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Whether you’re trekking around with young people from gig to gig, or just going to visit family in Pittsburgh, it helps to have road-tested travel hacks. These tour tips from Sam Amidon may not be known to everybody… yet:

Sam Packs UpWarning: the Hamilton soundtrack is actually 17 hours long.

With that in mind, here are things to know, when you’re touring with your kids:

1) Kids are amazing merch sellers, but I am pretty sure it is a violation of child labor laws.

2) Flying with children allows for more instrument carry-ons.

3) One 12-hour travel day is totally cool. Three four-hour travel days is a drag.

4) When you do a solo tour with a kid, all non-kid touring will suddenly feel blissfully easy and meditative.

5) Strangely, I find it easier to do a 4-day tour of multiple cities with my post-toddler, than bringing him to a festival, which I find surprisingly difficult.  The regimented nature of touring is very similar to preschool and therefore familiar to the child, whereas the dispersed energy (and often lots of walking) at a festival can simultaneously exhaust and hype up your kid.

Revised update: the Hamilton soundtrack is now 23 hours long and your children will demand to hear the entire thing.


SAM AMIDON

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Sam hails from Brattleboro, VT. He logged a few years with his kids in L.A. playgrounds, and is now back in London with his musician wife Beth.

Sam sings, plays fiddle and guitar, and collaborates with super creative people like Valgeir Sigurðsson to arrange American folk songs in a manner that New York hipsters (and I) love.

His most recent CD, Lily-O is available on LP, CD and download. Choose your favorite format and buy it today! (It will help you tour with your kid with ease.)

Learn more at http://www.samamidon.com/

Leap, Little Frog

a musician's musings on nesting, being creative, traveling, and parenting