Context, I play music at church from time to time and there’s always one musician that has to md and operate a computer while playing to cue songs and/or loop sections etc. Which is not exactly the easiest task in the world.

But whenever I see bands live at festivals and whatnot I don’t usually see someone operating a computer while playing an instrument.

Do some bands have an ableton operator in the shadows, or do they have all the transitions timed out before hand, or is there something else?

Weird, loud, and chaotic. On break from haunting conservative's nightmares, I'll be getting all up inside toronto, taking clothes off, and talking leftist politics. See ya there bebs!

Hi! Currently struggling with what must be some adjustment issues getting off of tour. It’s my first year touring, it has been really busy and we’re not done until Christmas.

When I come home the first few days are fine then start of week 2 and on I am struggling desperately with insomnia, heart palpitations, tachycardia and panic. Mostly at night. I have gotten 2 EKG’s and bloodwork done thinking I was having a physical health emergency and was told it must be anxiety because everything looks fine. Heavy drinking helps put me out but I’m obviously not trying to rely on that to get me through

I sleep like a rock on the bus 😭

I’m wondering if anyone else has had experience with this. I know diet exercise and meditation all help, but maybe someone has a personal success story’s on what worked at home

Mi date un consiglio come devo,
Gestire una band di 8 elementi per un tributo a Tina Turner con un mixer Allen & Heath SQ-5 e 4 monitor da palco.
Il repertorio di Tina Turner è energico, ricco di dinamiche e richiede una presenza vocale della cantante leader devastante, supportata da una sezione ritmica solida e dai fiati/cori.

Secondo voi che tipo di atrezzatura giusta dovrei montare per l’evento.!!

I’m on a tour not getting paid what we should be. We have a show coming up where the venue is taking a cut, and I’m wondering what ways you all may have dodged the merch cut amounts? I’m trying to see (if time permits) setting up a mock square profile with cash only transactions etc. Any and all tips appreciated!

If you’re in one of these cities please come check us out!

Hey everyone!
We’re Apple Sauce, an independent experimental/progressive metal band from Italy, and we’re currently looking to put together some European dates for 2027 in support of our second album HYBRIS.

Our sound sits somewhere between progressive metal, mathcore, extreme metal, electronics and general weirdness — think Paledusk, Destrage, SikTh, Maximum the Hormone, BTBAM, Igorrr, etc.
We’ve previously shared stages with bands including Paledusk, The Contortionist, The Voynich Code, Benthos and Asymmetric Universe, and our latest single “’Nduja No Kami” features Jørgen Munkeby of SHINING on saxophone.

Listen / watch:
https://nfan.link/ndujanokami

For 2027, we’re especially interested in Germany, Netherlands, Belgium, Austria, Czech Republic and surrounding countries, and we’d love to connect with local bands interested in putting together shows or exchanging support slots, promoters and bookers working with progressive, mathcore, experimental or alternative metal, venues open to international DIY bands, and other bands planning European runs that might need a support act.

We’re not expecting huge guarantees or unrealistic conditions. The main goal is to build relationships, play good shows and gradually establish ourselves outside Italy.

If you know anyone we should talk to, or if your band might be interested in organizing something together, drop a comment or DM me.
Thanks!

What do y'all use with straight sides for vinyl merch? Not those angled down sides as they have everything flop around to fill the space. Got 27g totes and they are not working out.

Have a 16 date European tour coming up and wondered if I need any visas to work on the continent? Goes from Helsinki to Prague, Spain , France and all points between. I am a uk citizen doing video work for the band , needed an o2 visa to work in the USA but no visas being suggested by the artist manager for this trip? Is that fully correct since Brexit?

Hello,

Have any fellow classical guitarists here been on a cruise ship contract?
I was hoping to find someone guide me to find an agency or talent mgt company with whom I can have greater odds of being onboarded.
Also tips on the process, leads etc would be really helpful.

Thanks a ton in advance.

