Some people think that life on tour is a dream - for me it is. People think touring is easy and all about the travel. To be completely honest, touring is definitely not easy. It is honest to God hard as all hell. But somehow the tiredness you feel, the long drives, the being sore and the little to no sleep is all worth it. No matter how much I have complained or my tour family has complained, every single thing is worth it. This tour may not be the dream tour, but it is a start to living my dream with the big guys. There are so many things I can say and talk about, but I’m trying to keep this post as positive as possible because I don’t want to look at this as a negative experience.
A typical day on this tour can be different depending on what type of venue/camp we are at. If it is an early show our days begin as early as 6:30 a.m. and end around 5 p.m. If it is a late show it begins as early as 11 a.m. Each type of show has its pros and cons. For me I love the early shows for how early our activities are for the kids. But I absolutely love the late shows for the shows themselves. Another thing I love about the type of tour I am on is that we get to interact with all of the artists. The artists and my fellow crew members are some of the sweetest and loving people I have ever met. My fellow crew members understand each other and our struggles, because we know what the other is going through. Life on the road is rough, hard and yes, tiring - but it is, and always will be, worth it. The experience we are gaining is absolutely priceless.
The relationships that have and are being made while on tour are ones that will stay with me for a lifetime. You learn so much about each other in such little time, maybe a little too much, but its fun. The eight-hour drives, the late night food stops, the family dinners, the inside jokes, they are seriously memories that will last a lifetime. One of my favorite things about touring is enjoying the music every night, learning new things about people and, of course, seeing the kids smile from what you do. Seeing the smile on kids' faces make a lot of things worth it. The absolute best thing is helping run the meet-and-greets after the shows for the kids. The smiles they have after meeting the artist are amazing. The artists and the crew are just one big family. Correction, they are my second family, my first tour family - and they always will be. So all in all yes touring is hard, it’s tiring but every single thing will be worth it in the end. The friendships I have made will always be there reminding me where I started. Shout out to my TM’s, my crew members, Matt, Jaci, Landon, Jason and the rest of the Jagged Row crew, The Catching, Zack Zilla and so many other bands on tour. Y'all are and always will be tour family, my first tour family.
