Stensrud Touring

Photo by Chris Gaylor

Stensrud Touring has grown as vastly as their lineup of Artists. With tours from Noah Kahan, Bad Bunny and so much more. We chat with Andy Stensrud and Tina Musci of Stensrud Touring and discuss some logistics, behind the scenes and learn a bit more about how atVenu has vastly improved their operations and process.  

Let's Begin! 

How did Stensrud Touring begin and what are your roles in the company?

Andy:  I'm Andy, I own the company. I started the company back in 2019. It’s a small company, very hands-on, very relationship oriented, so I'm heavily involved in the day to day operations as well as all the stuff that comes with being a business owner. Before that, I worked at a merch company for about 13 years and before that, I was a merch guy on the road. I started in a van with the All-American Rejects. I grew up with those guys in Oklahoma, they got me into professional touring. Before that it was punk bands and station wagons. I fell in love with the whole experience of merchandise at that first Rejects show and knew I had to figure out how to make it a long term thing. 

Tina: I joined in October, what we call “Rocktober,” the busiest time of the year. Once I came on board, I hit the ground running with back-to-back shows for Noah Kahan and Bad Bunny. There was hardly any time for training, but fortunately, I came pre-trained with solid experience. One of the most memorable moments for me was launching the Young Miko tour in Denver last year. The crew was 99.9% Latino and Spanish-speaking, and for many, it was their first tour or even their first time on a tour bus. Getting merch off the ground with them was truly special.

Do you remember what your first day as a merch business owner was like?

Andy: The first day I woke up as a business owner, I just told myself, "You know what you're doing. Believe in yourself. Do the work." I had the band Dawes going on tour right away and they played at Radio City and I went to the show and it was just this moment that I knew It was gonna all work out. Then I flew down to Puerto Rico for the first Bad Bunny shows in 2019, the X100pre tour started there. That felt like an out-of-body experience. I realized, “This really is happening, and I get to be a part of it.” By April of that year my whole world had changed. 

X100pre Tour Line Fall 2019

Can you tell us some pain points before using atVenu?

Andy:  For me, I remember when atVenu came out, around 2012 or 2013. The touring community caught wind that there was this settlement app being built, and we started trying it out on a few tours. Some of those early road reps had to go through it, trying to get the system up and running. They were really the sacrificial generation of merch reps. Like most new things it was a process but they gave us their feedback, and you guys were willing to listen and improve the experience. I'm glad it's the industry norm now, it's gone really well. The biggest change I noticed was it basically cut my morning emails in half. Everyone got what they needed when they woke up, and the settlement was already waiting for you. Believe it or not, that was life-changing at the time because before, you couldn’t get road guys to send in their settlements. It was always “please send your Excel sheet,” and they were in a van or bus in the middle of nowhere with no wifi, trying to figure how to calculate tax but the app has corrected a lot of those old pain points, thankfully. 

Tina: atvenu really cleaned everything up, fewer issues with cash, money, and numbers across the board. Now we have this massive, organized database of all our past sales and shows, which has been incredibly useful to look back on. We rely heavily on the tour summaries for reconciliations, something most other platforms don’t even offer. It’s funny thinking back to when we first started using atVenu. At the time, it was more like, “Let’s see how this goes.” But over the years, we’ve grown to really trust it. Eventually, it became our go-to source for numbers, that was the settlement. Before, we were doing two settlements and trying to merge everything manually. It’s come a long way. Going cashless and streamlining everything is no small feat, but this has been a total game changer.

Stensrud Touring Outdoor Merch Booth For Noah Kahan

What is an Item that may be selling more than in past years, any new buying trends from fans?

Andy: The pullover hoodie is definitely a monster. People just love their hoodies. I've always thought, merch is alive, don't turn your back on it or get complacent. You have to stay aware and be ready to make changes as they happen or in some cases be lucky enough to work with artists that lead those new trends. Tour dates on merch are usually the biggest seller. They used to only be on a couple items but now dates are usually on all the cloth. People want to look back and say, “I was there, this year, in this place, at that venue.”

"Merch is alive, don't turn your back on it or get complacent."

Tina:  We sell a lot of different products with K-pop bands, but standard items are probably always going to be the best sellers. It’s fun to find trending products that work, but we kind of know 80% of the line needs to be reliable, and the last 20% is where we can take some chances.

Merch Booth For Sauce Boyz

We like to debunk myths around here, is the black t-shirt really the top selling item in 2025?

Andy: Actually, I would say for some artists, black doesn’t sell. The last 3 years for us it's been a blue spruce and a cream T-shirt that's been the best sellers. Doing the research and figuring out who the fan base is for each artist is something I love to be a part of. Connecting the fan and the artist through the merch will always be top priority so you can't just say, this works because it always has...

From Vending Theaters To The Largest Names In The Industry

Managing Live Events 

What's one strategy that you have seen increase merch sales on tour?

Andy: I think the reason Tina and I work so well together is because we care a lot about the small things. Making sure the road guy displays the merch well, making sure the venue does that too, having the right number of sellers and credit card machines, selling locations, early sales to get those die hard fans lining up for a chance to buy merch before doors has been a game changer. This might sound like a no-brainer but you need to have the right amount of stock at every show, the right amount of items is a big deal, not too little, not too many. This part of it we can look back and say, when we do these things we see results so just paying attention to that and then follow through with it. 

Tina: Having the right merch seller is key. You need someone who knows the material or has the right attitude, because they’re a direct reflection of the brand, the artist, and our company. Restocking when you run out of sizes is important too. It’s just about caring. That’s the secret. You can tell when someone really wants to do a good job. We’re here to support that from afar. That’s what makes the difference. 100%.

