these markets. Keep building your fan base through personal interaction on stage and at the merch table. Use an email signup list  and keep in touch with fans on social media. 

The Worst Show Ever – Pick Your Venue, Location, and Time

Imagine this. A band with an all ages (under 21) audience accepts a show that costs $15. The set time is midnight on a Wednesday night, and the club is 21+. There is absolutely no reason to waste time with this event. No amount of promotion and marketing will get your younger audience to this show. Keeping in mind you don’t want to overplay your market, choose your venue and show carefully. If your music appeals to a high school demographic, play midday concerts on a weekend at an all ages venue.

Consider your location, venue size, and costs to rent the venue. Outdoor venues are a challenge because of extra production costs and weather considerations. Developing artists should set a reasonable ticket price. High ticket prices can kill your concert turnout.

FREE PDF – GIG CHECKLIST – DOWNLOAD HERE

We g ot screwed – concert budget.

A thorough budget and careful planning will ensure you don’t get screwed. By planning and promoting your own event, you are putting the outcome in your own hands. You have control and can plan for problems.

First, determine what the financial goal is. Will it be a for-profit concert or for charity?

Some items to consider in your concert planning and BUDGET are as follows:

  • How many bands / groups will perform
  • The venue rental fee
  • How the venue makes money vs. how you make money
  • Staff / security costs
  • Production costs. i.e. PA, sound system, lights, engineer
  • If there is a ticketing company, what percentage do they take?
  • Advertising costs
  • Printing posters and flyers
  • Cost to manufacture merchandise

Mistake to Avoid:

Don’t just estimate the amount of tickets sold and multiply by the ticket price. That is not your budget. Do the reverse. First add up all of your expense on an Excel spreadsheet. Then work backwards. Take all of your expenses and determine what price you need to set for tickets. This will ensure you have your costs covered and some profit leftover for yourself.

Adam Jankie and Sara Donelly from Illusive Entertainment have a great 3-part video series. They’ve booked hundreds of events over the years, and get straight to the point.

How to Plan a Concert – Booking the Show

Like any successful event, make sure you set yourself up for success. Don’t book a concert the same night as a major competing event that your fans will already be at. Avoid college towns when school is out of session.

Venue size and type are important. A low turnout can be be a bummer for you, the promoter, and most of all – the fans. So don’t book a venue that you can’t fill at least 70% or sell out. If you’re not confident, it’s better to book a smaller room and sell it out.

  • Come up with a list of potential venues and contact information
  • Rank them in order of how well they fit your financial goals
  • Choose the date and time wisely
  • Factor in total costs, demographics, size, and relationship with promoter
  • Know what you want before approaching venue/promoter
  • Be prepared to show your marketing plan
  • Pitch your event
  • Confirm date and budget

Like what you’re learning so far? I teach my full Spotify marketing strategy inside Band Builder Academy. I’ve also developed free software that taps into the Spotify API and it’s for members only. CLICK HERE to Learn More.

Twitter gives you a list of events. Click the profile icon to get a dropdown. Select “Analytics”. In the top navigation, click Events.  

READER QUESTION – Pre Sale Tickets:

“Many of the shows we play require selling presale tickets. More often than not, we find ourselves losing a chunk of money because we are covering a portion of the tickets that we couldn’t sell. Should we continue to do shows like this or should we focus our efforts on concerts that revolve around local bands?”  – Chris – ASHES

Supporting other artists is a good strategy. Throughout this article, I encourage artists to earn a reputation as a headlining act. But when choosing to support, the deciding factor should be how likely the concert is to sell out or have a successful turnout. Review all of the factors in this article to determine whether this show was set up for success or failure.

Only agree to play concerts that are booked at the right sized venues, with good promotion, and at the right ticket price. Often times these promoters are using the bands to fill their venue on a slow night. If they were confident in their decision to book an artist, would they really need a local opener to sell tickets for them? Be cautious of this trap. If there are doubts that it’s going to be a half full room, don’t confirm the concert. If everything looks good, and it looks like a positive situation, do your best to promote the show like it was your own.

Here are 7 Helpful Touring Tips from 50 Bands

Finding marketing partners and special guests.

Music fans like to attend exciting events and be witnesses to something great. Promote each of your concerts like it was a festival or big event. Major events have sponsors and partnerships with brands and local businesses. Pitch your idea to these sorts of companies, and get them involved.

Concert Partnerships

  • Consumer Brands
  • Clothing Brands
  • Non Profit Organizations
  • Beverage Companies
  • Screenprinter
  • Press Partners
  • Social Influencers

Choosing Special Guests

Choose your special guests carefully. They should be viewed similarly to brands and partners. What do they have to offer in the way of turnout or marketing? It would be great if they bring out a different audience, from a different part of town, or younger or older. Trade shows with regional bands so that you can support them in their home market.

Mistakes to Avoid :

  • Don’t overplay. Make each event special and don’t play with the same artists over and over. Play with a variety of new artists. Go outside of your market and build your audience in the region.
  • Avoid playing the same set too often in one market. Make sure to have new material each time you play. 

Gig promotion – Marketing and Ticket Sales

Now that you know how to plan a concert, you need to promote them like any other product. Some bands create a marketing plan for each live event. In my experience smaller venues and “promoters” for local bands and smaller shows don’t do a very thorough job of “promotion”. You have to take this into your own hands.

Street Marketing for Concerts

  • Old fashioned flyering and hanging posters
  • Online street team marketing – digital flyering
  • Contests and incentives for street team
  • Spotify QR reader code can be printed on anything (sticker, business card size takeaway, etc). The code can lead back to a playlist of your music or music from the tour.

Advertising Concerts

  • Google and Facebook ads that are geo-targeted for your concert, or tour markets.
  • BandsInTown campaign
  • Social media posts (free advertising)
  • Local music weekly print ad. Pool resources amongst other artists to place a 1/8 or 1/4 page concert ad in your local weekly or monthly music paper.
  • Finally, for national tours, if you have sponsorship partners, consider buying a print ad in the best music magazine in each market.

Print & Online Media

  • Create a press release
  • Team up with the other bands. Make a tour trailer for YouTube and Facebook Video
  • Reach out directly (or through a PR) to local press and media
  • Promote the buy tickets links on social media regularly.  Update the header of your socials to call out the concert or tour (poster art)
  • Concert previews and interviews running on key outlets
  • E-blasts from media in addition to your band email list to promote the event
  • Contest (ideally with a tour sponsor or media partner with a large email list) (Autographs, guitar, drum heads, meet & greet, hang with the band, etc)
  • 5 Ways To Get Press Features On Your Own

Ask the promoter for their local press list. They will probably be happy to share it with you if they know that you will be helping with the promotion effort. And this shows them you know how to plan a concert.

Mistake To Avoid :

Many artists assume if they simply make music and play shows, they will build a bigger fan base. It’s assumed that each concert will lead to a bigger concert and their fan base will grow. This is the wrong way to look at it. It’s actually the other way around.

First of all, make as many fans as you can online, with street marketing, and with media. Then get fans to come to your concert. Therefore, if you’ve already softened the ground before the concert, you have a much better chance of growing your audience and selling merchandise. Also, you will impress the promoter because your band will stand above the other bands on the bill. Most artists don’t try to convert concert goers until the night of the show. That’s a mistake.

Mistakes to Avoid:

Make sure to list your concert on Songkick, BandsInTown and the other concert listing websites. Many artists forget to go and update Facebook and their website with the concert information. So it’s crucial to add dates on Songkick because it will show up on your Spotify profile.

The Best Show Ever – At The Venue / Event

If you want your audience to continue to grow from show to show, don’t sit back and expect the same people to come to every show. Because each concert presents a challenge to reach new people. Therefore promote and market the concert to a new audience each time.

Here are some tips to make it your best concert ever.

  • Dress up the stage. Use scrims (printed screens that go in front of the amplifiers, or paint your amplifiers, bass drum head)
  • E-mail list signup / pen & paper / iPad. Offer something free in exchange for a sign-up.
  • Merch Table
  • Info / Welcome table (for your marketing partners & sponsors)
  • Bring a videographer / photographer to the concert or on tour to use as content on social media and YouTube
  • Spotify QR Reader Code can be printed on anything (sticker, business card size takeaway, merch item, shirt, whatever). The code can lead back to a playlist of your music or music from the tour
  • Backdrop for the stage (or projector image). Brand the poster art / tour ad mat. (for touring)
  • Finally, sell/pre-order something new. New album or track coming. Take pre-orders. Leave them with a sticker that has a link to check out a free MP3 of a new track coming out. (could be included with any purchase) Here is an article on how to make your venue sales count towards the album charts . 

For more detailed tips, grab this Free Gig Checklist  – HERE

So, I’ve set out to show you how to plan a concert that will entice people to come back to your next event. Getting more fans and repeat business is key. You can apply the tips in this guide for one off gigs, concerts, and festivals, or for your regional and national tours. The same rules generally apply.  What are some creative ideas you’ve seen from other artists or your own? Share them in the comments below.

Like what you’ve learned here? I teach my full Spotify marketing strategy inside Band Builder Academy. I’ve also developed free software that taps into the Spotify API and it is for members only. CLICK HERE to Learn More.

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14 Comments on “How To Plan A Concert – Gig Checklist”

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Good read! Once again an article that I will use time and time again! Another tip is at the end of the night submit a live performance report with your PRO so you can collect royalties from the performance. US ASCAP: https://www.ascap.com/help/registering-your-music/performancenotification US BMI: https://www.bmi.com/special/bmi_live UK PRS: https://www.prsformusic.com/royalties/report-live-performances Australia APRA: http://apraamcos.com.au/about-us/faqs/performance-reports/

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Great tip Andrew! Thanks for sharing that with everybody. – Todd

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I enjoy helping other people who need help. I usually participate in some t-shirt for a cause and concert for a cause project. I’m really fond of music although I didn’t get the golden voice, I’m planning to set up a live tour concert for my friend’s daughter who is sick. Thanks for pointing out that I need to consider the location, venue size, and costs to rent the venue. I’ll see different venues so I can gauge its total capacity.

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Thanks for the information!

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We have this course in school that requires us to organize a music gig for all homegrown talents to earn funds for the victims of the recent calamity. Thanks for the tip to make an attractive price to the audience so that a lot of people will be engaged in attending the event. I’d suggest planning ahead of time and plotting the budget so that we can push through with all the plans in mind. http://heroesliveent.com/alternative concerts

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I liked your tip about asking the promoter for their local press list.

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thank you for this write up unfortunately I have been unable to download the free pdf gig checklist even after I already signed up to the mailing list. please help

Hi Shalom, I’ve resent the email for your download. Please check your email again. Todd

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I do agree with you that when planning a concert, it is important for us to consider the venue. When planning a concert, it is important for us to ensure the acoustics are excellent. Assuming I were to plan a concert, I will keep this tip in mind.

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great infromation.

I’m glad you talked about how it’s important to make a budget of the items you’ll need to plan a music event. Recently, my sister mentioned that in her daughter’s school, they’re having a music event to raise money for a charity. The parents are in charge of making the event happen, so I think this article could help my sister. I appreciate your tips about considering production costs when making your event’s budget.

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Great article! I’ve produced shows for major award winning artist as well as my own. Having a checklist like this is critical! Getting local sponsors can make a huge difference and make it into a larger community event.

' src=

thanks for sharing this info with us

No problem Marvin, thanks for checking it out. Todd

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By The Barricade

By The Barricade

concert tour questions

How to Plan a Concert (Everything You Need to Know)

Planning a concert is a big deal. It is a mishmash of excitement and intimidation for first-time organizers. Unfortunately, it can also be quite stressful for the inexperienced.

How do you plan a concert? The key is in the question: planning. Trying to start a concert with no budget, no location, and no performers is guaranteed to fail. Thus, providing yourself with a sizeable pre-concert planning window is essential.

Now that we’ve gotten that pertinent bit of info out of the way, let’s explore everything you need to know about putting together a successful concert . If you follow the advice below, you’ll find the process rather fun and deeply rewarding.

Who Can Plan a Concert?

Whenever there’s a big show in the area, someone had to plan it. Believe it or not, concert organizers aren’t some supernatural elite beings – they’re people.

That said, you probably won’t be getting Red Hot Chili Peppers or Post Malone on stage if this is your first live music rodeo. Nevertheless, you can certainly organize a modestly sized event starting today.

Furthermore, nothing is stopping you from planning a larger concert afterward.

Is Planning a Concert Hard?

You can’t wander into a venue and declare a concert like Michael Scott declaring bankruptcy in The Office. There are as many (if not more) parts to planning a concert as there are to planning a wedding.

Does that mean planning a concert is hard? Hard might not be the best word. Involved, time-consuming, and overwhelming are more apt.

Don’t say “never mind” just yet. While starting a concert from scratch takes a great deal of effort, there are strategies to manage the process more efficiently. A structured plan eliminates a lot of the stress faced by those who don’t take the word “planning” in “concert planning” seriously.

10 Key Steps to Planning a Concert

As chaotic as concerts can be once they happen, chaos is not a good approach to planning them. Order is everything. More importantly, intelligently following a well-thought-out series of steps will increase your chances of throwing an unforgettable event.

Otherwise, event planning wouldn’t be the esteemed career path that it is. Consider throwing a concert as an exciting foray into a new profession or side hustle (depending on your long-term dedication).

While we recommend starting at the top, feel free to slightly adjust the order of each step if you need.

Step One: Ask Yourself, “Why am I doing this?”

As an impulse, throwing a concert sounds like nothing other than an amazing idea. But it doesn’t take much time researching the process to discover that there’s a lot to it. Does this mean you should give up?

No. If you’re reading about concert planning (which you are), chances are it’s a little more than a whim. Believe it or not, this shows that your dedication is higher than most. You’re grounding your decision in reality and in tangible steps.

However, there are still more questions to ask yourself. If you haven’t already done so, contemplate the following:

  • “What genre would this event emphasize?”
  • “What will others get from attending?”
  • “What kind of atmosphere do I want?”
  • “How will I feel if my concert is successful?”
  • “Am I willing to spend extra hours each week for several months to make this thing happen?”

If you spat off answers in your head without breaking a sweat, you’re ready for the next step.

Step Two: Create a Budget and Financial Plan

Now it’s time for the most exciting part of concert planning – building a budget.

Please excuse the sarcasm. Unless you’re passionate about finance, this is probably a step you’d rather skip. Sadly, it’s kind of important (it’s actually not that bad).

Starting with a small venue is far more affordable than a stadium if this is your first concert. You can scale up as you cash in ticket sale profits.

How much you’ll pay is highly variable. It largely depends on the popularity and location of the spot. A more extensive clientele usually means a steeper fee.

You’ll also need to hire help and pay performers. Fortunately, you don’t need to pay for all this out of pocket. Concerts can bring in a lot of money, so there are plenty of financing entities ready to assist.

How to Put Together a Concert Budget

It’s hard to predict exact concert expenses, especially as a first-time planner. But it’s worth estimating so you don’t cut into your profits.

The first step is figuring out how many tickets you expect to sell and how you’ll price them. Higher ticket prices lead to higher expectations, so keep that in mind. In other words, don’t charge for a premium experience unless you plan to go all-out with your spending.

Use Google to view what local events are charging for tickets. Use that as a guideline. It’s also worth contacting places you have your eye on to get an idea of how many tickets you can expect to sell.

Once you have a rough idea, work within that amount to cover your expenses (while leaving space for profit ).

Typical expenses to include are:

  • Cost of space
  • Employee wages
  • Performer wages
  • Permits and insurance
  • Unexpected costs

If all of this sounds overwhelming, consider hiring an event planner to help. This could cost anywhere between $50 an hour to 20% of your concert budget. However, a good one can help you minimize other expenses and ultimately increase your concert’s profitability.

Step Three: Choose a Location

Now that you have a budget, you’ll know what locations you can and cannot afford. A great site is vital to a well-received concert. How do you decide what is suitable for your show?

Consider the artists and your clientele. You might not know precisely who will be playing yet, but you should have an idea of what kind of performers will be there. For example, are you planning to have cover bands? Upcoming alt-rock artists? Renowned rappers?

Identify the best performers for your target audience. Don’t bring a death metal band to a country club unless you know that’d go over well. If you’re throwing a venue gig, speak with the owner to get an idea of who goes there. Ask questions about their clientele such as:

  • “How old is your average patron?”
  • “What are the most popular song requests?”
  • “Do you have a digital jukebox? If so, what are the usage stats?”

A bar, club, or small venue is also suitable for local bands and less-established musicians. If you go this route, your clientele will most likely consist of people who care more about the drinks served than the music.

Nevertheless, you still need talented musicians. Patrons want solid tunes so they can dance/headbang between tequila shots and bites of cheesy fries.

However, more prominent locations tend to imply an even greater emphasis on the performers. If you’re throwing an outdoor concert in less-than-perfect weather, you better ensure the music is phenomenal.

How Do I Rent a Venue?

Renting a venue is one of the most convenient ways to throw a concert. Thus, most concert planners go this route.

How do you rent a venue? Check out Peerspace to view what’s available in your area. The process is straightforward – you pay a certain amount per night. Bigger venues, such as stadiums, are more expensive.

Again, we recommend starting small if this is your first concert. A successful show doesn’t need to be massive.

Step Four: Reach Out to Performers

Before you sell tickets, you need artists. This can be one of the most stressful hurdles for first-time concert planners. Fortunately, it doesn’t have to be.

Start small. Most importantly, start local.

You’ll have a much better shot at getting nearby talent to play at your concert if it’s a twenty-minute drive. If you do get a big out-of-town name to agree to play at your show, expect to reimburse travel expenses on top of their performance payment (which probably won’t be cheap).

Don’t forget to choose artists that would complement your audience. This will offer better results and save you considerable time.

Now it’s time to pitch. As you do, be sure to speak on behalf of the people buying the tickets.

Try your best to illustrate a compelling value proposition. Musicians expect something in return whenever they perform. Money, recognition, and atmosphere are a few common examples. But the first one, money, is nearly universal.

