What does an Artist Liaison do?

An artist liaison (sometimes called artist relations) is the person at a festival or venue who looks after performers on show day, acting as their main contact for arrivals, dressing rooms, schedules and requests. They work for the event, not the artist, and make sure each act gets what was agreed in the advance.

What an artist liaison does

An artist liaison's day follows each act from arrival to departure:

  1. Before the event: collect travel details, check each hospitality rider, and arrange accreditation and guest list places.
  2. Arrival: meet the act or their tour manager, hand over passes and show them to their dressing room.
  3. During the day: keep the act to the running order, call them to stage on time and deal with requests, often with help from runners.
  4. Departure: confirm transport, return passes and report any issues to the production or artist team.

At a festival, one liaison may look after several acts at once, so travel times, hotels and pick-ups need to be in one place. Many teams manage artist travel and accommodation in Crescat for this reason.

Artist liaison vs tour manager

A tour manager works for the artist and travels with them from show to show. An artist liaison works for the festival or venue and looks after every act that plays there. On show day, the two are each other's main contact.

Skills an artist liaison needs

  • Calm under pressure, with tight timings and last-minute changes
  • Clear communication with artists, crew and security
  • Attention to detail with riders, guest lists and passes
  • Local knowledge for transport, shops and emergencies
  • Discretion with high-profile artists and their requests

Frequently asked questions

How do you become an artist liaison?

Most artist liaisons start as runners, hospitality staff or festival volunteers, then move into liaison once they know how show days run. Experience in hospitality, events or tour support helps, and many festivals recruit liaisons through their production or artist teams.

Is artist liaison the same as artist relations?

At festivals and venues the two terms are often used for the same role. In record labels and brands, artist relations can also mean managing long-term relationships with artists, which is broader than looking after them on show day.

Do small venues have an artist liaison?

Rarely as a dedicated role. At small venues the duty manager, promoter's representative or production manager usually meets the act, shows them around and handles their requests alongside other work.

Related terms