ABSTRACT
This chapter closely examines the working relationship between tour managers and musicians and draws attention to the issue of care and how it functions on tour. It provides an exploration of how the tour manager’s role is defined, which is largely in relation to the needs and requirements of specific artists. It offers insights into the tour manager’s significance and the activities involved in their daily working lives. A key component of their job involves looking after musicians and the chapter considers what it means to do so. It analyses the ways that this working relationship shapes and potentially affects musicians as well as the decisions tour managers’ make, the nature of their work tasks and their own self-definition. The chapter also looks at the term “babysitter” that is commonly used to describe their work and the ways in which tour managers perceive and respond to its use.
