What Actually Happens on a Band Tour (The Honest Version)

Greetings, Buskers! 👋

People see the stage. The lights, the crowd, the set. What they don't see is the two hours before the gig where someone can't find the drum key, the sat nav is arguing with itself, and we're all surviving on a single bag of Haribo and misplaced optimism.

Here's what life on the One For All tour actually looks like.

🚐 The Van

The van is our office, our dressing room, our dining room, and occasionally our bedroom. It smells like guitar cases and instant coffee. Someone always has their feet up where they shouldn't. The aux cord argument is a daily ritual. We wouldn't change any of it.

⏰ The Soundcheck

Soundcheck is where you find out whether the gig is going to be plain sailing or a complete adventure. Sometimes everything clicks in twenty minutes and you feel like a proper rock band. Other times you spend forty-five minutes chasing a mysterious hum that turns out to be someone's phone charger. Both outcomes are, in their own way, character building.

🎤 The Green Room

We use the term loosely. It might be an actual green room. It might be a stock cupboard with a mirror balanced on a crate. It might be the car park. On a good night there's a rider. On a great night the rider has actual food on it rather than just a warm six-pack and a packet of Rich Tea biscuits.

🙌 The 60 Seconds Before We Walk On

This bit never gets old. Doesn't matter if it's a packed festival field or a Tuesday night in a pub with forty people in — there's something about that sixty seconds in the wings before the first chord lands that still makes every single one of us buzz. That's why we do it.

☀️ What's Coming Up

The One For All tour is still rolling — and festival season is just around the corner. If you haven't grabbed your tickets yet, head to the Tour page and come find us. We promise the soundcheck stories are worth it.

See you down the front. 🎸

Much love,

Ken, Luke, Olly and Matt 🎸

P.S. Drop us a comment — what's the best (or worst) venue you've ever seen us play? We have some opinions of our own…

11 Years, One Van, and No Signs of Stopping

Greetings, Buskers! 👋

Eleven years. We've been saying it to each other all week and it still doesn't feel real.

Eleven years since four lads set up on the streets of Plymouth with a cajon, a couple of guitars, and absolutely no plan whatsoever. No manager, no record deal, no idea what we were doing — just a shared love of music and the sneaking suspicion that people might actually stop and listen.

Spoiler: some of them did.

🚐 One Van. Many Miles.

If the Busketeers van could talk, it would probably ask for a long rest and an apology. Over eleven years it's carried us to festivals from Cornwall to who-knows-where, survived more late-night motorway service station stops than any vehicle should, and witnessed some truly questionable singing on the A38.

From busking pitches to Plymouth Pavilions. From the streets to Boardmasters. From open mic nights to sharing a stage with The Wailers. It's been quite a ride.

🎸 What 11 Years Actually Looks Like

It looks like Kendall, Luke, Olly and Matt still genuinely loving every minute of it. It looks like a debut album, a sold-out Halloween cover album launch, a live session with John Cornfield — the producer behind Muse and Oasis — at Sawmill Studios in Fowey. It looks like thousands of you singing along at Rock Oyster, Leopallooza, Tunes In The Dunes, and a hundred pubs and venues in between.

Most of all, it looks like you lot. The fans who've been there from the early busking days. The ones who found us at a festival and never left. The ones who bring their mates, buy the merch, and shout the words back at us louder than we sing them ourselves.

This band exists because of you. Always has.

🔥 And We're Just Getting Started

2026 is the One For All tour. New original music. Fresh merch. Bigger stages. The next chapter is well underway and honestly? We think it might be the best one yet.

So here's to 11 years. Here's to the van. Here's to every single one of you who's been part of this ridiculous, wonderful journey.

See you on the road. 🎸

Much love,

Ken, Luke, Olly and Matt 🎸

P.S. — If you've got a memory of seeing us early on — a busk, a tiny pub gig, a festival set — drop it in the comments. We'd genuinely love to read them.

The Tour, The Cancellations, and Why Saturday Matters 🎸

Greetings, Buskers! 👋

The One For All tour is well underway, and honestly? It's been a rollercoaster. A brilliant, chaotic, occasionally heartbreaking rollercoaster. Let's talk about it.

🐘 The Elephant in the Room

We're not going to sugarcoat it — a few of the venues we had lined up have sadly had to cancel. Some have closed their doors for good, others are hanging on by a thread. It's gutting, not just for us, but for every local musician, open mic night, and Friday evening that relied on those spaces.

Live music venues are the lifeblood of any music scene. Lose them, and you don't just lose a room — you lose a community. So if your local is putting on live music this weekend, please go. Buy a pint. Stick around. You might just catch the next band that ends up playing Boardmasters.

🌹 This Saturday — The Bread and Roses Needs You

Which brings us to something really close to our hearts. This Saturday we're playing at The Bread and Roses in Plymouth — and this one means a bit more than your average gig.

The Bread and Roses is currently raising money to stay open. Let that sink in for a second. One of Plymouth's most beloved live music venues is fighting to keep its doors open, and we think that's worth showing up for.

It's exactly the kind of venue that gives local bands a stage, local people a place to gather, and a city somewhere to properly let its hair down. We love that pub, and we'd love for you to come down, buy a pint, and help us show them a bit of love on Saturday. Come for the music. Stay for the community. Bring your mates and spread the word — let's pack the place out. 🙌

☀️ But Wait — Summer Is Coming

Right, now for the good news — and there is PLENTY of it. Festival season is on the horizon and The Busketeers are heading back out into the sunshine in a very big way. We're talking big stages, muddy fields, cold ciders, sunburnt shoulders, and the kind of crowds that make every cancelled show feel worth pushing through.

We'll be announcing full festival dates and summer gigs very soon — sign up to the mailing list at thebusketeers.com so you're first to know. Trust us, you really don't want to find out we played your local festival the day after it happened. We've seen the messages. It's not pretty.

📱 Stay Close

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok — @TheBusketeers — for updates, behind-the-scenes nonsense, and the occasional accidental live video where someone drops their guitar. (It happens more than we'd like to admit.)

See you Saturday. Bring your mates, bring your dancing shoes, and bring some love for a brilliant local venue.

Much love,

Ken, Luke, Olly and Matt 🎸