Blake Dowling: Coming to play — and not just for hospitality riders

Green candy coated chocolate button sprinkle texture - M&Ms, Smarties, sprinkles

On the road again …

There is a line in the Willie Nelson song “Me and Paul” that says: “We have come to play and not just for the rider.”

Indeed, as summer concert season hits Florida (Tortuga Music Fest this weekend in South Florida) let’s take a dive into the world of the music business and hospitality riders.

Some artists and their riders have been made famous by legendary riders like Van Halen’s — requesting no M&Ms of a certain color allowed backstage (see Rick’s comments about just making sure people read the contract) and Mariah Carey, who it was said required a white kitten to be backstage every night at her shows.

If you are a fan of music and the behind-the-scenes activity on the day of the show, this one is for you.

What is a hospitality rider?

Website Backstage Culture defines it as “a list of hospitality items (groceries) that a touring party requests to be delivered backstage. Its purpose is to help the artist and crew have food and drinks in between meals. This is also the opportunity to order your alcohol needs for the day.”

For more, check out Roadies/Backstage Culture.

I once worked with one of our platinum-selling bands in Florida and had a front-row seat for all things, production, riders, and hospitality.

Referring to Gainesville rock n’ rollers and awesome guys, Sister Hazel.

Back in the old days, they had a bottle of Jägermeister on the rider. Then, as the band got bigger, so did the rider (and that bottle of Jager).

A little bottle was soon upgraded to a 1.75 handle of Jägermeister in the dressing room.

I checked in with Hazel’s lead singer Ken Block via text this week to see if there is anything wild and crazy on the 2023 band rider:

“Our managers and crew have never allowed us to put anything outrageous on a rider. But Drew now demands Fresca and that’s hard to find sometimes.”

Thanks, Ken: You are a gentleman, sir.

I also spoke with my friend Rick Stowe to get his take this week; he has been promoting concerts, private events, and festivals for years.

Rick is a first-class pro and a Senior Managing Partner at EastCoast Entertainment, and we have done some limited touring together and worked on several shows in the past.

Check them out if you need help with a concert.

Rick shared the following about riders and one artist:

“One show comes to mind. The hospitality rider for this concert asked for a 20 lb. lobster to be placed in the dressing room. No preparation instructions. Knowing a 20 lb. lobster would be difficult to source and expensive, I sent a runner to buy (2) 10 lb. dumbbells and a plastic lobster. Problem solved and musician Ben Folds got a huge kick out of the joke. Apparently, at an earlier show in the tour, a college in the Boston area actually found a gigantic lobster. Not sure if it weighed 20 lbs. but definitely an A for effort.”

Rick added:

“Most of the strange asks are just to make sure the promoter is reading and paying attention to the Artist’s rider details. Many artists embrace a healthy lifestyle. Bands realize touring is the main source of income and in order to stay relevant, healthy and sane now means minimal alcohol, organic foods, access to a gym, a family area for those with children on the road, and engaging fans on social media. I recently had a corporate client backstage at a major country music festival and believe he was disappointed that the backstage area was so low-key and almost boring.”

Welcome to 2023, everyone; thank you, Rick, for doing what you do.

I put together a package for the Bacon Brothers to play a show in Orlando for an association in our state.

Once in a blue moon, I put my concert promotion hat on for our clients and friends if they need it. The hospitality and technical rider (stage size, equipment) were so vast (20 pages of teas and towels and everything you could possibly think of, small compared to Van Halen’s 55 Page 1).

I think the client decided the music business was too much and they went with a comedian instead. If you have not seen the logistics required in putting on a show it is a vast enterprise for the hospitality team; it usually requires a lot of improvisation and old-fashioned scrambling.

Some friends of mine put on a Quiet Riot show (post-80s) at a 300-person club in Atlanta called the Chameleon Club.

It required last-minute scrambling for candy bars, teas, and all sorts of things.

Fun fact, the guy that worked the door at that club was named Kappy. He is a super nice guy, and he now manages country superstar Luke Combs.

Good for you Rojo; congrats to you, Lynn, Luke, and the team.

Country artists certainly have their quirks just like the other genres. Hank Williams Jr. requires a limo with an armed guard everywhere he goes on show day.

Taylor Swift apparently loves Twizzlers and Starbucks.

Who doesn’t, right? Way to go, Taylor.

Thanks to everyone that contributed to this column, music business friends are like childhood or college friends; they leave a mark on your soul, in a good way.

As you buckle up for your next live show, I hope you give the experience a little more thought to what all goes on behind the scenes.

How many trucks and buses did it take to get all this stuff here? I wonder what is on their rider.

I will be seeing Ben Folds with the Tallahassee Symphony as they headline the Word of South Festival this month so bring on the M&Ms, a 20-pound lobster too, and let’s have ourselves a show.

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Blake Dowling is CEO of Aegis Business Technologies; he can be reached at [email protected].