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. Load-out primarily refers to gear; touring personnel may still be at the venue after load-out until bus call. On bus tours, the speed of load-out determines when bus call happens and when the crew gets to sleep.

How load-out works

Load-out typically starts the moment the headliner walks off stage — sometimes before the last note fades. The touring crew and local stagehands strike the stage in roughly reverse order of setup: backline comes off first, then lighting and sound come down, staging and risers get broken down, and everything gets cased and rolled to the trucks.

Why speed matters

On a bus tour, the bus can't leave until the truck is loaded. The truck can't load until the gear is off stage. Every minute of load-out delay is a minute later the bus rolls, which means less sleep before the next city. Crews are motivated. A well-run arena load-out can take 90 minutes to two hours. Club load-outs can be 30-45 minutes.

Stagehands and stage management

Just like load-in, venue-provided stagehands are crucial to load-out. The stage manager coordinates the process.

Local crew at load-out

The venue provides local hands for load-out, just like load-in. The local crew call for load-out is usually confirmed during the advance. On late shows, getting enough local crew for a fast load-out can be a challenge — especially if curfew pushes the timeline.