Start with what you believe to be a fair rate and be willing to negotiate. Performers generally have experienced-based expectations of what their time is worth. Be careful not to disrespect them by lowballing them, as payment can be a sensitive topic – especially for artists.

You don’t need to do business if their rates are over your budget. Keep searching for talent, consider less-experienced bands, and be flexible.

But whatever you do, don’t expect anyone to pay to play.

Step Five: Make Sure Everything is Legal

Take one wrong step, and legal fees could erase your profits. This is an event organizer’s nightmare.

Generally, negligence is the most common culprit. Someone forgets to apply for a permit. Alcohol is sold without proper licensing.

There’s also the possibility that someone gets injured. Drunken behavior increases these chances. So, what can you do to protect yourself from the law?

The obvious solution is to avoid breaking the law. It isn’t always straightforward but, nevertheless, “ignorance is no excuse”. There are many permits for which concert planners may apply, but not all of them are necessary.

Ideally, you’ll consult a legal professional. Otherwise, it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with the most common types of permits you may need for a concert.

Step Six: Acquire Needed Equipment

Your concert will be far more appealing to artists if you provide speakers. Furthermore, you can significantly cut back on intermission time if bands don’t need to haul massive pieces of equipment on and off stage with each act.

Reach out to your performers and ask what they plan on bringing. Some might insist on using their own speakers. Others may greatly appreciate not needing to lug as much to play at your show.

You won’t know if you don’t ask. Let musicians bring what they want. If they insist, there’s no reason not to cross certain items off your list without paying. However, you should leave some room in your budget for:

  • Concert lighting
  • A PA system

If you’re planning a venue gig, the owner may have some of these items. Meanwhile, outdoor concerts will require much more than these few things.

Step Seven: Find a Good Technician (or Two)

High-quality, reliable audio is vital . Great food is a plus, but most people just want something to munch on. Delicious cocktails are excellent, but many are content as long as they can get drunk.

But sound is the one thing that can make or break the concert experience for your guests. Artists will be equally frustrated if you turn their music into feedback-ridden gobbledygook.

Having expensive speakers and mics isn’t enough. You need a professional to balance audio levels and troubleshoot issues (which are bound to occur). But don’t hire anyone without doing your research.

If you or someone you know “knows a guy/girl,” that’s great – maybe. Unfortunately, blindly hiring someone just because someone knows them isn’t the best approach. They might suck. But they might be incredible – who knows?

Google potential candidates, even friends of friends, and see what their clients have said. Does the person present themselves professionally? Do they have regular clients ready to vouch for them?

If so, go ahead and reach out to see if you can agree on payment and scheduling. Provided you’re confident in your choice, expect a qualified sound technician to help provide a phenomenal listening experience.

Step Eight: Promote the Crap out of Your Concert

You can’t sell tickets if nobody knows about your concert.

As obvious as this is, many concert planners don’t put adequate effort into marketing their events. One or two Instagram posts probably aren’t going to cut it.

While many of the steps we’ve discussed are one-and-done tasks, this isn’t one of them. Marketing should be an everyday activity, especially when it comes to social media . People simply consume way too much content to remember any one post.

It’s best to post diligently so that your concert continues to appear in people’s feeds. Don’t spam but do be persistent.

We won’t go into everything there is to know about marketing, but it’s wise to do additional research if you’re unsure of how to proceed.

In the meantime, make sure to cement your concert’s date.

Step Nine: Finish Hiring Staff

Venues may provide bouncers, servers, bartenders, etcetera. But if this doesn’t apply, you’ll need to hire these people yourself.

The roles needed will depend on your concert, of course. But devoting some of your budgets to additional staff may help things run smoothly.

It’s much easier to wrap up hiring now as opposed to sooner. People are much more likely to respond to job offers that include the specifics of time, place, and pay.

Step Ten: Sell Tickets

The last step of concert planning is selling tickets.

Selling tickets online is the easiest approach. But there are many platforms that allow you to do so. Where should you direct prospective attendees?

Ticketmaster is a popular choice. It is convenient and well-known. Plus, you’ll likely sell more tickets as people are familiar with the interface.

However, Ticketmaster is known for charging hefty “screw you” fees that cut considerably into concerts’ profits. You might be forced to use Ticketmaster or StubHub, both of which aren’t cheap. But if you have a choice and would like a more reasonable alternative, consider TickPick .  

Just make sure that your followers know where to go when it’s time to buy. If possible, allow a sizeable purchase window for early and late purchases.

Once the show starts, the planning phase is over. Congratulations!

There are many steps to planning a concert. You need to negotiate and book musicians. You need to find (and pay) for the perfect spot. There’s also the matter of food and drink, which is essential to keeping your clients happy.

Planning a concert isn’t difficult, but it is time-consuming. Many start with grand ambitions, only for reality to smash it all to bits. Indeed, you need to have a sustained commitment to your concert to carry it from an idea to the final stage – no pun intended.

However, if you are ready to devote hours per week to organizing, financing, and promoting your event, you may very well see amazing things happen.

If you are to remember three things from this guide, here they are:

  • Be patient.
  • Be willing to compromise.
  • Don’t equate concert size with concert success.

Now go make some noise.

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Music Celebrations

How To Plan A Concert Tour – Step 5 – How To Prepare For A Concert Tour

by Music Celebrations | Sep 22, 2013 | How To Plan A Concert Tour , Travel Tips

Emmaus High School Choir

Congratulations! You’ve taken one of the most important steps in experiencing a successful concert tour: MAKING THE DECISION TO GO! The rest will fall into place now, right? Once you’ve made the commitment to tour, you might find yourself caught up in a swirl of activities and in a myriad of demanding details. The following things to consider—from a general timeline to suggestions regarding meetings, committees, fundraising, and promotional tools—will help you put first things first, launch your tour with great excitement, keep your plan energized, and solicit the help you’ll need (so you can better concentrate on really important things, like the music!).

General Timeline

Create a timeline with milestones, deadlines, and activities. This is key to keeping your concert tour on track. Consider this general timeline which is easily adaptable to your own program and time frame: 18-24 months prior : Determine possible destinations, approximate dates of tour, length of tour, approximate budget and get appropriate approval if necessary. Contact prospective tour operators to gather information. 12 months prior : Pin down decisions regarding destination, tour dates, and budget. Choose a tour operator (or begin making arrangements on your own). Finalize the itinerary and your musical program. Hold your first meeting and organize a team of helpers including committee chairpersons to oversee fundraising, finances, chaperones, publicity and promotion (newsletters/communiqués, etc.), and other aspects of tour preparation. 6-9 months prior : Deposits for participants should be paid. Obtain passports if required. Continue promoting your tour in newsletters, social networks, and meetings. Begin preparing participants for the tour by providing them with checklists, brochures, etc. 4 months prior : Continue promoting tour in newsletters, social networks, and meetings. Determine the final number of participants and obtain all deposits. 3 months prior : Final payments are due from participants who have paid deposits. Pin down all logistics of the tour, including roommate preferences. 1 month prior : Conduct final meeting to confirm all performance tour details. Obtain all emergency and medical information for each participant. Make sure that all parties involved have all pertinent concert tour information.

First Meeting

Your first meeting, the springboard or launching pad to a successful tour, is extremely important. You might prepare for this meeting by first organizing committees/project leaders (see “The Team” below) so they can introduce themselves at the first meeting, provide support, help field questions, and play a part in involving/inviting community support, boosters, board members and administrative officials (if appropriate). You might also ask for questions or concerns in advance of the first meeting (as well as for subsequent meeting) so you can be prepared to address them adequately and confidently. Keep control of the meeting by not letting “nit-picky” questions or negative comments derail your purpose or detract from a positive presentation. You’ll want to accomplish the following at the first meeting: • Enthusiastically distribute detailed information regarding the performance tour, including suggested itinerary, costs and cost inclusions, specific tour dates, payment schedule, travel insurance information and ideas for fundraising. • Take careful attendance and obtain all contact information. • Discuss fundraising in a positive manner (see “Fundraising” below). Brainstorm! Mention success stories! • Touch on the timeline. • Talk up the tour by emphasizing the life-changing benefits of a musical tour and possibly inviting past participants to share their positive experiences. • Make the meeting fun by providing theme-related refreshments and perhaps even decorations. • Keep lines of communication open. • Hold subsequent meetings as needed (see “General Timeline” for suggestions), and, if working with a student group, make sure to address tour behavior expectations/rules and consequences for breaking those rules early in the process.

Enlisting a committee of helpers is key in making the process more manageable and much more enjoyable and will allow you to concentrate more on the musical and performance aspects of your tour.

A good chaperone: • Enjoys, has experience working with people (including parents and young people if chaperoning a student group); • Is willing to help plan and facilitate items on the itinerary; • Is able to attend pre-tour meetings; • Is able to assist with documentation requirements such as obtaining passports/visas and making copies of the same; • Is able to maintain an updated binder with all pertinent information including special requirements/needs of participants (to be taken on tour for reference); • Is prepared to spend money on items not covered in tour; • Is able and willing to chaperone small groups if transportation is split; and • Will comply with all tour guidelines. It is a good idea to assign one chaperone to be the head chaperone. During your tour, your chaperones also have the following responsibilities: At departure points : arrive early at the departure points to make sure group gets through check-in and security, and assist with logistics of travel as necessary. While on Tour : be responsible for small groups throughout the tour; assist with discipline if needed; help to facilitate curfews and nightly room checks; stay behind if a participant should become too ill to participate on any particular day; make sure participants wake up at the appropriate time and are prepared for the day’s activities; monitor free time (if appropriate), accompany participants on free time excursions (if appropriate); generally help the director by caring for physical, medical and emotional needs of the participants; make sure to maintain passports and current information regarding the medical/special needs of each participant in your group. Know that good chaperones can make all the difference!

Fundraising

Sometimes the responsibility of a performance tour, especially regarding finances and fundraising, can seem a bit overwhelming. But with careful planning, consistent effort and an enthusiastic team, you might be surprised how easily this part of your tour preparation will fall into place. And the resourcefulness and generosity of your supporters might well amaze you. Please visit our fundraising page for more information and suggestions.

Promotional Tools/General Information

Your ensemble members and their families always appreciate receiving all the information you are able to provide regarding their upcoming concert tour. The ongoing promotion and dissemination of information regarding your concert tour not only serves to keep energy and enthusiasm high among the ranks but it can also serve as a sparkplug for fundraising. Look to your tour operator to supply the following information: • Itinerary; • Costs and Inclusions; • Insurance/Travel Protection Information; • Terms & Conditions; • Reservation Application; and • Maps and pictures (if appropriate); Additionally, there are many easy, cost-efficient and effective ways to promote your concert tour such as: • Sending out frequent promotional letters, notes, emails, and other communiqués (including via the internet such as on Facebook) to maintain excitement and interest, and to keep all parties organized and informed. • Issuing a press release for your own organization as well as for local media outlets such as newspapers, television and radio stations. • Creating one-page flyers/ads summarizing your tour and/or reporting on the progress of your plans and preparations in a graphically pleasing way; • Distributing stories/articles highlighting your destination and/or touching on the great rewards of music and performance tours. • Establishing a dedicated website page about your program, concert tour plans, fundraising events, etc, to include photographs (of a fundraising event, for example) and ongoing information about the performance tour.

Troubleshooting

The preparation period for a successful concert tour can sometimes last for months, and there’s no doubt that managing the concerns, questions, and retention of participants for such a project requires effort. It is important to respect the concerns of your ensemble/support team and to communicate frequently and effectively about issues related to your tour. It goes without saying that you care deeply about the members of your group and that you and your team want to make sure that all responsibilities related to a concert tour are honorably and adequately met, from the large ones like safety and finances, to the smaller concerns like venues, meals and day-to-day tour activities. Your tour operator should always be willing and able to help in addressing such concerns, in ‘overcoming objections,’ and maintaining ‘happy anticipation’ regarding your concert tour. Further, consider the following: • Cost Objections (see also “With WHOM (Considerations in Choosing a Tour Operator)”: Why are there discrepancies in pricing between various tour operators? As already mentioned, be sure to compare apples with apples. Non-music tour operators do not have the resources or contacts to affordably meet the unique needs of music performance groups at their desired level of quality. Also many tour operators do not, or are unable to, provide the services and goods you require. Consider costs include venue rental, promotion (posters, handbills, internet advertising, insertion in local papers and tourist offices, etc.), ASCAP fees, and payment to personnel to help with publicity distribution. Additionally, costs can include a variety of items, such as fully escorted tours that include sightseeing, entrance fees, tour managers, local guides and meals (breakfasts and dinners), private tours to accommodate transfers to and from concerts (flexibility with transportation is essential in a concert tour), and exclusive group activities rather than providing a ‘seat-in-product’—meaning your group would share motorcoaches with others. Also, consider significant insurance coverage and full liability coverage – are these included? Although keeping participants’ costs down is an important priority, the old adage: “You get what you pay for” is still true. When you are fielding concerns about costs and cost comparisons between tour companies, be sure to consider all inclusions. • Fundraising Woes (see also “How to Prepare for Your Concert Tour: Fundraising”): What to do if fundraising/finances stall? Fatigue can be a factor in fundraising, as in tired helpers and/or tired ideas—so it certainly helps to keep plenty on hand (helpers and ideas!), and to periodically rejuvenate, reinvigorate, and reinvent(!) your finance/fundraising committee(s) with new blood and new ‘schemes for your dreams.’ Do a little networking and ask other organizations/programs/directors what has worked for them. Get on the internet and research some new areas and ideas. Re-issue another press release to solicit additional community support, have a special meeting to address the challenges (enlarge your invitation list), and never underestimate the power of brainstorming (consider: cash lottery, auction, garage sale, flea market, bazaar, services, work concessions, ask local businesses for opportunities: (“Hire the Choir!”), beg a local (or national!) celebrity to help, provide musical entertainment (dinner show, comedy club, formal dance, disco party, artist showcase, open mike night, exchange concert, musical revue), sponsor a music festival, clinic, community/booster performing group (limit to a season, combine with your ensemble and watch your support base grow), host a sing-along/play-along, and don’t forget seasonal events… Does any of this help?!). It might also help to remember that “where there’s a will, there’s a way” and that “fundraising really is only limited by imagination!” • Negative News from Travel Industry or about Travel Destination : When necessary, acknowledge bad news from the travel industry or travel destination; further, acknowledge any anxiety expressed by participants and their families. Suggest that “this too shall pass” and reaffirm your commitment to going on tour. Reviewing the safety precautions regularly integrated into concert tours and reiterating benefits of touring can also help put minds at ease. • Number of participants is dropping : How to reach out, register and retain! One key here is in keeping constantly connected. If you learn of group members deciding not to participate in a tour, seek out each individual to find out what can be done and how you can help. Include each participant in every step of preparation. Be vigilant in holding frequent meetings, distributing flyers and newsletters (or maintaining your website and other forms of communication) and in making every effort to keep ‘steam in the engine.’ Keep in mind that sometimes there is nothing you can do regarding circumstances beyond your control.

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How to Organize a Concert Event: Checklists and Guidebook

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At the height of the pandemic, we had to stream home concerts to continue supporting our favorite artists and keep ourselves entertained. Fortunately, as we slowly assume a life of normalcy, we can now join and enjoy events face-to-face, even though minimum health protocols remain. According to a 2020 survey , 26% of respondents agreed that they would attend more outdoor and sporting events after the COVID-19 pandemic. Another 36% said they’d attend these events just as frequently as they did pre-pandemic.

Concert planning can be a daunting yet exhilarating experience. Making sure everything comes together beautifully means having a solid plan in place.

In the coming sections, we shed light on how to organize a concert event with finesse, complete with checklists for organizers.

Let’s dive in, shall we?

How to Organize a Concert Event

For those wondering how to organize a concert event, you must remember that there are several factors to consider to make sure that everything is planned and executed in the most professional, streamlined manner. However, you should also keep in mind that the ultimate goal is not just to have your tickets sell out but also to ensure people have fun and are likely to attend your events in the future!

You’ll need to keep these points in mind to discover how to organize a concert event that everyone will rave about.

Set a Budget

Without proper budget planning, your concert expenses could go haywire. It’s necessary to have a clear outline of the financial aspects involved, with some money set aside for unforeseeable expenses.

First, make a list of the things you’ll have to take care of before, during, and after the concert. Once you’re confident with your checklist, discuss and plan the concert cost breakdown with everyone involved in the event planning.

If you’re unsure how to prep for a concert budget list, here’s a sample:

  • Bands, associations, food and beverage partners, sponsors, and charity groups (if any)
  • Venue rental fees
  • Venue rental costs for rehearsals
  • Ticket cost
  • Printing cost
  • Social media marketing cost
  • Indoor and outdoor advertising cost
  • Creative design for promotional materials cost
  • Stage setup cost
  • Production and behind-the-scene costs
  • Organizers’ and presenters’ costs
  • Ticketing platform cost (take note of the commission the platform will take)
  • Merchandising cost
  • Lighting and sound costs
  • Community event planning committee cost (if you wish to involve people from your locality for community-driven events such as fundraisers or political campaigns)
  • Staff and security costs
  • Seating option costs (including a designated seating area for sponsors and special guests)
  • Accounts and financial management team fees
  • Cost of freebies such as merchandise for promotional purposes
  • Videography, live streaming, and photography costs
  • Cost of the audio and visual team’s services for PA music and video content between sets
  • Equipment and prop rentals cost
  • Stage design costume/production costs
  • Negotiate stay and transportation costs with vendors
  • Influencer marketing costs
  • On-ground and on-stage communication costs (earpieces, walkie-talkies, mics, and the like)
  • Event portable toilet rental cost

Book the Show and Venue

The next challenge is putting together a concert at the right venue to host a performance. To execute a concert setup, you have to choose between an indoor or outdoor venue. You’ll need to bear the nuances of how to prepare for a concert in mind, such as sound aesthetics, number of attendees, the size of the band/s, and the number/type of performers. A lot of concert organizers like to add a diverse mix of performances, from dances to fashion shows and stand-up comedy.

