inside rock band tour bus

Inside Celebrity Tour Buses: The Modifications Stars Make to their Mobile Homes

Who isn’t fascinated by celebrity homes? We love seeing the outrageous additions that adorn the mansions of the rich and famous. Couches worth tens of thousands of dollars, gourmet kitchens, and master bedrooms fit for royalty aren’t uncommon inside the homes of our favorite stars.

Not surprisingly, their mobile homes are no different.

For entertainers such as supermodels, singers, and even pro golfers, touring is what pulls in the most cash— a band can take home 35% of one night’s ticket sales plus up to 50% of the merchandise profits over one tour. Tirelessly entertaining dedicated fans from  New York to Chicago to Los Angeles  and every city in between, these celebrities may play up to 180 gigs in one year. When work requires such lengthy stretches of traveling on the road, comfortable mobile living space is a necessity.

While it seems a bit odd at first— why not just fly from one venue to another and save the time difference?— touring with a bus really is the most cost-effective and certainly the most convenient way to move a team around. These modified tour buses take away the stress of living out of a suitcase and provide celebrities with a “home base” where they can relax, unwind, and store all of their things in one consistent spot between appearances. It isn’t just a bus— it’s an office, a bedroom, a living room, a storage area, and a communal area to bond with your band and team, all in one big box on wheels.

Between living rooms, full bedrooms, and full bathrooms, celebrities work closely with companies that specialize in modifying tour buses to make them as homely and as comfortable as possible. These celebrities also tend to put a unique “touch” on their buses, some “touches” more outrageous than others. From leather couches to over-the-top back lounges, state-of-the-art kitchens, and even upstairs (yes, upstairs) lounges, celebrities certainly know how to get creative when it comes to building a unique “home away from home.”

All buses can be divided into four basic sections: a front lounge, which functions as a living room; a kitchen, or more typically, a “kitchenette;” a bunk area, where the band sleeps; and a back lounge, which is a bit of a “wild card” on these buses.

Keep reading to have a look inside the most extravagant celebrity tour buses we could find!

THE FRONT LOUNGE

A front lounge can usually seat about 10 people. They’re very “homey,” and great for socializing with band members and entourages or hosting friends and family. On either side of the lounge are usually couches, one of which is most likely placed on a “slide—” a mechanism that slides out when the bus is parked, adding up to 60 square feet of space and creating a proper living area.

While some celebrities prefer to keep their lounges simple and sweet— as Kenny Rogers says of his humble wheeled abode, “You buy what you need and you fix it up great!” — others like to beef theirs up a bit with luxury couches, oversized TVs, or high-tech controls.

Tommy Lee’s coach features a cozy front lounge with two leather-upholstered couches costing $25,000 each.

The front lounge may also include some sort of “master control” for the entire bus. John Legend has an iPad connected to his bus’s server for controlling light settings, changing the television and music, and adjusting the air temperature. Stored right in the same server are over 1,000 movies so there’s always something good to watch on the road.

TVs are also a must-have for all front lounges, and you’d better believe they come big— Heidi Klum’s front lounge features a 46-inch screen embedded into the wall. Mariah Carey’s mobile castle features THREE 60-inch TVs plus an extra screen hidden behind her makeup mirror!

Heidi Klum and Mariah Carey ended up having two of our favorite mobile homes— we’ll explain why later.

Also included in many front lounges is a killer sound system that would compete with any typical grounded studio. The Eli Young Band’s bus includes a 12-speaker system that’s used for blasting music through after parties and rocking the bus on the road with their favorite albums. “Loud” is the best way to listen to music, right?

THE KITCHEN

After the lounge area comes the kitchen. On a typical RV, kitchens are almost nonexistent— it is, after all, quite difficult not only to store all of the usual kitchen equipment but also to make room for appliances such as a stove, oven, and microwave, not to mention necessary counter space and cabinets. On top of all of that, who even has time to cook for themselves while they’re busy playing shows? Kitchens simply aren’t a priority on the road for most. The usual mobile kitchen features are a coffee maker, an electric tea kettle, and a mini-fridge.

John Legend’s bus, however, houses a full stove top, a toaster, a microwave that doubles as a convection oven, and extra cabinet space for preparing gourmet meals in between performances.

Despite limited space, though, alcohol is always a priority. For entertaining an entourage and unwinding after big shows, drinks on-demand are a must-have. Gwen Stefani’s coach includes a wine chiller, always stocked with a wide selection of her favorite blends.

Jake Owen’s kitchen even has a beer tap— every time his band stops in a new city, they will make an agreement to trade show tickets with a local brewery in exchange for a local beer on-tap on the bus.

Ron White’s kitchen features a hidden-away humidor with two sides— one for his cigar stash, and one for his scotch.

Brad Pitt’s mobile kitchen takes the cake. His features all of the amenities of any usual kitchen— the stove, the oven, the microwave, the counter, and the cabinet space— plus a built-in full refrigerator and dishwasher, totaling a cost of $60,000 just for the kitchen— more than double what the average person spends on a kitchen remodel in their house!

Past the usual mobile kitchen, you’ll find the bunks. Sleeping on a bus sounds painfully uncomfortable, right? The way most celebrities do it, it doesn’t have to be. Typically, each bunk features its own mini television, a curtain for privacy, individual controls for air conditioning and lighting, and sometimes memory foam mattresses! The average tour bus bunk is just about the size of a regular twin-size bed.

Lee Brice, however, took it up a notch on his bus with custom oversize bunks, which they call “condo bunks,” that feature all the regular amenities at a slightly larger size for extra comfort.

Many celebrities report that sleeping in mobile bunks isn’t so bad— the movement of the bus has a tendency to rock them to sleep, which is necessary considering the grueling daily schedules they may keep during a tour.

Most buses can accommodate 6-8 bunks, in which everyone can have their defined private space separate from everybody else. You’ll usually see pictures of family, charging outlets, and various other personal belongings inside each bunk.

THE BACK LOUNGE

Back lounges are where we find some of the most unique modifications.

For the most part, celebrities keep the back lounge as their private bed area— everyone needs their own quiet space, right? There’s usually a master bathroom included in the back, too, with a full shower, walk-in closet, and counter space. Tommy Lee’s master bathroom includes a full-size shower with a TV in the wall, and a closet with a fuzzy rail to keep hangers from sliding while the bus is moving.

John Legend’s master suite includes a plush queen-sized bed that slides out just like the couches in the front lounge. Also in his master suite is a 5.1 surround-sound system, with a subwoofer under the bed to make movie-watching in the back even more exciting.

Back lounges are more than just bedrooms, though. Travis Barker’s master bed folds up into the wall with the push of a button, creating the perfect private space for practicing his drums. He’s also made room for not just one, but two bathrooms on his coach, so there’s never any fighting over who’s getting the coveted bathroom space.

Laura Bell Bundy had a dance studio built in her back lounge, complete with a full-length mirror and a ballet bar, allowing her to practice routines between shows.

Ashley Monroe’s back room has been dubbed a “girls-only zone,” where she and her girlfriends can get ready for shows together and stay secluded from the rest of her band.

However, back lounges also have many more specific uses, such as that of Hunter Hayes— situated in the back of his bus is a full recording studio, in which he makes serious progress on all of his current songs. The studio features a mixing station, multiple monitors, and 5.1 surround sound. In it, he’s finished 20-30 demos while on the road.

Our favorite back room, though, belongs to Jeff Dunham— he has a full workshop in the back of his bus where he can not only construct but also repair his puppets while on the road, ensuring that they remain in pristine condition for shows.

Now, if all of this makes you roll your eyes and say, “of course they have all that, they’re celebrities!” Just wait— we aren’t quite finished yet.

Have a look inside these 3 over-the-top celebrity homes. These coaches are so spectacular that we couldn’t even single out our favorite features above!

Supermodel Heidi Klum is the proud owner of what is possibly the “greenest” mobile home on the planet. Her office on wheels is the world’s only 100% solar-powered RV, packed with countless other “green” modifications throughout the interior and exterior.

