The tour manager for Dramatic Sneezer in The Rock Star’s Wife series is Terry Bergstrom, Nat and Nicole’s brother-in-law. He held this position long before he became Nadine’s husband. So what does a tour manager do, and why is his role vitally important to a band?
First off, what is a tour manager? He or she handles all the organizational and administrative support for a concert tour. But it’s much more complicated than that.
“At the most basic level, a tour manager is simply the person who handles or oversees almost every aspect of the lives and routines of musicians and bands while they are on tour,” Tour Collective explains. “In other words, a tour manager ‘runs the show’ while the band is on the road.”
Generally, tour managers are independent contractors who work for different bands, sometimes annually, while others work with one band their entire careers.
Tour managers are paid weekly and make between $46,000 to $71,000 annually. They also might be paid a per diem for incidental expenses and/or paid for expenses such as meals.
You may also hear tour managers called concert tour managers or road managers.
Tour Manager Responsibilities?

Tour managers wear many hats
Tour managers wear many hats and must be patient, proactive, organized and detail oriented.
The following is a list of some of the duties they handle:
- Make transportation and lodging arrangements.
- Develop an itinerary for the tour. This includes not just venues and hotels, but every stop no matter the reason.
- Create day sheets detailing each day’s schedule and distribute them.
- Ensure everyone makes it to the next stop safely and on time.
- Coordinate sound check and set times.
- Ensure equipment is loaded and unloaded on time.
- Coordinate with security, event staff, and others to ensure shows run safely and smoothly.
- Ensure such things as the band’s rider requests, dressing room setup and backstage catering needs are met.
- Manage the tour’s finances to keep them within the tour accountant’s budget.
- Ensure everyone is where they need to be and on time for media engagements.
- If a problem occurs, resolve the issue.
On larger tours, more than one person might shares these duties.
How Do You Become a Tour Manager?

Some tour managers started as musicians
It’s important to know how the music industry works. Many start at the bottom, working for free for a friend’s band or they were musicians themselves. Still others begin as booking agents, promoters, equipment techs, sound engineers, festival staff, and other live-music roles.
Since tour managers are independent contractors, they often learn of job opportunities through networking and word of mouth.
A few managers have a degree in hospitality, tourism or a related field, but a degree is not necessary as experience is learned on the job.
Here’s the 4-1-1
This blog is a companion piece to Sex & Surprises available in eBook, paperback and hardcover. Cassandra Hardwick wouldn’t trade having her globetrotting husband home for anything, but will their barely tested parenting plans hold up when a new baby gets added to the mix? Buy now.
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