Venues for outdoor events do well for organizers planning a concert for the first time or who want to project a festival vibe. People increasingly prefer outdoor events because of how easy it is to maintain social distance and mingle in the open air as opposed to a closed, crowded space.

Keeping today’s needs in mind, opt for an outdoor venue with more room to get creative with a concert stage setup and an on-ground layout for stalls, food and beverage (F&B) trucks, photo booths, and more. Once you finalize your plans, block the outdoor space at least 6 to 8 months in advance.

Here’s what you’ll need to do next as part of your concert checklist:

  • Present your plan (from concert opening ideas to closing performances) to the band, performers, and venue manager
  • Decide on the venue and review security measures, venue rules, and hygiene protocols
  • Sit down with the organizing team to discuss how long a concert should be, based on the number of acts and duration of on-stage performances
  • Set a date and time for the concert
  • Review logistics
  • Set a date and time for the organizers and loading staff to be present for the concert setup (ideally two days before the main day)
  • Rent portable toilets for special events to ensure you meet hygiene standards
  • Add up all the costs as per the budget outline
  • Determine the ticket cost

Plan the Program

Once the major aspects of how to organize a concert event are taken care of, the next step is to put a solid program together. Swap or replace items as you delve deeper into the planning stage. For those who aren’t familiar with how to organize a concert event, this is a crucial step that takes weeks to put together, fine-tune, and finalize.

musician playing guitar

Here’s what your concert preparation list should include when piecing together your program:

  • Sign up on an online ticketing platform or create a dedicated website to start selling tickets and share important concert information (performance line-up, sponsorships, F&B details, stay and travel arrangements, etc.)
  • List the event on all concert-listing websites
  • Create a solid social media campaign (with email and influencer marketing) with a marketing firm that understands the creative vision and goals of your concert
  • Conduct contests to engage with your online audience
  • Build a community of fans leading up to the concert
  • Print/install indoor and outdoor advertising assets
  • Ensure the artists have access to refreshments, towels, and luxury restroom trailers at the concert
  • Rent portable toilets for special events for guests and attendees
  • Arrange for food, shopping, and beverage coupons to track finances
  • Schedule and plan week-long rehearsals for the performers in advance
  • Prepare guest lists for sponsors and VIP guests
  • Reach out to volunteers to man the entryways and exits of the venue
  • Book a medical team to be on call at the venue
  • Have a meeting with all on-ground teams and set a time and date for sound and lights setup and testing
  • Set up a merchandise table at the venue to interact with attendees
  • Settle all pending costs within a few days after the event

Address Marketing and Ticket Sales

Marketing your concert can make or break your sales. Whether you’re a seasoned or noobie concert host, it’s paramount to focus your energy on hyping up your concert. This can take anywhere between 4 to 6 months to establish online and offline. You’ll need enough time to finalize the following:

  • Art creatives (of the concert and sponsor products/services)
  • Video promos for social media platforms such as Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube
  • Photoshoots of the artists/performers
  • Merchandising items
  • Press releases and media coverage (TV and radio)
  • Indoor and outdoor advertising assets
  • Influencer marketing

Your accounts team should have a firm handle on the concert website or ticketing platform to keep track of sales. Monitoring this is imperative to ensure that marketing efforts work in tandem with ticket sales.

What to Do on the Concert Day

It’s D-day and time to set things into action! On the main day, ensure that all teams are at the venue, bright and early. Go through your program checklist to make sure you haven’t left anything out.

It’s best to hire a professional team that you can rely on for timely and proactive updates and assistance, ensuring everything is running as smoothly as planned. Request presenters to rehearse their speaking points before the event begins. All sponsor, partner, vendor, and association mentions should be carefully cross-checked.

Sometimes, even the best-laid plans can run into trouble. It’s important not to panic if such a situation arises. Stressful moments will be easier to tackle when you react and think calmly. Your team should be equally adept at handling curveballs.

Mistakes to Avoid

If you’re wondering how to organize a concert event with fewer to zero hiccups, read on. The last thing you want to do is look at the concert with a sales-y mindset. Change your approach and be open to suggestions on how to host a concert that benefits everyone involved.

Here are the most common mistakes concert organizers make:

  • Not investing in marketing and promotional strategies
  • Not reviewing all concert costs first before deciding on ticket value
  • Not doing prior research on audience interests and preferences by city/region
  • Not building a community of fans in the months leading up to the concert
  • Not fostering deep connections with offline or online fans
  • Not investing in advertising or sponsorships to strengthen your image and build trust
  • Not mindful of eco-conscious alternatives to ensure minimal wastage at the concert
  • Not arranging for portable toilets for special events
  • Not creating and going by a checklist of things you need to host a concert

VIP To Go Portable Toilets for Special Events

Do you need portable toilets for events? Yes, you do! These toilets are a godsend for events and should be at the top of the list of concert must-haves. You can rent our portable toilets for special events to accommodate guests, artists, performers, and attendees. Our portable toilets for special events are an essential part of how to make a concert a raving success.

portable bathrooms at outdoor event

Here’s why you should consider renting portable toilets for special events from John To Go:

  • Hygiene is a necessity that concert hosts must respect and bear in mind. Event restrooms make it easy for concert attendees, guests, and performers to visit the restroom.
  • Mobile restrooms are made of durable, high-strength materials and they feature state-of-the-art amenities for superior comfort. They are well-stocked with cleaning supplies.
  • They come with sinks, stalls, and urinals, making it easy for performers or attendees to freshen up before, between, and after the concert. Our team of cleaning professionals can make regular visits to make sure that the portable restrooms are stocked and disinfected between performances.

restroom trailer for outdoor event

Now that you know how to throw a concert, we explore a few popular questions about our VIP restroom trailers.

How many portable toilets per person at the event?

For a standard concert, you’ll need a trailer that can accommodate anywhere between 1,000 to 2,000 people. Our VIP restroom trailers incorporate as many as 10 dedicated stations for large gatherings. Depending on how many people attend your concert event, you can rent small, large, or multiple units at a time.

How many toilets do I need for my event?

Based on how many people are coming to the concert, you’ll need to rent additional restroom units with more stations. Our largest VIP restroom trailer can cater up to 2,000 people in a day.

portable restroom trailer

The above pointers and checklists should answer your questions on how to throw a concert like a pro. Create your own concert checklist to cover all bases, and you’ll be setting up your concert for success!

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6. Finalize a date and time.

The optimal date and time for your event will depend on your audience and your event concept. Some themes and concerts work better in a nighttime setting, where you can use lighting and backdrops to set the mood and tone. Other concepts and venues, especially outdoor ones, will be logistically easier to manage in the day.

Keep in mind that your audience has times that will work best for them as well. Take into account things like school, work, and holiday schedules to determine what day and time is best for your concert.

7. Determine what equipment is needed.

Speak with your musical talent and your venue to determine what equipment you’ll need for the performance and whether the venue can provide any of it. This could include a stage, speakers, microphones, sound system, lighting, and other audio/visual equipment. Check with your musical talent to determine what equipment they will be bringing themselves and what you are responsible for. 

Think about the acoustics of your space and whether you’ll need any amplification for the musical performance, as well as what types of seating arrangements make the most sense. If your venue is outdoors, make sure that you have a way to protect the equipment from the elements. As you speak with vendors, talent, and the venue to determine your equipment needs, make sure to ask how long they will need for setup and breakdown, and whether they need access to power, a loading dock, or any other special access. These details will be key to add to your plan to avoid costly mistakes.

8. Create a comfortable environment.

Keep your talent comfortable and help them prepare by creating or outfitting a backstage area. This can be any semi-private or private area in your venue, but it should have easy access to the stage as well as restroom facilities.

You can create a comfortable experience backstage by providing water, soft drinks, snacks, and other small necessities for your musical talent. Ask them in advance whether they will need somewhere to change, warm-up, or rest between performance periods.

Your audience’s comfort will depend on access to restroom facilities, refreshments, and appropriate seating. If your venue is outdoors, make sure there’s enough shelter in the case of inclement weather, or have a backup plan for when a storm rolls in.

Don’t forget to make a plan for everyone’s safety, too. You should have adequate security, medical assistance, and event assistants for the size of your audience and for your venue.

9. Start selling tickets.

If you’re planning on making money from the concert, you’ll need to sell tickets . You can partner with a ticketing service to offer print or digital tickets for your event. Some ticketing services offer the ability to use custom branding on the tickets, accept multiple payment methods, and offer tiered pricing. Many will also include a website for your ticketing and integration with your social media accounts.

The time and date of the concert should be clearly marked on the ticket, along with relevant seating information and a clear return/refund policy.

10. Promote the concert.

Just like any other event, the promotion for your concert will directly correlate to its success. You’ll need a marketing plan that takes into account your event concept, audience, and the musical talent that you’ve brought on board. If the talent has certain channels that work well for their marketing, make sure to double down on those channels and partner with the talent to spread the word.

You can increase your reach and spread your message further with the help of event partners . Sponsors, merchandisers, concert promoters, ticket sellers, and the venue can all be helpful in the marketing of your event. Get everyone on the same page about the event concept and goals and make it easy for them to promote the event by providing social media, email, and print assets that they can share.

Make sure to capture high-quality photos and videos leading up to and during the event, too. These will become marketing gold in your event follow-up and could be really useful if you’re considering making the event into a series or repeating it next year.

Now you know how to plan a concert!

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Event Planners: The Complete Concert Production Checklist

What does it take to plan a concert.

It’s no secret that live music lifts our mood and bonds us to others that join us in a live music experience. Organizations, brands, and businesses of all types and sizes are seeking ways to produce more concert experiences in the coming days, weeks, months, and years as our culture has been deprived of the live music experience due to the pandemic. 

So how do you plan a concert? Our team of event and video production professionals wants to share with you the best concert planning checklist for you to get started today. 

Dierks Bentley Outdoor Concert Production with LED Video Walls

Create Goals and Budget

Most event organizers are not producing a concert just for fun. What do you want to accomplish with your concert? If you’re thinking that a concert production will help you achieve your goals in business, fundraising, entertainment, or whatever capacity you’re planning for, you’ve probably already given your goals some thought, so write them down as your place to start. Without clear goals for your concert production, you’re likely leaving some experiential moments on the table for attendees. Talk to your target audience and learn more about what experience they are expecting at your concert. Be sure that your concept or theme for your concert experience is clear and that your goals are strategic, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-sensitive (or SMART). 

While the goal of your concert production may not be a certain amount of ticket sales or income, you still need a budget! You’re going to be thinking about expenses and contingencies and, if it’s one of your goals, making a profit on your concert.

Concert production expenses to consider include, but are not limited to:

  • Venue costs
  • Artist or talent fees
  • Production (staging, audio, video, lighting)
  • Food and beverages
  • Marketing and signage
  • Deposits that are required by vendors

Orchestra concert production in doors with audio engineer and console managing the audio production

Figuring out your gross potential for the event will help you plan accordingly, specifically when it comes to negotiations in the concert production process. Some production elements can be negotiated, including artist offer terms and their production requirements. It’s best to have concert production partners that can help you with that along the way. The concert planning process should take place at least six to eight months before your target concert date with production advances for staging, audio, lighting, and video taking place within a month of the concert. Starting with plenty of time before your concert production will allow you the most opportunity to make the best concert planning decisions. 

Select a Venue

Depending on your audience and your budget, you’ll be able to select your location (town or city) and your venue for your concert production. Two big items that you need to think about critically are your capacity and venue accessibility. Your audience will have both needs and wants when it comes to the venue. For example, not all audiences can support a $100/person ticket cost. If your capacity is small and your artist is a high-dollar performer, but you need to recover expenses through ticket sales, your capacity may be too small. 

Indoor Concert Production with American rapper and singer Bryce Vine on stage

Consider the attendee environment. Some questions to consider during the venue selection process would be:

  • Does your artist need an intimate space for their best performance – or is a large stadium a better-suited venue option? 
  • Where are your attendees going to park? Is there nearby parking or public transportation options?
  • Do you have handicap-accessible entrances and other amenities for attendees? 
  • Does your venue have enough bathrooms?
  • Are the acoustics appropriate in that space for your artist’s production requirements?
  • Is the atmosphere or the design of your venue appropriate for the theme or concept of your concert production experience for attendees? 

The venue you choose for your concert production can make or break your event. Research the space before signing your contract to ensure the best concert environment possible.

Find the Talent and Plan for Production

After selecting your venue, you can start researching the artist you think will fit your concert production best. Knowing your limits will help you make the best choice when it comes to artist selection. There will most likely be many artists that won’t fit your budget or venue. If your audience is expecting a certain genre or you’re limited to certain dates, you can start there. If you’re uncomfortable with finding an artist yourself, you can hire a concert promoter or agent to assist. Hiring the right person to help with this part of the concert production process can save you from missing important contract details, not understanding production element requirements, overpaying for an artist, or missing out on artists that may fit your concert experience better than you realize. 

The Beach Boys indoor concert production

Before you finalize the contract with the artist, it is recommended to procure a production quote and create a plan of action to secure all of the details you will need to ensure your artist’s contract is handled properly. This includes individual conversations with hospitality representatives, security companies, travel agencies, production companies, ticketing agencies, event assistants, and other vendors. Doing this before committing to an artist’s contract will eliminate any hidden costs you may not have considered but are required in the artist’s rider. Additionally, these conversations are typically handled individually to avoid wasting time when most vendors require planning separately during the concert production process. 

PRO TIP: Allow your concert production company to discuss production elements with the artist’s representative directly to avoid confusion. 

Design Your Concert Experience

A great concert isn’t built on just a nice venue and a good artist on stage! It’s the entire concert experience. From the moment your attendees walk through security to the exciting production to the awesome performance to the moment they return home and share their photos on social media, your attendees deserve an incredible concert experience. In recent decades, artists have been bringing their excitement with their performances, but it’s up to concert organizers to back that up. 

Plan ahead for a concert production schedule that works for everyone, including, your artist, your vendors, and your attendees. Creating an expectation of how the day’s events will pan out that is realistic and not rushed makes all the difference. Remember: your vendors are human! If you communicate this information beforehand, it’s highly likely that everyone will have a good attitude coming into the concert experience and leave with that same feeling. 

Sharing information with attendees through social media, email marketing, text message updates, clear signage throughout the venue, and interactive displays throughout the event space can truly make or break your attendee’s experience. These communication tools also allow you to create engagement opportunities and lead-capture data for future event marketing.

concert tour questions

During your concert, your artist will certainly entertain your attendees, but it’s up to you to keep them engaged with the right production elements. This includes the best concert lighting displays, video amplified on big LED or projection screens to ensure everyone has the best viewing experience, and the right sound so everyone can truly enjoy the performance. 

Obtain Insurance and Required Permits

Every venue, city, and state is different when it comes to concert production insurance and permits. Some venues and local authorities require individual permits for events or gatherings, sound, alcohol, fireworks/lighting, and other details. Some require none! It’s important to ask questions and learn this information significantly in advance of your concert date to ensure there aren’t any last-minute surprises. 

In the world of insurance, most artists, venues, and vendors require general liability insurance with minimum limits right away to ensure they have the right coverage in place. You want to be sure of the same! There are additional insurance policies to consider to make sure you’re covered as the event organizer, like worker’s compensation, weather cancellation, and artist cancellation. These policies can be discussed with a licensed insurance professional in your state. 

PRO TIP: Before purchasing insurance, consider all of the risks that are relevant to your event, like severe weather, potential for a data breach, or other security threats. A risk assessment for your concert production is highly encouraged, no matter the size of your event.

Promote Your Event

When the concert production planning process is moving forward with signed contracts, you can start promoting your concert! If you need to make money or at least manage your attendance count, you need to sell tickets. Your ticketing options are simple: print tickets or digital tickets. You can opt to manage the ticketing process internally or you can opt to partner with a ticketing service. But how do you get your attendees to buy your tickets? Market your event!

You know your audience best, so you know what marketing strategies will work best for your audience to engage with your ticketing platform. Some of the most common promotions include video promotions , social media posts, paid ads, radio or podcast interviews, and public event pages online. It’s best to utilize your connections to help promote your promotions, like advertising with the venue, collaborating on social media content with the artist, and finding local media outlets to showcase your upcoming concert. These can often be low-cost or no-cost marketing opportunities. 

Sample Social Media Post with Concert Ticket Giveaway

Other ways to promote your event could be to tap into your audience through entertaining, local opening acts with strong followings or to reach out to influencers within your target audience. Oftentimes influencers can gain followers themselves and help grow your followers as well through personalized messaging and giveaways, like free merchandise, food, and tickets. Who doesn’t love free tickets to a concert?!

Plan Your Next Concert Production

Don’t think of this as just a to-do list! This concert planning checklist is an outline to get you started. If you’re in need of assistance in your concert production planning process, Wired Production Group has been a trusted concert production and event management partner for more than 30 years across the United States. Contact our team of concert production professionals for more information anout how we can help.

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How Concert Tours Work

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rolling stones

How profitable are concert tours? Very, if the performers are major artists with fans eager to see them. Newcomer Miley Cyrus, for example, brought in $45.3 million from her 70-show Best of Both Worlds concert tour in 2007 and 2008. Tickets sold out in minutes as fans of her "Hannah Montana" TV show vied for the chance to see the teen star perform live during her first music tour [source: MTV News ].

But Mick Jagger and the Rolling Stones, on stage for four decades, hold the record for most profitable tour. Their worldwide A Bigger Bang tour ran from 2005 into 2007 and grossed $558 million [source: Billboard ].

Neither Mick nor Miley is relying on concerts alone for income. Their music tours both followed the release of a new album -- "Hannah Montana 2: Meet Miley Cyrus" for Miley and "A Bigger Bang" for the Rolling Stones -- and both earned more from concert films released after the tours. Disney's 3-D "Best of Both Worlds Concert Tour" film grossed more than $65.3 million before being aired on cable TV, while Martin Scorsese's "Shine a Light" documentary on the Stones' tour grossed $5.3 million [sources: Conde Nast Portfolio , Rolling Stone and Billboard ].

