The first city goes flawlessly. Equipment arrives on schedule, load-in proceeds according to plan, the show runs perfectly, and strike finishes before overtime kicks in. Then the tour moves to city two, where everything learned in city one proves nearly useless. This is the reality of multi-city AV tours—every venue presents unique challenges that master planning cannot fully anticipate.

The touring production model originated in entertainment—rock concerts, theatrical productions, arena shows—where economic scale justifies infrastructure investment. Corporate events adopted touring approaches as organizations recognized efficiency in repeating successful productions across multiple locations rather than reinventing each regional event independently.

Venue Variability Nightmares

Ceiling heights vary dramatically between venues nominally categorized similarly. A “ballroom” might mean 18-foot ceilings in one hotel and 35 feet in another. Rigging capacity differs equally—some venues offer robust structural attachment points; others prohibit any ceiling loading.

Power infrastructure presents constant challenges. Tour electrical loads designed for well-equipped convention centers encounter hotels where 200-amp service represents total available capacity. Cam-lok and Powerlock connections standard in entertainment venues may be unavailable in corporate facilities.

Loading dock access determines load-in efficiency. Some venues offer ground-level access accommodating 53-foot trailers. Others require freight elevator transfers from distant loading areas—adding hours to schedules.

Equipment Logistics Complexity

Trucking coordination becomes exponentially complex across multiple cities. Tour schedules must account for drive times, DOT hours-of-service regulations, and weather contingencies. Productions using Upstaging or Rock-It Cargo for touring logistics benefit from professional transportation management.

Equipment failures occur during tours with certainty—the only question is which equipment and when. Tours require redundant inventory for critical items: backup media servers, spare LED modules, additional wireless microphones.

Cross-rental strategies can reduce trucking requirements by sourcing some equipment locally in each city. Relationships with national rental companies like PRG, PSAV, and Freeman enable consistent equipment availability across markets.

Crew Management Challenges

Key personnel typically travel with tours—production managers, technical directors, lead engineers—ensuring continuity across venues. Local crew supplements traveling teams for load-in labor, operators, and support roles.

IATSE and other union jurisdictions vary by city. Productions must understand local labor rules—minimum call requirements, break schedules, overtime calculations—that differ significantly between markets. Labor brokers familiar with regional requirements prevent costly compliance errors.

Crew fatigue accumulates across multi-city schedules. The same people performing similar physical labor across consecutive days reach exhaustion that affects both safety and quality. Realistic scheduling must account for human limitations.

Show File Management

Lighting show files for GrandMA3 or ETC Eos consoles require careful version control. City-specific adjustments—fixture positions, timing changes, venue-specific modifications—must be documented and archived.

Media server configurations face similar challenges. Disguise and Resolume project files may require output mapping changes for different LED wall configurations between cities.

Audio system tuning files from Smaart or Lake Controller capture venue-specific adjustments that must be reset at each location. The tuning process repeats—room acoustics differ; optimization starts fresh.

Budget Realities

Tour budgets must account for expenses invisible in single-event planning: transportation costs between cities, crew travel and lodging, equipment insurance for extended periods, contingency funds for unexpected failures and venue surprises.

The per-city cost typically decreases as tour dates increase—equipment rental amortizes across more events, scenic investment divides among locations, content development spreads. But the marginal cost of adding cities never reaches zero; each stop incurs real expenses.

Multi-city tours reward thorough preparation, flexible thinking, and experienced personnel who have learned lessons that only touring teaches. The challenges are real but surmountable. Organizations achieving consistent quality across multiple venues demonstrate production capabilities that single-event success cannot prove.