The designers of this eco-friendly coach took great care in conserving energy in every way possible when constructing Heidi’s mobile workspace. All throughout the RV are energy-efficient LED bulbs, which draw less power and don’t add heat to the coach; and high-grade eco-friendly fabric, covering the floor and upholstery. Located by the living space is a control panel, at which one staff member is tasked with ensuring that the RV runs exclusively off of solar power for as long as possible (in the event of an emergency, the coach can easily be switched to draw power from a generator).

With a floor plan that more closely resembles a luxury hotel room than a motor home, this coach includes a total of 320 square feet of living space, including a couch, a loveseat, and a 42-inch TV. Without a bunk area like most other buses, the main living space flows into a spacious kitchenette with a full-size refrigerator, a desk made completely out of recycled wood, and a small sink. The back room serves as a makeup area and dressing room, complete with an oversize mirror surrounded by eco-friendly lights, and a professional- grade hair-washing sink.

MARIAH CAREY

Just the front lounge and kitchen of Mariah Carey’s mobile mansion cover 600 square feet— bigger than most New York studio apartments! The lounge includes a 15-foot custom couch, a 25-foot slide on one side, and a 30-foot slide on the other. Facing the oversized couch is a 65-inch TV, connected to a 5.1 studio-grade surround-sound system. In the back is a full kitchen with a full stove top, refrigerator, convection oven, and a kangen water machine— a $4000 water ionizer designed to purify tap water by removing alkaline minerals.

Right by the kitchen is Mariah’s makeup station featuring a mirror surrounded by makeup lights, with a TV placed directly behind the surface of the mirror so that Mariah can watch her favorite shows while she’s getting her hair and makeup done.

Fantastic, right? We would expect nothing less from a star of Mariah’s status. But guess what? The top of this bus expands to an entire second story . That’s right— this bus is two stories tall when parked.

The second floor of this skyscraper on wheels is connected to the first by a marble staircase. Upstairs, you’ll find unique lighting with a color wheel, creating the perfect mobile dance club for Mariah and her entourage. Wrapping around the back of the dance floor is a 35-foot rounded couch that can seat up to 30 people, facing two more 60-inch TVs, one placed at either end of the bus.

All of the over-the-top amenities in this luxurious mobile tour home, which includes more than two tons of marble and stone, bring the cost to a staggering $1.8 million.

STEVE ELKINGTON

Pro golfer Steve Elkington takes the grand prize for the most insane mobile home modifications. His stunning mobile estate, which he’s nicknamed “The Big Show,” is an astounding 1,130 square feet, spread over two stories just like Mariah Carey’s moving castle. Standing in Steve’s over-the-top estate feels less like being in a bus and more like being in a cozy cottage— the coach is modeled after a golf clubhouse, meant to have that “19th-hole” vibe that all golfers love. Included in this wheeled mansion are a full washer and dryer, a full kitchen, a living room, a pro shop, a shoe rack, and a master suite, all on one massive mobile manor.

The kitchen features a full gas stove, an oven, and high-end appliances, with a restaurant-style booth for dining. The living room features a typical slide on the right side with the couch, adding even more square feet to the home. Just past the living room is Steve’s own putting green and a pro shop, where guests can come in and browse some of his golf gear. Next to the shop is his personal shoe rack and a station for cleaning and polishing his collection of shoes.

Right by the stairs are the full washer and dryer, tucked away in their own closet for when it’s time to take care of a few chores.

The roof lifts 35 feet to reveal a master suite, complete with a queen-size bed and a pop-up tv disguised as a cabinet at the foot of the bed. The TV screen can swivel to face the master bed or the two plush chairs that Steve and his wife often use to read or relax between games.

Finally, the home is completed with a luxurious master bathroom by the bed area.

From leather-upholstered living rooms to walk-in closets to upstairs dance clubs, we can’t say that we aren’t a little jealous of these luxurious buses . With living on these spectacular mobile mansions and simultaneously touring for months at a time year after year, it’s clear that these celebrities know how to work hard and play hard.

If you’re a musician looking to rent your own tour bus, check out “What is the Cost of a Tour Bus Rental?” on our blog and decide if you’re ready to “go pro” with your own bus!

Hemphill Brothers photo gallery

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Peek Inside a Luxury Tour Bus That Carries Celebrities and Rock Stars

Kris Scott is the executive editor at Cheapism and has previously covered food, design, and lifestyle. Her work has previously appeared in Food & Nutrition, Modern in Denver, and Dallas-based Advocate Magazines. She lives in Colorado with her family and two heelers.

Courtesy of StormTrooper

Travel Like An A-Lister

If you've always dreamed of living like a rock star, it turns out you can — and not only in a pandemic but because  of the pandemic. Los Angeles-based StormTrooper Coaches ' clientele is usually musicians and other A-listers but, things changed last year. According to the company "With COVID and the concert scene coming to a standstill , StormTrooper, like so many other businesses , had to pivot." Keep reading to find out how you can travel in the same style as some of StormTrooper's famous clientele — including Post Malone, Lizzo, Beyoncé, and the Rolling Stones — as well as what it'll cost you. 

Related: Over-the-Top Celebrity RVs

Count 'Em — 12! — Bunk Beds

Grab 11 of your closest friends and family members, because the R19 sleeps 12 in four sets of triple bunks — six on each side of the coach. Each bed includes a light memory foam mattress and a privacy curtain.

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Space for Gaming

There's plenty of seating space in the R19. One end of the bus has an area that's perfect for gamers, with an Xbox One, DirecTV package, and high-end sound system. Each coach rental comes with unlimited Wi-Fi.

Related: Renting an RV? Here Are Some Features You'll Want — and Some You Won't

Luxury Bathing

The coach's bathroom might be on the small side, but a walk-in, rain-style shower isn't too shabby.

Related: The Most Outrageous Luxury RVs Money Can Buy

Cooking and Dining, Coach-Style

At the other end of the bus is a kitchen and another seating area with two TVs on opposite walls — no one aboard a StormTrooper R19 has to crank their neck to get a good view of the show while cooking or eating .

For more great RV articles and lifestyle stories, please sign up for Cheapism's free newsletters .

The Bus Will Travel

The StormTrooper Coaches experience will be available to private rentals year-round, and not just for clients based in Los Angeles. The company notes that the service will pick up clients "anywhere in the U.S."

Related: The Most Luxurious RV Resorts Across America

A Personal Driver

Though the company operates nearly 20 vehicles, the one shown here — the R19 — is a touring bus that comes with its own licensed driver and door-to-door service. All coaches are sanitized between clients , and your driver will be tested for COVID-19  between trips, too.

Related: 17 Tips for Riding out the Pandemic in an RV

The Cost ...

So, how much will this experience cost you? To begin with, there's what the company calls a "deadhead" charge of $1,200 per day. Those are the travel days it takes the driver to get from StormTrooper's L.A. home base to your doorstep, and then the same days back home.

… Nope, It's Not Cheap

Above and beyond the deadhead fees, travel in any of the company's coaches runs from $1,500 to $2,000 per day, plus $1.50 per mile. There is also a $500 cleaning fee, and clients pick up the cost of the driver's hotel room.

Interested?

The company works with two travel agencies who help clients put together an itinerary. To find out more, visit the StormTrooper Coaches website .

Looking for more options to hit the road in style? Be sure to check out our RV Rental Company Comparison .

See inside the $1.5 million luxury tour buses celebrities like Drake and Doja Cat use

• Dreamliner Luxury Coaches builds plush homes on wheels for touring A-list musicians and their crew.
• The company says it rents its 190 luxury tour buses to musicians like Drake, Doja Cat, and Olivia Rodrigo.
• Rent for a full-service artist bus — a more than $1.5 million vehicle — starts at $50,000 a month.

Your favorite musicians probably all use a company you've probably never heard of: Dreamliner Luxury Coaches .

Going on tour involves more than just moving a musician from one city to the next. This is where Dreamliner comes in. The Nashville, Tennessee-based company is no typical bus operator like The Jet or Greyhound. Instead, its bread and butter is providing touring A-list musicians and their crew with luxury hotel rooms on wheels.

