Festival production glossary
This festival production glossary defines the terms you meet in DJ, band, and live electronic technical riders — from stage plot to changeover — in plain language for organizers and production crews. Each entry is short, standalone, and written the way the work actually happens on site.
Technical rider
A technical rider is the document an artist or their production sends ahead of a show to specify what they need on stage: backline, audio inputs, monitors, power, and stage layout. For an organizer, it is the source of truth for what a booking will require and cost. Riders arrive as PDFs in every format imaginable; TRACE reads them and extracts the contents into structured, planning-ready data.
Stage plot
A stage plot is a top-down drawing showing where each performer, instrument, amplifier, and monitor sits on stage. It tells the crew where to place backline and point wedges before doors open. It usually travels alongside the input list inside a technical rider. Organizers read the stage plot to check that an act fits the stage and to brief the local crew on setup.
Input list (channel list)
An input list, also called a channel list, numbers every audio source going into the mixing console — each microphone, DI, and instrument line — in the order it should be patched. It tells the audio crew how many channels a show needs and what sits on each one. It is a core page of most technical riders, usually paired with the stage plot so placement and signal read together.
Backline
Backline is the shared musical equipment on stage: drum kits, guitar and bass amplifiers, keyboards, and DJ gear. Riders list the backline an artist expects the festival to provide, versus what they carry themselves. For an organizer, backline is where rider requests turn into rental orders and shared-gear planning across acts on the same stage — the point where separate riders start to add up into totals.
Changeover
A changeover is the turnaround between two acts: clearing one artist's backline and setting the next while the audience waits. Tight changeovers keep a festival on schedule; long ones eat into the running order. Organizers plan changeovers from what each rider needs on and off stage, and TRACE uses that to estimate how long each turnaround will take and where the day is at risk of slipping.
Running order
The running order is the timed sequence of who plays when on each stage, including set lengths and the changeovers between them. It is the backbone of festival scheduling and drives crew shifts, curfews, and stage conflicts. Organizers build it from booking times and rider needs, then often share a public version so audiences know when each act is on and where.
Patch list
A patch list maps each input to a physical connection point on stage — which stage-box input, sub-snake, or console channel a signal lands on. It is the audio crew's wiring plan, one level more detailed than the input list. It appears in more thorough technical riders and is what the crew follows during setup and line check to get every source to the right place on the desk.
DI box
A DI box (direct injection box) converts a high-impedance instrument signal, such as a keyboard or acoustic guitar, into a balanced line the mixing console can take cleanly over a long cable run. Riders count DI boxes in the input list. Knowing how many a lineup needs across a day helps organizers and production companies stock the right audio inventory on each stage.
Monitor wedge
A monitor wedge is a floor speaker angled back at a performer so they can hear themselves and the rest of the band on stage. Riders specify how many wedges each position needs and how many separate monitor mixes. For organizers, wedge and mix counts drive the monitor console and speaker requirements, and they shape how much work the monitor engineer carries during a set.
Load-in / load-out
Load-in is moving an artist's gear from the truck to the stage before a show; load-out is clearing it afterward. Riders and their logistics pages note timings, access, and the crew needed for both. Organizers schedule load-in and load-out around stage changeovers and shared loading docks so that trucks, gear, and crews don't collide during the busiest windows of the day.
Advancing (a show)
Advancing is the pre-show process of confirming every detail with each act's tour manager: rider needs, timings, backline, hospitality, and logistics. It is where an organizer turns a stack of riders into a settled plan and catches gaps before the artist arrives. Reading riders early makes advancing faster, since the open questions are already on the table by the time the call happens.
Spare / backup
A spare, or backup, is duplicate equipment held ready in case a primary unit fails during a show — a spare CDJ, mixer, or microphone. Riders sometimes request specific spares, and festivals also keep their own by policy. For organizers, spare planning means deciding how much backup gear to carry per stage, weighed against the risk of a unit going dead in the middle of a set.
Frequently asked
What's the difference between a stage plot and an input list?
A stage plot shows where things go — the physical placement of performers, backline, and monitors on stage. An input list shows what feeds the console — every microphone, DI, and line in patch order. The stage plot is spatial; the input list is a signal count. Most technical riders include both, and the audio crew reads them together.
Where do these terms appear in a technical rider?
Most technical riders open with backline and stage requirements, then a stage plot and input list, and often a patch list for larger productions. Logistics pages cover load-in and load-out, and hospitality usually sits at the back. TRACE reads all of these from the PDF and turns them into structured data you can plan from.
Are these terms the same for DJs, bands, and live electronic acts?
The core vocabulary carries across, but the detail shifts. A DJ rider centres on booth backline — CDJs, mixer, monitors — with a short input list. A band rider leans on the stage plot, a longer input list, and monitor mixes. Live electronic acts sit in between. TRACE handles all three rider types.