Advancing a Show: The Production Advance Checklist

To advance a show means confirming every operational detail with the artist's team before they arrive. The promoter or venue production manager typically advances with the artist's tour manager and production manager over calls and emails beginning a few weeks out. The goal is simple: on show day, nobody should learn anything new. This article is a working checklist you can adapt into your own advance sheet.

When and how to advance

Start the advance two to four weeks before the show, earlier for complex productions or festivals. Use a standard advance sheet: a single document or spreadsheet with every question, the agreed answer, and who confirmed it. Send the venue's tech pack and house information first so the artist's team can answer with full context.

For multi-act bills, run a separate advance thread per act and keep a master sheet that rolls them up, so shared resources such as dressing rooms, backline, and soundcheck slots are allocated once.

Keep the advance in writing. If something is agreed on a call, follow up by email summarizing the decision. That written trail matters when the settlement is disputed or a rider item is missing.

Contacts and documents

• Tour manager, production manager, FOH engineer, monitor engineer, lighting director, and merch seller: names, mobile numbers, and emails.
• Promoter rep, venue production manager, head of security, and box office manager.
• Signed performance agreement, technical rider, hospitality rider, stage plot, input list, and lighting plot.
• Day sheet or itinerary format the tour uses.

Schedule

Confirm, in writing, the times for:

• Venue access and load-in.
• Stagehand call.
• Production setup and line check.
• Soundcheck for each act, in order (headliner usually checks first, support last).
• Doors.
• Set times and changeovers for every act.
• Curfew: the hard time music must stop, and the financial penalty if exceeded.
• Load-out and venue clear.

Use these to build the full run of show; see The Day-of-Show Schedule.

Technical advance

Audio

• Is the artist carrying FOH and/or monitor consoles, or using house desks?
• Input list and patch confirmed; channel count fits the stage box.
• Monitor mixes, wedges, and IEMs; number of RF channels.
• RF frequency list submitted for coordination.
• Any playback or click track rigs.

Lighting and video

• Is the artist carrying a lighting console, a floor package, or a full rig?
• Haze or atmospheric requirements and approval status.
• Video content, LED wall needs, and IMAG.

Staging, rigging, and power

• Stage plot fits the deck; riser sizes and positions.
• Hang plot and weights sent to the venue rigger.
• Power requirements by department, with connectors specified.
• Special effects: pyro, CO2, confetti, and lasers, along with permits and licensed operators.

Backline

• What the artist carries and what must be rented locally.
• Shared backline between acts, which needs approval from all parties.

Cross-check every answer against your production spec; see Writing the Production Spec.

Logistics

• Vehicles: number and size of trucks, buses, and vans. Confirm dock access, shore power for buses, and overnight parking.
• Load-in path: dock height, push distance, elevators, and stairs. Share photos.
• Travel and lodging: if the promoter is responsible, confirm rooms, check-in times, and ground transport.
• Runners: whether a runner and vehicle are needed, and for what hours.
• Laundry, showers, and Wi-Fi: details for the touring crew.

Hospitality

• Dressing room count and allocation per act.
• Catering: meal times, headcount for each meal, dietary restrictions, and allergies.
• Buyouts: if a cash buyout replaces a meal, the agreed amount per person.
• Rider items: confirm substitutions in advance, never on the day.

Security and access

• Artist security requests: escorts, dressing room post, barricade instructions, and crowd surfing policy.
• Credential types and quantities for the touring party.
• Artist arrival and departure plan, particularly for high-profile acts.
• Show-stop procedure agreed between head of security and tour manager; see Crowd Management.

Guest list, merch, and media

• Guest list allocation per act, submission deadline, and pickup location.
• Comp ticket counts against the deal.
• Merch: location, table size, who sells (artist seller or venue staff), and the venue's merch split on soft goods and hard goods.
• Photo and video policy: photo pit access, "first three songs" rules, and approved media.
• Meet-and-greets: time, location, and staffing.

Settlement items

Confirm before show day how the settlement will run:

• Who settles for the artist, and when (usually during the headliner's set).
• The deal: guarantee, versus percentage, or door split, plus any bonuses.
• The list of expenses to be deducted, with caps agreed in the contract.
• Payment method: check, wire, or cash, and tax withholding forms if applicable. For nonresident artists performing in the US, see the IRS guidance on Central Withholding Agreements.

Rule: if an item on the advance sheet has no confirmed answer forty-eight hours before load-in, escalate it.

Common advance failures

Most show-day problems trace back to a handful of advance gaps. Watch for these:

• Assumed house gear: the artist's rider lists a specific console or wedge model, the venue has a different one, and nobody confirmed the substitution. The engineer finds out at line check.
• Unchecked load-in path: a set piece or road case does not fit through a door, freight elevator, or tight corner. Ask for the largest case dimensions and compare them with the venue's measured path.
• Power connector mismatch: the touring distro expects a specific connector type and the venue has another. Confirm connector types, not just amperage.
• Support acts left out: the advance covers the headliner thoroughly, but the opener arrives with an unexpected backline or a guest list nobody approved. Advance every act, even if briefly.
• Unapproved effects: haze or confetti appears at soundcheck without fire marshal sign-off, triggering detectors or an inspection.
• Vague settlement terms: the expense list or caps were never confirmed, which turns the settlement into a negotiation at midnight.

Advancing support acts

Support acts usually have smaller needs, but they still need a confirmed set time, changeover plan, input list, backline arrangement, guest list allocation, merch arrangement, and parking. A short, standardized support advance email with these questions saves time and avoids conflicts with the headliner's crew. Confirm explicitly whether the headliner has approved any shared backline.

Distribute the final advance

Before distributing, do a final reconciliation: compare the advance sheet line by line against the performance agreement and riders, and note every agreed change in one place so department heads are not reading three different documents. Once complete, compile the final advance into a day sheet for the show and circulate it to venue departments, security, catering, box office, and vendors. Print copies for the production office and dressing rooms.

Putting it into practice

Copy this checklist into your advance sheet template, assign an owner to each section, and start the advance at least two weeks out. Venue tech packs on Avenue Mine venues can speed up the advance, and our vendors include production, backline, and catering providers.