They don’t. They live like tourists.
This bus was owned by Willie Nelson. Most touring bands lease their buses at a cost of $50,000 to $75,000 a month which includes a professional driver.
The main difference between rock stars and tourists is that rock stars travel during the night and rarely see the sights from the bus window. The musicians and crew travel by bus, stay in hotels on nights that’s feasible and live out of a suitcase – although more often than not it’s a small backpack, duffel bag or gym bag. When they don’t stay in a hotel they sleep in a small bunk area on the bus.
The sleeping quarters on most tour buses contain twelve bunks.
The venue provides the evening meal which is restaurant quality. Like tourists, the other two meals are hotel breakfast buffets or food bought at truck stops, fast food places or microwaveable meals heated up on the bus. They often shower at truck stops.
Basically touring bands spend 20 hours a day bored out of their minds as they travel or sleep and spend about four hours performing, doing sound checks and interviews. The job is the 20 hours of boredom. The perks of the job is the opportunity to perform your music five to seven nights a week.
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