Photo: Getty Images
Gretchen Wilson shared a behind-the-scenes glimpse of what it means to be a tour manager.
Wilson serves as the tour manager on Th Road, an upcoming competition show executive produced by country superstar Blake Shelton and Yellowstone’s Taylor Sheridan. Contestants compete by opening for Keith Urban on tour, and advance in the competition by winning over live audiences during each show. Country stars Dustin Lynch, Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild, Jordan Davis and Brothers Osborne will make special guest appearances throughout the season.
“On tour, a tour manager pretty much is responsible for everything,” Wilson said, noting travel needs, hotel rooms, the show and more. “Pretty much everything falls onto the tour manger’s lap. In this particular situation, luckily, all of the responsibility of the hotels, and the buses, and that sort of thing did not fall on me. So, I’m sorry to all of the other tour managers out there going, ‘she’s not really doing the tour manager job.’ I’m telling you, tour mangers, you wouldn’t want the job I have out here. …A part of the tour manager responsibility for me is really to spend time with the musicians, go over their songs with them, to give them advice if I have any, any little insider notes that I have. I’ve been doing this for a minute now. And so, I’m just sharing some of my experience with them. And honestly, I’m learning from them, too.”
Wilson previously revealed that the winner of the competition will receive a recording contract and “a quarter of a million dollars.” These are the contestants performing on The Road:
- Adam Sanders, 36, from Lake City, Florida
- Billie Jo Jones, 34, from Emory, Texas
- Blaine Bailey, 23, from Tahlequah, Oklahoma
- Briana Adams, 30, from Winchester, Texas
- Britnee Kellogg, 40, from Anthem, Arizona
- Cassidy Daniels, 25, from Marion, North Carolina
- Channing Wilson, 49, from Lafayette, Georgia
- Cody Hibbard, 32, from Adair, Oklahoma
- Forrest McCurren, 35, from Jefferson City, Missouri
- Jenny Tolman, 29, from Nashville, Tennessee
- Jon Wood, 28, from Wake Forest, North Carolina
- Olivia Harms, 29, from Canby, Oregon
The Road will premiere on October 19. The show will air on Sundays from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET/PT on CBS, and will be available to stream live and on-demand on Paramount+.