What about performers more distant from sudden fame and reigning stardom? How complicated are concert tours to put together and are they worth the effort? What kind of planning is needed, and how do you work with concert promoters or tour promoters, negotiate a touring schedule and hire a tour crew? Keep reading to find out, starting with the initial planning you'll need to do.

Initial Planning of a Concert Tour

Working with concert promoters, negotiating a concert tour schedule, hiring a concert tour crew.

miley cyrus

Think your band is ready to start touring, or are you not sure whether a concert tour should be in your immediate future? Planning and performing during a music tour are complicated and time consuming. Probably the first thing you'll want to do is make sure you can answer that question with a strong "Yes!"

To reach a decision, you'll want to consider factors such as:

  • Do we have enough material ready to perform on a tour?
  • Can we handle the rigors of travel and the challenge of playing that material every night as if it's fresh and new?
  • Do we have a reason to tour now -- like a new CD to promote? Do we have copies of CDs to sell if we are on tour?
  • Are we getting enough club bookings and a strong enough response from fans to indicate that they will buy tickets to our concerts?
  • Can we get along well enough with each other to survive a tour together?
  • What do we want out of a tour -- greater exposure for the band, bigger paychecks for the band members or something else?

Miley Cyrus and the Rolling Stones aside, if you expect to make a lot of money off concert tours, you're likely to be disappointed. By the time the venue, concert promoter and ticket vendor take their cuts, equipment rentals and crew are paid, and transportation and living costs are covered, there may not be as much for the band as you'd expect. That's not even considering sliding CD sales and the move to digital music.

Limited profitability is nothing new for touring bands. Gerald Casale, a founding member of Devo, recalls that band members only earned $12,000 each from the new wave group's Freedom of Choice tour, which grossed $2 million during the group's heyday in 1980 -- and the take would have been even less if T-shirts hadn't sold well. The group began touring again in 2004 [source: Billboard ].

If you've decided you're ready to tour, the next step is preliminary planning, probably led by your band's manager. Here are some questions to consider:

  • In which geographic area and at what specific cities and venues do you want to perform? What is your tentative itinerary?
  • What specific performing needs do you have in terms of instruments and musical equipment?
  • What specific stage, sound engineering and lighting needs do you have?
  • How much equipment will the band bring along, and how much will you need to have ready at the venue?
  • How many crew members will you need to have on site, and what skills or training do they need?
  • What's your tentative budget for the tour, including employee pay and equipment costs?
  • What are your limits in tour length and number of shows?

Once you have considered these basics, you need someone who can connect you with your audience. Perhaps your band has a music agent who handles your bookings. But whether you do or not, you or your agent needs to work through a concert promoter, or tour promoter, to put together a tour. Let's look next at what concert promoters do and how to work with them.

Veteran performers continued to dominate the Top 10 list in 2007. Only Josh Grobin and Rascal Flatts started touring after 2000. The average ticket price for the Top 100 concert tours was $61, up 8 percent from $57 a year earlier.

  • ­The Police, $133.2 million
  • Kenny Chesney, $71.1 million
  • Justin Timberlake, $70.6 million
  • Celine Dion, $65.3 million
  • Van Halen, $56.7 million
  • Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, $52.3 million
  • Rod Stewart, $49 million
  • Genesis, $47.6 million
  • Josh Groban, $43 million
  • Rascal Flatts, $41.5 million

[source: Pollstar ]

madonna

You could try to set up your concert tour, but you probably wouldn't get very far. Tour venues work with -- or are even owned by -- concert promoters, also known as tour promoters. You'll usually need a signed contract with a tour promoter to set up a tour.

A tour promoter organizes a live music tour and makes sure it's profitable. That can include presenting, advertising and even financing concerts at arenas, clubs, auditoriums, festivals and other special events. The promoter finds the talent, the venue and on-site labor, and then handles advertising, marketing and possibly even ticket sales for the tour [sources: Berklee College of Music and Full Sail ].

The biggest national promoters of music tours are Live Nation and AEG Live. Live Nation has begun signing major performers -- including Madonna, Nickelback, Shakira and Jay-Z -- to multi-year 360 contracts that can cover virtually all of the artist's output. This includes everything from music, concert tours and merchandise to endorsements and broadcast rights [source: Bloomberg ].

Don't expect a 360 contract or a contract from a major concert promoter. These companies want well-known stars whose value should hold for the contract length -- which, in Madonna's case, is 10 years. Taking a chance on an up-and-coming band may be far too risky financially [source: The American ].

Instead, your band's manager or music agent will sit down with a regional promoter to discuss the terms of a live music tour. Here are some ideas for finding a concert promoter:

  • Start with who you know. Word-of-mouth references may lead you to a promoter.
  • Check industry publications like Billboard and Pollstar , the concert industry trade publication, for ads and articles. Pollstar also sells industry directories listing information for booking agencies, concert venues and concert support services.
  • Check with venues where you'd like to play to see which promoters work with them.

Once you've found possible promoters, have your manager or agent contact them with information about your band, including genre, background, previous club and tour experience and a CD of your music.

If a promoter offers your band work through your manager, the next step is hammering out a contract covering the tour. The standard contract is the American Federation of Musicians' AFM Performance Agreement. Riders can be attached to handle specific tour details. While the contract itself is usually short, covering payment, profit splits, dates and locations, the rider may be 10 pages or more. Here are some details covered in a rider:

  • Promoter's expenses
  • Ticket selling policies, including how complimentary tickets will be handled
  • Headline billing rights for signs and publicity
  • An equipment breakdown detailing what'll be rented by the promoter vs. provided by the band
  • A breakdown of local crew that'll need to be hired
  • Dressing rooms, security, catering and travel
  • Cancellation policies

[source: Donald S. Passman and Randy Glass ]

Price isn't the only important part of a tour arranagement. You also need to agree on a tour schedule. Keep reading to learn more.

Once you've worked out a price, split percentage and other concert details with the concert promoter, you still need to agree on a daily work schedule for your band's concert tour.

Take a careful look at the schedule the tour promoter offers for the music tour. You'll want to make sure that:

  • The tour venues follow a geographically logical way instead of resembling a criss-cross, connect-the-dot pattern of overlapping routes
  • Enough travel time is built in, allowing for traffic and weather conditions, so that the band has time to set up and do any necessary rehearsing before a concert
  • Days off are worked into the schedule to give the band and crew time to recuperate after a number of hard days of concerts and travel.

Keep in mind, too, that concert tours involve a lot more than setting up, rehearsing and playing for an audience. A promoter or record label is likely to want the band to also do local promotions and interviews with media, meet with fans and sign autographs. There may be even more demands on band members' time.

You'll also want to be open to schedule changes. While the beginning of the tour may be thoroughly mapped out, the rest is likely to be more loosely scheduled. If not enough tickets are sold, one or more of the concert venues may drop out and be replaced with a concert in some other location. And if the tour turns out to be really successful, it may even be extended with additional concerts [source: MusicBizAcademy.com ].

Make your requests regarding the schedule, but in the words of Mick Jagger, "You can't always get what you want." Concert promoters are in business to make money, after all, and they want to keep a band working, not taking days off.

With schedule set and contract in hand, you're ready to get on the road again. Right? Well, not quite. You'll need a production manager and tour crew to take care of the logistics and set-up the equipment on the road. Keep reading to find out more.

CD sales are sliding, down 25 percent in 2008 from 2000. That has record labels, pop stars and lesser known bands looking to concert tours to augment income.

But higher gas prices and tighter money may get in the way for both bands and fans. Start-up bands forced to fill up low-mileage vans towing equipment need to make enough at a gig to recoup gas costs. And fans with less disposable cash may be reluctant to fork out money for concert tickets, particularly for big-name artists with seats selling for $75 and more.

Even beyond those economic realities, consider that:

  • The big-name stars that bring in the most fans are aging. The Rolling Stones and other heritage acts led the Top 10 grossing tours in 2006 and 2007. Out of the 20 acts, only Justin Timberlake and Christine Aguilera had yet to reach their 30th birthdays.
  • The older stars had a large common fan base, coming from Top 40 radio play and promotions and album sales, to fill concert halls. Today's young music enthusiasts have diverse music interests. They get their music from many different sources like cell phones, social networking sites, iTunes and Limewire and often don't even listen to traditional radio.

[sources: Chicago Tribune and The American ]

blake shelton

Even though a concert tour contract probably provides for some local crew at every stop on the tour, you'll want to have your own crew that travels with the band from venue to venue. This tour crew is invaluable because, unlike the local crew, they know the band, its show and its equipment, and they're there every step of the way to make sure the concerts go smoothly.

Here are some crew members and their responsibilities you'll want to have with you on your tour:

  • Tour manager or road manager: Manages travel arrangements, pays bills and handles problems as they occur while the band is touring.
  • Production manager : Supervises the technical crew and coordinates their work with that of the venue's local crew. Supervises moving equipment from one venue to the next, as well as setting it up and disassembling it.
  • Advance person : Arrives at each tour location before the band and crew to help the road manager and make sure advance arrangements have been handled correctly.
  • Stage manager: Controls performers' movements and crew on and off the stage; gives crew cues for the houselights.
  • Sound engineer : Operates the front of house console, which controls and mixes the sound the audience hears during a live performance.
  • Monitor engineer : Operates the monitor console, controlling the sound the band hears during a concert through on-stage or in-ear monitors.
  • Sound crew : Set up, disassemble and run sound equipment, as directed by the sound and monitor engineers.
  • Lighting operator : Operates the control console for the show and supervises the lighting crew.
  • Lighting crew : Sets up, runs and disassembles lighting equipment. May also handle special effects like smoke machines and hoists.
  • Backline crew : Sets up and manages performers' instruments and equipment.

[sources: Berklee College of Music and John Vasey]

As you hire crew to fill these positions, look for people who are:

  • Flexible and adaptable. Something can and undoubtedly will go wrong during a concert, and you'll need someone who can deal with the situation calmly and quickly.
  • Team players who get along with the band and other managers to reduce friction on the road.
  • Skilled at the jobs they do and very familiar with the equipment so that they can run it effectively in unfamiliar venues.
  • Committed enough to the band and the tour that they will put up with the inconveniences of being on the road and stick with the tour until the end.

Finally, if you're looking to make it on the concert scene, here's some advice from insiders:

  • Don't over-play the same clubs, or your ticket sales will start to drop off.
  • Recognize the difference between a recording session and a live performance and give the audience a show to remember.
  • Re-invent yourselves and freshen up your act over time, like Madonna and the Rolling Stones, to keep fans coming back year after year.

And a final word of advice: Be sure to explore all the potential revenue streams (such as band merchandise, fan clubs, licensing for TV shows and video games, and more) to add to tour income [source: The American ].

For lots more information about concert tours and related topics, check out the links on the next page.

Lots More Information

Related howstuffworks articles.

  • How Band Equipment Works
  • How Making It Works: Antigone Rising
  • How the Club Circuit Works
  • How Live Sound Engineering Works
  • How Becoming a Music Agent Works

More Great Links

  • American Federation of Musicians
  • "All You Need to Know about the Music Business, 5 th ed." Passman, Donald S. and Glass, Randy. Simon and Schuster, 2003, page 341. http://books.google.com/books?id=VQcAY1u8zIMC&pg=PA343&;lpg=PA343&dq=negotiate+with+tour+promoter&source=web&ots=HnoStuHZeJ&sig=KBXNvUOLx5OhNHF6CEqrNLRX44Q&­;hl=en&sa=X&oi=book_result&resnum=5&ct=result#PPA340,M1
  • "Bon Jovi, Spice Girls Top Mid-Year Touring Chart." Waddell, Ray. Billboard. July 18, 2008. http://www.billboard.com/bbcomnews/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003829213
  • "Careers in Music Business." Berklee College of Music.http://www.berkless.edu/careers/mbm.htm#tours
  • "Concert Tour Production Management: How to Take Your Show on the Road." Vasey, John. Focal Press, 1997, pages 3-4.http://books.google.com/books?id=4PiSCRpVB3UC&printsec=frontcover&dq=concert+tour+production&sig=ACfU3U2zKUWwDGf2qQNkpvryH26LPFgALQ#PPA3,M1
  • "Devo slowly evolves toward U.S. tour." Madison, Tjames. LiveDaily.com. July 14, 2005. http://www.livedaily.com/news/Devo_slowly_evolves_toward_US_tour-8422.html?t=98
  • "Exclusive: Coel, Rapino Talk Live Nation Plans." Waddell, Ray. Billboard. June 23, 2008. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/search/google/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003819679
  • 'Hannah Montana' goes 3-D on Starz.." Giardina, Carolyn. Billboard. July 11, 2008. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/search/google/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003826813
  • "Hannah Montana Ticket Bonanza Spurs Officials to Investigate Resellers." Kaufman, Gil. MTV News. Oct. 8, 2007. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/15713141005/cyrus_miley.jhtml
  • "Live Nation Signs Nickelback to Album, Tour Deal." Carrick, Kyla. Bloomberg. July 8, 2008. http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=a3JvhWZnZl6Y&refer=canada
  • "Prototype Band Tour and Work Schedule." Knab, Christopher. MusicBizAcademy.com. July 2002. http://www.musicbizacacademy.com/knab/articles/tourschedule.htm
  • "Road grows rocky for bands." Kot, Greg. Chicago Tribune. May 25, 2008. http://www.chicagotribune.com/features/arts/chi-recession-pop-0525may25,0,6472218.story
  • "Shine a Light." Internet Movie Database. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0893382/business
  • "Stones Bring Bigger Bang." Mar, Alex. Rolling Stone. July 26, 2005. http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/7504840/stones_bring_bigger_bang
  • "The Billboard.com Q&A: Devo." Friedman, Marc and Smith, Karen. Billboard. Jan. 18, 2007. http://www.billboard.com/bbcom/search/google/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003534792
  • "The Billion Dollar Girl." Tirella, Joseph. Conde Nast Portfolio. Feb. 7, 2008. http://www.portfolio.com/culture-lifestyle/culture-inc/arts­/2008/02/07/Hannah-Montanas-Earning-Potential
  • "The Police Lock 2007 Top Tours Spot." Pollstar.com. Dec. 31, 2007. http://www.pollstar.com/news/viewnews.pl?NewsID=9020
  • "The Show Must Go On." Cohen, Jillian. The American. March/April 2008. http://www.american.com/archive/2008/march-april-magazine-contents/the-show-must-go-on

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concert tour questions

10 Questions to Begin Your Show Advance

by Jolene | Aug 7, 2017 | Plan , Prepare

It’s time to start locking in your show day details!  Initial contact should happen between 2-6 weeks out, depending on how far out you need to start advancing.  When you reach out to the artist’s tour manager, here are the first questions you should ask to get the ball rolling:

1. What are your travel plans?

This will allow you to figure out what needs the artist has, such as ground transport timing, parking needs, arrival time to the venue, etc.

2. How many people are in your traveling party?

You’ll need a general sense of what size group you’re hosting to know how many meals are needed, how much room the touring party will need, and how many passes to hand out if you are providing credentials.

3. Any dietary restrictions or allergies to be aware of?

Allergies can be very serious, so it’s good to know about them right away before you plan any snacks or catering.  It will also help you accommodate any vegetarian, vegan, or other special diet requests.

4. Who is your production contact?

Production is a crucial (possibly the most important) detail of an artist’s performance.  It is good to start production conversations early on because they can often affect other parts of your day, your budget, and your overall show set up.  Once you have their production contact, be sure to connect them with whomever is in charge of production on your side.

5. Do you have an updated rider or any new information we should be aware of?

Artists update their riders every few months, so it is key to have the most updated version.  Often the tour manager has the most updated version and it is NOT the same as the rider you may have received with your contract.  Always work from the newest version to make sure the artist has what they need.  

6. What are the best day-of-show phone numbers to use for your team?

This may seem obvious but you’d be shocked how many people forget to collect a cell phone number so they can communicate with the artist team while on the road.

7. How much time would you ideally like for load in? For sound check?

Use this information to start building your day of show timeline.  Work backwards from door time and make sure everyone on your show lineup is given enough time for their load-in and a proper sound check.

8. Do you plan to sell merch?

Follow up questions may include how many tables are needed and whether they need a volunteer to help sell.  Also discuss the merchandise split if you are collecting one.

9. Do you have any photo policies or restrictions?

Your approved media will need to know how much of the show they can photograph and from where.  It is your job to get your media contacts pre-approved and inform them of their restrictions.

10. Do you prefer to do the meet and greet before or after the show?

This not only helps you plan your day of show timeline, but it also helps your committee plan appropriately.  Plus, it reminds the artist team that you want a meet and greet for your group.  A meet and greet is more likely to happen if it’s scheduled.

Asking just these 10 questions will help you jumpstart your advance.  If you work with a middle agent, they may start the advance for you and may even already know this info, so be sure to ask them who is going to reach out to the artist team first.  

concert tour questions

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Everything You Need to Know About How — And When — Concerts Will Return

With the constant rescheduling of tours and a tangled web of conflicting state laws, music fans and industry pros would be rightfully confused about when -- and how -- concerts will return. Look no…

By Dave Brooks

Dave Brooks

back to live touring

With the constant rescheduling of tours and a tangled web of conflicting state laws, music fans and industry pros would be rightfully confused about when — and how — concerts will return. Look no further: Your burning questions about how to protect your health (and bank account) as the pandemic’s end draws near are answered here.

When can I go to a concert?

That depends on where you live. The return of shows will be decided largely on a state-by-state basis by both governors and city leaders, not federal officials, although many states and private businesses will build their reopening strategies around guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Florida and Texas have already allowed concerts to resume, though not without some issues: Steve Aoki and Diplo each got warnings from local police and reproof from the mayor of Tampa, Fla., for performing in front of maskless crowds during Super Bowl weekend in February.

More restrictive states like New York and California have announced that outdoor concerts could resume as soon as April 1 if capacity is capped at 25%. Bright Eyes is moving forward with a rescheduled show on July 31 at Forest Hills Stadium in Queens, while Outside Lands organizers have put tickets on sale even as they moved the 60,000-attendees-per-day San Francisco festival from August to October.

