(This article refers to music concert touring on a sleeper bus. You should see this Quora thread for information about vacation/holiday travel on a sleeper bus).
Music artists and their crew travel by sleeper bus (AKA sleeper coach, or entertainer coach) to travel from concert to concert. Sleeper buses enable the artist and crew to wake up at the next venue on the concert tour, having traveled overnight and avoided busy daytime traffic. This mode of ground transport is by far the most convenient and cost-effective way to move large numbers of people around. However, as any touring artist or crew person will tell you, life on a sleeper bus can be hard. Louise Weiner, the former singer of the UK band Sleeper, wrote about her experiences of sleeper bus tours. “There is nowhere to wash on the bus. Nowhere to hide. No escape,” she says.
Yet, even after 30-odd years of touring, I still love concert touring on a sleeper bus. Everything is so easy for a concert tour manager on a sleeper bus tour. All your people, your home, your belongings, your office and your beer are all in one great big box on wheels, which is (hopefully) parked right outside the gig. Touring personnel are less likely to go missing or be late for departures if they are ‘living’ on the bus – that box on wheels is also their home with all their belongings in it; if they are not on it when they should be, then it is going to rumble off into the night without them.
It is true, though, that touring on a sleeper bus presents its own unique set of logistical and emotional challenges. You need to be aware of these issues, whether you are a touring veteran or are picking your bunk for the first time.
Therefore, here is my guide to the rules and conventions of sleeper bus touring.
1) Spare bunks are called ‘junk bunks’.
You sleep in a bunk on a sleeper bus. There may be spare bunks left over, depending on the number of people in your touring party and the configuration of the bus (most buses have 12 bunks, or ‘berths’). The spare bunks have the nickname ‘junk bunks’. These spaces become a general dumping ground for bags, cases, small guitars, and laptops. (Suitcases and large bags should go in the luggage bays or in the trailer towed behind the bus). I mention laptops because I have seen more than one laptop screen cracked from being crushed under other people’s possessions in a junk bunk.
Keep your laptop in your own bunk if possible or buy a hard case such as one from the excellent Peli case range.
2) You should check you have enough space for the backline.
Concert touring is not just about the music artist and the crew. You need to transport the artist’s backline equipment as well. Unless you have a separate truck for the gear, you only have two options for transporting the backline; either stuff it in the luggage bays underneath the bus, or rent a trailer to be pulled behind the bus.
The companies that rent sleeper tour buses encouraged the use of trailers for many years. They did this for two reasons:
- they could charge more money for renting the trailer, and
- putting the backline in a trailer stopped wear and tear on the interior of the bus.
Using a trailer is convenient, and the associated costs mount up.
Sleeper bus drivers also hate pulling trailers. Hitching and unhitching a trailer to the back of a bus is dirty and tiring work. Pulling a trailer makes manoeuvering a sleeper bus difficult. There are speed restrictions when pulling a trailer. Besides, it makes their lovely buses look ugly.
I have noticed, however, that more concert touring bus companies are commissioning buses with very large, dedicated equipment bays. The rental companies are actively encouraging music artists to rent these bigger buses. Having the backline inside the bus is not only environmentally friendly but is easier for the driver. The bus rental fee per day may be more, but it can work out cheaper and is less hassle than hiring a smaller sleeper bus with a trailer.
So, get your measuring tape out, get accurate sizes for your backline, and then ask the bus company if they have equipment space big enough!
3) The driver’s name is…
I am a concert tour manager. One of the most common questions I hear on a sleeper bus tour?
“Andy, can you ask the driver to turn the a/c on?”
“Andy, can you ask the driver to turn on the lights in the bunks?”
“Andy, can you ask the driver to empty the toilet?”
“Andy, can you ask the driver when we are going to stop next?”
“Andy, why does the driver hate us?”
And so on.
Tell you what, find out the driver’s name, and ask the questions yourself. Your driver is a member of the touring crew. Treat them as part of the team.
4) Put the kettle on, but not at the gig.
Sleeper buses typically feature small kitchens with microwave ovens, kettles, and toasters. I advise you do not use the kitchen when parked up at a gig.
