Your First Support Slot: A Checklist So You Don't Blow It

A support slot is when your band opens the show for a bigger act, the headliner. Your job is to play well, stick to your time, and make the night easier for everyone, not harder.

Most support bands who get asked back aren't the loudest or the flashiest. They're the ones who turned up on time, set up fast, finished when they said they would, and were good to work with. Here is how to be that band.

Sort out the details early

Start to advance the show a week or two before the date. That means getting in touch with the promoter or the headliner's tour manager to confirm the plan. You want to know:

• load in time, and where to load in
• soundcheck or line check time, if any
• doors, set times and curfew
• your set length
• whether there is shared backline, and what you need to bring
• parking, and where to leave your gear before your set
• how many guest list spots you have
• who your contact is on the night

Send your tech rider and stage plot at the same time. Keep them short and simple. As a support band, you are not going to get special requests met, so ask only for what you really need.

Put everything you learn into a day sheet, so the whole band has the same times in one place.

Example day sheet · Sat · The Night Shift

1. 4pmLoad in
2. 5pmSoundcheck
3. 7:30pmDoors
4. 9:45pmOur set · 50 min
5. 11:30pmCurfew
6. 12:15amLoad out

Arrive on time for load in

Load in is when you carry your gear into the venue. Your load in time is set around the headliner's soundcheck, so being late can throw the whole day out.

• Be there at your time, not hours before. Turning up very early can get you in the way of the headliner's crew.
• Never be late. If something goes wrong on the road, call your contact straight away.
• Find your contact first. Say hello, and ask where your gear should go.
• Keep your gear tidy and together. Stack it where you are told, out of walkways.

Line check vs soundcheck

A soundcheck is a proper run-through before doors. Each instrument is checked, the monitor mixes are set, and the band plays a song or two.

A line check is quicker. The sound engineer just makes sure every input is working and making sound. It often happens right before your set, with the room already open.

Headliners usually get a full soundcheck. Supports often get a line check only, sometimes with a short soundcheck if time allows. This is normal and not a sign of disrespect. It is just how the day fits together.

To make a line check go smoothly:

• Have a clear input list so the engineer knows what goes into each channel.
• Play one instrument at a time when asked, and stop when asked.
• Don't noodle between checks. It makes the engineer's job much harder.
• Tell the engineer at front of house one or two things you need in your monitors, and keep it simple.

Fast changeovers

The changeover is the gap between bands, when one act packs down and the next sets up. Every minute counts, because the whole night runs to a schedule.

Setting up quickly

• Be ready before your changeover starts. Guitars tuned, pedals on a board, cables coiled and ready.
• Know your spot. Your stage plot should tell you and the crew where everything goes.
• Use shared gear when it's offered. A shared kit or bass cab saves a lot of time.
• Set up in the same order every time. Practise it at rehearsal so it becomes routine.
• Label your gear. Tape with your band name on cases and leads stops mix-ups.

Packing down quickly

• Clear the stage straight after your last song. Thank the crowd, then get moving.
• Take everything off, then pack. Move your gear to the side of stage first, then pack it into cases away from the stage.
• Check for the small things. Tuners, setlists, drink bottles and cables are easy to leave behind.
• Put shared gear back how you found it. Amp settings, drum positions, the lot.

The stage plot builder is a quick way to make a clear plot the crew can follow at a glance. RoadCase exports it as a one-page PDF you can print and tape to a case.

Share backline with care

If you have been told you can use the headliner's gear, treat it as if it's borrowed from a friend. Ask before you touch anything. Take a photo of amp settings and put them back. Bring your own breakables, like snare, cymbals and kick pedal, unless you have been told otherwise.

If you have not been told you can use it, don't. Ask your contact.

Respect set times and curfew

Your set time is the time you start. Your set length is how long you play. Both are fixed.

• Start on time. If the stage manager says go, go.
• Finish on time. Plan a set that fits with a little room to spare.
• Know what to cut. Decide before the show which song you will drop if you are running late.
• Watch for signals. A stage manager or engineer may give you a sign that you have a few minutes left.

Curfew is the time the music must stop, often set by the venue's licence. Going over your time eats into the headliner's set and can put the venue in a hard spot. It is one of the fastest ways to not get booked again.

Be good to the crew

The sound engineer, lighting person, stage manager and door staff work long days. Being easy to work with goes a long way.

• Learn their names and say thanks.
• Ask, don't demand.
• Keep your gear and your people out of their way.
• Don't touch the mixing desk or the lighting desk.
• Listen when they tell you something, even if you disagree.

They talk to promoters. A good word from the crew can help you get the next show.

Sell your merch

Your merch table is how new fans take something home and find you again.

• Ask where you can set up, and whether the venue takes a cut. Practice varies, so check with the promoter.
• Have someone look after it, especially while you are on stage.
• Keep it simple. A few items, clear prices, and a way to pay by card.
• Mention it once from the stage. Tell people where it is and what you have. Once is enough.

Thank the headliner

Say thanks to the headliner and their crew, in person if you can. Mention them from the stage before your last song. After the show, send a short message to the promoter and the headliner's team to say thanks.

If the headliner asked you personally, that thank-you matters even more. This is how support slots turn into more support slots.

Your first support slot checklist

The week before

• Advance the show with the promoter or tour manager.
• Send your tech rider, stage plot and input list.
• Confirm backline, guest list spots and your contact.
• Make a day sheet and share it with the band.
• Practise your setup and pack down at rehearsal.

On the day

• Arrive on time for load in and find your contact.
• Keep your gear tidy, labelled and out of the way.
• Be ready for your line check, and keep it quick.
• Start on time and finish on time.
• Clear the stage fast after your set.

After your set

• Put shared gear back how you found it.
• Check the stage for anything left behind.
• Look after your merch table.
• Thank the crew, the headliner and the promoter.

Get these right and you will have done your job well. The music is the part you already know how to do. This is everything around it.