What Does a Tour Manager Do?

The tour manager for Dramatic Sneezer in The Rock Star’s Wife series is Terry Bergstrom, Nat and Nicole’s brother-in-law.  He held this position long before he became Nadine’s husband.  So what does a tour manager do, and why is his role vitally important to a band?

First off, what is a tour manager?  He or she handles all the organizational and administrative support for a concert tour.  But it’s much more complicated than that.

“At the most basic level, a tour manager is simply the person who handles or oversees almost every aspect of the lives and routines of musicians and bands while they are on tour,” Tour Collective explains.  “In other words, a tour manager ‘runs the show’ while the band is on the road.”

Generally, tour managers are independent contractors who work for different bands, sometimes annually, while others work with one band their entire careers.

Tour managers are paid weekly and make between $46,000 to $71,000 annually.  They also might be paid a per diem for incidental expenses and/or paid for expenses such as meals.

You may also hear tour managers called concert tour managers or road managers.

Tour Manager Responsibilities?

Tour managers wear many hats and must be patient, proactive, organized and detail oriented.

The following is a list of some of the duties they handle:

• Make transportation and lodging arrangements.
• Develop an itinerary for the tour. This includes not just venues and hotels, but every stop no matter the reason.
• Create day sheets detailing each day’s schedule and distribute them.
• Ensure everyone makes it to the next stop safely and on time.
• Coordinate sound check and set times.
• Ensure equipment is loaded and unloaded on time.
• Coordinate with security, event staff, and others to ensure shows run safely and smoothly.
• Ensure such things as the band’s rider requests, dressing room setup and backstage catering needs are met.
• Manage the tour’s finances to keep them within the tour accountant’s budget.
• Ensure everyone is where they need to be and on time for media engagements.
• If a problem occurs, resolve the issue.

On larger tours, more than one person might shares these duties.

How Do You Become a Tour Manager?

It’s important to know how the music industry works. Many start at the bottom, working for free for a friend’s band or they were musicians themselves.  Still others begin as booking agents, promoters, equipment techs, sound engineers, festival staff, and other live-music roles.

Since tour managers are independent contractors, they often learn of job opportunities through networking and word of mouth.

A few managers have a degree in hospitality, tourism or a related field, but a degree is not necessary as experience is learned on the job.

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Were you surprised what a tour manager does?  Leave a comment below.  Comments close after 90 days.

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Here’s the 4-1-1

This blog is a companion piece to The Rock Star’s Wife, a series about sex, family, and rock & roll.  The series has elements of chick lit, romance and erotica and is best compared to The Vagina Monologues for its frank talk of sex and its consequences.  The series follows Cassandra from her teenage years into her 40s as she navigates relationships (both romantic and platonic) — all with music playing a prominent roll.

Book five, Sex & Surprises, debuts February 2025:  Cassandra watches with apprehension as her eldest daughter, Megan, matures and becomes interested in boys.  Will Megan follow in mom’s sexual footsteps?  But it turns out, a teenage daughter is the least of Cassie’s concerns after she takes an ancestry DNA test and uncovers a family secret that turns her life upside down.

Cassandra needs your help getting her story out.  Join the street team to help.

Related posts:

How The Music Industry Works: The Working Life of Real Rock Stars 13 Bands From the 90s Mentioned in Sexual Awakening 15 ’90s Bands Mentioned in Mr. Right is a Myth