Tour Management Glossary
The A-to-Z reference for every term a tour manager, production manager, and touring crew member needs to know.
A
A Party
The A Party is the principal group of a tour — typically consisting of the lead artist or band members, their security, management, and assistants.
AAA Pass
AAA stands for Access All Areas — the highest-level credential on most tours, granting unrestricted access to every part of the venue including the artist's private spaces.
Advancing
Advancing is the process of communicating with the promoter and venue before arriving, to ensure a smooth show day.
After Show
After show refers to the period and activities immediately following a performance.
All Access
An All Access pass is a credential that grants the holder entry to all general areas of a venue — backstage, production areas, FOH position, and audience areas.
Amphitheater
An amphitheater (also spelled amphitheatre) is a concert venue with a covered stage and partially or fully open-air seating — typically featuring a fixed-seat pavilion section closest to the stage and a general admission lawn section further back.
Arena
An arena is a large indoor venue — typically holding 10,000-20,000+ people — used for concerts, sporting events, and other large-scale entertainment.
Assistant Tour Manager
An assistant tour manager (ATM) supports the tour manager with day-to-day logistics.
Audio Tech
An audio tech is a crew member who supports the audio team on tour — running cables, working on patches, assisting the FOH and monitor engineers with setup and teardown, and helping troubleshoot signal issues.
B
B Party
The B Party is typically the band party on a tour — hired musicians, dancers, and other people involved in the performance who aren't part of the A Party or the principal's inner circle.
Backline
Backline refers to the musical equipment positioned at the back of the stage — amplifiers, drum kits, keyboards, bass rigs, and related gear.
Backline Tech
A backline tech is a crew member responsible for setting up, maintaining, and troubleshooting the musical equipment (backline) on stage.
Backstage
Backstage is the area behind and around the performance stage — encompassing dressing rooms, green rooms, production offices, catering areas, equipment storage, and crew working spaces.
Barricade
A barricade is a barrier used to keep both the crowd and the artists safe, typically found in front of the stage.
Booking Agent
A booking agent is the person responsible for booking the tour or performance.
Bus Call
Bus call is the scheduled departure time for the tour bus — the moment everyone needs to be on the bus, settled in, and ready to roll to the next city.
Bus Driver
The bus driver is responsible for safely transporting the touring party between cities in the tour bus.
Buyout
A buyout is when cash is given instead of a service or product that would normally be provided.
C
C Party
The C Party — also called the crew party — is the production and technical crew on a tour.
Call Time
Call time is the scheduled time a person or group is expected to arrive and be ready to work.
Carnet (ATA)
An ATA Carnet is an international customs document that allows goods — in the touring context, musical instruments, production equipment, and merch — to be temporarily imported into a country without paying duties or taxes.
Catering (Tour)
Tour catering is the food and beverage service provided to the artist, band, and crew on show days — typically covering breakfast or lunch, dinner, and after-show meals, plus snacks and drinks available throughout the day.
Changeover
A changeover is the period between sets on a multi-act bill when the stage crew transitions from one act's setup to the next.
Club Show
A club show is a concert performance in a small venue — typically a bar, music club, or similar space holding anywhere from 50 to 1,000 people.
Comp Tickets
Comp tickets (complimentary tickets) are free admissions allocated to the artist for each show — distributed to friends, family, industry contacts, and promotional guests via the guest list.
Copy That
"Copy that" is a radio communication phrase meaning "I received and understood your message." On tour, it's used on two-way radios (walkie-talkies) during load-in, the show, and load-out — and it's bled into everyday touring conversation as a general acknowledgment.
Credentials
Credentials are identifiers given to touring personnel, guests, and local crew that show they are allowed to be in certain locations at the venue or festival grounds.
Crew Bus
A crew bus is a tour bus designated for the production crew — the audio, lighting, video, backline, and other technical staff who keep the show running.
