Los Campesinos! reveal what it costs to tour America in 2026

Over the twenty-year career of Cardiff punk band Los Campesinos!, the group’s political outspokenness has never been confined to just lyricism. Their politics are integral to how they operate as a band, whether that means only playing venues that are ADA-compliant and have gender-neutral restroom facilities, setting aside a portion of their tickets to be sold at a discount price for low-income fans, or turning down an Airbnb brand partnership over the company’s ties to Israel. 

Los Campesinos! are also known for their transparency about the logistical and financial realities of being a touring indie rock band. Two days ago, they shared a complete breakdown of the costs and profits of their 2024 North American tour promoting their seventh studio album, All Hell. Broken down by category, the total cost of travel, visa expenses, accommodations, crew compensation, gear maintenance, and miscellaneous amounted to £101,857.95. On another slide, they detailed the cost of tickets, the number of tickets sold per show, and show fees, which, after payout to their booking agency, amounted to £99,738.05 recouped. 

It’s no secret that touring is more expensive than ever. Independent artists are lucky to break even. Los Campesinos! may have worked out a model for touring that’s more sustainable than most, but that only speaks to the dire realities of being a working musician—twenty years as a critically beloved rock band with an impassioned fanbase still isn’t enough for members to quit their day job. This isn’t a band that’s pumping out albums on an every-other-year basis and touring just the same, either. They record and tour when they want to, because they want to, and a lot goes into making sure they have just enough resources and flexibility to do so. “The vast majority of outgoings listed here are paid before a penny of income has been received,” the band’s post reads. Even if a band has the funds to pay for a tour up front, an incident on the road—robbery, injury, illness, a bus or van breaking down—could be financially ruinous. 

“A band has to have access to capital long before the tour is going to take place, in order to be able to embark on it at all,” Los Campesinos!’s post concludes. “And who has access to capital? Major label acts that still choose to rip off their fans with exorbitant ticket pricing, and rich kid bands that can always return home to their parents.” This band has never been one to shy away from the inequalities plaguing the music industry and the world beyond it. The unequal distribution of wealth is an insidious, self-feeding cycle that screws over fans and musicians alike, and the notion that openly discussing money is gauche or impolite is a ploy to prevent class consciousness. 

While one band alone can’t dismantle the parasitic mechanisms of the music industry on its own, it’s refreshing to see musicians who’ve been in the game as long as Los Campesinos! shed some light on the harsh conditions of touring as an independent act in 2025. Maybe it’ll encourage other artists to follow suit. Talented, overworked, and underpaid artists are worth more than these dollar amounts.

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