Tour Management: On The Road With AJ Lee & Blue Summit

By Helen Ludé, AJ Lee and Blue Summit Tour Manager

Loading bass into Ursula, our 24 foot shuttle bus!

By the fall of 2023, AJ Lee & Blue Summit was selling more tickets, playing more high-profile festivals in addition to their regular appearances at club venues and house concerts of various capacities, and needed to step up production to maintain their fast-paced growth. As their tour schedule and audience sizes increased, so did the work that needed to be done, calling for a professional team with a diverse skill set. After hiring a marketing firm, lawyer, public relations team, band manager, and a booking agent, the band sought to hand off road responsibilities to allow them more time and energy for their music. They needed someone to help ensure the band was comfortable and prepared to deliver a high-quality performance each night.

The timing was lucky for me. I graduated from Tulane University then moved to Nashville in December 2023, and was fortunate to join the AJ Lee & Blue Summit crew as the tour manager at the beginning of 2024. I enjoy learning from a stellar team of colleagues who each play a significant role in helping the band grow.

A tour manager is essentially the feet on the ground and the day-to-day manager of logistics and finances on the road. A lot of our work happens behind the scenes. Beyond the basic responsibilities of knowing all details of every show, scheduling travel logistics, managing road finances and settling accounts at the end of the night, preparing the stage, and being the primary point of communication between the band and venues and festivals, the tour manager also acts as a roadie, cat-herder, therapist, and everything in between. “It’s kind of an all-encompassing job,” says Katie Gleason, tour manager for Sierra Ferrell.

When I’m not on my laptop writing emails, I’m loading gear or contacting folks who’ve offered lodging for the band along the tour route. The job doesn’t end off the road, and if I’m not organizing the tour I’m on, I’m preparing information for the next one. Soundcheck and showtime are my primary moments of rest, though I quickly picked up merchandise responsibilities because I love talking to fans and meeting new people. I also capture content and run the band's social media accounts. All these roles overlap and support the ultimate goal of assisting and improving band operations.

Tour management is an incredibly detail-oriented, proactive, learn-as-you-go job—observing and noting what is and isn’t working, then making slight adjustments to improve the situation. Both the band and the venue will have questions, and it’s the tour manager’s job to know the answers. At all times I have a to-do list running through my head, considering how to prevent problems from arising and continually improve on how I do my job. I’ve driven a restructuring of our advance and calendar system, proposed using a per diem system for funding meals, created new driver schedules and day sheet printouts, updated our hospitality riders, and added 5-inch memory foam seats to our fixer-upper 24’ airport shuttle bus-home we call "Ursula.” Jacob Groopman, a former tour manager for Front Country, says it’s important to have a likable, approachable, and generally laid-back personality, yet also shows that they mean business. The best tour managers are the ones that everyone loves but nobody wants to mess with!

How did I land this job, you may be wondering? Blue Summit said they ultimately hired me for my familiarity, temperament, and ability to grow long-term with the band. I’ve known the band since childhood through the California bluegrass scene and youth programs–people used to (and still sometimes do!) confuse me for AJ as a rare Asian in bluegrass, and I took fiddle lessons from Sully’s dad Jack Tuttle for years. It certainly feels like a family!

Touring in tight quarters can be exhausting and stressful, energizing and inspiring, claustrophobic and uncomfortable, connecting and rewarding. It's all of the above. Beyond the professional responsibilities, a tour manager is a “vibe curator,” as Mollie Farr, former tour manager for Donna the Buffalo, likes to say. Keeping the vibes positive so the band is in a good head space is also a very real part of the job. I strive to be an anchor and positive source of energy for others when I can, encouraging strengths while navigating challenges. Blue Summit is a wonderful and complex group of personalities, and ideally we can bring out the best in each other.

As a young woman, I sometimes feel extra pressure to prove myself as a capable professional. Being prepared and memorizing show information helps me feel confident presenting myself professionally to both the band and venues. Over time, I’ve become more comfortable pushing for the band’s needs and being more direct with my communication style. I also try to introduce myself to people with a warm smile and know venue managers by name. As I continue to grow into my role, I hope to better balance my relationship between “friend” and “leader.”

Katie suggests that perhaps the most important skill a tour manager can have is remaining unfazed in even the most stressful of situations. Stressful, for example, was when a heavy snowstorm prevented their two 48-ft buses from reaching their headlining set at a major festival, or when their trailer broke down on a gig day in Monterey. Katie has strengthened her problem-solving muscle, rather than obsessing over problems when they arise. She notes that saying less is often more—establishing trust with the band so that necessary information is always available helps to minimize confusion and distracting questions. Even on a much larger scale like the Sierra Ferrell Band, many tour manager responsibilities remain the same.

Maintaining a healthy mind and body on the road can be challenging. Things like physical exercise and a healthy diet become difficult when you’re sleeping minimally and eating whatever free meals venues may provide. I continue to modify and expand my health goals as I go, which now include walking 10k steps a day, meditating on the bus, gratitude journaling, and most recently, doing 100 jumping jacks at gas stations and rest stops. Adequate rest and time at home is also essential. Making room in the schedule for nature stops also keeps me grounded on the road.

Joshua Rilko, former tour manager for Lindsay Lou & the Flatbellies and Sierra Ferrell, approached tour management as a game of efficiency: “How few drops will drip when pumping gas?” “How well-organized can the packed bus be?” “How can we use minimal rest stop time for exercise?” Josh picked up hacky sack as an easy way to stay active at gas stations and hotel gyms. The Flatbellies prioritized nature stops and opportunities to experience random corners of the world. Josh also noted that "most tour manager work is like the massive part of an iceberg that is unseen under the water, and the band only sees the tip of the iceberg.”

The reality is, tour management isn’t for everyone. Life on the road is not for everyone. You’re always busy, you often lack sleep, and your health may suffer if you are not proactive. All that being said, it’s a deeply rewarding experience and I wake up every day feeling lucky to travel the country with some of my favorite people. Our time together is filled with laughter and late nights, inside jokes and robe fashion, barcades and nightcaps. We see the random pockets of the world, gems of places that we would otherwise have no reason to experience. We are entwined in the support system that is the music community and meet fine folks from all around the country who welcome us with warm hospitality. When we’re lucky, we have time to stop at natural hot springs and scenic views or explore random towns like Guthrie, Oklahoma, where Byron Burline’s fiddle shop was rebuilt. It's a gift to do what I love. I look forward to many more adventures to come!