Jess Hill – TOUR TIPS

Blues artist, Jess Hill, was kind enough to write a set of helpful Tour Tips for you guys to learn from. You can check them out after the break.

1. Long hours sitting in a car on your bottom can make you groggy as all hell! So you gotta get the blood pumping whenever possible. For me this has meant many a gas station or rest stop yoga session, and packing my collapsible hula hoop for pre-show, parking lot body rejuvenation and curbside dance parties.
2. On the road it can be so easy to end up accepting whats available at a gas station as nourishment but it doesn’t have to be that way. When I went on tour with Buffaloswans and Emily Campbell we made sure to do groceries for the road. We made many a delicious sandwich in the back seat and made sure to always have fresh fruits and vegetables on hand. This definitely helped make sure the illness blues didn’t break down our caravan. Do groceries, let the gas stations be your source for gut rot coffee’s and sugar highs alone!
3. Solitude. Find time to be alone. Somewhere, somehow, someway. Even if it’s just for 10 minutes.
4. Sleep and slippery elm. Especially if you sing! Knowing I’m about to embark on a 30 date tour has me stocking up on slippery elm lozenges and memorizing this throat remedy from a dear friends vocal instructor in Edmonton.

Throat Remedy:
1tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 a Lemon juiced
Pinch Cayenne Pepper
1tsp Honey
1 cup Hot Water

Sip this, slowly, 4 times a day.

5. No mater how well organized a tour is, inevitably something unforeseen will happen and threaten to derail your joy and enthusiasm for your grand adventure by stressing you out. Learn to laugh it off. Find ways to keep things light. Take turns reading romances novels aloud to one another as you drive through the prairies or while you wait for that toe truck. Each and every incident, exciting or frustrating will simply make the stories you have to tell more interesting. After all, humour is simply tragedy remembered.

Make sure to check out Jess Hill on