Tour Schedule/Planner
Tour Schedule/Planner Commentary
This tour plan is for the indie rock band Cab Driver, which will be a promotional tool for the release of their debut EP. After gaining popularity from performing live, and releasing 2 singles, Cab Driver are ready to go on tour to support this release. Based in Leeds, Cab Driver have gained following from the indie rock genre fanbase, following the success of other Leeds bands of the same genre such as The North, and Garage Flower, which helped to widen the audience.
I have chosen venues that bands of similar genres regularly play, and that are part of the indie rock scene around the UK. I have focused playing around the north of England, as since Cab Driver are based in Leeds, it is where most of their fanbase will be. The cities I have chosen are Dublin (overseas), Manchester, Nottingham, Sheffield and Leeds. I have chosen a small number of venues since Cab Driver aren’t as popular as other indie bands touring around the same venues, so I feel it would be more successful if there were fewer dates. A local support band for each city will be chosen to play at every gig to support turnout, as local gig-goers will come to see the support.
The venues I have chosen range from 150 capacity to 400. Whilst this is a big range, there is an option for an extra date in the 150 cap Leeds venue, as it will likely sell out due to it being a hometown show. 400 capacity venues is perhaps quite ambitious of a band this size, however the release of their debut EP will bring in new fans from around England, and even if the venues sell 50% of their tickets, I have budgeted it in a way that the band will still result in a profit.
The tour takes place across 7 days from the 2nd to the 8th of October, with opportunity for an extra date in Leeds at the end of the tour. Logistically, it made it easier to have the overseas date in Dublin first, then travel on the ferry to Holyhead port then straight to Manchester. After Manchester we will travel down to Nottingham then back up to Leeds to rest for 2 days at home, travel down to Sheffield for a gig (since it is so close we will be able to travel back home the same night), then a hometown gig in Leeds at Hyde Park Book Club. I have chosen October as it is after the festival season in summer, and after potential festival slots for Cab Driver therefore there will likely be people who have seen them at a festival wanting to see them again and this is a good opportunity to do so. Here is the journey:
I decided to have a 2 day break at home in Leeds to allow the band to rest and recharge ahead of their Sheffield and hometown gig as since this will be their debut tour, they will likely be fatigued emotionally and physically, and therefore being at home will allow them to relax for a bit and it means they can put on a better show for the final 2 dates. “Balance out workdays and rest days” (Iconcollective, 2022). According to the musicians union, a third of working musicians experience poor mental wellbeing, so it is more important than ever for musicians to have rest days and time to themselves, especially in the shape that the industry is in now with the cost-of-living crisis, it can feel like they are “carrying the weight of the world” (Musicians union, 2024]It also saves on cost as there will be no need for accommodation after the Nottingham, Sheffield and Leeds dates.
In terms of transport, I will use VansForBands, as they offer Nightliner vans, that sleep 6 people and have room to transport all equipment needed for the tour. This will be for the Dublin, Manchester, and Nottingham dates, as after that we can use our cars to transport the equipment as there will be no need to stay overnight for the Sheffield and Leeds dates as the band can stay at home in Leeds. They start at £190 per day, with unlimited mileage, which will be cheaper than paying for a normal van and staying at hotels every night. The van sleeps 6, which allows room for all the band, the tour manager and a photographer (Vansforbands.co.uk, 2025). I will budget £40 in fuel each day on tour (based on UK average fuel prices, 143 pence per litre, in a 25mpg Mercedes Sprinter Van) (Fleetnews.co.uk, 2026). This will be more than enough for every day other than To Dublin and back, which the remainder of the money from the other dates can cover. The tour manager will drive for all dates to save money instead of paying for a personal driver.
A carnet is required to cross the border into Ireland for the gig in Dublin. A carnet is an international customs document that allows equipment to be temporarily imported into foreign countries without paying duties and import taxes (Atacarnet.com, 2010). This can be seen here:
Cash Flow
Financial Commentary
This tour has been planned to be completely independent, with some very budget conscious decisions being made. Cutting corners on transport, and accommodation with the van hire only being for half of the tour.
The estimated ticket sales have been 50% for each venue at £15 each, to give the band the security if turnout doesn’t end up being very successful. Some of the venues I couldn’t get the venue pack for, therefore I have estimated the cost of hiring the respective venues based off other ones of a similar capacity.
