Simone - TOUR TIPS

In this Tour Tips segment, the singer-songwriter, Simone, recommends advice for being a musician on the road. You can check out the tips below:

I just finished my first headline tour, so I’m still a beginner at this, but I thought I’d share some tips for other first-time-touring acts.

1. Plan what you’re going to listen to in the car beforehand. There’s nothing worse than having the aux and not knowing what to play. I suggest downloading albums you’ve always wanted to listen to but never have. Make sure you also consider what everyone else in the car will want to hear, or else they’ll put on headphones and listen to something else, which is the greatest betrayal.

2. If you have the time, find something fun to do in each city you’re in. On tour, doing things other than loading in, playing the show, and loading out made me feel more present and relaxed - even something as simple as popping into a record store for 20 minutes or walking through town. It made a real difference for me.

3. Be cool. One of the first things my manager told me before going on tour was to be prepared for things to go wrong. DIY touring is chaotic and stressful and you kind of just have to be chill with that, which is NOT in my nature. But I did okay.

4. Enjoy your time on stage. If you’re anything like me, you can completely black out while performing, and then suddenly the shows over. Make sure you take moments throughout your set to ground yourself and remember where you are, and how cool it is that you get to be there. The last thing you wanna do is come home completely exhausted from a tour and then realize you didn’t even get to enjoy the shows. The shows are the best part, don’t miss out on them.

5. Take care of yourself. There is nothing more rock ’n roll then drinking water and getting a good nights sleep. It’s so easy to neglect your wellbeing, especially when you’re away from home, but don’t be stupid. You’ll have a lot more fun if you take your vitamins.

Keep up with Simone on Instagram.