When people leave a venue after a show, the smell of fireworks and the final song resonating through the venue, the last thing on their mind is what comes next. But for the crew working the show, the real work is just beginning. Dismantling, packing, transporting and building back the massive rigs, lighting towers, led walls, trusses, instruments (and a lot more standing equipment) all has to happen before the next show starts (less than 24 hours).
This is the world of concert tour trucking. It is a high speed, precision, and high stakes operation. If you have ever wondered how to manage concert transportation at this scale, now you can have a peek at their system.
Everything Behind The Tour
Every concert you go to has already had a concert worth of time to plan, a massive network of people to coordinate, dozens of vendors, and hundreds of crew members, and a military precision to execute the plan. It is the most mind-blowing spectacle I have ever seen. There is a multi million dollar logistics operation, and equipment that needs to travel without disruption, on time, every time, down to the millisecond.
When most people are asleep, trucking crews begin their complex scheduling and routing work, moving their vehicles into the correct position for the start of their shift, and combining moving targets with unknown factors, like the weather, highways, and more. Modern services like HET Hub provide production teams with real-time information about the locations of their equipment within and between countries.
Coordinating the work of a transport system and managing the work of an arena staff, teaches production teams that the work of an arena is an interconnected AKS.
What is Special About Transporting Concert Rigs?
Concerts are one of a kind and therefore they require more than the average transportation of freight.\ During a concert the timeline is immediate, the transport of the freight is crucial, and the entire load is custom Tailored. Concert Rigs are an entire concert on their own, without a rig loaded, an entire show is postponed.
Touring concert transport trucking is not a simple task, and this is the reason why concert tour trucking requires specialized trailers and trained drivers, along with logistics teams trained in scheduling.
Planning the Route: How Logistics Teams Map Cross-Country Show Movement
Numerous factors go into a concert tour schedule, and they are remote in their design. The overall design of the concert route is dictated by road restrictions, weather, tolls etc.
To prepare for possible route alternates, for instance, trucking teams prepare new route configurations, delivery time windows, and synchronized departure times. The teams try to arrive sufficiently beforehand to set up but not to arrive so early that the venue becomes congested. Digital services excel at these planning jobs. With the HET Hub, for example, production managers can see where each truck is in real time, when it is scheduled to arrive, and any changes to the route. This gives tours unprecedented control.
The Load-Out: How Crews Pack Massive Rigs in Record Time
When the final song finishes, a backstage metamorphosis takes place. Crews coordinate lighting rig descents, folding video walls, disappearing cables, rolling stage pieces, and moving at lightning speed. Everything is designed to ensure that every road case has an assigned truck and every truck has a loading sequence.
Load-outs are pre-planned to the minute. The next city’s load-in is scheduled, and every minute is valuable for people who understand how to manage event logistics service. Load-out excellence determines the success of the entire tour.
Inside the Trucks: What Actually Gets Transported
Inside of those long trailers are some of the most advanced production-related pieces of technology in the industry. They are road-shock mounted, road-customized to withstand temperature changes, and built for rapid acceleration and deceleration between venues. Everything in those trailers is designed to road on a tour.
Everything listed previously is always in the trucks. There is a case assigned to each item and a specific organization in the storage compartments of the trucks by which to place them. There is no such thing as unimportant cargo because each item plays a specific role in the production.
Loadmasters do not work in a vacuum. They have to work alongside the other production supervisors, production stage managers, stage hands, and local venue coordinators. It is crucial that they all work in tandem because if one truck is late, a backlog of other trucks is created, which will domino into a disruption in the timetable for the day, and the entire day gets thrown off.
All stakeholders must be in communication to keep everything moving. Teams have to provide one another updates, confirm time slots for loading and unloading, and make final adjustments to plans. HET Hub is one of the many technologies available to tour managers that make these optimizations seamless, and enables them to keep tour logistics free from communication breakdowns.
There is no denying that the logistics of a tour is made simpler by new technological advances. All the available tools, from geo-fencing to manifested control to routing software, work in tandem to ease the communication flow between teams and the overall efficiency of the tour.
Availability and accuracy combined can make all the difference to a logistical production team for a tour. From the visibility, all uncertainty is reduced to create a possible optimum tour logistics. When it is no longer one truck, but rather a convoy of fifty trucks moving, the utmost visibility is crucial.
Long-Haul Concert Transport: Safety, Compliance, and Regulatory Considerations
Long-haul trucking entails compliance with national and state regulations, including hours-of-service restrictions, weight limitations, equipment securement protocols, and regulations at state and national borders. Drivers are required to remain vigilant and active, and to manage their load properly to avoid shifting during transit.
Because time is a crucial factor, and due to the high value of the load, professional trucking teams have thoroughly planned the routes, including weight distribution, emergency stops, scheduled repairs, and inspections at crossing borders.
Adapting to Challenges- and Solutions- Specialized Trucking Teams.
City restrictions and unexpected road closures all can cause havoc on the schedule of a concert tour. Specialized trucking teams are a necessity due to the reliance on their expertise, and of the ability to adapt instantly.
They bypass road closures and coordinate timelines with local crews digitally, timely convoy communication, and proactive tour manager communication. These planned known and unknown obstacles with advanced problem solving and communication strategies are the backbone of effective long-distance concert transportation.
Importance of Specialized Concert Trucking Companies
Not every freight company can manage concert logistics. Tours are designed with high tempo time schedules, and require seasoned logistics managers, reinforced trailers, and seasoned drivers.
Specialized trucking teams understand how to safeguard sensitive equipment, deal with quick turnarounds, and collaborate alongside production staff. Their skill enables huge productions to continue functioning and travel cross-country on a moment’s notice.
Conclusion: Keeping Concerts On the Clock in Every City
After a concert, while audience members are enjoying the performances, the concert trucking teams move on to the next leg of the tour. They drove and secured the whole production to travel hundreds of miles to the next venue where the concert magic can be created.
Specialized trucking companies keep the show on schedule by planning travel in advance and coordinating with the tour manager. Every monumental concert relies on these companies for the performance to become a reality.
FAQs
1. How do companies transport concert equipment long distance while keeping it safe?
They keep equipment safe by using specially designed trailers and secure packing through custom road cases along with predictable placement to minimize movement.
2. What differentiates concert transport from normal trucking? \
There’s a greater sensitivity in the equipment, the shipment is more time critical, and gear has to arrive at the venue with adequate time for crew members to set up.
3. How do production teams track trucks during a tour?
Most tours utilize bespoke GPS technology along with real-time tactical planning and management systems, such as HET Hub, to keep tabs on all trucks throughout the trip.
4. How many trucks does a typical concert tour require?
Depending on the scope, tours can require anywhere from 5 to 50+ trucks to transport staging, lighting, audio equipment, props, and pyrotechnics.
5. Why do tours rely on specialized trucking companies?
They grasp the particular intricacies and challenges of live performances and possess the requisite expertise to handle the complicated logistical shifts and transitions from one city to another overnight.