You'll definitely recognize some of Dreamliner's clients

The company's genesis can be traced back to the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2020, founder Rich Thomson purchased 12 tour buses from an individual who needed to get out of a personal guarantee. Three years and the acquisition of two more coach operators later, the company now runs a fleet of 190 buses and flexes a Rolodex of celebrity clients like Drake, Olivia Rodrigo, and SZA.

Country musicians — think the likes of Kenny Chesney and Chris Stapleton — rent these coaches annually, Jeremy Maul, Dreamliner's CEO, told Insider. He says he's also helped with all of The Weeknd's tours. According to Maul, even Taylor Swift's team has sought support from Dreamliner, although the singer has been known to travel in her private jets instead.

"We're the bus company you call when you've made it," Maul said, adding that about 95% of its clients are musicians. "We work with the big runs like the Beyoncés and the Zach Bryans."

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Besides these celebrities, the company also has corporate clients that will rent for events like meetings and corporate trips. These luxury hotel rooms on wheels are so popular, Thomson says Dreamliner's fleet is on the road for about 300 days a year with the average tour running for approximately 60 days — or longer if it's a country artist.

What it takes to build a fleet of $1.5 million buses

Dreamliner's 190 buses include different layouts like crew, star, and executive. The latter is geared towards corporate clients while "stars" are designed for musicians. The typical "crew" bus — for travelers who support the main act — can accommodate up to 12 people.

For an average arena tour, an artists' team will rent between 10 to 15 buses. For stadium runs like Taylor Swift's Eras Tour, expect 15 to 20.

To build the mobile hotel rooms , Dreamliner typically acquires bus shells with only a dashboard, driver's seat, and steering wheel.

At the company's facilities in Nashville and Fontana, California, these bare-bone vehicles are then outfitted with plush amenities like mattresses with 900-thread-count sheets and bathrooms with showers.

Additions like Nespresso machines, smart TVs, and Le Labo candles create a true luxury feel. Some buses even come with a music studio for artists who want to record on the road.

Dreamliner's CEO says these post-conversion coaches are worth $1.5 million to $2 million each. Rent for one full-service "star" bus starts at $50,000 a month, which includes necessities like a driver, gas, cleaning services, and WiFi.

Following the recent acquisition of Hemphill Brothers, Maul says the company's only competitor is Senator Coaches, which predates Dreamliner. But he says there's a key differentiator between Senator and Dreamliner: The former is focused on massive rock bands like U2 while the latter targets younger artists like Drake and Justin Timberlake.

"We don't have a lot of small entry-level artists," Maul said. "Once you're a bigger band and you're on a larger or year-round tour, that's when you're going to want to work with us."

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• Main content

the best celebrity tour buses of all time

take a look inside the mobile homes of the rich and famous.

Published Feb 9, 2016 5:00 AM

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Gwen Stefani’s extravagant tour bus is covered in white leather and stainless steel — exactly how we imagined it.

Actor Ashton Kutcher may just win most opulent celebrity mobile home with his 1,200 square foot, $2 million trailer. The large home is two stories with a rental bill of $8,750 a week  and all the luxury appliances you could want.

The lads in One Direction travel across the country in a stunning tour bus filled with black leather and  tons  of red accents. We are assuming the bright red kitchen is always fully stocked with….tea.

Dolly Parton is notorious for her eccentric taste in home decor and interior design. This can also be said for her humongous tour bus — which is now a part of a museum in Dollywood. In case you were wondering, there is a

President Barack Obama travels across America in a sleek black tour bus, complete with reclining chairs to relax after a long day of you know…running the country.

Will Smith’s $2.5 million mobile home is one for the books. According to Business Insider , the two-story trailer has 14 flat-screen TVs, $30,000 worth of leather, and an insane amount of technology.

The celebrity judge we all love to hate, Simon Cowell, has a beautiful $2 million tour bus with 2 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms and its own mobile medical unit. The behemoth costs Cowell $9,000 a week.

Lady Gaga’s Born This Way tour bus, aptly named the Born Brave Bus, is a work of art on the inside and the outside. The exterior is covered in beautiful graffiti, while the interior is covered in a stunning cherry wood with artwork created by Gaga fans hanging on the walls.

Country singer John Rich isn’t afraid to go all out when it comes to his tour bus. Decorated in red leather, black tile and mahogany wood, there is nothing in the tour bus left untouched by style.

This popular country band travels the nation in comfort — patent leather comfort that is. In addition to several brown leather cushions, the Zac Brown Band’s tour bus is filled with granite accents and a perfect amount of lighting.

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Rock Band Tour 2007 - Inside the Tour Bus, rocking the main stage and another interview

So what was it like to attend one of the Rock Band Tour stops? It was awesome to say the least. I spent most of the time hanging out with John and the nearly legendary Fabio who were having a great time. I shot some good footage of what you will experience if you stop by. Hit the jump for a walk through, as well as a clip of some people rocking out on the main stage (yes, there's footage of me rocking out).

The first thing you notice when you enter the bus is that there is no music. Everyone is wearing headphones so they know what they're doing. This means that if you're not playing you hear a lot of buttons clicking, drumsticks hitting the pads and a lot of off-key singing. I can't really make fun of the people who sing off-key, as I have no doubt that I would be one of those people.

If you watch this next clip, I'm the guy on the right side of the stage playing lead guitar on Soundgarden's Black Hole Sun. This video is another reason why I can't make fun of the people singing off-key. I look like a complete idiot up there rocking out. That's ok though, it was probably the most fun I've ever had playing a song. By the way, my band's name is Swiss Steak, and yes, we rock.

I'm sorry to say I don't know the other band that was up on stage, but I picked up two people to help me rock since the rest of my band wasn't there. Dan is over on the left playing bass, my man Mike (original member of Swiss Steak, as well as my camera man), Tanya is rocking the drums and that's me playing the Fender on the right. Just to give you an idea of the scoring, I was playing on expert, the other three were on medium and we all hit around 92-94% on our individual instruments and we had a score of just over 490,000 on Black Hole Sun.

One band that was rocking out was Pearl Necklace. Sadly I didn't get any footage of them rocking out, but I did manage to pull them away from the bus for a brief interview. Unfortunately the sound is a little low, so you might need to crank your speakers up to 11. These guys basically just gave me an outsider's opinion of the game. You can bet they'll be picking the game up when it comes out on November 23rd. Surely this can't be the end of my coverage, right? You're right, there's still more to come, stay tuned.

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A Tour of the Tour Buses

“Can’t wait to get on the road again,” goes the Willie Nelson song. Here’s how two bands — one in a van, one in an, er, bigger conveyance — go from gig to gig.

By Steven Kurutz

Summer is high season for concert tours. Bands travel to Instagram fests like Bonnaroo, in the wilds of Tennessee, and old standbys like Glastonbury, in England. And of course there’s always a sweaty bar to play.

There are myriad options for getting there (Uber, Mom and Dad’s Su baru, road trip!), but how do the stars make it? In grand style, apparently, or at least in their own style.

Here, two bands talk about life on the road and the pleasures of a home that travels with you.

Screaming Females are an indie rock band from New Brunswick, N.J., who have toured all over the world (they recently returned from Australia and New Zealand). This month, the band is back on the road in North America , driving themselves to gigs in their van.

