To the Unsung Backline Heroes — We Salute You

Nobody puts “backline vendor” in the show announcement. Nobody writes about the backline in a review. But if the backline is wrong, you hear about it — from the artist, the tour manager, and maybe even the monitor engineer who’s now dealing with a keyboard that doesn’t make any sounds, only to find out they forgot to turn on the phantom power to the DI. Oh, and the headliner goes on in forty minutes.

Backline is one of those production disciplines where the expertise is almost entirely invisible until something goes wrong. A well-stocked backline company needs to have the obvious inventory — every snare drum known to man, an exhaustive selection of guitars, guitar and bass amplifiers like Fender, Marshall, Ampeg, Vox — and obviously a DW kit. But also the less obvious stuff. The Yamaha C7 concert grand. A harp with a pickup? A Hammond B3 with a working Leslie cabinet for the artist whose rider specifically says “1955 version preferred.” The quintessential vintage Ludwig kit and specific cymbals that their grandfather made in 1967.

All to maybe get a “thanks man, that was a good one” at the end of the night. To the unsung backline heroes — we see you.