If you’re a country star trying to cultivate a certain image, your tour rider is a nemesis. Here are 11 of the strangest requests from hitmakers like Tim McGraw, Lainey Wilson, Hank Williams Jr. and more.
Beer and whiskey might be the most popular demands, but underwear of all varieties — and very specific brands — is a close second. No fewer than three artists expect clean white socks, T-shirts and boxers waiting on them.
The women are a bit more practical. In fact, just two women make this list of wildest tour rider requests, and one is included to show that not everyone expects to be dressed by strangers.
Several of the artists below request things that contradict their image. Maybe that’s not too surprising — after all, this is what the Highwaymen asked for on tour in the ’80s:
Who would have guessed this group would be chugging down decaf soda and melon balls?
Jelly Roll, Kid Rock, Dan + Shay and Taylor Swift circa 2008 are also featured. Most of these tour rider requests were gathered during interviews with Taste of Country Nights. For a few, we referred to the Smoking Gun, who were the OG curators of tour riders a decade ago.