“If you’re in a van like our van, you live in it. It becomes your house. We spend hours traveling. We don’t tend to sleep in it. That’s not to say that we haven’t. With any object you share with other people, you talk about the minutiae of how it functions.” Marissa Paternoster, singer and guitarist

“It’s a Ford Transit 150. We got the shortest length and medium-height model. We play a lot of gigs in bars and in cities. If you come through with a van and a trailer, which a lot of bands on our level tour with, it can be difficult to find parking. The benefit of the smallest length is it’s easier to park and steers like an S.U.V. The medium height meant we had enough room to stack a bunch of T-shirts to sell.” Jarrett Dougherty, drummer

“We usually call it the Van. Which is not the most creative name. Jokingly, we call it the Whip when we open up our bar, which just means you sit in the back and drink.” Marissa Paternoster

“Over the last two or three years, we’ve put 100,000 miles on it across North America. It’s been to every state other than Hawaii and Alaska, and it’s been to D.C., and probably five provinces in Canada.” Jarrett Dougherty

“If you spend 12 hours sitting in the same car, I think it comes pretty naturally to tinker with what’s back there. In the old van, we collaged the entire ceiling. I decorated our new van a lot to make it a little more cozy. Cardboard is very plentiful. If we’re lucky and have a good week we’ll sell a whole box of T-shirts.” Marissa Paternoster

“I put in one of those wire shelves that you buy at Home Depot. I affixed it to the cage in the back so we don’t squish all of our records. Whenever we’re loading up the van at the end of night, that gets the most comments. ‘Oh, you’ve got a shelf in there.’” Mike Abbate, bass player

“I don’t think that any of us dream of the next level up because it doesn’t seem viable to travel in anything fancier than our current fancy van. It’s a small operation — we’re playing in small rock clubs every night.” Mike Abbate

“It would be embarrassing to pull up in a big coach bus. We’re very grateful to have such a nice van. We’ve definitely ridden in some vehicles that were spotty. Our first van broke down near Las Cruces. It was very, very hot. There were a bunch of snakes. Big ups to our van. It’s the right size for the job, you know.” Marissa Paternoster

Old Dominion are a country band from Nashville. Their last album, “Happy Endings,” debuted at No. 1 on the country charts; its commercial success has allowed five members and their entourage to tour in a customized coach bus this summer.

“We did spend 10 years in those vans. We went through three of them. That first bus is usually just a rental, you get whatever you get. As you get more consistent, you get to pick one that you get to live with for a year. After that, if you can afford it, you pick a coach company. You tell them, ‘We’re doing a two-year lease, but we’ll build it from the ground up.’ The color choices on the curtains, the flooring choice, the couch cushion choice — we picked them to make it feel like home.” Geoff Sprung, bass player

“When we first got our bus, we pulled the van up that we’d been traveling in for years. Got into the bus, rolling down the road, cranking music. Our tour manager came back and said, ‘Guys, there’s 40 feet of bus. You all don’t have to sit crammed around the same couch.’” Matthew Ramsey, singer

“Sometimes those custom things happen out of boredom: ‘Hey, we should get some AstroTurf.’ Then it’d be football season: ‘Man, if we just had a TV out here, it’d be cool.’ We just suggest something and our management makes it happen.” Matthew Ramsey

“You have to be careful what you say out loud. We did our first big headlining tour last year or two years ago. Someone said, ‘It’d be cool if we could stand in our greenroom and spin some vinyl.’ Our production team had it custom built. None of those luxury items are essential — we lived for years without any of that stuff. But at festivals, your bus, that’s the extent of your comfort area. When you can hang outside and watch TV out there, it’s like another living room. It expands the living space.” Geoff Sprung

“We have moments where we fly sometimes. One of the best things is when the bus can pick us up at the airport. Because it’s like your home coming to pick you up. Our beds are there, all the food we like is there. I definitely love good coffee so I’ve turned everybody into coffee snobs. That happened in the van. I started bringing a French press in the van.” Matthew Ramsey

“The same five guys have been in a van and now this bus for over a decade. You’re in those close quarters together a couple hundred days a year. Because of that environment, I had to learn everyone’s idiosyncrasies and quirks because you either celebrate it or it drives you crazy.” Geoff Sprung

“Living in Nashville when we were struggling, there’s buses everywhere. You see them all the time. It is this benchmark that you shoot for. Now we’re traveling with four buses, with our crew. We’ve crossed into a point where it’s ridiculous and mind-blowing.” Matthew Ramsey

Steven Kurutz joined The Times in 2011 and wrote for the City and Home sections before joining Style. He was previously a reporter at The Wall Street Journal and Details. More about Steven Kurutz

Explore the World of Country Music

Zach Bryan’s country-rock-adjacent rumbles have made him one of music’s most popular new stars . On the first night of his arena tour, he showcased his bond with the fans that brought him there.

A fan asked his Oklahoma radio station to play a new Beyoncé song. The request was rejected, reigniting a debate about the exclusion of Black musicians from country music .

Jelly Roll, one of 2023’s surprise success stories in the music industry, has become known as much for emotional openness as for hit songs .

CMAT, whose real name is Ciara Mary-Alice Thompson, combines country music’s enduring themes of heartbreak and self-destruction with camp humor and a distinctly Irish sense of the absurd .

The rising singer Morgan Wade is disciplined about her sobriety, fitness and songwriting. But a bond with the reality-TV star Kyle Richards has thrust her into an uncontrollable world of fame .

• The Inventory

How the World Ran Out of Tour Buses

If you’ve ever gone to a major concert, there’s a good chance you’ve seen the monolithic tour buses parked up near the venue. These blacked-out behemoths embody the mystery of life on the road for a rock band, and evoke questions about what their tinted windows might hide.

Buses like this are packed with the creature comforts any self-respecting musician needs for a life on the road, beginning with a fridge full of beer, beds and bathrooms and going on from there to include everything from massive TVs to cigar humidors and even mobile recording studios. Here in America, they’re also usually slathered with chrome accents adding to the cool aesthetic of a rock-star lifestyle.

Just a few years ago, it was pretty easy for bands to get hold of buses like this to take out on the road. The first way to do this, if you’re a big name, is to buy one for yourself and keep it running on tour after tour. If you’re a megastar like Dolly Parton, you can even rent it out for fans to stay in .

But for musicians that haven’t written something on the level of “ Nine to Five ,” the best way to track down a tour bus is to rent one.

“Before the pandemic, there seemed to be more buses available,” says Jamie Morral, president of Pennsylvania-based rental firm JGM Coaches . “Bands would be able to book their tours and feel confident that they would find a bus,”

For almost two decades, Morral and his firm loaned out buses to bands like Killswitch Engage , Hot Tuna and Simple Plan for their American tours. But on March 15, 2020, states began implementing lockdown orders as COVID -19 spread across the country.

“The whole industry was paused for two years,” says Scott Bell, tour manager for American rock band The Menzingers . “So now, everybody has come out to make money and everyone has to tour.”

Fierce Competition

Now, almost three years later, bands, musicians and artists of all kinds are itching to get back out on the road and make up for lost time with fans. Because of this, competition for everything needed to put on a psychedelic show is fierce. Venues, equipment and tour buses are all in high demand as everyone from Taylor Swift to Def Leppard tries to hit the road now that they’re free to travel the world once again. Rabid competition is leading to sky-high prices, canceled reservations and soaring demand for all manner of equipment, particularly tour buses.

“You had the likes of Diana Ross on waiting lists with bus companies hoping bands would cancel a tour so they could get a bus,” says Graham Forster, a tour bus driver for Irish company Crosslink.

So, how the heck did we get here?

First up, the music industry changed. With the advent of streaming, album sales and new music releases aren’t enough to make being a recording artist a full-time job for many. Spotify pays out just $0.004 per stream , so revenue for bands and singers has increasingly come from merchandise and ticket sales.

So when the pandemic put large events and concerts on hold, many musicians struggled. Now that restrictions have been lifted, “Everybody is trying to put money in their checking accounts,” says Morral.

No More Buses

But the pandemic took more than just money from artists’ purses. With the industry on hold, bus companies struggled as work dried up. While some firms were able to stay solvent by, for instance, loaning out their buses to healthcare providers to act as mobile vaccine hubs in the pandemic , this was either done at a loss or didn’t bring in the kind of revenue they were used to. Some had to make the difficult decision to sell vehicles or even close up shop for good.

“Some of those companies that went bankrupt during the pandemic, not all those buses have been bought up or are being run by other companies yet,” says Morral. This means there’s now a shortage of buses as these vehicles are still waiting to be snapped up by other operators. “If you take 20, 30 or 40 buses out of the entertainer equation then that’s a lot of buses.”

For this reason, the price of tour buses is skyrocketing. Where bands could usually expect to spend 20 to 35 percent of their budget on the bus, according to Morral, that’s no longer the case.

“I’ve had managers and artists write to me since this all started telling me they would pay double if I could give them buses,” says Morral. “I’ve heard stories of people having their buses pulled and given to someone else. It’s bad business.”

