What is a "Rider"?
A rider is a document that a band, musician or other performer will send over to the booker relating to their requirements for performance.
Most performers will have certain essential items that they need the booker to provide in order to do their job to the best possible standard. A rider states these requirements. A rider will usually cover areas such as stage size, technical requirements, food, drink etc.
While riders should be a list of reasonable and essential items, some performers ask for things that are excessive, wasteful or overly demanding. It is difficult to know if demands are excessive. If you are booking a semi-professional solo performer and they want a three-course meal for four, six cases of beer, four bottles of scotch and several hotel rooms they are being unreasonable!
Larger and international touring artists will have significantly larger riders. As a rule, it is best to assume that if your chosen artist is a big-name, then their rider requirements are probably there for a good reason.
On events that we are providing to, we will always speak to the artist's manager to establish what their exact requirements are. When done in the right manner, most performers are flexible and willing to work within any limitations your event has.
Read more articles in our Explanatory Articles, and below
Gobos Explained >>
Written by Johnny Palmer in 2007 to explain to clients what a gobo is and how it works.
LED, Incandescent, or Discharge? >>
An article relating to three main types of light sources. The pros and cons of each.
What is a Rider? >>
Written by Johnny Palmer in 2008 to explain to student ball committees what these are, and how to work with them. A variation of this is published on Wikipedia.
Choosing the Correct Outdoor Stage >>
Advice on how to choose the right outdoor stage and structure for your event.
Details about water screens >>
Further reading on the finer details of our water screens.
Event Budgets >>
Written by Johnny Palmer in 2009 as guidance notes to clients in the middle of the recession; a time when events were happening but on challenging budgets.
Asian Wedding Advice >>
Advice for clients having weddings with guest number over 500, which are often Asian weddings for Hindu, Muslim and Sikh families. Cathy is one of the UKs leading wedding designers and employed by SXS to deal with high-end and large scale weddings.
