, spent the past year and a half training 60 full-time drivers and stocking up on hard-to-find tires. And bands have learned to book buses farther in advance than usual, sometimes 14 months before a tour begins. “In ’21, we were doing a lot of things for smaller acts,” says, Hemphill Brothers’ co-owner, chairman and treasurer. “Now the monster tours are back.”, lead guitarist for
, says a key lighting director recently departed the band’s tour for “some bigger accounts,” but they were able to find a replacement., adds that the metal band has given raises to all of its crew members since a tour last September, with high-demand guitar and drum techs being especially expensive. “Normally, our crew is with us a longer period of time before we give pay bumps,” she says.
Rhino Staging, which supplies thousands of staff and crew for live-entertainment events, has aggressively trained workers over the past two years. According to CEO, it’s still challenging to find people for specialized concert-production work like stage rigging – but new employees are slowly filling the spots.
Some economic, logistical and emotional issues remain insurmountable for touring acts — especially in Europe, which, Brubaker says, is “extremely expensive” given high oil and gas prices. “It’s definitely still an issue,” adds