I was just given an opportunity to help a local band work merch for their next show, I’ve never done it before and am a bit nervous, I have tons of retail/ customer experience. I’m not sure how their set up is but their local so I assume it’s not crazy, I’m just nervous about set up, organizing , and making a good impression, any advice ?

Hi all. We have always just used venmo for merch but want to make it easier. Anyone have recommendations on how to go about taking cards? Also, probably stupid question, but do I need to declare the band as a business for tax purposes? (US)

I play trumpet, but I’ll be handling keys a little more in the near future. I’m planning a light rig I can fly with. I don’t need a large keyboard, thus the Astrolab 37; but the issue I’ve run into with this:

Nobody seems to make a stand to use something of this size as a primary keyboard. Anything that generally looks adaptable, does seem compact enough to stuff into a repurposed rifle case with the keyboard.

I’ll entertain a tray of some sort, if I can attach it to a mic stand and expect it to not topple over; but people have seemed pretty paranoid about that, from all I’ve noticed so far while poking around about the topic. I’d also be attaching a tablet holder…somehow. I need to do my mix and read charts.

Any ideas?

I’m working on a video project titled -
“ Ethics of going to a concert “

Where I conduct short online interviews asking musicians who have an extensive experience of singing for large crowds about their views on how a good crowd can make their performance and experience much better.

What things can a crowd do to make the performer have more fun , hence making it a better experience for both the artist and the audience.

What are some things that make artists loose focus and a couple of more short questions.

And then I give my personal opinion on how one should prepare to experience a concert to its fullest.

I’ve been on the road for the past eight months straight touring all around the world and I’m about to head home for the rest of the year. Any advice on staying healthy/how to not completely fall apart both mentally and physically?

Hello,

I started developing a new web based app for touring musicians and crew.

At first, it was only ment as a venue review web app, but as a touring LD myself, I found out our field of work does not have a place where all basic tools needed would be on one place, we need at least 5 different apps just to get a tour finished.

Hence why I developed furthure. Right now my app offers free for all a crew based venue review.

In addition, I also added venue dashboard where venue owners can post the updates about their venue, with analytics

Event dashboard where artists and promotors can post their events and ticket link with analytics

Tour managment dashboard where you can plan a tour, manage guest and VIP lists, generate ATA Carnet equipment list, track flights and hotel reservations etc...

Toolkit with a lot of handy tools which one might need at the tip of the finger. Including DB meter, instrument tuner, load planner with load tracking, MVR viewer (2D and 3D), GDTF viewer, lighting patch converter, rider analyzer, concert and festival coordinator, RF frequency planner etc ...

And just for fun, games.

There is a lot more but it is too much to write.

Everything is SEO and GEO optimized, especially for promotors and artists and their events, to try and get best search results and AI prompt recommendations.

If you want, you can check it out at https://stagerage.online

StageRage values privacy and safety as well as practicality. Till the end of november every user can apply for 6-months free premium access.

The only thing I ask in return for this 6-months free premium access is to give me a good and bad feedback. What is good, what is bad, what needs to be changed, what is missing etc... and of course for everyone to build our database.

Let me know what you think!

Just here doing the mundane, making dinner and taking care of a sick kid while listening to Nugs. It just got me thinking about the lives of the touring bands and crews. These musicians love this job so much that I hope their spouses and partners know how much I appreciate them.

I know the life of a married single parent when my partner has traveled for work, it’s hard, but it has its great moments when you get into a groove. So, this all to say, I know there are the partner and kids (including pets!) who are missed and are missing them on this tour. Thanks for being kick ass and being out on the road entertaining the masses. And an equal thanks to the ones at home.

I wanna go on tour with my band next summer and I have no idea what vehicle I should buy that would be best. My guitarist and I both owned our last van and we were able to play a couple shows with it but it was so old we eventually couldn't stop putting money into it for repairs. I came to this thread because I was curious if there would be advice on what to get. I have no vehicle right now but I have a couple thousand saved for a vehicle. It is becoming more of a problem not having a way to get around. So I was curious if reddit would have a solution on what type of vehicle I should buy. I've considered getting a moped so I can save to buy another van, or I could get a bigger suv type of car so my guitarist and I could divide the gear among our vehicles. We're trying to get creative with how we travel to and from shows.

