One of my pupils came with me to the Strictly tour I am currently working on. He was surprised how quickly the kit was set up and mic’d ready for sound check, so I thought it would be good to show you a few tips.

My whole kit goes into two flight cases. This is important, as all the set, lights, staging and backline (keyboards guitars amps etc) are toured in an articulated lorry. The first flight case takes the bass drum, floor tom, snare and cymbals.
The second case takes the small toms, extra snare, stool top, bass pedal and spares in the bottom, then a tray fits in the top to take all the stands. I only have to open and close the legs of the stands as the case is long enough to leave the stands at the desired height, saving a large amount of set up time.
All the stand heights are marked with a Sharpie, just in case I need to alter the height slightly. Some theatres have a raked stage (a slope towards the audience) so a small amount of adjustment may be needed on some gigs.

My riser on the stage has carpet stuck to the top. I mark where the stands go with chalk or tape, this way I place everything on the stage in the same spot every night. This helps the crew if they are setting up the kit for me, I also number each stand and the riser with a Sharpie.
With 45 venues on the tour it’s important you have a system that means you are not holding up the sound check. Stands