So you’ve finished your EP, and now it’s time to take your music on the road… but how? Here’s some great tips for setting out on your first tour!

Maybe you’ve got an album of new music you want to get out there, or you’ve just released your first EP and it’s time to do a bit of marketing up and down your local area. Either way, taking the band on tour for a couple of weeks is a great way to increase your exposure and get yourself noticed. If you think your band’s ready to make some real noise, and you’re growing out of playing in the garage, this is the next step for you.

Seeing as you won’t be away for months, trying to book the biggest venues across the US, it won’t cost too much either! So, here’s just a few things to keep in mind during the planning stages.

Check What’s On

If you know where you want to play, you’re going to need to check ahead of time on what’s also going on in the area. You don’t want to schedule a little gig of your own when there’s a big band playing the arena down the road – there’s a good chance no one is going to turn up to hear you!

And make sure to look out for event nights as well. It’s a lot easier to get your band a gig when there’s already a show going on that fits your sound perfectly. If there’s a rock night in a couple of bars in the town next over from you, and you’re a rock band yourself, make some contacts and get yourself on the setlist.

Know Your Route

Once you’ve checked out the towns you want to play in, and you know the dates that would be best for you to book in and wow the crowd, you’re going to need to come up with a route.

So get a map out: Where are you going to start? Where will you end? How long will it take to get there and back again? What shortcuts can you use? Would it better to skip a town and then come back to it? Ask questions like these.

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Get a Good Sized Vehicle

And when you’re taking the band on tour, you’re going to be taking all of your equipment and instruments on tour as well. So make sure everything fits in the vehicle you’re planning to take; you don’t want to wake up the morning of the tour, discover that only half of the band and the inventory can get in the back, and then waste a good few hours trying to secure a rental.

Whilst you’ve got the time, think about getting a permanent upgrade as well. You might even look into a new mercedes benz sprinter for sale, if you’ve been planning on getting a bigger van for the music business anyway. Hey, you never know if a tour will go really well, and there’s no harm in setting some goals for the future!

Remember, you want your tour to be a success, and planning ahead will keep mishaps to a minimum.

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