That’s a story echoed by Bell of Scranton, PA punk band The Menzingers , who told us of a metal band that was forced to pull its European tour after the bus company told them to wire them thousands more dollars, as another artist was trying to outbid them.

Driver Demand

All this chaos isn’t simply around securing the bus. It’s also about securing the driver for your bus. Morral has stories about rental companies across the country that have “20 to 30 buses just sitting on their lot because they can’t find drivers for them.”

“It’s definitely a drivers’ market now,” says Forster, a UK-based tour bus driver who’s driven for the likes of Annie Lennox , Slipknot , Metallica and Robbie Williams . “I heard of drivers asking for £400 (roughly $480) a day and they were getting it. Because the companies wanted the buses out and working.”

That’s roughly three times the normal rate for a driver in the UK; Forster says he’s usually paid £130 (around $156) for every day that he’s out on the road. But with so much money to be made, why aren’t more drivers heading out on tour?

“I think a lot of it is people got comfortable being home,” says Morral. “In our industry the driver is going to be gone 300 plus days a year. Then they got home and some of them, especially those who are married, got a job where they’re maybe driving trucks and they’re home every night. They got used to that.”

Some veterans of the industry are, understandably, now reluctant to return to a life on the road. That life saw Forster spend just 14 days at home in 2022 as he covered thousands of miles driving artists like American rapper Gashi across Europe. Despite this, he says he never considered switching lanes when the going got tough.

“During the first three months of the lockdowns it was like a vacation,” Forster says. “Then I became bored. I volunteered as a swab taker at drive-in test centers, then when that finished I went onto trucks for a while. That basically reminded me why I didn’t like doing trucks.”

As soon as touring got underway in the UK again, Forster was back out on the road. When he was reunited with his Setra 431 bus, he found himself returning to an industry that had seen many drivers leave and few new ones step in to take their places. Those that had joined were struggling to adapt to their new rides.

“Drivers are being taken on directly from service buses and tourist buses and into rock and roll. But they are a different animal altogether.” Driving a musician’s tour bus, he says, requires a gentle approach as the buses are much larger . On top of that, you’re often driving sleeping passengers around, so you can’t risk jolting your star out of bed by taking a corner too quickly or slamming on the brakes at a red light.

Now, even for drivers who have stepped away from a life on the road, the calls keep coming for them to settle back into the driver’s seat.

“We met our current guitar tech through driving vans,” Bell says. “He had always been a good guitar player, so we were like, ‘hey Kyle, you want to be our guitar tech?’ Now, he gets called all the time asking if he’ll come back and drive for three days out in Canada.”

Is There a Fix?

This shortage of drivers means that, at present, it doesn’t make sense for companies like JGM to snap up out-of-service buses or place orders for new units.

“I don’t make dumb business decisions like going out to buy ten brand-new buses just because the market is hot right now,” says JGM’s Morral. “I think the market is going to go back to what it was, and I think there will be buses readily available again.”

But what will it take for the industry to get back to how things were pre-Covid? The answer seems to be time; time to train new bus drivers, time for artists to end their tours and time for the appetite for live shows to return to normal. But Forster warns things may get worse before they start to improve.

“A lot of the old school drivers, like myself, over the next two years will be retiring,” he explains. “Then there will be a bigger shortage of drivers and I reckon it’ll take easily five to 10 years.”

So if you’re considering a career change, this might be a good time for a life on the road with a rock and roll band.

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Band Tour Buses

Bus charter band tour bus services.

Bus charter band tour bus services provide safe, reliable, and comfortable transportation for musicians and their crew during tours.

Firstly, band tour bus services provide a safe and secure mode of transportation for musicians and their crew. Buses are equipped with safety features such as seat belts, air conditioning, and comfortable seating, ensuring that everyone arrives at their destination safely and comfortably.

Secondly, band tour bus services are cost-effective. They eliminate the need for band members or crew to provide their own transportation, which can be costly and time-consuming. Additionally, they can transport the band’s equipment and gear, reducing the need for additional transportation expenses.

Thirdly, band tour bus services are flexible and can be tailored to meet the specific needs of the band. Whether it’s for a local or national tour, the rental company can provide a variety of buses to accommodate the number of band members, the length of the trip, and any special requests.

Finally, band tour bus services promote unity and create a unique experience for the band and their crew. Traveling together in a bus creates an opportunity for the band to bond and build camaraderie, promoting teamwork and creating memories. Bus charter band tour bus services are an excellent transportation option for bands and their crew. They provide a safe, cost-effective, flexible, and community-building mode of transportation that can enhance the success and enjoyment of any tour. When planning your next tour, consider working with a reliable and experienced bus rental company to provide your transportation needs.

Star Trailers can provide you with a rental trailer for your next tour...  Our trailers are as large as the law will allow to be pulled behind a 45 foot coach.

Please note that we have a 10,000 GVWT limit on all of our rental trailers...  This will allow you to load the trailer with approximately 5,500 pounds of gear / merch...  Due to safety concerns, we will not allow a trailer to exceed 10,000 pounds GVWT...

If you need to carry back line equipment / production / merchandise that will exceed our weight limits, please secure a rental truck / box truck BEFORE your pick up...

We will gladly assist you if you need a driver for your box truck with one of our "Auxiliary Drivers"...

Below you will find the approximate interior measurements of a Star Trailer.  Please note that these are very close approximate measurements, as we own trailers that are made by different vendors.

Our rental trailers "inside measurements" are approximately:

Front to Rear:  15' 0" Width:  7' 11" Height:  7' 6" E-Track:  Most of our trailers have four vertical runs...  floor to ceiling...

In addition, due to the high volume of touring that we handle, there are times that all Star Trailers are sold out.  In such an event, we will gladly source out a rental trailer with one of our partners such as On The Bus Trailers...

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Hop On Hop Off Moscow - Bus Tours

Enjoy Moscow sightseeing at your own pace and explore the dynamic Russian capital on value-for-money Moscow hop-on, hop-off tours. Explore the charming city on double-decker buses with multiple routes covering popular Moscow attractions. Enjoy marathon sightseeing and discover the city at your own pace on a fun and flexible City Sightseeing hop-on hop-off Moscow bus tour that takes you around the city while providing an informative commentary on the buses about the points of interest. So, what are you waiting for? Start booking!

Hop On Hop Off

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Experience Moscow in Hop On Hop Off Bus Tours

The capital city of Russia, Moscow is home to the largest number of billionaires in the world. The city is the key political and socio-economic center of Russia and was named after the river Moskova. The city boasts a rich history spanning over eight centuries and is home to numerous UNESCO World Heritage sites. Arbat street in Moscow is over 500 years old. With over 6 million passengers using the metro every day, Moscow’s metro is among the busiest in the world.

A hop-on hop-off Moscow bus tour aboard the double-decker buses is the easiest and most convenient way of sightseeing around this busy city. You can pick 48 hr ticket option to see the entire city at your own pace. The engaging commentary and complimentary walking tour work like icing on the cake. Make sure to book early and try an add-on boat tour to make the most of your itinerary.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: what is the best time to book a moscow hop-on hop-off tour.

March to May is the best time to plan a visit to Moscow. The days are long with significant sunshine which makes this time ideal for exploring the city. January is the coldest month so make sure to avoid it if you have a low tolerance for chilly weather. However, you will be able to score some good deals on airfare and accommodation during this time.

Q: How does it work?

Moscow bus tour offers you the convenience and flexibility to get off at the nearest designated stop. No tour guide, you set your own itinerary. You’ll find all the stops are located strategically at all the major attractions, making your touring as hassle-free as possible. And then, when you’re ready to continue, return to a designated bus stop, show your pass, and hop back on the bus and onwards towards your next attraction. So, go ahead and make a whole loop of the route once you have your tour ticket, get familiar with the city and pick out your favorite places to visit and then return to them during your stay.

Q: How many days are enough to explore Moscow?

We recommend at least two to three days to explore Moscow at a relaxed pace and cover most of its prominent attractions while enjoying shopping and local cuisine.

Q: What is the validity of the ticket?