Trending on Billboard

Inside the inevitable return of bright eyes, does that mean my favorite big artist could still play this year.

Chances are low. While audiences may not mind being capped at 20% capacity, most acts still need 100% of their audience to play a show. “There’s just not enough money at 20% to sustain a touring band and their crew,” says tour manager Christian Coffey, who works with acts like A$AP Rocky and Run the Jewels . Coffey says that most artists need to draw 70% to 80% capacity each night to break even. “And they still need their manager and driver and roadies and guitar techs to help the group look and sound their best. That’s not possible if they’re only earning 20% of the revenue they used to make.”

When will shows reach 100% capacity again?

So far, there’s no definite answer. Experts like the National Independent Talent Organization’s Nadia Prescher say most of their peers anticipate that two conditions must be met in order for touring to resume: Cities looking to host concerts must have 70% to 80% of their citizens vaccinated, and at least 70% of U.S. cities must have reached this goal for national touring to be economically viable.

It also depends on what kind of artist you’re hoping to see. For artists who play large theaters or amphitheaters with capacities in the 2,000- to 10,000-seat range, there must be sufficient connectivity between tour route stops allowing an act to play a show every 300 to 400 miles and thus sustain the costs of playing big venues. But those artists could also choose to play smaller venues in a set geographic area — say, the Southwest trio of New Mexico, Arizona and Texas — much as smaller, independent artists do in order to build a following. They could also opt for underplays and special engagements, especially in Los Angeles and New York, in which major artists play intimate venues and a label or sponsor picks up part of the cost. Those exceptions aside, says Prescher, the return of large-scale touring — which generates the bulk of live business revenue — will really need most states open at the same time to truly work.

Eric Church's Crusade to Get Fans Vaccinated -- And Bring Concerts Back

Could i at least see my favorite indie act sooner.

Maybe. Smaller clubs are expected to reopen before arenas, and some artists have tour dates mapped already — like the Grammy Award-nominated Black Pumas , who have 13 shows scheduled through late April and May in locales like Chicago, Pittsburgh, Brooklyn and Austin.

How long will all of this take?

As of mid-March, the United States was vaccinating about 2.5 million Americans per day, according to Bloomberg’s COVID-19 tracker, which measures the speed of the rollout. At that pace, vaccinating 70% to 85% of the population would take until the end of the year, according to leading government infectious-disease expert Dr. Anthony Fauci.

What do promoters risk if they book a band and then the show gets pushed back or canceled due to COVID-19?

Losing the deposit they paid the band, which in many cases can be 50% to 100% of the total fee the artist was set to earn at the show. Prior to the pandemic, promoters were able to rely on force majeure or “act of God” contract provisions, which protected show organizers from cancellations caused by events beyond their control. But savvy agents are demanding changes to those provisions so that their artists don’t risk having half of their tour canceled because of an overzealous promoter.

Will I have to prove I’m vaccinated to attend a concert?

Ticketmaster says it has technology to allow fans to digitally verify their vaccine status after they purchase a ticket, but it hasn’t provided many details on how it will work, and president Mark Yovich says that the company would only use that if local and state health officials mandated it. “Ticketmaster’s goal is to provide enough flexibility and options so that venues and fans have multiple paths to return to events,” says Yovich, adding that the company’s development strategy is based on “what’s greenlit by local officials and desired by clients.”In New York, at least, starting April 1, fans must provide evidence they’ve been vaccinated or tested negative for COVID-19 to attend reduced-capacity events. Proof can be as easy as producing a copy of your inoculation card at the venue door.

Will I still have to wear a mask?

Most public health officials, including Fauci, believe that vaccinated adults will be required to wear masks in public buildings through the end of 2021 to prevent the spread of COVID-19 variants.

I’m not vaccinated. Is it dangerous for me to go to an indoor venue?

Initially, public health officials believed concerts — especially indoor shows with fans tightly packed together — posed a significant risk for the spread of COVID-19. But a recent German study found that indoor concerts may pose a low risk of viral spread if the venue is properly ventilated. Researchers from the Martin Luther University of Halle-Wittenberg in Saxony-Anhalt conducted an experiment in which 1,500 volunteers attended an August concert by singer Tim Bendzko at a Leipzig arena. Participants were armed with digital movement tracers and fluorescent-dyed hand disinfectant that allowed measurement of physical interaction during the show; the researchers even used a fog machine to simulate the spread of aerosolized droplets that could cause infections. Their analysis found that the risk of COVID-19 infection was reduced by 90% if the air inside the venue was constantly recirculated with outside air.

In a recent address to the Association of Performing Arts Professionals, Fauci expressed support for the findings, noting that “if the indoor venue is well-ventilated and maybe has some HEPA filters, I think you could then start getting back to almost full capacity of seating.”

That said, the study also found that periods of prolonged contact were highest when participants lined up to enter the venue at showtime, as well as during breaks, when they used the bathroom and bought beverages. They were safest when they remained in their seats for the duration of the show — so for now, experts say fans who aren’t vaccinated should do the same.

How Can Concerts Restart Safely? A 1,500-Person Study Aims to Find Out

What kind of technology is being developed to minimize viral spread at concerts.

In October, Ticketmaster rolled out its SmartEvent platform, which repurposes some of the smartphone technology it had developed to fight ticket scalping into a platform for facilitating contactless visits to concert venues. Ticketmaster’s main technological innovation — the digital ticket — was designed to phase out print-at-home tickets. Mobile tickets can’t be duplicated by scalpers, but they can be easily transferred from the box office to the fan, eliminating lines at will call. Ticketmaster has also outlined plans to create applications allowing fans to order food on their phones, form a digital bathroom line and use GPS to assist with contact tracing if infections at a show are reported.

Will artists continue livestreaming concerts once in-person shows come back?

Livestreaming won’t just stick around — many believe it will continue to grow, not as a replacement for live events but as a new fan offering that coexists with an album or tour cycle. “It’s one more tentpole moment you can create around an artist’s career,” says Underoath manager Randy Nichols — much like a comedian’s TV special or the DVDs of the “final show of the tour” concerts of yore. High-production value livestreams have proved profitable, with some sales in the seven figures: Dua Lipa ’s Studio 2054 took in over $5.3 million in ticket sales (moving 284,000 units) according to her management company, TaP Music, and over 5 million people tuned in, thanks in part to agreements to stream the performance for free in India and China. Niall Horan sold over 125,000 tickets for his livestream concert at London’s Royal Albert Hall, netting $2.5 million.

“Because of the pandemic, we’ve taught fans to embrace this new platform they weren’t comfortable with before,” says Nichols. “It will live on after the pandemic, even if the application is applied differently.”

Save The Date

As COVID-19 cases continue to decline, a full-scale recovery for the live business looks ever more possible in the near future. Watch these dates to track the comeback of concerts in the United States.

April 24: With under a month to go, dance festival Ubbi Dubbi — a 25,000-person camping event near Dallas with major artists like Kaskade and Illenium — will be an early test for vaccine-era events. Two days later, Moon Crush, a socially distanced concert vacation in Miramar Beach, Fla., is set to begin.

Jason Isbell, Grace Potter & More to Perform at Socially-Distanced Concert Vacation

May 1: President Joe Biden has instructed states to make all Americans eligible for vaccination by this date; how close the country comes will determine when concerts resume.

June 4: Florida has hardly been a leader when it comes to pandemic safety precautions, but if Gulf Coast Jam in Panama City happens, it will still be a welcome indicator of progress — particularly for Nashville and its country headliners.

Aug. 7: Lady Gaga ’s rescheduled Chromatica Ball stadium shows touch down stateside after a planned kickoff in Europe in July; it’s one of the first big superstar treks on the calendar.

Aug. 28: High-priced residencies have fueled billions of dollars of spending in Las Vegas; if Morrissey ’s at the Colosseum at Caesar’s Palace goes off as planned, it’ll bode well for the revival of that business.

Oct. 29: Outside Lands, which typically takes place during August in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park, will certainly be colder this year — but attendees probably won’t mind if one of the biggest music festivals in the country proceeds according to plan.

The End Times Aren’t Nigh!

Last March, in the wake of the first pandemic-induced lockdowns worldwide, touring professionals descended into doomsday thinking. But thanks to a $15 billion aid package passed in the final days of the Trump administration, the Biden government’s $1.9 trillion capital intervention and revenue generated by the rapid growth of livestreaming, the live space is intact and preparing to open — at reduced capacity, at first — this spring. Here are three of the scariest predictions for what would happen — and why, thankfully, they didn’t come true.

A Requiem For Indie Venues

Bleeding cash and reeling from years of lopsided corporate competition, over 3,000 U.S. indie promoters came together in June to form the National Independent Venue Association, sounding the alarm that without government aid, 90% of U.S. venues would close by the end of 2020. Following the extensive Save Our Stages campaign, however, $15 billion in entertainment industry relief was approved in December, allowing many indie venue owners (along with cinemas, museums and other cultural institutions) to stay afloat as they awaited the funds. The Small Business Administration says those funds will become available in May.

Congress Voted to Save Our Stages, But Indie Venues Are Still Waiting for Help

Leverage, lost.

After a Live Nation memo that leaked in June detailed plans to renegotiate artist contracts due to the pandemic, many of those performers (and their agents) feared the company would limit access to major festivals and available concert dates unless they agreed to accept less money and more financial risk. Live Nation quickly retracted the key points of the memo, however, after it went public. A high-ranking source at the company told Billboard an internal analysis at Live Nation concluded that the plan would backfire, opening the door for a new, well-capitalized competitor to enter the space.

Bye Bye, Agents

With a liquidity crisis at Paradigm, poorly timed acquisitions at Endeavor and layoffs at APA, UTA and Creative Artists Agency, a major meltdown looked likely, with agencies either crushed by mounting debts or spun off by their new private equity partners, paving the way for managers to take over their duties. For better or worse, though, agents stayed busy as the pandemic dragged on — cancelling and rebooking dates for their clients ad nauseam.

This article originally appeared in the April 3, 2021,  issue of  Billboard.

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20 Questions to Ask Before Booking a Tour

20 Questions to Ask Before Booking a Tour

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Ed Hewitt started traveling with his family at the age of 10 and has since visited dozens of countries on six continents. He wrote for IndependentTraveler.com for more than 20 years, producing hundreds of columns on travel and offering his expertise on radio and television. He is now a regular contributor to SmarterTravel.

An avid surfer and rower, Ed has written about and photographed rowing competitions around the world, including the last five Olympic Games.

He's passing his love of travel on to the next generation; his 10-year-old son has flown some 200,000 miles already.

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While few truly independent travelers look forward in rapt anticipation to a guided tour, many will admit to a pang of curiosity (or, as the times would have it, FOMO) when they overhear a gifted guide explaining the history and context of a place. Even those who love wandering around on their own have likely experienced the benefits of an intimate small-group tour with a local expert.

If this seems familiar at all, and you are considering hiring a guide on an upcoming trip, here are some questions to ask before booking a tour.

1. Is the tour tailored to beginners or experts?

If you are going on a specialty tour (history, art, cooking) and you already know a lot about the subject, you might be bored silly by information that a non-expert would find fascinating. The reverse also applies; dense art historical information may not appeal to a lay person, for example.

2. Does the tour guide speak throughout, or is it an audio tour with headphones or other media?

Will you be learning from an individual or listening to a taped expert played over headphones? Each has its pros and cons; the former is ideal if you like to ask lots of questions and interact with an expert, while an audio guide allows you to customize the volume and go at your own pace.

3. Who is your guide?

Are the guides locals? Trained historians? Degreed naturalists? Whoever the company could find who needed a job? The personality and knowledge of your tour guide can make all the difference.

4. In what language(s) will the tour be given?

Clearly you will want the tour to be given in a language with which you have a degree of fluency so you won’t miss any important points. If the tour will be given in more than one language, you may want to ask if one language will be considered the main one for the tour. For some tours, translating to several languages can reduce the amount of time and detail the tour guide can give you, and often the information in one language is more cursory than another.

5. Is it all-inclusive, or will you have to pay additional admission fees?

If you will be visiting attractions during the tour, the price of the tour may be completely separate from the admission to those attractions. Be sure you budget for such additions so you don’t miss out on part of the tour.

Another way to ask this: What is not included?

6. Is food provided?

If the tour bridges a mealtime, ask if food is included in the price of the tour. If not, will there be time and opportunity to purchase something, or should you bring your own snacks? If food is available, what options are there? You’ll want to make sure the offerings suit your taste and dietary limitations.

7. What weather can you expect?

If your tour requires you to go up a gondola to a mountaintop covered with mist, or to get on a windy ferry to an island, or to walk for two hours in the summer heat, you’ll want to know ahead of time so you can dress appropriately.

8. How much physical exertion is required?

Unless it is a bus or boat tour, most guided tours require you to walk a bit. Find out how far, whether hills or stairs are involved and what shoes would be most appropriate.

9. Is the tour kid-friendly/handicap-accessible/etc.?

If you or anyone in your group has any special needs, even if they are as simple and common as being a young and restless kid, ask ahead of time if the tour will work well for that person.

10. Where does the tour pick up and drop off?

This seems like an uncomplicated issue, but that’s not always the case. Many tours operate without official offices, so they might meet at street corners, near a famous statue, on the steps of a museum … you get the idea. Take the time to map out how to get there from your lodging, as this is often the most difficult part of taking a tour (go figure).

11. How long is the tour?

You know your own threshold for being led around and told stuff; some may want hours and hours of information, while others want concise overviews before going on their own again.

12. How much time is spent in each place?

Sometimes folks on tours complain of having been rushed through a place they really wanted to see and absorb, while others report having had to linger over something in which they had little interest. If there are specific stops on the tour that are (or are not) important to you, a little research will help make sure you see what you want to see, and not more or less.

13. Are there other tours along the route?

Travelers who prefer to avoid the built-in crowds that tours bring with them can feel even more hemmed in when there are multiple tours all visiting and talking about the same thing at the same time. You can sometimes avoid this by taking your tour at off hours; first thing in the morning often works well.

14. What size is the group?

A tour that’s too big will make you feel like you’re walking around town in a giant swarm of tacky tourists; one that’s too small can feel awkward. (On a visit to Berlin some time ago, I spotted an American couple being led around by a tour guide who was nearly yelling in hopes of attracting the attention of potential additional subscribers. The couple was clearly uncomfortable.) Even if you like the idea of a small tour, find out whether there’s a minimum required number to keep the tour from being canceled.

15. Will you get to break off on your own?

Even on closely guided tours, it’s nice to be able to break off on your own a little bit, whether to linger in front of a painting, dwell on a beautiful view or read a historical placard. Many tours will give you a bunch of information followed by a little bit of time to poke around yourself.

16. Is it safe?

Having lived in New York in the early 80s, I find edgy urban environments fairly comfortable. But when I was considering a favela tour in Rio de Janeiro last year with a 9-year-old in tow, I asked specifically about safety on the tour. The guide’s answer suited me very well, and we enjoyed the tour with no problems.

17. Does pricing change by the week or day?

Many tour companies and guides offer peak and off-peak pricing, depending on when you come; you can save money by looking into your options.

18. What’s the inclement weather policy?

If your tour is outdoors, will you get a refund in foul weather, will you be rescheduled or will you simply be expected to show up and get wet/cold/etc.?

19. What’s the cancellation policy?

You’ll often have to schedule and pay for your tour ahead of time. Before putting any money down, find out what happens if you need to cancel or reschedule.

20. Is the tour well reviewed?

TripAdvisor, Yelp and other similar sites often have reviews of tours and even specific tour guides. Knowing as much as you can about other folks’ experience on a tour can be extremely helpful (and can give you answers to many of the questions posed above).

Have we missed any questions that are important to you? Let us know in the comments!

You May Also Like What Makes a Place Too Touristy? Walking Tours and Trips: What You Need to Know When Do You Need a Tour Guide? 8 Things Not to Bring Home from a Trip

Editor’s Note: IndependentTraveler.com is published by The Independent Traveler, Inc., a subsidiary of TripAdvisor, Inc.

We hand-pick everything we recommend and select items through testing and reviews. Some products are sent to us free of charge with no incentive to offer a favorable review. We offer our unbiased opinions and do not accept compensation to review products. All items are in stock and prices are accurate at the time of publication. If you buy something through our links, we may earn a commission.

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concert tour questions

A quick and easy guide to writing concert reviews

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How to write a concert review in six eight nine easy steps!

Concert reviews can provide valuable experience to the beginning writer. Here are some steps and pro tips for reviews that will serve fans and non-fans alike. 

Done right, the concert review provides a valuable service. Part reportage, part boosterism, a concert review can give both fans and non-fans a glimpse of what it’s like to see a musician or band in action. A review can also validate and/or illuminate (or not) the concert experience for those who were there.

For budding music journalists (or arts reporters in general), covering a show is fairly straightforward writing practice. Unlike an album review, say, a concert review requires no particular point-of-view, i.e. critical thinking. Nor is it necessary to talk to anyone, as one would have to for an interview/profile piece.

Using journalistic skills like research, observation, and note-taking, the writer can approach a show review  as an exercise in straight reportage.  (Of course, the writer chooses the facts and observations. So some perspective and context are involved.)  Applying these skills to a form that attracts enthusiasm more than technique immediately elevates your review above 90 percent of the others on the internet. 

Unfortunately, there are fewer and fewer paying gigs for the prospective concert reviewer. Daily newspapers only cover the biggest arena- and stadium-filling shows. Weeklies, those that survive, devote less and less space to them. Blogs and online magazines have taken up the slack, somewhat, but most can offer only a concert ticket (with a plus-one if you’re lucky).

It’s a labour of love, concert reviewing. On the plus side: experience; a ticket to a show; and maybe a life-changing experience.

writing concert reviews guide

Step-by-step concert review writing guide

Choose a show by a musician or band that you know.

