Apps on the road for Touring Crew
Top Apps for Touring Crew. Life on the road as part of a touring crew comes with its own set of challenges. Coordinating logistics, managing schedules, and ensuring smooth communication are all part of the job. The right apps can make these tasks significantly easier, helping to keep everything running smoothly. From tour management to navigation and team communication, here are five essential apps that every touring crew should have on their devices to streamline the process and ensure a successful tour.
Whether you’re a tour manager, roadie, or member of the production team, these apps will make your work more efficient, keep everyone on the same page, and allow you to focus on what really matters—delivering an unforgettable experience for the audience. Let’s dive into the five most essential apps every touring crew needs.
1. Master Tour: The Ultimate in Apps for Touring Crew & Management.
Master Tour is a must-have for any touring crew. It’s designed specifically to manage the complexities of life on the road, from scheduling to crew communication. With Master Tour, you can organize your tour itinerary, keep track of venues, accommodations, and transportation, and ensure everyone is on the same page. Its centralized platform allows all members of the crew to access tour details in real time, making it easy to stay on top of changes and updates.
As a tour manager, it’s crucial to keep all the moving parts in sync. Master Tour makes it possible by offering instant updates on schedules, budgets, and logistics. Plus, you can easily share and view important documents such as contracts, floor plans, and rider information. This reduces confusion and the risk of last-minute changes, ensuring that the tour runs smoothly. This is the ultimate in apps for Touring crew.
Key Features:
Tour scheduling and management
Crew contact information and communication tools
Venue and hotel details
Document and media sharing
2. Google Maps: Seamless Navigation
Navigating unfamiliar cities and venues is one of the most challenging aspects of touring. Google Maps is the go-to app for precise directions, real-time traffic updates, and finding the fastest routes to venues, accommodations, and restaurants. It’s invaluable for both large cities and remote areas where directions may not be immediately obvious. Google Maps also allows for offline maps, so you won’t be left stranded without access when you’re in areas with limited connectivity.
Google Maps also offers the ability to save favorite locations—whether it’s the venue you’ll be performing at or a recommended restaurant. With Street View, you can also virtually explore the area to better familiarize yourself with surroundings before you even arrive. This can be especially helpful when navigating venues that might be tucked away in hard-to-find locations.
Key Features:
Turn-by-turn navigation
Real-time traffic and detour alerts
Offline maps for areas with poor connectivity
Venue and restaurant suggestions
3. WhatsApp: Instant Communication
When you’re on the road with a large crew, staying in constant communication is key. WhatsApp provides a fast and reliable way to send messages, share media, and even make calls. Create group chats for specific teams or tasks (like production, logistics, and transportation) and keep the entire crew in the loop. WhatsApp’s simplicity and widespread use make it the ideal app for managing day-to-day communication.
WhatsApp also supports sharing media, so when you need to send photos or videos related to the tour (whether it’s venue shots, equipment setup, or even just behind-the-scenes moments), everything is in one place. With the voice note feature, you can quickly record messages to get your point across without needing to type out lengthy texts. It’s all about keeping things efficient on the move.
Key Features:
Instant messaging and group chats
Voice and video calls
File and media sharing
Free, internet-based communication
4. Skyscanner: Effortless Flight Booking
Traveling between cities can be one of the most time-consuming aspects of a tour. Skyscanner takes the hassle out of booking flights by comparing options across different airlines and booking platforms. Whether you’re booking last-minute flights or organizing travel for the crew, Skyscanner helps you find the best deals. Its user-friendly interface and price alerts allow for flexible travel planning, helping you save both time and money.
Skyscanner’s price alerts let you know when there are significant changes in flight prices, which is perfect for booking flights well in advance or finding last-minute deals. For crews with flexible travel dates, Skyscanner makes it easy to adjust your search to find the best rates. With the added ability to book hotels and car rentals through the app, it’s an all-in-one travel solution.
Key Features:
Flight comparison across airlines and travel sites
Price alerts to monitor fluctuations
Hotel and car rental booking options
Flexible date searches for better deals
5. Spotify: Music Streaming and Playlist Management
For a crew, music is not just a source of entertainment; it’s also a way to set the vibe and maintain morale during long travels and downtime. Spotify is an essential tool for streaming music, creating playlists, and discovering new tracks to add to the show’s setlist. Whether you’re sharing pre-show hype playlists or listening to new music for inspiration, Spotify ensures the entire crew can enjoy music on the go.
Spotify also has a wide selection of podcasts, which can be a great way to unwind or keep up with industry trends during long drives or flights. For the artist, creating a setlist playlist or sharing new tunes with the crew ensures everyone is on the same page when it comes to music selections for the show.
Key Features:
Access to millions of songs and podcasts
Playlist creation and sharing
Offline listening capabilities
Discover new music and artists
6. Google Drive
Staying organised on tour is half the battle, and Google Drive remains one of the most efficient ways for crew members to manage essential documents on the move. From stage plots and technical riders to travel itineraries and accommodation lists, the cloud-based platform ensures everything is stored safely and is instantly accessible from anywhere in the world.
With real-time collaboration through Google Docs, Sheets and Slides, multiple team members can work simultaneously on schedules, budgets or logistical updates. Permissions can be set to ensure only the right people can view or edit files, and updates are synced across devices to prevent miscommunication. For production managers and tour coordinators especially, this level of control is invaluable.
Beyond basic storage, Google Drive integrates smoothly with tools like Gmail and Google Calendar, making it a versatile option for managing everything from call sheets to per diem breakdowns. It’s a digital HQ for tour life, especially when used across a large team.
Download Google Drive (Apple App Store)
7. Headspace
Life on tour can be chaotic, loud and exhausting. That’s where Headspace comes in—a meditation and mindfulness app designed to promote calm and clarity, even when everything else is moving fast. For touring crew who face long days, irregular sleep, and high-pressure environments, having a few minutes of calm can make a huge difference.
Headspace offers guided meditations tailored to stress, focus, anxiety, and sleep—perfect for winding down after a show or finding clarity before a hectic load-in. There are also short “SOS” sessions that help users reset when things get overwhelming. For crew juggling logistics, backline duties, or artist care, those five minutes of reset can be essential.
What makes Headspace stand out is its easy-to-use layout and its wide range of content, whether you’re new to meditation or already practice regularly. It’s not just for mental health—Headspace can help with better sleep, sharper focus, and more sustainable energy across the length of a tour.
Download Headspace (Apple App Store)
Conclusion
A successful tour goes beyond just the performance; it’s about smooth logistics, effective communication, and ensuring everything stays on track. By utilizing these five apps—Master Tour, Google Maps, WhatsApp, Skyscanner, and Spotify—you can streamline your workflow and keep everything running efficiently on the road. These tools will help your crew manage schedules, communicate quickly, navigate new cities, book travel, and even keep the music flowing. With these apps in your touring crew toolkit, you can focus on what really matters: delivering a world-class experience for your fans.
Ready to make your next tour stress-free? Download these essential apps and take your tour management to the next level. For more tips and insights, check out our other articles on stndby.tv.