There are several ticket options available to you, depending on your length of stay. Each bus tour will have validity from 24, 36, 48 to 72 hours. And the great thing is you can plan ahead as the vouchers are valid anywhere between 6 months to 1 year and can be used at any point during that period. Check the product page or bus tour operator for complete details.

Q: Where can I find a list of all the stops and a map of the various Moscow hop-on hop-off tour routes?

You can visit the relevant product page and check the Useful Downloads section to find the latest information as routes, stops, and timings change frequently.

Other Hop On Hop Off Destinations

• New York City
• San Francisco
• Washington DC
• Los Angeles
• Johannesburg
• San Antonio
• Reykjavik Iceland
• St-Petersburg
• Benalmadena
• Thessaloniki
• Kristiansand
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Two Days in Moscow: The Top Things to Do in the City

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Popularly known as the Lion City, Singapore is a city-state known for its unique tapestry of experience and the perfect blend of… The post 7 Best Things to do in Singapore: A Comprehensive Guide appeared first on The Guidebook - isango! .

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Moscow Tourist Bus

Discover the different routes and stops of Moscow's tourist bus and explore the city comfortably enjoying panoramic views of its main monuments.

Routes & stops

The Moscow sightseeing bus has two routes with 46 stops around the main tourist areas of the Russian capital , throughout which you can enjoy recorded commentary in English about the places you are passing through and the city's history .

Some of the unmissable stops for the Moscow bus are: Kropotkinskaya metro station, the  Pushkin Fine Art Museum , the Red October factory and the Alexander Gardens. And of course, no trip to Moscow would be complete without getting off at Red Square to explore the heart of Moscow, admire the Kremlin , St Basil's Cathedral , and the Moscow River.

You can check out the route with all the stops by clicking on the following link:

• Routes and stops on the Moscow bus .
• The ticket with 2-day validity costs € 33 ( US$ 35.70) for adults and € 30 ( US$ 32.40) for children between 7 and 13 years old. The bus ticket for children under 7 years old costs € 16 ( US$ 17.30).

Operating times & frequency

• Red line : from 10 am to 6 pm, every 20 minutes. The whole route lasts an hour.
• Green line : from 10 am to 6 pm, every 40 minutes. The whole route lasts two hours.

Buy your ticket online

Check out the prices for the Moscow Tourist Bus and buy your tickets online in advance via the following link:

• Moscow Hop-on Hop-Off Sightseeing Bus

You may also be interested in

Moscow Metro

Opened in 1935 under Stalin, the Moscow Metro is one of the largest networks in the world and a tourist attraction in itself. Discover how to get around on it!

While Moscow has an efficient public transport system, you may sometimes find it more convenient to travel by taxi and prices are usually affordable. Find fares and top tips here!

2018 Primetime Emmy & James Beard Award Winner

In Transit: Notes from the Underground

Jun 06 2018.

Spend some time in one of Moscow’s finest museums.

Subterranean commuting might not be anyone’s idea of a good time, but even in a city packing the war-games treasures and priceless bejeweled eggs of the Kremlin Armoury and the colossal Soviet pavilions of the VDNKh , the Metro holds up as one of Moscow’s finest museums. Just avoid rush hour.

The Metro is stunning and provides an unrivaled insight into the city’s psyche, past and present, but it also happens to be the best way to get around. Moscow has Uber, and the Russian version called Yandex Taxi , but also some nasty traffic. Metro trains come around every 90 seconds or so, at a more than 99 percent on-time rate. It’s also reasonably priced, with a single ride at 55 cents (and cheaper in bulk). From history to tickets to rules — official and not — here’s what you need to know to get started.

A Brief Introduction Buying Tickets Know Before You Go (Down) Rules An Easy Tour

A Brief Introduction

Moscow’s Metro was a long time coming. Plans for rapid transit to relieve the city’s beleaguered tram system date back to the Imperial era, but a couple of wars and a revolution held up its development. Stalin revived it as part of his grand plan to modernize the Soviet Union in the 1920s and 30s. The first lines and tunnels were constructed with help from engineers from the London Underground, although Stalin’s secret police decided that they had learned too much about Moscow’s layout and had them arrested on espionage charges and deported.

The beauty of its stations (if not its trains) is well-documented, and certainly no accident. In its illustrious first phases and particularly after the Second World War, the greatest architects of Soviet era were recruited to create gleaming temples celebrating the Revolution, the USSR, and the war triumph. No two stations are exactly alike, and each of the classic showpieces has a theme. There are world-famous shrines to Futurist architecture, a celebration of electricity, tributes to individuals and regions of the former Soviet Union. Each marble slab, mosaic tile, or light fixture was placed with intent, all in service to a station’s aesthetic; each element, f rom the smallest brass ear of corn to a large blood-spattered sword on a World War II mural, is an essential part of the whole.

The Metro is a monument to the Soviet propaganda project it was intended to be when it opened in 1935 with the slogan “Building a Palace for the People”. It brought the grand interiors of Imperial Russia to ordinary Muscovites, celebrated the Soviet Union’s past achievements while promising its citizens a bright Soviet future, and of course, it was a show-piece for the world to witness the might and sophistication of life in the Soviet Union.

It may be a museum, but it’s no relic. U p to nine million people use it daily, more than the London Underground and New York Subway combined. (Along with, at one time, about 20 stray dogs that learned to commute on the Metro.)

In its 80+ year history, the Metro has expanded in phases and fits and starts, in step with the fortunes of Moscow and Russia. Now, partly in preparation for the World Cup 2018, it’s also modernizing. New trains allow passengers to walk the entire length of the train without having to change carriages. The system is becoming more visitor-friendly. (There are helpful stickers on the floor marking out the best selfie spots .) But there’s a price to modernity: it’s phasing out one of its beloved institutions, the escalator attendants. Often they are middle-aged or elderly women—“ escalator grandmas ” in news accounts—who have held the post for decades, sitting in their tiny kiosks, scolding commuters for bad escalator etiquette or even bad posture, or telling jokes . They are slated to be replaced, when at all, by members of the escalator maintenance staff.

For all its achievements, the Metro lags behind Moscow’s above-ground growth, as Russia’s capital sprawls ever outwards, generating some of the world’s worst traffic jams . But since 2011, the Metro has been in the middle of an ambitious and long-overdue enlargement; 60 new stations are opening by 2020. If all goes to plan, the 2011-2020 period will have brought 125 miles of new tracks and over 100 new stations — a 40 percent increase — the fastest and largest expansion phase in any period in the Metro’s history.

Facts: 14 lines Opening hours: 5 a.m-1 a.m. Rush hour(s): 8-10 a.m, 4-8 p.m. Single ride: 55₽ (about 85 cents) Wi-Fi network-wide

Buying Tickets

• Ticket machines have a button to switch to English.
• You can buy specific numbers of rides: 1, 2, 5, 11, 20, or 60. Hold up fingers to show how many rides you want to buy.
• There is also a 90-minute ticket , which gets you 1 trip on the metro plus an unlimited number of transfers on other transport (bus, tram, etc) within 90 minutes.
• Or, you can buy day tickets with unlimited rides: one day (218₽/ US$4), three days (415₽/US$7) or seven days (830₽/US$15). Check the rates here to stay up-to-date.
• If you’re going to be using the Metro regularly over a few days, it’s worth getting a Troika card , a contactless, refillable card you can use on all public transport. Using the Metro is cheaper with one of these: a single ride is 36₽, not 55₽. Buy them and refill them in the Metro stations, and they’re valid for 5 years, so you can keep it for next time. Or, if you have a lot of cash left on it when you leave, you can get it refunded at the Metro Service Centers at Ulitsa 1905 Goda, 25 or at Staraya Basmannaya 20, Building 1.
• You can also buy silicone bracelets and keychains with built-in transport chips that you can use as a Troika card. (A Moscow Metro Fitbit!) So far, you can only get these at the Pushkinskaya metro station Live Helpdesk and souvenir shops in the Mayakovskaya and Trubnaya metro stations. The fare is the same as for the Troika card.
• You can also use Apple Pay and Samsung Pay.

