Tour Tips from Kelsey Blackstone

You may remember that before embarking on her "With a Little Help From My Friends" Tour, Kelsey Blackstone was kind enough to bring us behind the scenes and show us how an independent artist pulls off a tour like that. Now that it's over, she has generously returned to share some hints, tips, and tricks about going on tour that she learned along the way. Starting with a quick Q&A, she also added some unprompted thoughts. I hope you enjoy it. -S36.

Photo: Sam Melanson

What’s a forgettable item you definitely don’t want to forget?

An item that I definitely would not want to forget would be a microfiber towel. I’m so happy that I brought mine on tour because not only can they fold up really, really small, but they also dry a lot faster. Super helpful!

How do you look after your personal health and fight burnout?

It’s really important to try and fight burnout, both physical and emotional, so a few weeks before tour I started taking a natural herbal immunity supplement called echinacea. I still take it now, actually, and I’ve only had one minor cold in the eight-ish months that I’ve been taking it. It’s been really, really helpful. For mental burnout, I think the best thing to do is to try and schedule a few moments every day where you’re by yourself, doing some deep breathing, stretching, etc. Since everyone’s all cramped in the car on the long drives, doing things that bring your attention back to yourself feels nice. So, put your headphones in and maybe have some scheduled quiet time in the car so people can just journal, read, write a song, or anything that they want to do.

How do you find accommodations?

Photo: Michael Smith

For accommodations on tour, we were blessed to find a lot of friends (and some complete strangers!) that were able to host us for a night or two. That was a super big help and the biggest advice I have to other artists is to just ask around for willing hosts. Usually, the person who books you at the specific venue may either host you themselves or they may have a friend that has hosted bands before. Sometimes they might just have a nice friend or family member that has an extra space, and doesn’t mind that you and your band are crashing on the floor for an evening. Of course, that being said, it’s important that you know all of your band members are on the same page as far as being respectful of whatever space you’re in. Obviously different spaces have different ground rules and boundaries, so it’s smart to always be communicating with whoever you’re staying with to ensure you’re being respectful in the way that they would like.

How do you find the right venues?

Finding the right venues is easy in some cities and hard in others. Similar to finding accommodations, I think the best way to go about that is to  ask around see what other similar bands have done and where they’ve played. Take a look at their past billings and remember that Instagram is really your best friend. It’s such a great tool to help with a little bit of this research. And if there’s any venue where you’re feeling a little bit on the fence you can always send a message to a band that has played there before and ask them about what their experience was like. To have a first-hand account of that is really helpful as far as making sure that the venue will be a good fit for your band.

How do you make use of down time?

Photo: Phillip James 
Throckmorton

Going on tour is typically similar to the feeling of going nonstop for several days in a row, so it can be fun but also quite tiring. Since you’ll be taking a lot of long drives and doing shows most nights, I think it’s very important to intentionally schedule at least a few days off depending on how long your tour is. Our tour was 2 and a half weeks, so we had about three or four days off in total. Not only is it great to just take the pressure off and be with your friends, but it’s nice to be able to sleep in a little bit and to spend some extra time in the city for exploring. This just makes the whole experience so much more well-rounded.

What’s a mistake you shouldn’t make?

A big mistake that you shouldn’t make is renting a Kia, because apparently they are very easy to steal. Unfortunately I learned that the hard way in Philly (shout out to Philly)! Either way, no matter where you are or what vehicle you have, I would say the biggest thing - and something I wish I did - is buy a steering wheel lock or anything that deters theft. Every band at some point, I’ve discovered, has a story about van troubles going wrong or their van being broken into.

Best places to eat?

Photo: Lily Nyashia

The best places to eat, by far, are diners. We ate at a diner almost every single morning of our tour and it was great because usually they’re cheap, you get really big portions, and there’s something there for everyone. Everyone gets their coffee so no one’s cranky, and everyone’s starting the day with a nice big meal which really does keep you going into the afternoon. So for us, we would start the day with a big meal at a diner somewhere, and then I always made sure that both cars were stocked with snacks and water bottles. Those afternoon snacks are really helpful because sometimes you might be lucky and have enough time where everyone can go and get a quick bite to eat at the next destination, and then other times you might have to rush and no one has time to grab a meal until after the show is over late at night. So again, having those snacks on hand are very important for when you don’t have time to go and get a full meal, but you just need something to keep you going.

Last but not least, I just have some general advice that I’m going to give in a bullet point form: 

• Make sure that you have a clear itinerary before the tour starts and that you’ve given your band members a chance to look it over so that everyone is (literally) on the same page. Everyone should know where we are going to be and at what time. It takes a lot of the thinking out of it, because it’s already been figured out beforehand. 
• Another thing I would suggest is making sure that everyone in your band knows what the expectations are for the car. Some people like to keep their seat very neat, other people don’t really mind, other people thrive in more of a messy scenario - so making sure that everyone knows what to expect from each other beforehand, so there’s no surprises, is a good idea. For us, we created a “rule” that if someone put on their headphones it’s like that person is “in their room” so you can’t bother them (unless of course there’s something super necessary that you need to talk about). But it’s respectful to give that person their time to unplug from everybody else, and just have a little bit of alone time, even if they’re sitting right next to you. 
• The last piece of general advice I have is; before going on tour, it’s a good idea to go over individual jobs for showtime and pre-show. For example, when we get to the venue, Person A is going to take charge of setting up the stage. Person B is going to set up the merch table, and Person C is going to talk with the sound person and make sure that everyone has what they need to sound good. Person D is going to go get enough food and drinks for everyone in the band, etc. All of that to say, everyone has a job and we all know what’s expected. It’s really a team effort and there’s never an unfair burden put on any one member at any time.

Thank you to Kelsey for sharing this with us. If you want to learn more about Kelsey, check out the interview she did with us here at Section 36 Music in March 2022.