A no-brainer, maybe. But it does help to have at least some knowledge/interest in the subject. And if you enjoy the artist’s work, you may be more inspired and energized when it comes time to sit down and write the damn thing. On the other hand, don’t let your prior knowledge lull you into thinking that the reader knows what you know. As an editor, I can’t count the number of times a reviewer has mentioned a song as though the reader should know something about it. Also, don’t get carried away by your enthusiasm. Save the poetry for your journal. Unless you’re an actual poet .

Do some research

You can do this after the show. But I recommend researching beforehand. You may or may not use what you learn but at least you have a few facts in your back pocket.

When researching, here are a few things to look for:

• The latest release. Is it an album, an EP, a song, a video, an art installation? Find out. The show/tour is probably in support of it. You’ll want to be familiar with the new product if only to be able to authoritatively drop song titles into the review. Pro tip: reach out to the band’s publicist (if they have one) for a digital copy. The publicist’s email can usually be found in the “about” section of the artist’s Facebook page.

• The tour. Did the artist just roll out of bed? Try to find out if the show that you are reviewing is at the beginning, middle or end. Usually, if it’s the beginning or end it will be relevant to the review. Even if it’s just a random date in the middle, it might account for a lack-lustre show. Dropping this kind of info into the review is just the kind of thing to give you credibility with the reader.

• Names. Try to find out the names of everyone in the band, if there’s a replacement musician for the tour etc. This is another detail that lends your review credibility. An artist’s homepage is usually less up-to-date in this regard than a Facebook page.

• The opener. It’s not necessary to see the opener, or to include in your review. However, I recommend catching at least a few minutes of their set. It’s worth writing about the opener if they’re a) local, b) extremely good or bad, and/or c) blowing up in some way (i.e. a YouTube video going viral). You don’t want to be the reviewer who missed the Next Big Thing because you were too lazy to get your ass down to the venue in time.

I cannot emphasize this enough. Nothing separates the amateur from the pro like a notepad. Do these ramblings have to be legible? No. Just the act of writing stuff down helps you remember .

For note-taking, I prefer the old-fashioned way, a lined notepad to a cellphone. Sure, it looks dorky, but it’s also empowering—like wearing a fedora with a “Press” card in the hatband. (Okay, maybe that’s not that empowering.) Whatever you decide, here are some things to note of:

• how many people were onstage? What did they play? Did they switch instruments? Was it one guy with a laptop?

concert tour questions

• what were some of the songs played? If you’re not sure, write down some lyrics so you can Google them later. Or ask the nearest rabid fan who is mouthing the words.

• were there any guests? I.e., did Courtney Love show up and disrupt the set ?

• were any cover songs included?

• what was the energy like on the part of the performer(s), on the part of the audience? Did it change?

• did anyone say anything memorable between songs? Of course not, they’re musicians. Still, including some between-song banter again scores credibility points (there’s no algorithm for this as yet, unfortunately). Incorporating quotes is also another handy journalism technique that requires practice before it becomes second nature. Plus, quotes breaks up the copy.

• how many people in the audience? Was the show packed, sold-out, half-full? Were they begging people to come in off the streets? How is this different from the last time the same act played in town?

• Was there anything interesting/unusual about the stage set-up?

concert tour questions

Pro tip: never mind about the sound. No one cares.

Arrive early (but not too early). Stay until the end

Your ride is leaving, buses stop running soon, you can’t afford a cab, the bouncers have your boyfriend down on the ground and are kicking his ribs in. It doesn’t matter: stay until the end. You don’t want to find out later that the band had a fistfight onstage.

If you do have to leave, make a note of it in the review. However, be aware that your credibility score is at risk in the mind of the reader.

Likewise, arrive early. I mentioned catching the opening band(s). But an early arrival also lets you stake out a decent spot. It also gives you a chance to take stock of your fellow-concertgoers, the venue, the stage set-up, etc.

Work on the review ASAP

As soon as you can, take ten minutes to write about the show—general impressions, what stood out, general description as though you were describing it to a friend, anything that comes to mind. Try not to consult your notes. Then, sleep on it. You’ll be amazed to find, when you sit down to writing the actual review, how much of the work has been done. Not to mention, you may wake up with some additional thoughts. The notes you make directly after the event is usually the stuff that stays (and slays).

Write a second (and third) draft

As above, this is more of a general writing rule. For many writers, the first draft is only a starting-point. Get it all down, then see what can be cut. See what can be moved around. See what’s necessary and what can go. Work on a through-line; does the end flow naturally from the beginning?

Pro tip: write the first draft in a rush. Then cut the first three or four paragraphs and let the review begin at this new starting point. If there was any important info in those first three paras, you can include later in the review. Often, in a first draft the first three paras are full of either factual (“The band is on its third album”) or personal (“I arrived at the venue but had to stand in line for an hour”) info that can (and should) be excised.

Assume the reader knows nothing

Just because you know that the singer’s new song went viral on Snapchat doesn’t mean your reader does. Write so that both fan and the uninformed can get something out of the review. Include enough detail for the former and enough general info for the latter.

Write in third-person

First-person reviews are okay for a blog. But writing in third-person guards against the review becoming too much about the reviewer. (This isn’t a hard-and-fast rule. This Butthole Surfers in Vancouver concert review is written in first person and sort of works.) And a review written in the third-person reads more professionally—the writer comes across not just as some gushing fan but as someone who’s done his/her homework.

Pro tip: If I’m writing a review and find it absolutely necessary to bring in my personal bias, I will instead refer to myself as “this reviewer.” I.e.: “The fans loved it, but for this reviewer, the addition of a 20-minute version of Leonard Cohen’s ‘Hallelujah’ sung by children in angels’ costumes was over-the-top.”

When stuck, follow this simple, easy-to-use template

Stuck? Here is how I would break down a review.

1st (and maybe 2nd para)—A grabby opener. Something dramatic or interesting/unusual. This could be something about the artist, or the tour, or the show. Or it could be a moment during the evening. It could be a particularly telling bit of audience interaction (“Without warning, Chris Martin jumped into the audience”) or dramatic/humourous incident in the performance (“Midway through the set, Martin broke down and told us about his mom”).

2nd, 3rd and/or 4th paras—Actual info/context. This is where your research comes into play. I.e.: “With their viral video, Mouthbastard is the hottest band out of Salt Lake City since the Trepanning Satanists”), context of the show (part of a tour for a new album), even lineup (“This was Groper’s first show since the loss of their founding tympani player, Hiram Phinbottom”).

4th and 5th paragraphs—Songs played, atmosphere of show, individual musicianship, highlights, low-lights (this is where, if you have one, you can express your opinion), onstage banter, crowd interaction. Remember those notes?

6th para—Wrap-up. Sometimes the hardest para. It’s easy to slip into cliché here: “Hopefully, they’ll be back again soon” is a standard and deathly dull way to wrap things up. In a well-constructed review, the end will tie-in (perhaps answering a question) with the opening paragraph, and conclude the arc of the review.

Random notes:

Genres—Most of my experience is writing rock/pop concert reviews. Most of the same rules apply, however. Exceptions are hip-hop and EDM shows, which as younger genres come with a different set of expectations. I.e., it’s perfectly acceptable for artists in either genre to rely on pre-recorded music, something that is (or would have been) anathema at a rock show.

Photos—You can try taking your own, if you can get close enough (or if you have a good enough camera). You can also make friends with a photog at the show—identifiable by his or her large camera—and ask if you can use a photo. Most will say yes, as long as you credit them. I wouldn’t recommend downloading random live shots from Google images as these are the property of the photographer and/or artist. You can also request publicity images from the band’s publicist or reach out to the concert promoter to see if they have any images you can use.

Style guides—If you’re writing for a publication, make sure you know their style guidelines, especially when it comes to things like song titles (in quotations?) and album titles (italicized)?

Check in with yourself—During the performance, periodically ask yourself what you are experiencing. Are you mesmerized, or are you thinking about that load of laundry you forgot to take out of the dryer?

Fact-check EVERYTHING. But this really goes for any piece of writing. Also, proofread, and look for clichés.

Run everything through the Hemingway app . This will help you avoid passive sentences, unnecessary adverbs and lengthy sentences (something or which many of us, including me, have a tendency towards).

Next: how to write a press release

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Bad Bunny Pushes His Boundaries With Ambitious ‘Most Wanted’ Los Angeles Tour Stop: Concert Review

By Thania Garcia

Thania Garcia

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Bad Bunny

As Bad Bunny ‘s “Most Wanted Tour” made its first of three stops at L.A.’s Crypto.com Arena Wednesday night, fans dressed in western-themed getups gathered to witness the return of the Puerto Rican megastar for his first outing since his eye-popping “World’s Hottest” stadium run . Split into four separate acts, this production felt much more theatrical than his last, as proven by the intricate pyrotechnics and the orchestra — which served as a 10-minute opening act — nestled onto one of two crescent-shaped stages on either side of the arena.

With Bunny — or Benito Martínez Ocasio, as he later introduced himself — on one stage and the orchestra on the other, a sea of fans filled the remaining middle ground of the floor. The singer would spend much of the night moving from one side to the other, and the latter half of Act II balancing atop a floating catwalk that rotated, placing him face-to-face with the fans seated in the upper sections of the arena. One (or both?) of the stages also had risers, making pretty much any seat in the house a good one.

Maybe it’s the volume of subject matter, or the fact that he’s at the height of his fame, but Bunny performed with a swiftness that left little room for improvisation. Act I is composed of fast-paced and seamless trap music following the tracklist of “Nadie Sabe” — a signal that re-established the warning sign emblazoned on the first poster we saw for this tour: “If You’re Not a Real Fan, Don’t Come.”

After dominating the mainstream with his historic “Un Verano Sin Ti,” Bunny retreated to his roots with “Nadie Sabe,” finding comfort in his “day one” fans, whom he regularly thanked throughout the show. Before launching into Act II, a short film was played, introducing Bunny’s masked cowboy alter-ego. It included a short speech about how he embraces being alone, since that has helped inpire the good and bad ideas that lead him to write music, “creating light from darkness.” Bunny then appeared from the side of the stage atop a horse, wearing a fringed-out baby-blue outfit that he stayed in for the remainder of the night.

Despite his relentless emphasis on trap, the compact — for Bunny, anyway — two-and-a-half-hour show closed with a treat for fans of his raging reggaeton hits, including “Safaera,” “Yo Perreo Sola,” “Efecto,” and even “Me Porto Bonito.” Nearly all of the audience was suddenly on their feet, and it seemed as though every colorful laser and floating fluorescent light in the space lit up to reveal a sea of ecstatic faces. Streamers, confetti, and splashes of overpriced beer and mixed drinks went flying into the air.

What Bad Bunny does next remains to be seen, but if this concert trek is any indication, it’s clear his listeners — old or new — are more than eager to follow him wherever he may choose to venture.

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concert tour questions

13 Concert Etiquette Rules

Concert Etiquette Rules

Table of Contents

1. Arrive Early 

Arriving early at a concert can help you secure better seats or standing spots. You may find a spot that gives you a great view of the stage without having to crane your neck or stand on your tiptoes.

By arriving early, you can enjoy extra performances by other guest artists and get into the mood for the main event.

2. Dress Appropriately

Some concerts may have a dress code, especially for more formal events such as classical music or opera. Make sure you check the dress code beforehand to avoid any surprises.

You’ll likely be standing or walking around a lot, so make sure to wear comfortable shoes. The key is to strike a balance between comfort, practicality, and style. 

3. Keep The Waiting Line Moving

keep the concert entry queue moving

Here are a few tips to help you keep the line moving while waiting for your turn to enter the hall:

  • Stay alert: Keep your eyes and ears open to any announcements or instructions from the organizers and any movement in the line.
  • Be prepared: Have your ticket or ID ready to quickly show it to the ushers or security personnel when it’s your turn.
  • Keep moving : Don’t stop unless necessary when the line starts moving. Avoid checking your phone, taking pictures, or engaging in any activity that might slow down the line.
  • Stay in line : Don’t try to cut the line or jump ahead of others, as this will only cause frustration and delay for everyone else.
  • Be polite: Show courtesy and respect to those around you, and avoid confrontations or arguments with other people in line.

4. Keep Your ID Handy For Stamp And Bands

If you are attending a concert, keep your physical ID, such as a driver’s license or passport, handy for identification and stamping . This may be necessary for security or age verification before entering the concert hall. 

5. Don’t Bump Into Others While Dancing

Here are some tips to avoid bumping into others while dancing at a concert:

  • Look around you and observe how much space you have. Take note of the people around you and try to anticipate their movements.
  • You may accidentally hit someone if you swing your arms too much while dancing. Keep your arms close to your body, and avoid flailing them around. If you do accidentally bump into someone, apologize right away. 

6. Know When Not To Sing Along

Attending a concert can be a fun and exciting experience, and singing along with the artist is often part of the thrill. However, there may be times when it’s best to refrain from singing along, such as:

  • During quiet or acoustic songs: If the artist is performing a soft, mellow or acoustic song, it’s best to avoid singing along as your voice could disrupt the music performance and ruin the mood.
  • During songs with complex lyrics : If you’re not familiar with the lyrics of a song or if the lyrics are complex, sit back and enjoy the performance instead of trying to sing along.
  • During moments of silence : Sometimes artists create moments of silence during a performance for dramatic effect. Respect these moments and avoid singing or making any other noise.
  • If you’re not a good singer: If you’re not confident or your voice is off-key, avoid singing along.

7. Don’t Push People 

Pushing people is dangerous and disrespectful and could lead to injuries or accidents. Be mindful of the people around you and behave in a manner that ensures everyone’s safety and comfort. 

If you find yourself in a crowded area in the hall, try to move slowly and calmly and avoid pushing or shoving others.

8. Don’t Chatter Continuously

Talking continuously in a concert hall can be disruptive and disrespectful to the performers and other audience members .

Be considerate and mindful of others in shared public spaces and respect the rules and guidelines that are in place. If you need to speak to someone during a concert, do so quietly and briefly, or step outside the hall to avoid disturbing others.

9. Grip Your Drink Properly 

If you’re attending a music festival where drinks are allowed, grip your drink properly to avoid spills or accidents. Use one hand to hold your drink and keep the other free to clap or move to the beat of the music.

Hold your drink close to your body to minimize the chances of bumping into someone and spilling your drink. Don’t hold your drink above your head. It’s dangerous and inconsiderate to other concert-goers. 

10. Don’t Get Trashed And Wasted

don't drink too much at a concert

Getting carried away and drinking too much at a concert is easy. But it’s dangerous for you and others around you. Here are tips to help you avoid getting wasted at a concert:

  • Set limits for yourself : Have a plan before attending the concert. Decide how much alcohol you are comfortable consuming and stick to that limit. 
  • Eat a meal before drinking: Consuming alcohol on an empty stomach can lead to faster intoxication. So make sure you have a meal or grab a sandwich before the gig.
  • Pace yourself : Sip your drink slowly and take breaks in between to give your body time to process the alcohol.
  • Stay hydrated: Drinking water or other non-alcoholic beverages between alcoholic drinks can help keep you hydrated and reduce the risk of a hangover.

11. Suck It Up If You’re Late

If you arrive late at a gig, don’t push your way to the front of the crowd. It’s disrespectful and can be dangerous. You’re late so you should take your place at the back of the crowd.

12. Be Mindful Of Shorter People If You’re Tall

If you are tall, respect others and be considerate of their height. Try to pave the way for the shorter people, especially kids accompanying their parents , to enjoy the moment by seeing the performance on stage. It’s not about staying in the back of the room but simply being mindful of your surroundings. 

13. Have Fun

Get to the venue early to get a good spot and avoid the crowds. Let loose and enjoy your favorite band’s performance. Sing along, dance, and soak in the energy of the crowd. Put your electronic devices away and be present in the moment. Enjoy the live music or rock concert and create memories that will last a lifetime.

How Do You Know If You’re Being Too Loud At A Concert?

As a concertgoer, there are a few signs that you may be too loud:

  • If the people around you are giving you dirty looks or asking you to lower your voice
  • If you can hear your own voice echoing or ringing in your ears
  • If the sound engineer or security personnel are paying attention to you

Tabitha is a curious and enthusiastic writer who believes in the power of words and the importance of good manners. Etiquette is her passion, and she enjoys sharing her knowledge with others. When she isn’t writing, she enjoys traveling, reading, and spending time with her family.

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Taylor Swift's Eras: How the most successful concert tour ever got started in Arizona

concert tour questions

Taylor Swift launched The Eras Tour era with a sold-out two-night stand at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on Friday and Saturday, March 17-18, 2023, the opening salvo of a record-breaking tour that has dominated headlines and, in many ways, the conversation ever since.

The Eras Tour is a phenomenon as big as Swift herself, if such a thing is possible — the highest-grossing tour of all time and the first tour in history to generate more than $1 billion in revenue.

The concert film — "Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour" — released in theaters worldwide on Oct. 13, 2023, quickly became the highest-grossing concert film in history , a record previously held by Justin Bieber.  

Following The Eras Tour launch, Swift immediately shot to No. 1 on Pollstar's Artist Power Index chart , ending 2023 as Time magazine’s perfectly obvious choice for Person of the Year .

"Swift’s accomplishments as an artist — culturally, critically and commercially — are so legion that to recount them seems almost beside the point," Time wrote.

Then, after running down a laundry list of those accomplishments while placing her alongside Elvis Presley, Michael Jackson and Madonna as a pop star, Time explained why this year more than any other year.

"As a celebrity — who by dint of being a woman is scrutinized for everything from whom she dates to what she wears — she has long commanded constant attention and knows how to use it," Time wrote.

"But this year, something shifted. To discuss her movements felt like discussing politics or the weather — a language spoken so widely it needed no context. She became the main character of the world."

By that point, USA TODAY had hired its own Taylor Swift reporter and Swift had grabbed another first — first billionaire in history with music as the main source of income .

How the Year of Taylor Swift began in Glendale, Arizona

And to think: The Year of Taylor all began in Glendale, which renamed itself Swift City for the weekend in her honor.

A symbolic rebrand, the Swift City storyline played out on digital billboards along freeways and in Glendale's Westgate Entertainment District, where State Farm Stadium is located, welcoming fans to Swift City.

For what it's worth, we would've gone with Glendale (Taylor's Version) .