Rules, spoken and unspoken

No smoking, no drinking, no filming, no littering. Photography is allowed, although it used to be banned.

Stand to the right on the escalator. Break this rule and you risk the wrath of the legendary escalator attendants. (No shenanigans on the escalators in general.)

Get out of the way. Find an empty corner to hide in when you get off a train and need to stare at your phone. Watch out getting out of the train in general; when your train doors open, people tend to appear from nowhere or from behind ornate marble columns, walking full-speed.

Always offer your seat to elderly ladies (what are you, a monster?).

An Easy Tour

This is no Metro Marathon ( 199 stations in 20 hours ). It’s an easy tour, taking in most—though not all—of the notable stations, the bulk of it going clockwise along the Circle line, with a couple of short detours. These stations are within minutes of one another, and the whole tour should take about 1-2 hours.

Start at Mayakovskaya Metro station , at the corner of Tverskaya and Garden Ring,  Triumfalnaya Square, Moskva, Russia, 125047.

1. Mayakovskaya.  Named for Russian Futurist Movement poet Vladimir Mayakovsky and an attempt to bring to life the future he imagined in his poems. (The Futurist Movement, natch, was all about a rejecting the past and celebrating all things speed, industry, modern machines, youth, modernity.) The result: an Art Deco masterpiece that won the National Grand Prix for architecture at the New York World’s Fair in 1939. It’s all smooth, rounded shine and light, and gentle arches supported by columns of dark pink marble and stainless aircraft steel. Each of its 34 ceiling niches has a mosaic. During World War II, the station was used as an air-raid shelter and, at one point, a bunker for Stalin. He gave a subdued but rousing speech here in Nov. 6, 1941 as the Nazis bombed the city above.

Take the 3/Green line one station to:

2. Belorusskaya. Opened in 1952, named after the connected Belarussky Rail Terminal, which runs trains between Moscow and Belarus. This is a light marble affair with a white, cake-like ceiling, lined with Belorussian patterns and 12 Florentine ceiling mosaics depicting life in Belarussia when it was built.

Transfer onto the 1/Brown line. Then, one stop (clockwise) t o:

3. Novoslobodskaya.  This station was designed around the stained-glass panels, which were made in Latvia, because Alexey Dushkin, the Soviet starchitect who dreamed it up (and also designed Mayakovskaya station) couldn’t find the glass and craft locally. The stained glass is the same used for Riga’s Cathedral, and the panels feature plants, flowers, members of the Soviet intelligentsia (musician, artist, architect) and geometric shapes.

Go two stops east on the 1/Circle line to:

4. Komsomolskaya. Named after the Komsomol, or the Young Communist League, this might just be peak Stalin Metro style. Underneath the hub for three regional railways, it was intended to be a grand gateway to Moscow and is today its busiest station. It has chandeliers; a yellow ceiling with Baroque embellishments; and in the main hall, a colossal red star overlaid on golden, shimmering tiles. Designer Alexey Shchusev designed it as an homage to the speech Stalin gave at Red Square on Nov. 7, 1941, in which he invoked Russia’s illustrious military leaders as a pep talk to Soviet soldiers through the first catastrophic year of the war.   The station’s eight large mosaics are of the leaders referenced in the speech, such as Alexander Nevsky, a 13th-century prince and military commander who bested German and Swedish invading armies.

One more stop clockwise to Kurskaya station,  and change onto the 3/Blue  line, and go one stop to:

5. Baumanskaya.   Opened in 1944. Named for the Bolshevik Revolutionary Nikolai Bauman , whose monument and namesake district are aboveground here. Though he seemed like a nasty piece of work (he apparently once publicly mocked a woman he had impregnated, who later hung herself), he became a Revolutionary martyr when he was killed in 1905 in a skirmish with a monarchist, who hit him on the head with part of a steel pipe. The station is in Art Deco style with atmospherically dim lighting, and a series of bronze sculptures of soldiers and homefront heroes during the War. At one end, there is a large mosaic portrait of Lenin.

Stay on that train direction one more east to:

6. Elektrozavodskaya. As you may have guessed from the name, this station is the Metro’s tribute to all thing electrical, built in 1944 and named after a nearby lightbulb factory. It has marble bas-relief sculptures of important figures in electrical engineering, and others illustrating the Soviet Union’s war-time struggles at home. The ceiling’s recurring rows of circular lamps give the station’s main tunnel a comforting glow, and a pleasing visual effect.

Double back two stops to Kurskaya station , and change back to the 1/Circle line. Sit tight for six stations to:

7. Kiyevskaya. This was the last station on the Circle line to be built, in 1954, completed under Nikita Khrushchev’ s guidance, as a tribute to his homeland, Ukraine. Its three large station halls feature images celebrating Ukraine’s contributions to the Soviet Union and Russo-Ukrainian unity, depicting musicians, textile-working, soldiers, farmers. (One hall has frescoes, one mosaics, and the third murals.) Shortly after it was completed, Khrushchev condemned the architectural excesses and unnecessary luxury of the Stalin era, which ushered in an epoch of more austere Metro stations. According to the legend at least, he timed the policy in part to ensure no Metro station built after could outshine Kiyevskaya.

Change to the 3/Blue line and go one stop west.

8. Park Pobedy. This is the deepest station on the Metro, with one of the world’s longest escalators, at 413 feet. If you stand still, the escalator ride to the surface takes about three minutes .) Opened in 2003 at Victory Park, the station celebrates two of Russia’s great military victories. Each end has a mural by Georgian artist Zurab Tsereteli, who also designed the “ Good Defeats Evil ” statue at the UN headquarters in New York. One mural depicts the Russian generals’ victory over the French in 1812 and the other, the German surrender of 1945. The latter is particularly striking; equal parts dramatic, triumphant, and gruesome. To the side, Red Army soldiers trample Nazi flags, and if you look closely there’s some blood spatter among the detail. Still, the biggest impressions here are the marble shine of the chessboard floor pattern and the pleasingly geometric effect if you view from one end to the other.

Keep going one more stop west to:

9. Slavyansky Bulvar.  One of the Metro’s youngest stations, it opened in 2008. With far higher ceilings than many other stations—which tend to have covered central tunnels on the platforms—it has an “open-air” feel (or as close to it as you can get, one hundred feet under). It’s an homage to French architect Hector Guimard, he of the Art Nouveau entrances for the Paris M é tro, and that’s precisely what this looks like: A Moscow homage to the Paris M é tro, with an additional forest theme. A Cyrillic twist on Guimard’s Metro-style lettering over the benches, furnished with t rees and branch motifs, including creeping vines as towering lamp-posts.

Stay on the 3/Blue line and double back four stations to:

10. Arbatskaya. Its first iteration, Arbatskaya-Smolenskaya station, was damaged by German bombs in 1941. It was rebuilt in 1953, and designed to double as a bomb shelter in the event of nuclear war, although unusually for stations built in the post-war phase, this one doesn’t have a war theme. It may also be one of the system’s most elegant: Baroque, but toned down a little, with red marble floors and white ceilings with gilded bronze c handeliers.

Jump back on the 3/Blue line  in the same direction and take it one more stop:

11. Ploshchad Revolyutsii (Revolution Square). Opened in 1938, and serving Red Square and the Kremlin . Its renowned central hall has marble columns flanked by 76 bronze statues of Soviet heroes: soldiers, students, farmers, athletes, writers, parents. Some of these statues’ appendages have a yellow sheen from decades of Moscow’s commuters rubbing them for good luck. Among the most popular for a superstitious walk-by rub: the snout of a frontier guard’s dog, a soldier’s gun (where the touch of millions of human hands have tapered the gun barrel into a fine, pointy blade), a baby’s foot, and a woman’s knee. (A brass rooster also sports the telltale gold sheen, though I am told that rubbing the rooster is thought to bring bad luck. )

Now take the escalator up, and get some fresh air.

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One of the hottest rock bands around is going on tour: Here’s how to get tickets

• Updated: Apr. 10, 2024, 3:14 p.m. |
• Published: Apr. 08, 2024, 9:26 a.m.