Crew-ni-form
The crew-ni-form (a portmanteau of "crew" and "uniform") is the unofficial dress code of touring production crews: black t-shirt, black pants, black hoodie, black shoes.
Curfew
A curfew is the hard deadline by which all amplified sound must stop at a venue.
D
Day Count
Day count is the running tally of consecutive days a crew member has been on the road — a number that touring professionals track with a mix of pride and exhaustion.
Day Room
A day room is a hotel room booked for daytime use — typically from late morning through early evening.
Day Sheet
A day sheet is a document that gives every member of a touring party a snapshot of what's happening on a given show day — from lobby call to load-out, and everything in between.
Day-Off
A day off is a scheduled non-show day built into the tour routing — a break from the cycle of load-in, show, load-out, drive, repeat.
Deal Memo
A deal memo is a summary of what's in the long-form contract without going through every clause.
Doors
"Doors" refers to the time the venue opens its entrances to the public.
Downstage
Downstage is the area of the stage closest to the audience — the front edge.
Dressing Room
A dressing room is a private backstage space where performers change, warm up, and prepare before a show.
Drop Count
A drop count refers to the number of people who actually enter the venue — as opposed to the number of tickets sold in advance.
Drum Tech
A drum tech is a backline technician who specializes in drums — setting up, tuning, maintaining, and troubleshooting drum kits on tour.
F
Festival
A music festival is a multi-artist event — typically outdoors, spanning one to multiple days — featuring performances across several stages.
Festival Promoter
A festival promoter is the company or individual that organizes and finances a festival.
Fly Date
A fly date is a show where the artist and/or crew fly to the venue rather than traveling by tour bus.
FOH (Front of House)
FOH stands for Front of House — referring both to the sound mixing position located in the audience area and the engineer who works there.
G
Gaff Tape
Gaff tape (also called gaffers tape) is a strong, cloth-backed adhesive tape that is arguably the most-used tool in live production.
Gold / Platinum Tour
Gold and platinum designations for tours are revenue milestones — borrowed from the record industry's certification system but applied to touring grosses.
Green Room
A green room is a backstage room where performers wait, warm up, and relax before, during, and after a show.
Ground Transport
Ground transport covers all vehicle logistics for a touring party beyond the tour bus and production trucks — airport transfers, hotel-to-venue shuttles, local errands, runner vehicles, and any other on-the-ground transportation needs.
Guarantee (Concert)
A guarantee is the fixed minimum payment an artist receives for performing a show, regardless of ticket sales.
Guest List
A guest list is the names provided by the tour to the promoter or box office for complimentary access to the show.
Guitar Tech
A guitar tech is a backline technician specializing in guitars — tuning, maintaining, swapping instruments between songs, and troubleshooting rig problems mid-show.
H
Hair and Makeup (HMU)
HMU (Hair and Makeup) refers to the team that prepares artists for performances, press appearances, and photo/video shoots.
Headliner
The headliner is the primary artist on a concert bill — the act the audience came to see.
Holds
A hold is a tentative reservation placed on a venue date before a show is formally confirmed.
Hospitality Rider
A hospitality rider is the section of a tour rider that covers the artist's and crew's non-technical needs — food, beverages, dressing rooms, transportation, hotel preferences, and backstage supplies.
I
In-Ear Monitors (IEMs)
In-ear monitors (IEMs) are earpieces — custom-molded or universal — that deliver the monitor engineer's mix directly to each performer on stage.
Input List
An input list (also called a channel list or patch list) is a document that maps every audio source on stage to a specific channel on the mixing console — listing each microphone, DI box, or other input along with the instrument it captures, the channel number, and any special notes (phantom power, pad, effects).
L
Laminate
A laminate is a hard, durable credential — typically a plastic-coated card worn on a lanyard — that identifies the holder as part of the touring party and grants a specific level of venue access for the entire tour run.
Line Check
A line check is a fast, channel-by-channel signal test to confirm that every audio input on stage is working and patched to the correct console channel.
