How To Start A Band and Go On Tour

If you want to be in a band AND you want to go on tour but don’t know where to begin, you need to start here.

Here are some things to consider and some tips I wish I knew when I was first starting my band.

Should I Have A Big Band, Small Band, Or Go Solo?

Putting a band together sounds simple.

Text some buddies that you know have always wanted to do it and bam – you’ve got a band.

But that’s also a fast way to fail. Without following these steps, you won’t find the synergy you need to stick around through the highs and lows:

1. If you don’t have a set of friends ready to go, don’t be afraid to put ads out at rehearsal studios or online, go to open Mics, talk to other musicians. The best group takes time to form.
2. You need to find band members who not only can play and that you like, but can also go on tour! Do they have day jobs or family obligations? Are they the right fit personality-wise? Can they afford to go on tour for free or will you have to pay them, and how much?
3. Forming a band means being a leader, so think about how to build the team you want AND the SIZE of your team. The less people you have, the more affordable it is to tour, the easier it is to plan. 
4. You may also need to be flexible and have multiple musicians for each role. If you are not people’s main employer, you may need to have several go to players for your band if the core members can’t always tour – kinda like freelance band members.

But you can also do away with all those steps and just go solo.

 This is very common in the touring world. Be open and plan your band around your goals.

Touring Bands Are Built For The Tour

The reason most bands fail quickly is not because their music sucks. 

It’s because from the outset, band members typically don’t take the time to envision their future goals and make sure everyone is on the same page. 

Most bands are started by a group of friends who have a lot of passion for music. But passion alone is not a strategic direction. 

If you want to go on tour, you need to start planning your band on a massive whiteboard and consider these 6 objectives:

• Do we want to go on tour this year, within the next 3 – 6 months?
• Do we just care about social media for now and streaming platforms to build an audience?
• If we want to go on tour, are we ready to invest in merch? For example: band backdrop or stage scrims, T-shirts, hoodies, flash drives and so on?
• Is this just for fun, or do we want to create a cash flowing business through our band?
• Will we play locally? Make weekend drives? Or tour across America?
• Do we want to tour internationally? Or not tour at all and just play in our city?

Is It Expensive To Book A Tour? You’ll Be Surprised.

One of the biggest surprises I’ve learned starting my band is the cost and difficulty booking tours when I started out.

So make sure you play some shows and build in your town first and have at least a demo album, band photos and some live footage to send to promoters and venues.

If it’s your first tour, you may have to cold call or message venues in the area you want to tour and do a lot of the legwork and research yourself and many won’t get back to you.

When you’re starting out, take time to form genuine connections with other artists in your community. By supporting each other at shows and online, you’ll get a helping hand from other proven artists.

And explore various band marketing strategies to promote your band and attract new fans.

Here’s 7 lessons I learned when I booked my first tours:

1. Start small and consider all costs in your band budget. Hotels, fuel, transportation and so on.
2. Be aware to park your vehicles in a safe area while traveling so you van doesn’t get robbed. 
3. Make sure everyone has a clean place to sleep and rest. 
4. Stay healthy so you can make it to the next show and make a good impression.
5. The music world can become very small and you are just starting to build your reputation. You will cross paths with people down the road if you do this long enough so be kind, and stay humble. 
6. Print a backdrop with your band’s name on it so people remember you. Have a merch table and stuff for people to buy or walk away with as you make new fans. The whole point of touring is to get in front of new audiences so don’t waste that opportunity!
7. And then, most importantly: put on a great show. 

Key Takeaway: Plan your tours around these basic tour planning strategies.

There is so much to learn about touring and being a live working performer, but I hope these basic tips and thought starters have helped point you in the right direction.

CEO of Grow Vision, a Creative Production Studio and Record Label, as well as a touring musician in the band Beaux Gris Gris & The Apocalypse.