Routing a tour means planning the order of cities and dates so that travel is efficient, costs are manageable, and the shows make sense for your audience and team. A well-routed tour helps reduce unnecessary travel, prevents burnout, and makes the whole run of shows more financially sustainable.

In simple terms, routing is about connecting the dots between cities in the most practical way possible. Instead of jumping randomly between locations, artists usually move in a logical geographic direction (for example up a coast, across a region, or around a loop).

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There are several factors to consider when routing a tour.

Geography and distance

You want to move between cities in a way that minimises long travel days. For example, if you’re touring by van, it makes sense to play cities that are a few hours apart rather than driving ten hours overnight between shows.

Travel method

The way you travel will shape how the tour is routed. If you’re flying between cities, the schedule might be more flexible but you’ll need to consider airport locations, baggage costs for instruments, and transfer time between airports and venues. If you’re touring by car or van, you need to consider driving time, fuel costs, rest stops, and where the team will sleep between shows.

Venue availability

Even if a routing path makes sense geographically, you can only play a city when the venue is available. Sometimes routing decisions are shaped around the dates a venue can offer.

Audience demand

You may want to prioritise cities where you already have a fanbase or where streaming data and previous shows show strong interest. Early career artists often mix reliable markets with new cities where they want to build an audience.

Rest and sustainability

Playing too many shows in a row can lead to exhaustion and poor performances. Including rest days or travel days helps keep the band and crew healthy and ensures each show is high quality.

Cost and budget

Longer travel distances mean more fuel, accommodation, flights, and food costs. Routing a tour efficiently helps reduce these expenses and can be the difference between a tour breaking even or losing money.

Timing and industry scheduling

Artists sometimes schedule tours around new music releases, festival appearances, or key promotional moments. Festivals in particular can anchor a tour, with other shows routed around them in nearby cities.

Logistics and equipment

If you’re touring with large amounts of gear, production, or backline, travel time for load-in and setup becomes important. Smaller stripped-back tours may allow more flexibility in routing because the setup is simpler.

In practice, most tours are routed by starting with a few key anchor shows:

• a hometown launch
• a festival appearance
• a major venue

...and then building the rest of the tour around those dates in a logical geographic sequence.

A well-planned tour route helps artists save money, reduce travel stress, reach the right audiences, and perform at their best each night. It turns a collection of individual gigs into a tour that runs smoothly from start to finish.

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