About
WITH A CAREER SPANNING 25 YEARS IN THE MUSIC INDUSTRY, I WORKED ON MANY BUSY AND COMPLICATED TOURS UNTIL 2006, WHEN, SUFFERING FROM BURNOUT AND CHRONIC FATIGUE, I THOUGHT MY TOURING DAYS WERE OVER.
This led me on an unexpected journey into a completely different field, completing yoga teacher training, qualifying as a Naturopathic Nutritional Therapist and establishing a clinical practice specialising in stress management and burnout.
A chance phone call led to a return to the road, working with a significant artist who very much wanted to take care of herself on what would be her lengthiest tour to date. I quickly discovered that looking after yourself while you toured – and indeed, so you could do more of it – was actually an achievable ambition. It was so obvious, I couldn’t believe it wasn’t the norm.
© Howard ‘Head’ Bullivant
Since then, I’ve not only grown as a tour manager, crossing the globe and managing increasingly bigger tours and artists, I’ve also added to my skillset in other ways, enabling me to take care of a cross-section of clients’ needs, led by their expressed requirements, on and off the road. I’ll let them speak for themselves.
When COVID-19 shut down our beloved industry, I saw a crisis in mental health looming amongst artists and crew who were missing La Vida Loca and their tour families, with little ongoing support on offer. Out of this, The Back Lounge was born in June 2020 and we’ve been meeting weekly ever since. With what is now a vast online worldwide community, it’s proven how much the touring industry needed a place to meet with support and welfare at its heart.
Having first engaged with Music Support on their Mental Health First Aid Training for touring and worked with them to conceive and launch their Addiction Recovery Training I became a Trustee for the charity in 2023 and am proud to serve on their Board. Alongside this I became an Ambassador for Backup Tech in 2024, and have been working with them on providing ongoing financial education to the freelance industry.
I have won a number of awards including TPi Magazine ‘Unsung Hero Award’, Women in Live Music ‘Tour Manager of the Year’ and made both Pollstar Magazine’s ‘Inaugural Impact International List UK/Euro′ and SheSaidSo ‘Alternative Power 100 List’ for my services to the industry around mental health awareness.
More recently I’ve become a qualified Psychotherapist completing a three year Masters at Regents University, London. I continued to keep up-to-date with the constantly evolving therapeutic and nutrition world by regularly attending continuing professional development (CPD) seminars and value having this knowledge which I can use to the benefit of artists and crew.
With my ongoing involvement in organisations focused on the well-being of personnel in the live sector, I am more than ever committed to making ‘healthy touring’ a priority for everyone who is a part of this industry. A supportive touring team encourages more diversity backstage as newcomers join us post pandemic and a more sustainable environment both with regards to welfare and to the planet. Surely this is a goal our industry as a whole should be striving for.
Suzi Green, Tour Manager and Psychotherapist