Touring is where Australian music careers are made. Streaming builds awareness, but live shows build fans. If you’ve never done a tour before, the logistics can feel overwhelming. But it’s more manageable than you think if you approach it systematically.

I’ve pulled together advice from booking agents, venue operators, and artists who’ve toured extensively across Australia. Here’s the practical guide.

Start With Routing

Australia is enormous, and the distances between cities will eat your budget if you don’t plan carefully.

The standard east coast routing for a first tour looks something like: Melbourne > Geelong or Ballarat > Sydney > Wollongong or Newcastle > Brisbane. That gives you five shows in the three major markets plus two regional dates, and the drives between each stop are manageable (3-9 hours).

If you’re based in Melbourne and heading north, add Canberra between Melbourne and Sydney. If you’re heading south from Brisbane, consider Gold Coast as an additional date.

West coast touring is expensive because of the distances involved. Perth is 3,700km from Melbourne. Unless you have guaranteed shows or financial support, save Perth and Adelaide for your second or third tour.

Booking the Shows

Without a booking agent, you’ll be contacting venues directly. Here’s how to make that work.

Research venues appropriate to your level. Don’t email the Metro Theatre for your first tour. Find the 50-150 capacity rooms in each city where emerging artists play. In Melbourne, that’s places like The Old Bar, Bar Open, or The Tote. In Sydney, think Waywards at the Bank Hotel or The Lansdowne (check current status). In Brisbane, The Bearded Lady or Ric’s Bar.

Send a professional email. Include: your name, genre, a link to your music (Spotify or Bandcamp — make it easy), your social media numbers, any notable press or radio, and the specific dates you’re looking for. Keep it under 200 words.

Follow up once. If you don’t hear back within a week, send one polite follow-up. If there’s still no response, move on. Venue bookers are busy, and persistence is good but pestering is bad.

Consider supports. Offering to support a local act in each city is often easier than headlining. It also introduces you to that city’s audience. Reach out to local artists in your genre and propose a co-bill or support slot.

Lead time. Book at least 6-8 weeks in advance for smaller venues, 10-12 weeks for anything larger.

Budgeting

A first tour will almost certainly lose money. Accept this upfront and budget accordingly. Here’s what a five-date east coast tour might cost for a three-piece band:

Transport: If you’re driving your own car, fuel costs around $400-600 for a Melbourne-Brisbane-Melbourne loop. Van hire adds $800-1,200 for a week.

Accommodation: Budget options (hostels, crashing with friends) run $50-100 per person per night. Hotels are $150-250. Sleeping in the van is free but gets old fast.

Food: $30-50 per person per day if you’re eating cheaply. Bring a cooler and stock up at supermarkets.

Gear: If you’re hiring a backline (amps, drums) at venues, that’s $50-200 per show. Bringing your own is free but increases vehicle requirements.

Promotion: Posters, social media ads, and gig listing fees might add $100-300 total.

The realistic total: For a three-piece doing five shows over 7-8 days, expect to spend $2,000-4,000 total. If each show pays $200-500 (realistic for a new touring act), you might bring in $1,000-2,500. The gap between costs and revenue is the investment in your career.

Promotion

No one is coming to your show if they don’t know about it. Self-promotion for touring artists:

Social media posts announcing each show, tagged with the venue and the city. Do this at least three weeks out, then again one week out, then on the day.

Local media and community radio. Send a press release to community radio stations in each city. Offer to do a live-to-air or interview. Community radio programmers are generally receptive to emerging artists.

Venue cross-promotion. Ask the venue to share your show on their socials. Most will, but some won’t unless you ask.

Local artist networks. If you’re playing with local support acts, ask them to promote the show to their audience. This is the single most effective promotion for small shows.

On the Road

Practical advice for surviving your first tour:

Bring merch. T-shirts, CDs, vinyl if you have it. Merch revenue at shows often exceeds what you make from the door deal, especially at smaller venues. A $30 t-shirt sale is worth more than a hundred Spotify streams.

Soundcheck if possible. Arrive early enough to soundcheck. Your show will be dramatically better for it.

Be professional with venue staff. Load in on time, keep your volume reasonable during soundcheck, pack up promptly after your set, don’t trash the green room. Venues remember good and bad experiences, and you want to be invited back.

Collect emails. Have a sign-up sheet at your merch table. Email addresses are more valuable than social media followers for building a touring audience.

Document everything. Photos and videos from tour for social media content. Behind-the-scenes content performs well and gives your audience a connection to the live experience.

Your first tour won’t be perfect. The crowd in Newcastle might be three people. The venue in Wollongong might pay you in drink tickets. The van might break down outside Goulburn. All of this is normal. The point is to start playing shows in other cities, learning what works, and building the foundation of a touring career.

Every Australian artist you admire started with a terrible first tour. Yours will be terrible too. Do it anyway.