Swift had launched the Reputation Tour in that same stadium five years earlier.

She really likes us!

The Eras Tour is 'a journey through all of my musical eras'

In announcing the tour, Swift had promised “a journey through all of my musical eras,” which by any reasonable metric, is a lot of ground to cover — 10 hit albums, four of which have been released since the conclusion of the Reputation Tour in late 2018.

And she made it look easy, enjoying the journey as much as the Swifties who flocked to the show did while revisiting her catalog one era at a time in a marathon set that ran more than three hours, squeezing in 44 songs before the night was through.

Her earliest eras weren’t as prominently featured in the journey as her recent albums. There was only one song, “Tim McGraw,” from her first album, “Taylor Swift,” and one, “Enchanted,” from her third release, “Speak Now.”

The early albums she’d already rerecorded in “Taylor’s Version” editions by the time the tour launched were given more time in the spotlight. There were three songs from her second album “Fearless” and four from her fourth album, “Red.”

Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour: 5 magic moments at State Farm Stadium that Arizonans saw first

The Eras Tour favored the eras since the Reputation Tour

It made sense that Swift would give more stage time to the albums she hadn’t had a chance to tour since being forced to pull the plug on Lover Fest, the tour she had planned in support of 2019’s “Lover,” in response to the pandemic that took everybody off the road in 2020.

Not quite an hour into her performance on Night 1 in Glendale, Swift asked fans, “Is it just me or do we have a lot of things to catch up on?”

Noting that “it’s been a really long time since I’ve been on tour,” she said they’d “added four new members to the family” since that last tour, introducing them by name as “Lover,” “Folklore,” Evermore” and “Midnights,” her latest release, which brought the concert to an end with a seven-song sampler.

It was a breathtaking journey through 17 years’ worth of musical eras with the artist connecting with at every step along the way.

When Taylor dove into a stream and sang 'All Too Well'

The stage show was designed to reach the back rows of the stadium with a breathtaking blend of artful set design — that “Folklore” cabin was cottagecore gold — and film projected on the massive screen behind the stage.

It was a concert packed with highlights, the most theatrical of which came at the end of an understated “Tim McGraw,” which Swift performed alone on a satellite stage, accompanying herself on an upright piano. At the song’s conclusion, she stood up and appeared to dive into a stream to swim beneath the runaway to the main stage.

As entertaining as that was, the full 10-minute version of “All Too Well” from “Red (Taylor’s Version),” the longest song to top the Billboard Hot 100, emerged as the concert’s emotional centerpiece, a heartbreaking triumph that ended in a haunting shower of paper snowflakes.

That opening-night performance also introduced the concept of “ surprise songs ,” two unannounced acoustic songs she planned to slip into the set each night just to keep fans guessing in the Era of the Online Setlist, where a quick Google search can reveal all.

The Era Tour is scheduled to conclude on Dec. 8, 2024, in Vancouver, Canada.

Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour Night 1 set list in Glendale, Arizona

“Lover” album:

  • “Miss Americana & The Heartbreak Prince.”
  • “Cruel Summer.”
  • “You Need To Calm Down.”
  • “The Archer.”

“Fearless (Taylor’s Version)” album:

  • “Fearless.”
  • “You Belong With Me.”
  • “Love Story.”

“Evermore” album:

  • “’Tis The Damn Season.”
  • “Marjorie.”
  • “Champagne Problems.”
  • “Tolerate It.”

“Reputation” album:

  • “… Ready For It?”
  • “Delicate.”
  • “Don’t Blame Me.”
  • “Look What You Made Me Do.”

“Speak Now” album:

  • “Enchanted.”

“Red (Taylor’s Version)” album:

  • “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.”
  • “I Knew You Were Trouble.”
  • “All Too Well (10 Minute Version).”

“Folklore” album:

  • “Invisible String.”
  • “The Last Great American Dynasty.”
  • “Illicit Affairs.”
  • “My Tears Ricochet.”
  • “Cardigan.”

“1989” album:

  • “Blank Space.”
  • “Shake It Off.”
  • “Wildest Dreams (Taylor’s Version).”
  • “Bad Blood.”

Surprise songs:

  • “Mirrorball.”
  • “Tim McGraw.”

“Midnights” album:

  • “Lavender Haze.”
  • “Anti-Hero.”
  • “Midnight Rain.”
  • “Vigilante (expletive).”
  • “Bejeweled.”
  • "Mastermind."

Reach the reporter at  [email protected]  or 602-444-4495. Follow him on Twitter  @EdMasley .

Support local journalism.   Subscribe to azcentral.com today.

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Madonna performing on the Celebration tour in London, 15 October.

‘Politically incorrect. Sorry about that’: Madonna apologises for telling wheelchair user to stand at concert

Awkward moment with fan happened during US leg of singer’s Celebration tour

Madonna has been filmed apologising to a concertgoer in a wheelchair, after she initially questioned why they weren’t standing up while she performed.

In footage taken during the US leg of her Celebration tour and shared on social media in recent days, the singer, speaking on her microphone, tells the audience member: “Take this ride with me! What are you doing sitting down over there? What are you doing sitting down?”, before walking over to the person to cheers from the audience.

Upon realising her mistake, she says: “Oh, OK. Politically incorrect, sorry about that. I’m glad you’re here.” The Guardian has contacted her UK representatives for further comment.

Madonna questions fan for sitting down during her show then finds out they’re on a wheelchair: “Oh okay, politically incorrect, sorry about that. I’m glad you’re here.” pic.twitter.com/oezHxfjrFn — Pop Crave (@PopCrave) March 9, 2024

Madonna plays the final concert of a five-night run at Kia Forum in Los Angeles on Monday night, before heading across southern states for the remainder of the Celebration tour’s US leg.

She caused controversy earlier on in the tour run by starting a New York concert at 10.30pm, resulting in a lawsuit from a disgruntled pair of fans . Her management team and promoter Live Nation said they would “vigorously” defend the suit , saying the late start arose from a technical problem during a sound check.

Celebration is taking place following a postponement last year when Madonna suffered a serious bacterial infection and was hospitalised in June . She later said the health scare made her realise “how lucky I am to be alive”.

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Hans Zimmer talks about first North American tour dates in 7 years, the magic of composing for film

Film composer Hans Zimmer says his famous friends Pharrell Williams and Johnny Marr convinced him to go on tour, joking that he “can’t hide behind the screen forever.” (March 11)

FILE - Composer Hans Zimmer poses for a portrait on July 10, 2019, at the Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. Zimmer’s film scores have soundtracked magic movie moments in “The Lion King," "The Dark Knight” and both new “Dune” movies, to name a few. This fall, the “Hans Zimmer Live” tour will hit U.S. and Canada, marking the first time Zimmer has performed in North America in seven years. (Photo by Rebecca Cabage/Invision/AP, File)

FILE - Composer Hans Zimmer poses for a portrait on July 10, 2019, at the Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. Zimmer’s film scores have soundtracked magic movie moments in “The Lion King,” “The Dark Knight” and both new “Dune” movies, to name a few. This fall, the “Hans Zimmer Live” tour will hit U.S. and Canada, marking the first time Zimmer has performed in North America in seven years. (Photo by Rebecca Cabage/Invision/AP, File)

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concert tour questions

LOS ANGELES (AP) — For generations, German composer Hans Zimmer ‘s film scores have soundtracked magic movie moments in “The Lion King,” “Gladiator,” the “Dark Knight” trilogy, and most recently, “Dune” and “Dune: Part Two.” This fall, Zimmer will bring his award-winning scores to the live stage.

His “Hans Zimmer Live” tour, which sold out in Europe, will make its way to the U.S. and Canada this fall, marking the first time Zimmer has performed in North America in seven years.

The last time, as some fans may recall, was a 2017 Coachella performance.

Over Zoom from New York, Zimmer said he was inspired after “refusing to get onto a stage for 40 years” because of something his friends, The Smiths’ Johnny Marr and Pharrell Williams, told him.

“You have to look your audience in the eye. You can’t hide behind the screen forever. You know, you owe it to your, you know, audience,” he says they told him. And after Coachella, he realized: “I can do this,” he said.

Having done the run in Europe, “we’re at the top of our game at the moment,” he says of his orchestra.

Don’t expect a traditional, classical music setting or a piano concerto — at “Hans Zimmer Live,” there is no conductor, no sheet music in front of each musician, and not a single frame from any of the films he’s referencing.

“I come from rock and roll and I believe in putting on a show,” he says. “People stay with us because we give them an experience which they’ve never had before... Life is hard. Life is tough these days. And people worked hard to go to pay for these tickets, so we better pull off a show that is absolutely worthy of them coming and seeing us.”

Composer Hans Zimmer poses for a portrait on July 10, 2019, at the Montage Hotel in Beverly Hills. (Photo by Rebecca Cabage/Invision/AP, File)

“Hans Zimmer Live” kicks off at the Gas South Arena in Duluth, Ga. on Sept. 6 and will hit 17 cities across the U.S. and Canada before concluding at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, British Columbia on Oct. 6.

The tour includes stops in Hollywood, Florida; Raleigh, North Carolina; New York; Baltimore; Boston; Montreal and Toronto; Minneapolis; Chicago; Fort Worth, Texas; Denver; Las Vegas; Los Angeles; Oakland, California, and Seattle.

Zimmer says attendees can expect a diverse audience. “I’ve looked out at the audience and there’s a mom with her grandson sitting next to a guy with a mohawk, sitting next to a man in a business suit, sitting next to another bunch of, you know, bikers,” Zimmer said. “So, it’s not just multi-generational, it’s multicultural.”

In more ways than one: Zimmer’s orchestra is from Ukraine; “Two weeks after the invasion started , we managed to get about half of them out of Odessa,” he says. Lebo M, who sings “The Lion King” theme, was a political refugee from South Africa when Zimmer first met him. Pedro Eustache, his woodwind player, is from Venezuela , “and he thinks he can probably never go back home,” says Zimmer.

“I have this very, very international group of players and ... part of what makes them such emotionally committed musicians is that they all have a story to tell you.”

“Hans Zimmer Live,” which has been recently rearranged, includes works from “Gladiator,” “Pirates of the Caribbean,” “The Dark Knight,” “Interstellar,” “The Lion King,” “The Last Samurai,” and “Dune.”

“Each piece is connected with the adventure of actually creating it, the adventure of actually making that movie, the adventure of the collaboration, the adventure of, you know, ‘How did we get here?”, he says. “Where did this journey start? And how can we make sure that it never ends?

“Each one of those movies is painted in color and affected by what is going on around us. And they have all been extraordinary journeys.”

All of these films and their scores are vastly different, but Zimmer’s idiosyncratic approach and arrangements should be considered the connective tissue. That, and a certain je ne sais quoi that makes an effective — and affecting — score.

“You need to be committed. You need to be honest. You can’t be sentimental,” he says of a successful score. “The other thing is, it’s the people who are performing it. Because if you think about it, the last actors that really get hired, the last actors that perform in a movie, are the musicians. So, I’m very careful about picking the people I work with.”

Tickets for “Hans Zimmer Live” will become available for purchase at www.hanszimmerlive.com , starting at March 22 at 10 am local time.

MARIA SHERMAN

Busta Rhymes cancels all 2024 Blockbusta tour dates a week before kickoff

concert tour questions

Busta Rhymes was set to embark on a 24-date Blockbusta tour, but it has been cancelled based on updates on Ticketmaster.com .

Every concert, from the March 13 opener in San Francisco to the April 21 closing show in the rapper's hometown of Brooklyn, is listed as cancelled on the concert ticketing site.

USA TODAY has reached out to Rhymes' reps and Live Nation , which announced the tour in November 2023.

Previously, Rhymes had been on 50 Cent's The Final Lap tour , which ended in December. Before heading out on that tour, Rhymes detailed in Men's Health magazine how he had lost 100 pounds to improve his health after suffering what he described as "felt like I was having like an asthma attack – but I don’t have asthma."

Sea.Hear.Now festival: Bruce Springsteen & the E Street Band, Noah Kahan to headline

He lost more weight while touring with 50 Cent, Rhymes said in November 2023 while promoting the release of his "Blockbusta" album, Complex reported .

The multiplatinum rapper, songwriter and record producer – known for songs such as “Put Your Hands Where My Eyes Could See” and "Woo-Hah!! Got You All in Check" – had been honored at the BET Awards in June 2023 with a lifetime achievement award. Late last month, he performed at a joint The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) and Spotify event benefiting Musicians On Call (MOC) at newly opened venue The Atlantis in Washington DC.

Busta Rhymes' Blockbusta tour canceled. What should ticketholders do?

If you are holding tickets to Rhymes' tour, there should be an update coming from Ticketmaster about rescheduled dates or refunds.

Follow Mike Snider on X and Threads:  @mikesnider  & mikegsnider .

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Ice Cube, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony bring ‘Legends of Hip Hop’ concert to San Antonio

E-40, juvenile, amanda perez, and n2 deep will also perform.

Julie Moreno , Executive Producer/Digital Content

SAN ANTONIO – Some 90′s icons are bringing old-school hip hop to San Antonio this summer.

“The Legends of Hip Hop” Concert Tour starring Ice Cube will stop at the Frost Bank Center on Aug. 3.

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Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, E-40, Juvenile, Amanda Perez, and N2 Deep will also perform their biggest 90′s hits during the collaborative concert.

General tickets go on sale Friday, March 15 at 10 a.m. at FrostBankCenter.com or on Ticketmaster.com . For exclusive presale access, sign up at Frost Bank Center’s All Access Newsletter and select the “Hip Hop” genre.

The following is background on each artist provided by the tour promoters:

Ice Cube, Born O’shea Jackson and from Compton is no doubt a rap pioneer, legendary lyricist, movie star, director, and media mogul. He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of N.W.A. in 2016. His songs are iconic and include a vast catalogue of music including “It Was a Good Day,” “Check Yo Self,” “You Can Do it,” “Friday,” to name a few. In 2022, he said the San Antonio crowd was passionate and welcomed him and all the artists in a huge way and that he is really looking forward to being back again this summer.

Bone Thugs-N Harmony is an American Hip Hop Group composed of rappers, Bizzy Bone, Wish Bone, Layzie Bone, Krayzie Bone, and Flesh-n-Bone. Formed in 1991 in Cleveland, Ohio, the group has had a string of hits, and their songs remain classic today including “The Crossroads,” “Thuggish Ruggish Bone,” “1st of the Month” to name a few.

E-40, known as the Ambassador of the Bay, is a Northern California rap star who broke into the national scene with the single “Tell Me Where to Go” which was produced by Lil Jon. His other big songs include “You and Dat,” “Captain Save a Hoe” and “Sprinkle Me” are just a few that he will perform at the concert.

Juvenile, known as “Juvee the Great” is a Southern born rapper who is best known for his music with Birdman’s Cash Money Records in the late 1990′s and early 2000′s. His biggest hits include “Back that Azz Up,” “Slow Motion” and “Ha” all of which he will perform amongst many others.

Amanda Perez is a Mexican R&B/Rapper from Fort Wayne, Indiana. She has always had a love and appreciation for her strong Texas following and will perform such hits including “Angel,” I Pray” and “Candy Kisses.” She said it’s been too long since she was in San Antonio and can’t wait to be back this summer.

N2 Deep is an American Chicano rap duo formed in Vallejo CA in 1989 with original members Jame’s “Jay Tee” Trujillo and Timothy “TL” Lyon. In 1992 the duo scored with a huge song called “Back to The Hotel” that for many has become a party anthem. It was a song about how crazy times were growing up and the many memories that young people never let go of from the past. All part of that trip down memory lane. Other popular N2 Deep Songs they will perform are “High Sidin,” “Toss Up,” and “The Weekend.”

Copyright 2024 by KSAT - All rights reserved.

About the Author:

Julie moreno.

Julie Moreno has worked in local television news for more than 25 years. She came to KSAT as a news producer in 2000. After producing thousands of newscasts, she transitioned to the digital team in 2015. She writes on a wide variety of topics from breaking news to trending stories and manages KSAT’s daily digital content strategy.

First Baptist Church Service : Mar 17, 2024

Good morning san antonio 8 a.m. sunday : mar 17, 2024, ksat news brief: 03/17/24 early morning edition, good morning san antonio 6 a.m. sunday : mar 17, 2024, ksat 12 news nightbeat saturday : mar 16, 2024.

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Midland Tour Dates 2024

  • Apr 12, 2024 - Jun 22, 2024
  • COUNTRY / FOLK

Midland tour dates

Country trio Midland will be hitting the road again in 2023 promoting their latest album 'The Last Resort: Greetings From' . The extensive tour will be visiting California cities like Pala, Rancho Mirage, Costa Mesa, Redding, Murphys and Fresno in addition to Fort Hall, Sandy and Morrison. The new outing follows up 2021's The Last Resort Tour which stretched into 2022 and was joined by special guests Hailey Whitters .

UPDATE: The band's Up In Texas Tour will be taking place in 2024 along with Dylan Gossett hitting San Antonio, Lubbock, El Paso, Midland, Nacogdoches, Helotes, McAllen and Conroe.

Midland released their third studio album 'The Last Resort: Greetings From' on May 6th, 2022 via Big Machine. The new album reached #37 on Billboard's Country chart and features a guest appearance by Jon Pardi on the track 'Longneck Way to Go' . Back in 2017, the band supported Little Big Town 's The Breakers Tour and Thomas Rhett 's Life Changes Tour on separate occasions. The Texas-based group formed in 2014 and consists of members Mark Wystrach, Jess Carson and Cameron Duddy.

Midland Concert Schedule

About midland tour albums.

Midland showed up on to the Country / Folk scene with the introduction of tour album "Placement EP", released on N/A. The song was instantly a hit and made Midland one of the top new great concerts to attend. Subsequently following the debut of "Placement EP", Midland revealed "Through Motion EP" on N/A. The album "Through Motion EP" is still one of the more popular tour albums from Midland. The Tour Albums three top songs included , , and and are a crowd pleaser at every concert. Midland has released 8 more tour albums since "Through Motion EP". After 0 years of albums, Midland best tour album has been "Placement EP" and some of the most popular concert songs have been , , and .

