How to Be a Successful Touring Musician

Being a successful touring musician is a very broad subject, because there are many ways to achieve success. It really depends on your definition of success. Are you looking to be a sideman, where you show up, make the artist you are working with sound as good as possible, and then go on your way? Are you the artist touring with your own show? Are you in a band? There are many ways to go about touring, and I’m going to share some tips from my 25 years of touring experience about how to make it a pleasant and fun experience.
Being on the road can be awesome, fun, bewildering, tiring, energizing, creative, and hectic. That’s just a small list of the adjectives I could use for touring. In a nutshell, touring can be the greatest thing — or the worst thing you’ve ever done. The real key is staying in control — control of yourself.

Know the Music
The number one way to be a successful touring musician is to make sure you have what you will be playing totally together, especially if you are a work for hire. If you want to keep your job and even make more money, it is imperative that you do your job well every night. You will, of course, make mistakes once in a while, and that’s ok. We all do that. The point is that you try hard. Here are some things you should do:

Show up for soundcheck on time.
Be ready for the gig on time.
Give 100% of your energy, and feed off the crowd’s energy during the show.
Rock the house like there are 50,000 people there, even if the crowd is small and a bit subdued.

If you do those things each and every night, you will build a great reputation as someone who not only plays the parts right but also is dependable. That goes a very long way in this business. There are way too many people (including musicians) that are just not dependable. Prove yourself valuable and make yourself indispensable, and the gigs will keep on coming.
Stay Healthy
This second point could easily be first on the list, and that is to stay healthy and in good spirits while on tour. It is super easy to get into bad habits on the road, and I’m not just talking about drugs and alcohol either. It could be bad eating habits or bad sleep habits that mess everything up. I cannot stress this enough; you have to take care of your mind and body on the road. Being on the road can take a toll on your body more than you may think. Doing a show then sleeping on a bus in a tiny bunk, sharing a room with your best buddy who snores like a freight train, being in a smoke-filled club all night (yeah, those are still around), or not eating right or partying too much can and will catch up with you. You will either get sick or just have no energy, and neither of those are fun.
Learn the Business
The third thing you can do to have a successful touring experience is to learn and take part in all the business side of touring, especially if you are the artist that people are coming to see. Learn what it takes to make money — the ticket sales, merchandise sales, VIP special events — any and all things like that will keep you engaged and eager to keep doing a good job. Hopefully, while on the road, you have people helping you with those jobs so you don’t have to do everything, but if you are touring alone, then it all comes down to you making it happen.
The best thing about getting into these business details is that you learn fast what works and what doesn’t. It will help you strategize and plan your tour in a way that gives you the best chance to make money. Then after you are a seasoned touring veteran, you will know what it takes to make the whole thing work. There are lots of pieces that go into the touring puzzle. It is good to know a little about all of them.
Know Your Fans
The last thing you should know, and the key to building longevity for your career, is to get to know your fans. You can do that in a number of ways. Some of these can even make you money above and beyond ticket or merchandise sales. Having VIP experiences for the fans is a great way to get to know who’s coming to your shows. Charge a few extra bucks for fans to come to soundcheck, and then have a meet and greet afterward. Make them a special T-shirt for coming, or anything special that only they will get for attending the VIP gathering. Another great way to get close to your fans and make new ones is to go say hello after your show is over. Go out to your merchandise desk and sign autographs, take pictures, and shake hands. Fans love that kind of stuff, and they will remember it. This will get harder as you get more and more popular, but even then it is still good to stay close to those who helped you become a successful touring musician — YOUR FANS!

I hope this article gives you some ideas about how to be successful while on tour. Most of us make our music to be shared with people, and touring is the way we share our music directly with the masses. If you build it right from the beginning and stay on course, then touring can be the best musical experience ever!
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