This kind of goes for just about any band as most bands I see live will sweat quite a bit while on stage regardless of what they’re wearing. How do bands that travel from city to city without much stopping get their clothes cleaned for each show, especially if they have multiple costumes/clothes they wear on stage?
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These tours cost millions of dollars… they can probably splurge a couple hundred to get more than one of a costume
i think about this a lot, i’ve heard performing artists often complain that their performing outfits reek and smell bad so i’m going to get they get cleaned irregularly unless you’re on a huge, expensive tour like Taylor Swift who probably travels with cleaning staff and equipment 😳
truck stops often have laundry and shower facilities. some venues have showers, and i wouldn’t rule out some of the crew making runs to local laundromats either.
The show will have multiple copies of every outfit. Plus big shows have an extensive staff, roadies and wardrobe being the big ones. Wardrobe is going to be responsible for cleaning and setting up clothing. Plus part of their responsibilities will be finding laundry services when the tour is being scheduled. So the show finishes up for the night, the performers strip off, change into their comfy clothes and the laundry is picked up by wardrobe and then cleaned and shipped so it catches up with the tour before it is needed again. Or on a smaller tour, Wardrobe takes the clothing and has it laundered that night and delivered to the hotel before the band is up and ready to go the next morning. So there is a laundry service that has been contracted to stay open late, do all of that laundry and get it delivered before a certain time (so the laundry gets on the tour bus).
Its like one of the last Rolling Stones Tours. They had at least three stages for the tour. The one being built, the one being used and the one being broken down so it could be shipped and then set up again. These big shows have a huge staff that comes in advance to set up and stays afterwards to break down.
If it’s a decent sized tour, they have multiples of the outfits, and a staffer is working behind the scenes, back at the hotel, taking care of things like laundry/dry cleaning and maybe unpacking, setting up their rooms for them, putting whatever food or beverages they want in their rooms, arranging for meals, etc. That way the show crew and artists can go straight to a venue and prepare and perform without wasting time on these details.
I used to work as a runner for Live Nation. One of the first jobs on day of the concert is to bring all the costumes and clothes to a fluff and fold. The venues usually have one the use that know we’re coming in with a van full trash bags full of clothes.
Shows get to the next city early and start setting up for the evening then (usually around 8am). The wardrobe crew uses local labor to start doing laundry then to get it ready for the evenings show. And often will have doubles of clothes as well
Setting up for shows takes hours. They’re pretty much in town all day. I’m sure one of the things they do as preparation for a show is send someone to get costumes and clothes cleaned.
From watching digital tourbus “businvaders” on youtube it seems like for most metal bands even some of the big ones its air em out and go again until you have a chance to get them cleaned/washed.
If you have a New show every day in a New city it is a big risk trying to get it cleaned in time
Buses/coaches can have washing machines and dryers installed in the luggage compartments.
Used to work for a sports team we would go on preseason tours, bought a washing machine and just plugged it into the three pin plug and connected it to the onboard water and would immediately stick them in the wash after games while travelling.
If our pokey sports team can do this, I imagine professionals can.
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