Load-In
Load-in is the process of unloading equipment from trucks or vehicles, moving it into the venue, and setting up the stage, sound, lighting, and production elements for a show.
Load-Out
Load-out is the reverse of load-in — tearing down the stage, sound, lighting, and production elements after a show and packing everything back into the trucks.
Lobby Call
Lobby call is the scheduled time the touring party meets in the hotel lobby to depart — typically heading to an airport, a venue, or a ground transport pickup.
Local Crew
Local crew are the stagehands, electricians, riggers, and other workers hired by the venue or promoter for load-in and load-out at a specific show.
Local Security
Local security consists of security personnel provided by the venue or promoter for show day.
Local Support
A local support act is a regional artist added to a specific show — typically to help sell more tickets in that market.
Local Vendors
Local vendors are the companies and individuals providing services for a show at each stop — backline rental, ground transport, catering, spotlight operators, barricade rental, and other day-of-show needs.
M
Manifest
A manifest is a list of passengers or equipment traveling in a specific vehicle or on a specific flight.
Merch
Merch (short for merchandise) is the product sold to fans at concerts and tours — t-shirts, hoodies, hats, posters, vinyl, and anything else with the artist's name or artwork on it.
Monitor Engineer
A monitor engineer is the audio engineer responsible for the stage mix — what the performers hear through their in-ear monitors or stage wedges during the show.
Monitor Mix
A monitor mix is the personalized audio blend that each performer hears on stage — delivered through in-ear monitors or floor wedges.
P
PA System
A PA system (public address system) is the collection of speakers, amplifiers, and signal processors that projects the FOH mix to the audience.
Per Diem
Per diem (Latin for "per day") is a fixed daily cash allowance given to touring personnel to cover meals and incidental expenses while on the road.
Per Show
Per show refers to any cost or payment calculated on a per-performance basis — as opposed to weekly rates, flat tour fees, or daily costs.
Pollstar
Pollstar is the primary trade publication and data service for the live entertainment industry — covering concert touring, ticket sales, venue data, and industry news.
Production Advance
A production advance is the technical side of advancing a show, handled by the production manager.
Production Assistant / Production Coordinator
A production assistant (PA) supports the production manager with logistics, paperwork, and communication.
Production Call
A production call is the call time for the production department heads — production manager, lighting director, FOH engineer, monitor engineer, video director, and other senior production crew.
Production Manager
A production manager (PM) is responsible for all technical and production elements of a concert tour — stage, sound, lighting, video, backline, rigging, and the crew that runs it all.
Promoter
A promoter is the person or company that finances, organizes, and markets a concert or event.
R
Rigger
A rigger is the person in charge of making sure rigging is set up safely and correctly.
Rigging
Rigging is the process of suspending production equipment — lighting fixtures, PA speakers, video screens, truss, and other elements — from a venue's structural system using motors, cables, and hardware.
Road Case
A road case is a heavy-duty protective case designed to transport equipment safely on tour — built to withstand the rigors of being loaded and unloaded from trucks every day, stacked in trailers, and rolled across loading docks.
Roadie
A roadie is a crew member who travels with a touring act to set up, maintain, and break down equipment.
Rooming List
A room list is a list of all the people checking into a hotel.
Routing
Routing is the process of planning the geographic path a tour takes — which cities, in what order, on what dates.
Routing Sheet
A routing sheet is a planning document that maps the geographic path of a tour — listing each date, city, venue, drive distance between stops, and travel method (bus or fly).
Runner
A runner is a person provided by the venue or promoter to assist the touring party with local logistics on show day — driving people to and from the venue, picking up supplies, making pharmacy or store runs, and generally being the local expert who knows where everything is.
S
Security Advance
A security advance is the pre-show planning handled by the head of touring security (or the tour manager on smaller tours without dedicated security).
Setlist
A setlist is the ordered list of songs an artist or band plans to perform, or an outline of the performance.
