It’s winter. You’re hibernating And booking shows for next year. For some, the unfun part of being a touring singer-songwriter (aside from booking) is driving 6-7+ hours a day to get to the next gig in time for sound check. Sleeping on strangers couches, in hotel rooms, or sometimes, in our vehicles can be exhausting as much as exhilarating. That’s the way it goes living this vagabond life.

In September I toured the Southwest with another singer-songwriter for two weeks. we decided to do the tour differently, and weave other passions into the fabric of our days on the road. This didn’t necessarily make the tour easier, but it certainly made it an adventure - One that I will always remember. That experience is now a bright shiny drop pin on my lifetime tour map.

GO OUTSIDE

Fresh air does wonders. It’s a soothing balm for a body stuck in the sitting position all day. It Brings oxygen to the brain and gives your eyes something else to look at other than the road. When booking the tour, research hikes and points of interest. Schedule those stops on your route. Try a half day hike up a canyon in Utah off I-70. Or, take a quick jag down a rural highway between towns and stick Your face in an off-road creek. Go to a coffeehouse with internet and organic food, then take a brisk walk around the town you are visiting. Soak in hot springs anywhere you can find them. leave a day or two early to give Yourself enough time for the sanity breaks, or work in extra days mid-tour. It will be well worth the added time.

CAMP

It’s not for everyone. If you dread camping, you may want to skip this tip and book a hotel. But, for those who don’t mind the earth beneath their bed, try camping on tour. On our two-week Southwest trip, we only slept inside three times. The weather was stellar, with fairly mild nights (if you consider twenty to thirty degrees mild). We cooked on pocket rocket camp stoves, and slept under the stars. one night next to the colorado river, we sat on a picnic table and practiced our instruments beneath a full moon. At another camping oasis, we Woke up to sunshine and a dip in the Arkansas River, saving a bunch of money in hotel room fees while enjoying mini-vacations.

Camping on the road is obviously, location and season-bound. If you’re really hardcore, report back to us on rad winter campsites you poached, because all the campgrounds we stayed in closed at the end of September. Check availability of seasonal campgrounds. You may need reservations ahead of time during high-summer tourist season. We discovered that rolling into campgrounds before 5pm gave us a much better chance of scoring a great site. Rolling in at 11 pm proved troublesome. We were either skunked entirely, or it took a lot of luck and patience to find a place to pitch tents that late. Try claiming a campsite in the afternoon when you have first pick of the grounds. pay for the night, set up tents, then go to the gig. YOur camp will be waiting for you after the show.

MAKE VIDEOS

Welcome to The new reality - Video. Musicians must have them, But they don’t always have to be from a live show or produced by a video company. One of the things I love the most about touring cross-country, is having time to stare out the window at the changing arc of light across the day. When the light is magical, stop. Really, stop. set the iPhone on the door handle of the car and make little video clips. In the desert, or Mountains - Wherever you can safely pull over, and whenever you have great light. You can create Videos of the journey, The roads, The towns, and the people you meet on tour. Later you can make a video collage or reel and send it out to your fans in a newsletter or social media. Keep the clips short. you may want to reuse some of them to post ahead of shows and let the folks in the next town know what you sound like.

CREATE AN ADVENTURE

Sometimes you get two days off in a row, usually Monday and Tuesday. It’s tempting to just hang out wherever you land after the last show of the week, But planning a forty-eight hour adventure ahead of time can make a tour feel like an adventure. If you backpack, find a high trail and go. If you like history, find a museum. If you don’t dig the town you landed in, go find another one nearby and explore it. Go see a local band or artist play. Find a cheap place to stay away from everyone and hermit for two days writing songs… or sleeping. Anything to make those two days yours. delight the kid in you that worked hard all week and has another week to go - make those two days special. Research options ahead of time, near the town where your mid-tour hiatus will happen, to save time and inspire you to commit to creating a fun mini-adventure.

. . . .

Allow yourself a little detour, a little extra outside fun on your next tour when the going gets boring…Or tough. Make your happy breaks intentional. Treat yourself to something out of the ordinary, even for an hour, or a day. Your inner-kid will thank you and so will the creative Muse.

4 Ways To Build More Fun Into Your Next Tour

GO OUTSIDE

CAMP

MAKE VIDEOS

CREATE AN ADVENTURE

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