Why? Power for these appliances comes from the bus’s engine (if moving) or from power supplied by the venue (called ‘shore’, or ‘landline’ power). The sudden current draw caused by a kettle or microwave can cause the buses’ residual current device (RCD) to cut the power to the bus for safety reasons. This loss of power will plunge your bus into darkness. This ‘tripping’ of the RCD on the bus can also cause similar devices in the venue (where the landline power is coming from) to cut power there as well.
5) Sleeper bus power is not dependable.
Modern recording hardware and software has made the reality of a recording studio on the tour bus available to all touring music artists. However, the internal power on buses can be intermittent (see ‘Put the kettle on, but not at the gig’ above). There is always an interruption in supply when the driver switches from shore power to engine power or vice versa, for instance. So, make sure you constantly save any back-lounge recording sessions on equipment that is connected to the buses’ power supply (desktop computers, for instance). You should probably also invest in some kind of surge protection or uninterruptible power supply if undertaking a serious recording or video editing project.
6) Other people sleep while you are awake.
A modern tour sleeper bus is a 24-hour environment, with people sleeping at different times. Crew, for instance, have to get up early and work until late. I, for one, am very fond of creeping into my bunk for a mid-afternoon nap, and do not appreciate being woken up unexpectedly by someone slamming the doors or cranking the volume on a console game.
You should know that drivers of European sleeper buses sleep on the bus every day. They drive all night and they sleep while you are awake. Music, loud conversation, and slamming the bus doors will wake them up. This means that they will not be well-rested when they have to drive again. This is not very safe.
Keep in mind – If you are awake and the bus is parked, someone else is probably asleep.
7) Many European venues have no bus parking.
There are concert venues in continental Europe that have no parking for sleeper buses or trucks. (America, being the home of the automobile, does not seem to have this problem).
The standard approach for gigs at venues with no parking is ‘drop and run’ – the sleeper bus pulls up to the venue at load-in time, the crew haul the gear off, the band gather everything they need for the show and troop into the venue and the bus then pulls away again, probably to spend the evening in a truck stop on the outside of town. After the concert and load-out, the bus returns, everyone gets back on and drive to the next show.
As I mentioned before, having your own hotel cum office on wheels parked outside of the gig all day is a good thing. Your temporary home is usually right there, outside of the venue, and this makes your day a lot easier. Not having the sleeper bus parked at the venue changes that. As well as being psychologically difficult, there are extra transport costs getting to and from the bus if you have left a vital item (in-ear monitor moulds, anyone?) on the bus.
A competent concert tour manager can make ‘drop and run’ gigs a lot less traumatic by informing everyone the day before the show that the bus will leave and they need to prepare everything they need for the show before they leave the bus at load-in time. Just saying the words ‘the bus is going away after load –in’ is usually enough to make people listen – play on the psychological attachment people have to their hotel on wheels.
The same competent person should then also check with the driver to confirm where the bus is actually going to be. Once parked up, the driver will go to sleep and will not appreciate a phone call saying ‘where are you, the bass player left her tuner on the bus’, for instance.
Low bridges, narrow streets, weight restrictions, or zoning laws also make some European venues are completely inaccessible by road transport. Performing at one of these venues is not only a logistical challenge but can actually end up costing you money.
The problem is that you cannot do a ‘drop and run’ because you cannot even get the bus near the gig. So, you need to rent another, smaller vehicle and transfer the gear and touring party into it, then use that to get near the venue and load in the equipment for soundcheck. This process is called ‘cross-loading’ and is a hideous, time-wasting, and potentially expensive, activity.
Other venues have become inaccessible to tour buses because of local zoning laws. An example of this is London, which introduced a Low Emission Zone covering all of London inside the M25 orbital motorway in 2008. The zone improves air quality in the capital by preventing high-polluting diesel engine vehicles from entering the city centre. Vehicles with high emissions should not enter the LEZ, and authorities will impose a penalty if they do. Unfortunately, for touring music artists, most of London’s music venues now lie within the zone.
Entering the zone to play a gig with an old, non-compliant tour bus (pre-2004) will incur a charge of up to £2000 ($2,585). And, since you will undoubtedly stay in the zone after midnight, they will charge you for the next day as well. Your London show has just cost you £4000 ($5,170).
