How to Read a Tech Rider and Turn It Into a Backline Order
A section-by-section guide to reading an artist's technical rider — input lists, stage plots, monitor and wireless requirements — and turning it into a clear, complete backline rental order.
The Production Advance: A Checklist for Smooth Show Days
What to confirm before every show: contacts, schedule, venue access, power, audio, backline, wireless, monitors and load-out. A practical production advance checklist for tours, fly dates and events.
By Paris Backline · · 3 min readAdvancing a show means confirming every detail with the venue, the vendors and the act before show day. A good advance turns a rider into a plan everyone has agreed to. A bad one — or none at all — means discovering problems at load-in, when they're most expensive to fix. Here's a checklist you can use for tours, fly dates and events.
1. Contacts
Start with people. Collect names, roles and mobile numbers for:
- Tour manager and production manager
- FOH and monitor engineers
- Venue production manager and house audio lead
- Backline, audio, lighting and video vendors
- Promoter or event producer
- Day-of-show security or loading dock contact
Create one shared contact sheet. Phone numbers matter more than email on show day.
2. Schedule
Confirm every time, in writing:
| Item | Confirm |
|---|---|
| Load-in | Time, and who needs to be there |
| Vendor deliveries | Time windows for backline, audio, lighting and video |
| Line check and soundcheck | Order for multiple acts, and how long each gets |
| Doors | Time, and when the stage must be clear |
| Set times | Including changeovers |
| Curfew | Hard out for sound and for the building |
| Load-out and pickups | When vendors can collect gear |
Changeover times are especially important on multi-act bills. Backline sharing between acts can save time — but only if it's agreed in advance.
3. Venue access
- Venue address, and the loading address if different
- Dock, elevator or street loading details and any size limits
- Parking for trucks, vans and crew cars, and any permits
- Security check-in requirements and credentials
- Push distance from loading to stage, and any stairs
- Vendor paperwork such as certificates of insurance
4. Stage and power
- Stage dimensions and any risers needed
- Power at each instrument position, and the location of the main distribution
- Whether any gear needs non-US voltage
- Location of FOH and monitor positions, and the distance to the stage
5. Audio
- What the house provides: PA, consoles, mics, stands, cables
- What the act brings, and what must be rented
- Input list and stage plot — current versions
- Console platform and firmware if a show file will be loaded (more)
- Stage box placement and cable runs to FOH and monitors (AES50 guide)
- Recording, broadcast or livestream feeds
6. Backline
- Every instrument by make and model, with acceptable alternates
- Accessories: stands, pedals, benches, cables, DI boxes
- Spares for anything critical
- Whether instruments are needed early to load sounds or set up
- Who is responsible for each item at load-out
7. Wireless and in-ears
- Total RF device count: handhelds, bodypacks, IEMs, intercom, and every act on the bill
- Who is coordinating frequencies (guide)
- Antenna positions and cable runs
- Batteries and spares (battery management)
8. Monitors
- Number of wedge mixes and IEM mixes
- Stereo or mono IEMs, and number of packs per mix
- Talkback and cue needs for the musical director
- Drum fill or side-fills
9. Show-day essentials
- Set list and any special cues
- Walk-in and walk-out music
- Hospitality that affects crew timing, like meal breaks
- Merch area location, if it affects load-in paths
10. Load-out
- When load-out can start, and the order of operations
- Vendor pickup times
- Who signs off that rented gear is all returned
- Any overnight storage if pickup is the next day
Advance early, confirm late
Send the advance as soon as the show is confirmed, then re-confirm a few days before show day. Riders change, guest performers get added, and set times move. A short "nothing has changed, right?" email can prevent a long night.
Make it easy for your vendors
Your backline company needs just a few things to deliver a smooth show: the rider, the venue and loading details, the schedule, and an on-site contact. Send those together and they can flag problems early.
Advancing a show in Los Angeles? Send us your rider and schedule. We'll build the backline order, confirm delivery and pickup, and support you through the show.