Doors

"Doors" refers to the time the venue opens its entrances to the public. There may be different door times — GA (general access) doors and VIP doors, which are typically earlier, giving VIP ticket buyers early entry and access to merchandise before everyone else. It's a fixed point on the day sheet that everything else is built around.

Why door time matters

Doors sets the hard deadline for all pre-show activity. Soundcheck must be finished before doors. The stage must be cleared and reset. Catering needs to wrap up if it's in public-facing areas. Merch booths need to be set and staffed. Once doors open, the venue transitions from a workspace to a public space, and everything changes.

Doors and the show schedule

The tour manager plans the entire show-day schedule around two anchor points: load-in at one end and curfew at the other, with doors as the pivot in the middle. A typical flow: load-in → soundcheck → doors → support act → changeover → headliner → curfew.

Early doors and late doors

Sometimes doors open early for VIP ticket holders (soundcheck viewing, meet & greets) before general doors. "Late doors" — pushing the public door time later — is a schedule adjustment that happens when soundcheck or production runs long. It's not ideal, but it's better than opening doors to an unfinished stage.