Ari Herstand

Don't ever book a show and just expect people will show up. They won't. Additionally, if you book a tour of cities you've never been to and there's no buzz about you in these cities and you aren't playing these shows with established acts from each city, the tour will be a bust....

When I was a freshman in college an uncle of a friend of mine was the caterer for John Mayer's tour. This was around the Heavier Things time so he was touring arenas, but not a superstar celebrity by any means. The uncle hooked me up with two 'meet and greet' passes. I was a...

Right when my name was starting to become known around the University of Minnesota, a Facebook Group popped up entitled 'I Hate Ari Herstand.' With notoriety and marginal fame come the haters. The group happened to be started by a guy who dated a girl I wrote a song about, but mo...

When you're on tour, merch is your #1 income generator. This can't be stressed enough. Believe it. Bands stress over their guarantees and door splits and turnouts. If you want to survive financially with your music you must understand the importance of merch sales and approach it...

I never had a backup plan. The moment you create a backup plan is the moment you accept that failure is an option. Convincing your parents that everything is going to be ok is still probably the most difficult thing a musician has to do - next to finding the right hair product....

You can't expect everyone to come out to every show. Even if your favorite artist played multiple times a month in your city you wouldn't make it out to every show. People need a reason to devote an evening to your band. Being your friend may work for a little while, but a buzzed...

You won't have fans at your earliest shows; you'll have friends supporting you. This is crucial for your early shows. You need to show the clubs that you can get a crowd out. The clubs don't care if the 50 people you bring out all live on your dorm floor or if they're long time f...

Once you get to know your scene better you'll notice that the gatekeepers at the top are friends with each other and they talk. If the top promoter in the city likes you and respects you then he'll tell the venue he works most with and also the music editor of the newspaper as we...

There's nothing more uncomfortable then going to a show and feeling bad for the artist on stage. It's the feeling you get when you are watching a 13-year-old's piano recital, holding your breath as he clunks out the wrong notes on the brink of tears, while you hope...

I've played over 500 shows and I booked the majority of these. I set up a 60 date tour around the entire country from scratch - starting without contacts for the majority of the cities. I've spent the better part of 4 years living on the road, making nearly all of my in...