I basically need a way to get around town and play shows on the road affordable. Do you guys have any advice?? Thanks so much

As a curious outsider, what is it like after going from spending months as a crew on the road with one goal, to being at home with nothing on your schedule? Is the readjustment to normal life hard, how do you cope?

EDIT: thanks for all the candid replies! I regularly attend gigs so its good to get the reality of it all.

Hey everyone,
I don’t know if this is the best place to ask but I figured I’d give it a shot, my band that’s based out of Flint, MI booked a show in South Bend, IN in October and I’m trying to find cheaper options for a 2 day rental to fit 5 plus equipment, pick up location would preferably be closer to Brighton, MI. I’d love to hear some suggestions, currently I found enterprise has a van for around $220 but if anyone knows of cheaper options please let me know!

On a nationwide DIY tour and we've been getting lucky with a few really kind restaurants that provide free grub for touring musicians.

- Wiener's Circle in Chicago

- Illegal Pete's in Colorado (need to submit a form three days in advance on their website)

Just wanted to put that out there in case any of y'al go through those areas, and wanted to see if you had any gems like these yourself.

I built a platform called Band B&B designed to connect artists and performers with people who want to host them. It's currated through membership to create a network of people that adds to the community of live shows. Touring is expensive and there are people who want to host artists but don't always know how to connect with them. Check it out and tell others about it!

Done two tours as a US based band in the EU, both times in June. June’s been good to us, but I’m wondering if anyone has an opinion on which month is best for booking

I looooove touring, but every time I have toured this year I’ve gotten so so sick. I know it’s inevitable but does anyone have any tips to keep from getting sick? Like diet or supplements that might help strengthen my immune system? I try to take precautions but with being on a bus and the crowds it’s kinda impossible lol.

I want to see what everyone’s running!
Fully fleshed out touring units.
Budget units.
Getting the local stuff done.
Creative approaches.

Post it up!

It just interests me, I guess.
I like to see how different people approach it. What works, what doesn’t.
The good gear and the bad.
What were you trying to achieve and how did you get there?
What problems did you run into, and how did you overcome it?

Hey hey! Boise band needing help. We are playing a show on Halloween night with Bongripper at Ace's High Saloon in SLC. The following six days we are staying in SLC to record an album with Andy Paterson at The Boars Nest Studios. We are in need of a place to stay for the week while we record. There are four of us. We will be at the studio all day everyday and basically need a place to sleep and eat. Any suggestions other than hotels or airbnb is helpful. Thanks!

I've spent roughly 30 years getting in and out of vans with various combinations of musicians, instruments, luggage and questionable amounts of sleep. (To quote my best friend/bass player: "Van sleep is worse than no sleep.")

I'm Dave. I play keyboards with The Toasters and a few other bands, and I built an app called Outrider for the annoying parts of being in a band: all the stuff surrounding the actual playing.

Show times. Alerts, Addresses. Load-in. Stage plots. Guest lists. Setlists. Lyrics. Messages. Riders (if you're lucky), Nearest Laundry, coffee, gas.That's all the information that usually ends up in texts, emails, screenshots, Notes, PDFs, and the phone of the one person who supposedly has everything. And yes, there's a spot to let everyone know where the secret/best bathroom is at the venue.

I started it as an iPhone app, but thanks to some of your comments here, I added a web version, and it's made it way more useful. Some things you just shouldn't do with your thumbs: entering lyrics, building a setlist, typing notes. It's better with a real keyboard and a screen you can actually see, and then everyone gets it on whatever device they have.

It's based on my own experience and memory of what makes the difference between a smooth night and a huge drag, so I'm much more interested in what I missed.

For those of you actually out there doing this: what's the thing your band still handles in the dumbest possible way? And what's already working well?

If you want to poke around: https://outriderapp.com. It's out now for iPhone and web, free to start (paid plans are about $9 a month or $90 a year if you outgrow it). Tell me what you'd change, what I missed, and what's completely unnecessary.