Midland Tour Albums and Songs

Midland: On The Rocks

Midland: On The Rocks

  • Lonely for You Only
  • Make a Little
  • Drinkin' Problem
  • At Least You Cried
  • Out of Sight
  • More Than a Fever
  • Check Cashin' Country
  • Nothin' New Under th...
  • This Old Heart
  • Altitude Adjustment
  • Electric Rodeo

Midland: Final Credits

Midland: Final Credits

  • Final Credits

Midland: Let It Roll

Midland: Let It Roll

  • Let It Roll
  • Fourteen Gears
  • Cheatin' Songs
  • Put the Hurt on Me
  • I Love You, Goodbye
  • Every Song's a Drink...
  • 21st Century Honky T...
  • Fast Hearts and Slow...
  • Cheatin' By The Rules
  • Lost in the Night

Midland: The Alchemy of Circumstance

Midland: The Alchemy of Circumstance

  • The Alchemy of Circu...
  • Frequency FM
  • Play It as It Lays

Midland: The Last Resort: Greetings From

Midland: The Last Resort: Greetings From

  • The Last Resort
  • If I Lived Here
  • Two to Two Step
  • Take Her Off Your Hands
  • Sunrise Tells the Story
  • And Then Some
  • Longneck Way to Go
  • Life Ain't Fair
  • King of Saturday Night
  • Paycheck to Paycheck
  • Bury Me in Blue Jeans
  • Adios Cowboy

Midland Concert Tour Questions & Comments

Midland tour and concert ticket information.

  • Tour dates for all Midland concerts are refreshed constantly.
  • Midland tour dates has just been made public.
  • Tour schedule for Midland is located above.
  • Tickets for the forthcoming Midland concert are on sale.
  • Sold Out concerts will not be an issue, we always have great seats.

Midland may come to a city near you. Check out the Midland schedule above and push the ticket link to see our big selection of tickets. Browse our selection of Midland front row tickets, luxury boxes and VIP tickets. Once you locate the Midland tickets you want, you can purchase your seats from our safe and secure checkout. Orders taken before 5pm are generally shipped within the same business day. To buy last minute Midland tickets, check out the eTickets that can be downloaded instantly.

Midland Top Tour Album

Midland: On The Rocks

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Olivia Rodrigo hands out emergency contraceptives at concert in Missouri, where abortion is banned

Pop star Olivia Rodrigo, a vocal advocate for women’s reproductive rights, paired up with local organizations to distribute free emergency contraceptives and condoms during a tour stop in St. Louis.

Fans who attended Rodrigo’s “Guts” concert at the Enterprise Center Tuesday night shared photos on social media of emergency contraceptive pills, stickers and information about abortion care in the state. 

The Missouri Abortion Fund, which provides financial assistance to those who cannot afford the full cost of abortion care, thanked Rodrigo for working with the organization, joking on social media , “It’s brutal out here in Missouri,” playing on one of Rodrigo’s lyrics. 

Rodrigo posted on her Instagram story that a portion of the proceeds from all ticket sales from the St. Louis show will go towards the Missouri Abortion Fund and Right By You , which helps Missourians access abortion, birth control and birth care.

NBC News has reached out to Rodrigo's representatives for comment.

Rodrigo was praised for her advocacy, with one X user writing “Respect! This is what putting ur money where ur mouth is.”

"To have the new generation of mainstream pop girls be this brave and this willing to be 100% clear about an issue that is SO polarizing. I have tears in my eyes it’s awesome to see," another fan tweeted .

In Missouri, abortion is illegal following the Supreme Court overturn of Roe. v. Wade in June 2022. It is banned except to save the life of the pregnant person. Since the fall of Roe, 14 states have made abortion illegal, according to the Center for Reproductive Rights .

Prior to her tour, the star had announced she started Fund 4 Good, a nonprofit to support women, girls and those seeking “reproductive health freedom.”

A portion of the proceeds from all her ticket sales will go towards the fund, and she's partnering with local chapters of the National Network of Abortion Funds for the North American leg of her "Guts" world tour.

In June 2022, Rodrigo slammed the Supreme Court’s decision during her set at Glastonbury Festival in England. 

“I’m devastated and terrified. So many women and so many girls are going to die because of this,” she said, The  Guardian reported. “I wanted to dedicate this next song to the five members of the Supreme Court who have showed us that at the end of the day, they truly don’t give a s--- about freedom.”

She was then joined by singer Lily Allen and performed Allen’s hit “F— You.”

Breaking News Reporter

  • Where to watch in the US
  • How to watch in the UK
  • How to watch in 60 other countries
  • Rental edition
  • Acoustic collection
  • Tour tickets

Where to watch Taylor Swift's Eras Tour concert movie: Stream the new extended version

When you buy through our links, Business Insider may earn an affiliate commission. Learn more

Welcome to The Eras Tour (at home). After sweeping the nation last year and breaking box office concert film records in the fall, Taylor Swift's "The Eras Tour" is finally streaming. Whether you couldn't snag tickets to the tour or you're looking to relive the magic, we've got you covered with everything you need to know about where to watch Taylor Swift's "The Eras Tour" concert film.

"Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour (Taylor's Version)" streams exclusively on Disney+ starting March 14. With a three-and-a-half-hour runtime, the movie features the entirety of "The Eras Tour" concert film, with additional main show songs that weren't previously shown in the theatrical release. The "(Taylor's Version)" cut will also include a post-credits acoustic collection with unseen performances. These additions mean Swifties will finally see "Cardigan" on-screen. 

Below, we'll explain what you need to know about the release of "Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour (Taylor's Version)," including exactly what this new extended version entails.

  • See also: Where to watch Oppenheimer | How to watch Echo | Where to watch every 2024 Oscars best picture nominee

Where to watch Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour in the US

Since this version of "The Eras Tour" movie is exclusive to Disney+ , you'll need a subscription to watch it in the US. Disney+ subscriptions start at just $7.99 per month for the basic tier. If you want to go ad-free, you can upgrade to the premium subscription at $13.99 per month.

concert tour questions

Disney Plus offers on-demand access to tons of Disney, Marvel, Pixar, and Star Wars content, including new original shows. This Premium plan offers ad-free playback and includes download and Dolby Atmos support.

For just $2 more, you can get the Disney+ and Hulu bundle at a monthly rate of $9.99. Ad-free duo plans go for $19.99 per month. There are multiple other bundles, including the Hulu + Live TV package, which includes Hulu, Disney+, ESPN+, and more than 95 live channels starting at $76.99 per month.

concert tour questions

Hulu + Live TV includes over 90 channels, along with Hulu's on-demand library and access to Disney Plus and ESPN+. Adding live TV drives up the price significantly, but it's a rolling one-month contract that you're free to cancel at any time. As live TV cord-cutting cable replacement services go, though, this is one of the best.

How to watch Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour in the UK

Disney+ is also the home to "The Eras Tour" in the UK, where plans start at £4.99 per month. Disney+ is also a great option for British folks looking to watch more US-based shows, since many US programs from Hulu are put on Disney+ for international streaming.

How to watch Taylor Swift's The Eras Tour in 60 other countries

In addition to the US and UK, Disney+ is available in more than 60 other countries, so there's a pretty good chance you'll be able to see "The Eras Tour" movie from home. Disney+ is available in Canada, Australia, South Africa, France, Italy, and many more locations, so you should check the streaming service's website to see if it's available where you are. 

What time will The Eras Tour be available?

"Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour (Taylor's Version)" will premiere on Disney+ on Thursday, March 14, at 9 p.m. ET / 1 a.m. GMT / 9 a.m. AWST. The film was initially slated for Friday in the US, but the release date was moved up a day.

Wasn't there already an extended edition of The Eras Tour concert film?

"The Eras Tour" concert film was made available to rent in December of last year through video-on-demand services like Apple TV+ and Prime Video, but the film is no longer available for rental in the US. The rental version was an extended version of the theatrical release, which included some songs that were missing from the initial release, like "Long Live," "The Archer," and "Wildest Dreams." "Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour (Taylor's Version)" will feature even more extras.

What extras are in the new extended version?

In addition to the full concert set list, "Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour (Taylor's Version)" features an acoustic collection from the surprise song portion of the show. The acoustic collection starts at around 3:04:13 and comes post-credits, so make sure not to click away or auto-load to something else after the initial concert. The acoustic versions include "I Can See You," "Death by a Thousand Cuts," "Our Song," "You Are in Love," "Maroon," and "You're on Your Own, Kid." 

How to get tickets to The Eras Tour

While original standard tickets sold out for The Eras Tour long ago, you can check out websites like StubHub and Vivid Seats to look for resale tickets. Swift is heading out on her European tour soon and will return to North America for another leg of the tour later this year.

The Eras Tour trailer

Disney+ dropped a trailer for "Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour (Taylor's Version)" earlier this month, offering glimpses of the many performances viewers can expect to see throughout the film. Check out the full trailer below:

You can purchase logo and accolade licensing to this story here . Disclosure: Written and researched by the Insider Reviews team. We highlight products and services you might find interesting. If you buy them, we may get a small share of the revenue from the sale from our partners. We may receive products free of charge from manufacturers to test. This does not drive our decision as to whether or not a product is featured or recommended. We operate independently from our advertising team. We welcome your feedback. Email us at [email protected] .

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COMMENTS

  1. How to Plan a Concert

    Review the gig checklist (click here) and customize it for your concert. Setup a concert with the venue, and confirm your budget. Do gig promotion online, street marketing, and print media. Handle logistics and technical aspects of the concert. Most of all ensure fans have a good time and come to your next gig.

  2. How to Plan a Concert (Everything You Need to Know)

    Step Two: Create a Budget and Financial Plan. Now it's time for the most exciting part of concert planning - building a budget. Please excuse the sarcasm. Unless you're passionate about finance, this is probably a step you'd rather skip. Sadly, it's kind of important (it's actually not that bad).

  3. The Ultimate Guide To Organize A Successful Concert Event

    A: Promoting your concert is essential for its success. Utilize a mix of traditional and digital channels, including social media, influencer collaborations, and local media outreach. Create engaging content, share behind-the-scenes glimpses, and implement a tiered marketing strategy to build anticipation gradually.

  4. How To Plan A Concert Tour

    Mention success stories! • Touch on the timeline. • Talk up the tour by emphasizing the life-changing benefits of a musical tour and possibly inviting past participants to share their positive experiences. • Make the meeting fun by providing theme-related refreshments and perhaps even decorations.

  5. How to Organize a Concert Event: Checklists and Guidebook

    Arrange for food, shopping, and beverage coupons to track finances. Schedule and plan week-long rehearsals for the performers in advance. Prepare guest lists for sponsors and VIP guests. Reach out to volunteers to man the entryways and exits of the venue. Book a medical team to be on call at the venue.

  6. How to Plan a Concert: The 10-Step Guide

    Take into account things like school, work, and holiday schedules to determine what day and time is best for your concert. 7. Determine what equipment is needed. Speak with your musical talent and your venue to determine what equipment you'll need for the performance and whether the venue can provide any of it.

  7. 10 Question Concert Questionnaire : r/Music

    "For his place on the k. d. Lang 1996 world tour, John is said to have been chosen from out of 200 guitarists. Some places say he was chosen out of 2000. Whatever the true number, he was the best choice" So all in all in a small way KD Lang was part metal show \m/ 9 Fav venue is Jannus Landing in St Pete

  8. Event Planners: The Complete Concert Production Checklist

    This concert planning checklist is an outline to get you started. If you're in need of assistance in your concert production planning process, Wired Production Group has been a trusted concert production and event management partner for more than 30 years across the United States. Contact our team of concert production professionals for more ...

  9. How Concert Tours Work

    Top Grossing Concert Tours of 2007. Veteran performers continued to dominate the Top 10 list in 2007. Only Josh Grobin and Rascal Flatts started touring after 2000. The average ticket price for the Top 100 concert tours was $61, up 8 percent from $57 a year earlier. ­The Police, $133.2 million.

  10. 10 Questions to Begin Your Show Advance

    When you reach out to the artist's tour manager, here are the first questions you should ask to get the ball rolling: 1. What are your travel plans? This will allow you to figure out what needs the artist has, such as ground transport timing, parking needs, arrival time to the venue, etc. 2.

  11. Concerts Are Coming Back: Everything You Need to Know

    Answers to your questions about how to protect your health (and bank account) as the pandemic's end draws near and a return to concerts may be on the horizon.

  12. 20 Questions to Ask Before Booking a Tour

    18. What's the inclement weather policy? If your tour is outdoors, will you get a refund in foul weather, will you be rescheduled or will you simply be expected to show up and get wet/cold/etc ...

  13. writing concert reviews guide—nine-step method for beginners

    How to write a concert review in six eight nine easy steps! Concert reviews can provide valuable experience to the beginning writer. Here are some steps and pro tips for reviews that will serve fans and non-fans alike. Done right, the concert review provides a valuable service. Part reportage, part boosterism, a concert review can give both ...

  14. Music Concert Tickets & Tour Dates

    Buy tickets for upcoming concerts, music festivals and more of your favorite artist touring. Find full tour schedules, seating charts and concert venue details at Ticketmaster.com.

  15. Find the Best Concerts Near You, Tour Dates & Tickets Worldwide

    Find live music near you, track your favorite artists, get instant concert alerts and buy tickets for all the best upcoming concerts.

  16. Bad Bunny's 'Most Wanted' Tour Lights Up Los Angeles: Concert Review

    As Bad Bunny 's "Most Wanted Tour" made its first of three stops at L.A.'s Crypto.com Arena Wednesday night, fans dressed in western-themed getups gathered to witness the return of the ...

  17. 13 Concert Etiquette Rules

    Use one hand to hold your drink and keep the other free to clap or move to the beat of the music. Hold your drink close to your body to minimize the chances of bumping into someone and spilling your drink. Don't hold your drink above your head. It's dangerous and inconsiderate to other concert-goers. 10.

  18. Ticketmaster: Buy Verified Tickets for Concerts, Sports, Theater and Events

    Ticketmaster.com is your online destination for verified tickets for live events, from concerts and sports to theater and family shows. Browse the latest tour dates, seating charts and venue details, and enjoy the best of entertainment with Ticketmaster.

  19. Eras Tour Year 1: Taylor Swift smashed records, reinvented concerts

    0:03. 1:23. Taylor Swift launched The Eras Tour era with a sold-out two-night stand at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, on Friday and Saturday, March 17-18, 2023, the opening salvo of a ...

  20. Marina Tour Dates & Concert Tickets

    Welsh songstress Marina has announced a major North American tour in early 2022 to promote her brand new album 'Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land'. The 19-city journey takes place in February/March making notable stops in San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Detroit, Toronto, Philadelphia, Washington DC, New York, Atlanta, Houston and Inglewood.

  21. Two Friends Tour Dates 2024 & Concert Tickets

    The Tour Albums three top tracks included , , and and are a fan favorite at every concert. Two Friends has released 7 more tour albums since "Forever". With over 0 years of albums, Two Friends top tour album has been "Pacific Coast Highway" and some of the best concert songs are , , and . Two Friends Tour Albums and Songs

  22. 'Politically incorrect. Sorry about that': Madonna apologises for

    Madonna questions fan for sitting down during her show then finds out they're on a wheelchair: ... She caused controversy earlier on in the tour run by starting a New York concert at 10.30pm, ...

  23. How to buy Taylor Swift tickets: Eras Tour dates and prices compared

    Most of the cheapest tickets are priced between $1,200 and $1,800. On Vivid Seats, the cheapest Taylor Swift tickets on these dates start at $1,133 and $2,212, respectively. The two resale vendors ...

  24. Hans Zimmer talks about first North American tour dates in 7 years, the

    LOS ANGELES (AP) — For generations, German composer Hans Zimmer 's film scores have soundtracked magic movie moments in "The Lion King," "Gladiator," the "Dark Knight" trilogy, and most recently, "Dune" and "Dune: Part Two." This fall, Zimmer will bring his award-winning scores to the live stage. His "Hans Zimmer Live" tour, which sold out in Europe, will make its ...

  25. Gaither Vocal Band Tour Dates 2024 & Concert Tickets

    About Gaither Vocal Band Tour Albums. Gaither Vocal Band arrived on the New Age scene with the release of the album 'Alleluia!Praise Continues' released on August 8, 1993. The single 'There's Something About That Name' quickly became a fan favorite and made Gaither Vocal Band one of the newest emerging talents at that moment. Thereafter, Gaither Vocal Band published the hugely famous album ...

  26. Busta Rhymes cancels 2024 tour a week ahead of first concert date

    Busta Rhymes cancels all 2024 Blockbusta tour dates a week before kickoff. Busta Rhymes was set to embark on a 24-date Blockbusta tour, but it has been cancelled based on updates on Ticketmaster ...

  27. Ice Cube, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony bring 'Legends of Hip Hop' concert to

    SAN ANTONIO - Some 90′s icons are bringing old-school hip hop to San Antonio this summer. "The Legends of Hip Hop" Concert Tour starring Ice Cube will stop at the Frost Bank Center on Aug. 3.

  28. Midland Tour Dates 2024 & Concert Tickets

    Midland Concert Schedule. Mar 16, 2024. Sat 12:00 pm. The Smoke Show BBQ & Country Music Roundup: Parker McCollum, Midland & Rodney Atkins. Gilbert Regional Park - Gilbert, AZ. TICKETS. 15 tickets left starting from $152.00. Apr 12, 2024. Fri 8:00 pm.

  29. Olivia Rodrigo hands out emergency contraceptives at concert in

    In Missouri, abortion is illegal following the Supreme Court overturn of Roe. v. Wade in June 2022. It is banned except to save the life of the pregnant person. Since the fall of Roe, 14 states ...

  30. Where to watch Taylor Swift's Eras Tour concert movie: Stream the new

    Since this version of "The Eras Tour" movie is exclusive to Disney+, you'll need a subscription to watch it in the US. Disney+ subscriptions start at just $7.99 per month for the basic tier. If ...