8) You should not slam the doors.
Please do not slam the doors of the bus when leaving or entering.
Other people may be sleeping. (See ‘Other People Sleep While You Are Awake’ above).
9) Everyone needs to help keep the bus secure.
The bus is your home for the duration of the tour. Keeping this temporary home safe and secure should be a priority for everyone living on the bus.
Some rules can help with this:
- Always lock the doors when you leave the bus and when you are on it. Most buses allow you to lock them from the outside before you enter – confirm the details with your driver.
- Do not bring non-touring personnel on to the bus unless you are sure you can vouch for them.
- Leave no one you do not know on the bus.
- Pull all the blinds, especially when the bus is empty at show time.
You should encourage your touring party to think ‘have a secure bus, not a bus with security added on’.
10) Always let the driver know you have left the bus.
It’s been a great show and you are lying in your bunk, gently swaying as the bus whispers through the night. You are on your way to another show and everything is good. Presently, the bus stops moving and, looking through your bunk window, you see you are at a truck stop. The driver is refuelling and emptying garbage out of the front lounge. You are not that sleepy and really fancy a grilled cheese and fries. You quickly slip on some clothes, grab your wallet and head over to the Gutbuster 24-hour outlet.
You don’t see the driver on your way over to the restaurants but figure you won’t be long and besides, he ain’t going to go without you, is he…?
I’m sure you can guess where this is going. Yes, he is probably is going to drive off without you. The alternative, checking that all are aboard, will wake everyone else up. That rather defeats the purpose of having a ‘sleeper’ bus and so most drivers will just get going after a rest break. You will get left behind if the driver is unaware that you’re not on the bus.
You should always let the driver know you are off the bus, especially if you get off on your own. If the driver is not around, then leave something on his seat. A written note is good, but failing that, put a neatly folded T-shirt on his seat. A neatly folded T-shirt is a very rare thing on a sleeper bus tour – unusual enough for the driver to notice!
11) Think about what you eat before a long sleeper bus journey.
You should know the ‘no solids’ rule for sleeper bus touring. That kind of toilet activity has to be done in restrooms, not on the bus. It’s therefore a terrible idea to go out for a post-show meal that is very spicy or contains something you have not eaten before. The food may cause you to need a restroom quicker than usual, which will mean the bus having to pull into a rest area instead of moving through the night.
12) Do not perform more than five concerts in a row.
The major advantage of touring on a sleeper bus is being able to leave a show immediately after you’ve performed, travel over night and wake up the following day outside the next gig. This ability to travel or further and longer means it is theoretically possible to play in Paris one night and have a show in Barcelona the next (or New York followed by Columbus, OH for instance).
I say theoretically because revised regulations in the US and Europe mean that drivers have maximum permitted driving times and/or distances. While an eight- or nine-hour drive is usually fine, the cumulative effect of consecutive long drives may cause the driver to be over their permitted driving time (‘out of hours’ in concert touring.)
More detailed explanations can be found online and the bottom line is you may miss your next show if the driver exceeds their hours and needs to take their statutory break. And that break could be anywhere – I once spent nine hours in a truck stop 20km outside Berlin while the driver took his break!
As a simple rule of thumb, you should not have over five shows in a row, and there should ideally be short drives either side of that run of five shows. Check with your booking agent they are aware of this limitation and suggest re-routing the tour if necessary. Driving distance regulations is a complicated subject and you should always check with the coach company regarding your routing.
13) Stuff you need for a concert tour on a sleeper bus.
- Earplugs
- Eyeshades
- A filled water bottle in your bunk at all times
- A maglite or small flashlight in your bunk at all times
- Warm socks (The A/C on a bus can really affect your feet)
- Two lanyards – one for your back stage pass, one for your bus key.
- An open mind
14) Stuff you don’t need for a concert tour on a sleeper bus.
Thinking sleeper buses are glamorous.
I hope this list helps you to have a smooth and enjoyable concert tour. You can read more about the live music business in my book, The Live Music Business. Thanks for reading!