Tour Manager Talk: Misty Roberts On Navigating The ‘Weirdest Year We’ve Experienced In A Long Time’ (Transportation Special 2026)

When Misty Roberts shared the story of how she got into the live industry during the Tour Managers Roundtable at Pollstar Live! in April, we knew we had to chat more. Roberts says she “got drunk and stole a CD off a merch table from a local band in Kansas City” and then ended up becoming friends with the guys. Roberts, who had been working a “cubicle corporate job after college,” accepted an offer to join the band, Thulium, on tour and did everything from settling payments to loading gear in and out at shows. She’s gone on to work with Metallica and “The Trilogy Tour” (featuring Enrique Iglesias, Ricky Martin and Pitbull) and most recently HAIM and Clairo. Her next tour is a run of European arena dates with Pussycat Dolls in the fall. Pollstar caught up with Roberts hours after the pop group announced they were calling off the North American portion of the trek.

Pollstar: I’m sorry to hear about Pussycat Dolls, which is just one of a number of recent cancellations.
Misty Roberts: Post Malone and Jelly Roll, Meghan Trainor, Zayn – and that’s all just in the last five days. … They’re calling it blue dot fever, which is when you pull up the [ticket] sales maps and you see all the blue dots of availability. I think it’s a problem we’re facing industrywide right now. Everything in general feels very tenuous for everyday people in America. And the idea of spending $150 on a ticket for a concert that’s three months away just maybe financially doesn’t seem like a smart move to a lot of people.
Inflation is definitely hitting, and it’s kind of scary because, generally, the one thing that people even in times of recession do spend money on is entertainment. … You generally buy tickets for big concerts a few months in advance and people don’t know what their financial situation is going to look like a few months from now.

You’ve been working for quite some time ahead of the June 1 tour launch – now what?
A lot of vendors require deposits, and we will lose those deposits. It affects the industry as a whole when a big tour like this cancels. I mean, it works to the benefit of some people that are a little further behind on things because, all of a sudden, there is gear that’s opened up. This was to be a tour that was 10 semi-trucks … five tour buses. I’ve spent the last 24 hours trying to get the word out that those trucks and buses are available and to try to get people in them. … My biggest concern is the bus drivers, the truck drivers, those people that were expecting work that don’t have that work anymore. I’m doing everything I can … trying to get them positions on other tours.

Post-COVID, would you say there’s still high demand for trucks and buses?
The last few years, we’ve really seen people try to be a lot more thrifty with their touring. … It seems like people are going out for a lesser amount of time … Everyone is looking at the fact that the cost of goods has increased, the cost of hotels, the cost of transportation. We’ve started to slowly see less artists willing to take the hit and go out on tour. … I have been speaking with some bus drivers and they’re like, “This is the weirdest year we’ve experienced in a really long time.” A lot of them have been sitting at home for a while. … It really just feels like a very slow year and a year that people are also getting started a lot later in the year than usual.

Why do you think that’s the case?
I feel like there’s a lot of teams of artists that are sitting back and going, “Let’s just wait a little bit longer and see how things shake out.” Is there going to be a dramatic reversal in inflation rates? Is there going to be a reversal in what feels like going into a recession? … And now I think people are facing the fact that we have to work with what we have instead of navigating around it.

On another note, you’re passionate about advocating for mental health on the road.
As a tour manager, it’s a big point of pride to me, and it’s probably because of my own mental health issues in the past, that I really try to get to know the people in my crew and that way I can tell if they’re struggling with something. I don’t just want to be the person that turns in your payroll and makes sure you have a roof over your head. I want to make sure that people in my tours know that if you’re not okay, that’s okay. We can figure out a way to help you be okay.