Settlement
Settlement is the financial reconciliation that happens after a show, where the tour manager and the promoter (or their representative) sit down and go through the numbers: ticket sales, expenses, agreed-upon fees, and what the artist is owed.
Shed
Shed is industry slang for an amphitheater — a partially outdoor venue with a covered stage and open-air seating.
Show Buyer
A show buyer is the person at a venue or within a promoter's organization who decides which artists to book.
Show Call
Show call is the time the artist is expected to be backstage, dressed, warmed up, and ready to take the stage.
Soft Merch / Hard Merch
Soft merch and hard merch are the two categories used to classify concert merchandise.
Soundcheck
A soundcheck is a pre-show session where musicians and audio engineers work together to set levels for the main PA speakers and stage monitors, test equipment, and address any sound issues specific to that venue.
SoundScan
SoundScan (now part of Luminate, formerly Nielsen SoundScan) is the data tracking system that measures music sales — physical albums, digital downloads, and streaming equivalents — used to compile the Billboard charts.
Splitter Van
A splitter van is a large van or small truck with a partition splitting the interior into a passenger section (front) and a cargo section (rear).
Sprinter Van
A Sprinter van (typically a Mercedes Sprinter, though the name has become generic for the category) is a large passenger van used for smaller tours, fly date ground transport, or shuttling personnel between hotels and venues.
Stage Manager
A stage manager is the person responsible for supervising the build-out of the show and orchestrating the load-out after the concert ends.
Stage Plot
A stage plot is a visual diagram showing the exact placement of instruments, amplifiers, microphones, monitors, and other equipment on a performance stage.
Stagehand
A stagehand is a local crew member who helps with load-in, load-out, and stage setup at a venue.
Star Coach
A star coach is a luxury tour bus designed for the artist or principal — the opposite of a crew bus.
Sticky Pass
A sticky pass (or "sticky") is a single-use adhesive credential — a sticker placed on clothing or skin that grants access to specific areas of the venue for one show day.
Strike
To strike means to remove equipment or set pieces from the stage.
Support Act
A support act (also called the opening act or opener) is the artist or band that performs before the headliner.
T
Technical Rider
A technical rider is the section of a tour rider that specifies every production requirement for the show — PA system specs, lighting rig, power distribution, stage plot, input list, backline, rigging points, video, and any special production elements.
Tour Bus
A tour bus is the primary mode of transportation for touring artists and crew on road tours.
Tour Director
A tour director is a senior role overseeing the entire tour operation, typically found on large-scale productions.
Tour Itinerary
A tour itinerary is the master schedule for an entire tour — every show date, travel day, day off, hotel, venue, and key logistical detail from the first date to the last.
Tour Manager
A tour manager is the person responsible for coordinating every logistical, financial, and operational detail of a concert tour.
Tour Rider
A tour rider is a document that accompanies a performance contract, detailing the specific requirements an artist needs from a venue or promoter to deliver their show.
Truck Driver
A truck driver drives the production truck(s) carrying staging, sound, lighting, video, and backline equipment between venues.
Truss
Truss is a structural framework — typically aluminum — used to support lighting fixtures, speakers, video screens, and other production elements.
Turnover
Turnover (used interchangeably with changeover in most contexts) refers to the transition period between acts when the stage setup shifts from one performer's configuration to the next.
U
V
Venue Advance
A venue advance is the specific advance communication between the touring team and the venue or promoter representative to confirm every logistical detail for an upcoming show.
Venue Representative
A venue representative (venue rep) is the venue's point of contact for the touring team on show day and during the advance.
VIP
VIP (Very Important Person) at concerts can mean two different things.
Visa (Touring)
Touring musicians and crew who perform in foreign countries typically need work visas — legal authorization that permits them to earn income from performances in that country.
Vs. Deal / Door Deal
A door deal is a payment structure where the artist's compensation comes directly from ticket sales revenue — with no guarantee.