Greta Van Fleet Provided by ArtsQuest

• Kelly Kazek | [email protected]

Rock band Greta Van Fleet is touring summer 2024 in support of its latest album, “Starcatcher.” The group, made up of the Kiszka brothers – Sam, and twins Josh and Jake – and Danny Wagner, came on the scene in 2017 with the EP “Black Smoke Rising” and have since released the full studio albums “Anthem of a Peaceful Army,” “The Battle at Garden’s Gate” and “Starcatcher.”

The rockers will be at the Orion Amphitheater in Huntsville, Ala., May 8, 2024.

How to find tickets

Fans in Alabama can find tickets to the Huntsville show at Vivid Seats , StubHub and SeatGeek , or Orion’s ticketing partner, AXS.com .

Greta Van Fleet’s second EP, “From the Fires,” won the 2019 Grammy Award for Best Rock Album.

“Anthem of the Peaceful Army,” released on October 2018, topped the Billboard Rock Albums chart in the first week after its release. The album’s first single, “When the Curtain Falls,” was the band’s third No. 1 single on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.

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Hop On Hop Off in Moscow

City Sightseeing: Moscow Hop-On, Hop-Off Bus Tour

• The Bus Tour offers unlimited 360° panoramic views of main sights of Moscow.
• Access to audio-guide in 10 different languages which enables to know about Moscow’s history and traditions.
• The three-bus tour routes and 40+ stops around Moscow completes the trip. Draw an itinerary to explore the city on your own.
• There can be a boat tour and bus tour to enjoy panoramic views of Moskva River.
• Smartphone Voucher Accepted. (No need to print)
• 24 / 48-Hours Hop-on Hop-off Bus Ticket
• Red Line Audio Guide: Russian, English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Chinese, Arabic, Portuguese, Farsi
• Green Line Audio Guide: Russian, English, German, Spanish, Italian, French, Chinese, Arabic
• Orange Line Audio Guide : Russian English, German, Spanish, Italian, French
• Guided walking tour
• Boat Tour (If option selected)
• Red Route: Schedule: 10:00 - 18:00 , Loop: 60 Minutes, Frequency: 15 Minutes
• Green Route: Schedule: 10:00 - 18:00 , Loop: 120 Minutes, Frequency: 30 Minutes
• Orange Route: Schedule: 10:00 - 18:30 , Loop: 140 Minutes, Frequency: 30 Minutes

Wheelchair Access, Heating Please note that face masks must be worn on board the bus. Orange Route is temporarily suspended   

Operational Details: Walking Tour

• Daily at 10:45 a.m.
• Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes
• Meeting point: next to the monument to Saints Cyril and Methodius (Kitay-Gorod metro station)

Capital River Boat Tour

• May - October: from 11:30am to 6:30pm (Subject to change)
• Duration: 60 minutes
• Departure Point: Zaryadye Park Pier

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Hop On Hop Off Moscow Bus Tours

Moscow, the capital of Russia, is the largest and the most populous city in the country. Present on the banks of the Moskva river, this city serves as the cosmopolitan hub of the country. Carrying  871 year old rich history, this city has played an integral part of Russia’s development and therefore plays an integral role in all the aspect. Majority of the population of Russia lives in Moscow, and the city is responsible as the scientific, historical, political and architectural hub in the region. Moscow is a blend of the old and new Russian culture. The Kremlin complex in the center of the city holds the cultural and historical values of the city. Moscow was also the capital and most important part of the USSR and thus holds many gems throughout the city from that era. Not only that, but the city also brags of timeless elements from the Tsars and other rulers who ever ruled Russia. Moscow has been a hub of many social ideologies and home to popular poets and artists. When in Moscow don’t miss out The Moscow Kremlin, the colorful St. Basil’s Cathedral, the symbolic center of Russia as the Red Square and Lenin's Mausoleum, which also serves as the resting place of Vladimir Lenin and his body has been preserved there since 1924.

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For groups of 12 or more, you may send us an inquiry at [email protected]. Although we do not guarantee bulk deals for all our tours, there are some tours for which we can offer discounted pricing. Ordinary hop-on-hop-off bus tickets are entitled to group savings. Attractions, pass items and combo tickets aren't.

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As, we cannot guarantee that the group shall be able to travel together as one group, therefore we will reduce the group size down to 4-5 smaller groups per ticket (depending upon group size).

NEWS... BUT NOT AS YOU KNOW IT

90s rock legends announce new farewell tour dates after frontman’s ‘serious’ injury

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A globally renowned rock group who dominated the charts in the 1990s have announced fresh dates for their farewell tour, after they were forced to postpone shows .

Aerosmith announced their Peace Out tour would be their last after over 50 years in music in May 2023, with gigs set to start last September.

The band, who have sold over 150 million records worldwide and are the best-selling American hard rock group of all time, have a back catalogue boasting songs including Walk this Way, Love in an Elevator, Dream On and Young Lust.

However, they were then forced to postpone their 2023 dates after their frontman Steven Tyler sustained a ‘serious’ injury – but now they will resume shows this September instead.

The 76-year-old damaged his vocal cords, which led to ‘bleeding’, just days into their world tour.

Aerosmith initially pushed back six gigs as Tyler revealed he was ‘heartbroken’ to have been given ‘strict doctor’s orders not to sing for the next 30 days’.

However, the I Don’t Wanna Miss A Thing stars later had to make the decision to suspend all of their show dates after it became apparent Tyler had fractured his larynx.

‘To our fans: Unfortunately, Steven’s vocal injury is more serious than initially thought. His doctor has confirmed that in addition to the damage to his vocal cords, he fractured his larynx which requires ongoing care,’ a statement Aerosmith released at the time on Instagram read.

‘He is receiving the best medical treatment available to ensure his recovery is swift, but given the nature of a fracture, he is being told patience is essential.

‘As a result, all the currently scheduled PEACE OUT shows must be postponed to sometime in 2024, with new dates to be announced as soon as we know more.’

Tyler added in a separate message: ‘I am heartbroken to not be out there with Aerosmith, my brothers and the incredible Black Crowes, rocking with the best fans in the world. I promise we will be back as soon as we can!’

Now, those dates have been confirmed as kicking off again on September 20 in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia and travelling extensively throughout the United Sates and Canada until February 26, when they play Buffalo, New York.

‘We’re thrilled to announce new dates for our 2024 PEACE OUT Tour with special guests @theblackcrowes!’, Aerosmith announced on X, adding: ‘All previously purchased tickets will be honoured for the rescheduled shows – you’ll receive more info via email.

We’re thrilled to announce new dates for our 2024 PEACE OUT Tour with special guests @theblackcrowes ! All previously purchased tickets will be honored for the rescheduled shows – you’ll receive more info via email. Tickets for the rescheduled dates & newly added shows go on sale… pic.twitter.com/OvKwGM24PV — Aerosmith (@Aerosmith) April 10, 2024

‘Tickets for the rescheduled dates & newly added shows go on sale Fri 4/12 @ 10AM local at http://aerosmith.com.’

Aerosmith was formed in late 1970 and comprises of Tyler, lead guitarist Joe Perry,bass player Tom Hamilton, drummer Joey Kramer and guitar player Brad Whitford.

Kramer, however, is not participating in the world tour with the band announcing he is ‘focus[ing] his full attention on his family and health’.

Touring member Buck Johnson will be participating as well.

In February, a lawsuit filed against singer Tyler by a woman accusing him of sexually assaulting her twice in one day when she was 17 was dismissed.

US District Judge Lewis Kaplan stated that former child model Jeanne Bellino had waited too long to sue the 75-year-old rock star, as reported by Reuters.

The judge said Bellino did not qualify for a two-year window to pursue claims that would otherwise extend beyond statutes of limitations, because she did not allege that Tyler’s conduct posed a ‘serious risk of physical injury’.

Rocker Tyler had previously ‘vehemently’ denied her allegations.

Tyler has also defended against a lawsuit in Los Angeles, where another woman, Julia Misley, claimed he sexually assaulted her in 1973 when she was 16 and he was 25.

He has denied the claims and insisted that Julia Misley, formerly known as Julia Holcomb, consented to their relationship.

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