Unveiling The Demands: A Sneak Peek Into The Band Rider Requirements At Illinois Arenas

When an arena in Illinois wants to book an "A" level band to play in their building, there's a lot more they need to provide the musicians besides cash.

How Does An Arena In Illinois Book Bands To Play In Their Building?

If a venue like the BMO Center in Rockford wants to bring in an artist to put on a concert it takes much more than the fans would ever know. First of all, the building, sound, capacity, lights, etc have to fit the requirements of the band. Of course, they have to pay them their talent fee. Oh yeah, there's one last thing. The arena must fulfill the rider of the musicians.

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What's A Band Rider For Shows?

A band rider is what the musicians require for the show. It can include things like food (breakfast, lunch, and dinner), snacks, beverages, no brown M&M's (thanks Van Halen), exercise equipment, hotel rooms, transportation, and pretty much anything else that they need daily but can't bring on a tour bus. That could end up costing a lot of money for the arena. Recently, I found a rider for Foreigner when he did a show in Illinois at the State Farm Center in Champaign. It's unique.

According to news-gazette.com,

10 Strange Items Foreigner Requested To Play Concert In Illinois

1. 6 individual dressing rooms with locks.

2. Dedicated space for yoga and meditation.

3. The dressing rooms are required to look like living rooms, not locker rooms.

4. 4 different newspapers.

5. A seamstress or tailor on standby.

6. A crockpot of fresh homemade soup.

7. No soft chocolate chip cookies.

8. 12-pack of Heineken Zero (non-alcoholic) beer with a bottle opener.

9. No lime yogurt.

10. 23 security guards (at least 2 women).