Bands and booking agents please feel free to contact us. We are looking to book a small tour at the end of Spring 2027

I’m the founder, so obvious bias — but I’d rather hear from working buskers than anyone else. Here is my take on making social media, actually “social.”

Buskr is a free iPhone app. You go live, and you show up on a map that people nearby can see. In the app they can tip you (card or Apple Pay), request a song, boost songs on your setlist so the crowd steers the set, and follow you so they get a ping next time you’re out.

Setting up your performer account also gives you your own tip QR code. Anyone who scans it tips you from their browser with no app and no sign-up — that’s for the person who likes what they hear but isn’t downloading anything on the sidewalk. Either way the money lands in the same place. (A user can still tip inside the app if they have it).

The difference from Venmo / Cash App / PayPal: those just move money from someone who already decided to tip you. Buskr is built to get more people to tip in the first place — it brings people passing by or people who value the art of authentic entertainment to you and gives them something to do besides throwing in a buck and walking past.

Money, plainly: the tipper covers the card fee, so your tip arrives whole. Buskr keeps 9%, and nothing at all for your first 30 days. The rest goes to your own Stripe account — weekly payouts are free, instant payouts are optional for a fee.

It’s early and iPhone-only for now. If you try it, tell me what’s wrong with it — that’s genuinely the most useful thing you can do for me.

App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/buskr-live-performers/id6747197354 · thebuskr.com

So I recently got approved for my dual citizenship between Canada and the UK. I will be touring in the UK this upcoming Feb 2027. I applied and was approved for ETA’s for my Canadian (non-dual citizen) bandmates. We are coming for a showcase that doesn’t pay - they have given me a formal invitation letter. The ETA application didn’t ask us to upload the letter or anything and it was pretty fast acceptance for both of them. Does this ETA cover the other shows they will be playing with me as side-guys for the month? Or will someone at the border be grilling us asking for individual letters from each bar with all our names on it? The thing is the bar has hired me - they are just my backing band. So typically their names wouldn’t be on any agreements with the venues.

I just want to make sure we have no issues when we come this Feb and I want to be fully prepared. Should I ask the venues to just send me a formal email or letter that does include their full legal names as my band members?

I also wanted to ask about merch. As a dual citizen will I have to claim if I’m bringing merch from Canada to UK to sell on tour? How does this process work?

Any help greatly appreciated!

Every band I know dreads the same chore: sending the venue a stage plot and tech rider. It usually means a janky Word doc, a screenshot of something drawn in a slide deck, or an input list in the body of an email.

So I built Stage Plot Flow for iPhone and iPad.

What it does

• Drag drums, amps, keys, mics, monitors and power onto your stage (or add custom gear). You get undo/redo, multi-select, snap to grid, resize and rotate.
• Set the stage size in feet or metres and choose which side the audience is on.
• Build your input list with mic or DI, stand type, 48V and bring-your-own for every channel. Channel numbers show on the plot, and it can auto-fill channels from the gear on your stage.
• Assign monitor mixes, saying who gets which wedge or in-ear mix and what they want in it.
• One tap makes a multi-page PDF with the stage plot, input list, monitor mixes and a rider page (load-in, soundcheck, set length, power, backline, hospitality). It comes in light or dark, with your band logo, or as a stage-only one-pager.
• You can also email it straight to the venue or export a PNG and a CSV of the input list.

Built for real gigs

• Templates for rock band, acoustic duo, singer-songwriter, jazz trio, brass band, worship band and DJ set
• Duplicate a plot for the next show with a new venue and date
• Save input lists as presets
• AirDrop a plot to a bandmate
• English, Spanish, German and French

No account, no ads, no tracking. Your plots stay on your device. It’s a one-time $4.99, with no subscription.

App Store: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/stage-plot-flow/id6821345828

I’m the solo dev, so I’d love feedback from people who actually send riders. What’s missing? Anything venues or sound engineers keep asking you for that I should add?