Having the Nightliner van means there is no need for booking hotels/accommodation, which saves us a lot of money. In addition to this, having home in Leeds as a base for the Sheffield/Leeds gigs is very helpful as Sheffield is close enough that we can drive back on the same night and sleep at home before the Leeds gig. Fuel has been budgeted at £40 a day, and the van has unlimited mileage on the lease. We will likely need more than £40 worth of fuel to go to Dublin; however the money left over from travelling shorter distances to Sheffield for example, can be used to cover the extra costs.
A rough estimate of £500 has been budgeted as an emergency fund for any pitfalls that may occur. This can be something as small as having to buy new guitar strings if they break, or even something as big as a van/car breakdown.
Merchandise is to be sold at £20 a T-shirt, £20 per vinyl record and £4 per lighter. Records and lighters will already be provided by the band from previous gigs, so the only real cost is the T-shirts made for the tour which will bring in a 500% return on initial investment if all are sold across the tour.
Merchandise
We will send the merch to Dublin by post to avoid having to add it to the carnet and avoid any more trouble at customs. We will have a T-shirt, lighters, and the EP vinyl record on sale at each gig. This is the T-shirt design.
We will print out 100 T-shirts for the whole tour, hoping to sell 20 per gig. The total cost to print 100 t-shirts would cost us an estimated £329 (£3.29 per T-shirt) (Gocustom, 2026). And selling them at £20 each would bring us £2000 revenue (£1671) profit. The band already have 50 lighters to sell from leftover stock, selling them at £4 each, making £200 if all are sold. There is a big culture around band t-shirts, and it is a tradition to some to buy one at every gig. We will pay for someone to man the merch stall at each gig.
Marketing
This tour will mostly be reliant on self-promotion on social media. Cab Driver have a sizeable presence on Instagram and Tik-Tok, and will be able to create content to promote the tour, alongside paid adverts on Instagram, tailored to the different cities that they are playing in. “Social media has become one of the key means of modern music promotion for many artists and music businesses striving to build a fan base” (Ottewill, 2026). The content included in the marketing will be short form videos such as “teasers”, live clips, behind the scenes footage, and “a day in the life” style content. This is the designed poster to put on the band’s social media for the tour.
Alongside the tour, the band will do some interviews/special performances in each city. Crash Records often hold intimate acoustic gigs for artists to help promote their tour whilst they are in Leeds and normally require purchase of a physical record/CD for entry. This will help boost sales for their EP, and exposure to Crash Records regulars. This performance can be filmed and used as content on their social media platforms.
In Manchester, the band will have an interview on the BBC introducing Manchester radio station. BBC Introducing provides a platform for artists to promote their music with local and national radio stations. They also give bands and artists the chance to play at major UK festivals such as Reading and Leeds Festival, and Radio 1 Big Weekender (BBC, 2025).
The integration of marketing covering both “physical” and digital online marketing will hopefully maximise ticket sales across the tour. The band will also sell their own vinyl records of the EP at each gig they play, to boost sales of the record. Since the Leeds hometown gig is at the end of the tour, there is the opportunity
There will also be paid adverts on Instagram for 10 days on the lead up to the tour, at £10 a day, resulting in 49,000 extra views and 543 extra profile visits.
Technical & Logistics
Stage Plot
Channel List
Logistics
All musicians use in ear monitors, which means there is no requirement for on-stage wedges. It is a very simple band setup, with no use of clicks/playback tracks. Simply 2 guitarists, bassist, drummer, lead vocals, and two vocal mics for backing vocals.
Projections
Travel delays
Having a gig that relies on a ferry for transport can be potentially very risky as it is dependent on the weather on the day. If the winds are too extreme the boat will be cancelled and that will mean the gig can’t go on. I have chosen morning journeys which allow for potential later journeys if the weather gets better later in the day. Roadside assistance is also included in the van rental if anything breaks down. If the Dublin gig ends up having to be cancelled, there is the option to reschedule to a later date at the end of the tour, and tickets can remain valid or fans can get refunded.
Artist wellbeing
A 2-day rest period at home in Leeds is scheduled in the middle of the tour for the band to rest and recharge mentally and physically, as members are likely to get exhausted as this is their first tour. If any of the artists gets ill, the tour will have to be rescheduled.
Gear damage/loss
There is a £500 emergency fund that can be used to repair any damaged equipment, and the van has deadlocks on all doors which make it hard to break into and steal and equipment. We could also borrow equipment from the support band/any local bands if anything goes seriously wrong.
Bibliography
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