SXSW asks showcasing artists for an input list and stage plot, then checks their requests against the assigned venue’s capabilities. These documents specify the setup your performance needs, not your audience size or career history. A useful technical rider identifies the equipment you bring, what you need supplied, and a named technical contact with a working phone number who can approve changes on show day.
Start with the lineup you are actually taking. A technical rider template can organize the details, but delete copied equipment demands that don’t apply, and keep technical and hospitality requirements separate. The practical demands of festival bookings include delivering a workable show, so describe the setup you have rehearsed rather than a larger production you hope to build later.
Keep the band’s input list in a consistent order and reuse source names on the drawing. Each connection needs an identifiable source, with microphone or direct-input requirements and the relevant stand. A keyboard marked simply “keys” leaves the crew guessing whether you need one channel or two.
Count signals rather than musicians. For example, one vocal microphone, a stereo keyboard and stereo backing tracks require five input channels. A separate click feed makes six. Identify click and spoken cues as monitor-only signals, and state which performers need them rather than leaving their destination implicit.
For electronic sources, add connector types and the output levels specified in the hardware manuals. The crew can then check line-level matching before choosing connections. If the festival uses its own channel numbering, agree on a mapping between your source names and its patch rather than sending conflicting versions.
Describe your monitor mixer setup, especially when you bring your own console or personal monitoring rack. Specify where the festival hands audio over to you and who controls the mixes. “We bring in-ears” leaves those connections unresolved, even if every performer has a bodypack.
A stereo in-ear mix needs separate left and right audio channels, so identify both feeds. Two channels can also carry separate mono mixes instead. Shure’s MixMode combines those feeds in the earphones and lets the performer adjust their balance, which is different from hearing a left-right stereo image.
Plan microphone and monitor placement rather than arranging wedges for visual symmetry. The microphone’s pickup pattern affects where it rejects sound, so a replacement capsule may call for a different wedge position. Include your wireless models and tuning bands for the production team to review before arrival.
Put lighting requirements in the rider when they affect the performance. Distinguish basic visibility from timed cues, and identify who will operate them. Also ask how much of the changeover you actually have for placing equipment and checking connections, rather than assuming it includes a full soundcheck.
Time your setup in rehearsal using the equipment arrangement described in the document. Note anything that cannot be assembled offstage, and agree on a reduced setup if the available changeover is shorter. Removing a keyboard from the stage plan also means removing or revising its inputs and monitor requirements.
Submission is not confirmation. SXSW explicitly warns that it cannot promise every requested microphone, direct box, or channel. Get unresolved equipment requests answered before travel, and record the agreed replacement instead of leaving an unavailable model in the working document.
Export the technical rider as a PDF unless the festival requests another format. Put the act’s name, revision date, and technical contact on every page, since different departments may receive individual sheets. When something changes, send the updated plot and channel list together and identify the change so the crew can retire the earlier copy.
Start with the lineup you are actually taking. A technical rider template can organize the details, but delete copied equipment demands that don’t apply, and keep technical and hospitality requirements separate. The practical demands of festival bookings include delivering a workable show, so describe the setup you have rehearsed rather than a larger production you hope to build later.
Make the drawing agree with the channel list
Put your minimum stage dimensions on the plot, along with performer positions and power locations. Label the stage plot symbols instead of expecting someone to recognize every little equipment icon. Mark the audience edge so nobody has to guess which way the drawing faces. For imported equipment, copy power requirements from its label, not the voltage printed on somebody else’s template.Keep the band’s input list in a consistent order and reuse source names on the drawing. Each connection needs an identifiable source, with microphone or direct-input requirements and the relevant stand. A keyboard marked simply “keys” leaves the crew guessing whether you need one channel or two.
Count signals rather than musicians. For example, one vocal microphone, a stereo keyboard and stereo backing tracks require five input channels. A separate click feed makes six. Identify click and spoken cues as monitor-only signals, and state which performers need them rather than leaving their destination implicit.
For electronic sources, add connector types and the output levels specified in the hardware manuals. The crew can then check line-level matching before choosing connections. If the festival uses its own channel numbering, agree on a mapping between your source names and its patch rather than sending conflicting versions.
Count mixes separately from monitor speakers
State how many stage monitors you need and how many independent mixes they must carry. Four wedges could share two mixes rather than provide four different balances. Mark the mix assignment beside each wedge, including any musicians who have agreed to share.Describe your monitor mixer setup, especially when you bring your own console or personal monitoring rack. Specify where the festival hands audio over to you and who controls the mixes. “We bring in-ears” leaves those connections unresolved, even if every performer has a bodypack.
A stereo in-ear mix needs separate left and right audio channels, so identify both feeds. Two channels can also carry separate mono mixes instead. Shure’s MixMode combines those feeds in the earphones and lets the performer adjust their balance, which is different from hearing a left-right stereo image.
Plan microphone and monitor placement rather than arranging wedges for visual symmetry. The microphone’s pickup pattern affects where it rejects sound, so a replacement capsule may call for a different wedge position. Include your wireless models and tuning bands for the production team to review before arrival.
Confirm the equipment and the changeover
Your band’s backline requirements should identify who supplies the drum kit and amps, including the hardware and accessories you rely on. Separate essential specifications from preferences and name acceptable substitutions where you have tested them. “Drums provided” is too vague to settle who brings the cymbals, stool, or kick pedal.Put lighting requirements in the rider when they affect the performance. Distinguish basic visibility from timed cues, and identify who will operate them. Also ask how much of the changeover you actually have for placing equipment and checking connections, rather than assuming it includes a full soundcheck.
Time your setup in rehearsal using the equipment arrangement described in the document. Note anything that cannot be assembled offstage, and agree on a reduced setup if the available changeover is shorter. Removing a keyboard from the stage plan also means removing or revising its inputs and monitor requirements.
Submission is not confirmation. SXSW explicitly warns that it cannot promise every requested microphone, direct box, or channel. Get unresolved equipment requests answered before travel, and record the agreed replacement instead of leaving an unavailable model in the working document.
Export the technical rider as a PDF unless the festival requests another format. Put the act’s name, revision date, and technical contact on every page, since different departments may receive individual sheets. When something changes, send the updated plot and channel list together and identify the change so the crew can retire the earlier copy.