Stensrud Touring Merch Ready To Go Out For Tour

What is one thing (or multiple) about your role that takes longer than many would think or challenges you deal with that people wouldn’t know if they aren’t in the industry? (I.e. coordinating drop shipments or details with paystubs/managing so many people out on tour, coordination of load in for the merchandise, etc).?

Tina: Right now we're in the thick of it with drop ships and UPS delayed shipments. It's not just slapping a label on a box and getting it out of the venue. There's a whole logistical dance, sometimes full circle, half circle, making sure inventory gets to venues, making sure restocks happen. Andy’s on the restocks, navigating venue-specific restrictions and delivery times. When you have multiple tours going at the same time, like we do, things get wild fast. Organization and communication are key. Andy and I have both spent hours on the phone with UPS, trying to reroute a package, chasing it the whole tour. For drop ships, you manage all the venues, sometimes the venue payments, the sellers, the payouts, the venue settlements. You have to make sure taxes are correct. There’s a lot that goes into this. Logistics is probably the number one time suck, but at the end of the day, that’s what a merch company is. There’s creative stuff, and fun, like going to shows, which is great, but at the end of the day it’s about getting that merch to the show and having the right amount. That takes time.

Andy:  Yea, there's a lot that goes into this behind the scenes - so it's important to point out what IS going right as often as possible because something will usually happen that's pretty stressful and you can't get caught up focusing on the problem. You have to move pretty quickly through that and start getting to a solution. A couple months ago, I told Tina, “Please tell every single rep to take the atvenu reader out of the box, plug it in, and make sure it works five hours before doors,” because we hit a few days where she was getting blown up... “something’s not right, something’s not right.” We always figure it out, but we’re just trying to de-stress the day. That’s always the goal.

Stensrud Team On Site For A The Bad Bunny "Most Wanted Tour"

You manage artists of all genres and sizes with some major tours, what factors do you look at when planning and working with those teams with such different genres and size of artists?

Andy: I try to keep the team small no matter how big the artist. Matching the right road rep has always been a huge focus. It’s really about matching the right people up, managing expectations, and making sure everyone knows what they’re supposed to do, how to do it, and what they’re responsible for. It’s a lot of conversations about what’s happening, what’s going to happen and how it's going to happen. Each genre has its own specific nuisances and we need our road reps to know those and to press into them. Some tours are in clubs and don’t need as much time or communication. Others are in stadiums, where I’m on the phone for hours a day talking to the road rep and the printer, lining everything up to maximize sales as much as possible and land deliveries as smoothly as possible. What I like about how I set things up is that the smallest band gets all the same resources as the biggest band. They don’t always need them, but they’re there. Tina and I will never say no or change the deal because of size. If you're part of our team, we're in this together, and we’re going to provide every service we can for your merchandise.

Tina: Everyone gets the white glove service. I’m available 24/7 for calls, questions, comments, and concerns. This question speaks to how dynamic Andy and the company are. For stadium tours, there’s less wiggle room, so every tiny detail is managed. Smaller club tours have more leeway, but they still get the same offerings as the bigger ones. It shows how much we care about all of our clients. 

Andy: Where we've seen this really work well is with Noah Kahan and his team. We started in clubs in 2021, and it was great. He was doing good numbers, we were having fun, and figuring things out. Then, when “Stick Season” hit, we went from clubs to theaters to arenas, and it ended in stadiums. Everything was already in place, and we just pulled what we needed off the shelves and put it into play. It was a really enjoyable process.

Stensrud Team On Site For A The Noah Kahan "Stick Season Tour"

What would be your best advice to someone who's trying to break into the tour merch business?  

Andy: Show up, grab a box, don't wait around, help out. Do the things no one else is willing to do. Just show up ready to work, with a good attitude, be a problem solver, and say yes to as many things as you can. Be ready to hustle. It’s not as glamorous as people think. You can go to shows, meet cool people, but it’s about attitude. Ask questions, we’ve taken chances on merch reps because we see the right attitude and potential, then after an hour of Tina walking them through training, they turn into professional merchandisers.

Tina: Network without being pushy. Have conversations with people in the industry, ask questions, treat people right, and your name will get passed around. That’s how most gigs come up and how we hire our merch reps. It’s mostly word of mouth, not just resumes. Good attitude is key!

Anything you are particularly excited for this year? 

Andy: For me, it’s the joy of traveling to shows with my family but also the excitement of a backyard show. There is the excitement of continuing great partnerships with our artists and also the excitement of picking up my phone and hearing about someone new. I love the relationship side of this, talking, laughing, telling stories and hearing about people's experiences. I believe merch should always be a positive experience, and it’s great to deliver good news to the managers or artists. I love knowing the hard work we put in alongside our printers, designers, freight team, vendors and merch reps comes across in a simple text of how much we did before doors or how long the merch line is outside the show. Never gets old for me. So, just continuing to do the work and build on this dream remains exciting for me. 

The Stensrud Family at Fenway Park For Noah Kahan Shows July 2024, Photo by Roy Langlois  

Tina: I’m always excited to discover new artists, even ones I’ve never heard of. I’ll dive into their music on Spotify, catch a live show, and really immerse myself in their world. When you feel a genuine connection to an artist, it naturally deepens your understanding of what resonates with their fans. That’s where great merch starts. It’s about capturing the essence of the artist and translating it into something fans want to wear and represent. When someone’s pumped to buy a t-shirt because it means something to them, that’s when you know you’ve done your job right.

K-Pop Light Sticks Illuminate the Crowd

Learn more about the Stensrud Touring team here.