Meet Dalal Rajhi | Tour manager & Production Coordinator

We had the good fortune of connecting with Dalal Rajhi and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Dalal, how has your work-life balance changed over time?
Creating a healthy work life balance wasn’t easy for me when I started out as a tour manager/production coordinator. Especially because it was my first fulltime job after college in a high paced environment with lots of responsibilities. You are constantly pushing your boundaries and trying to (im)prove yourself in your new working environment, that as a result health and social life were often not on my priority list. Even though, no one was expecting of me to lose sleep or to not take care of my mental and physical health. I always thought that I wasn’t susceptible for a burn out, but the fact is everyone is and it was very stupid of me to think otherwise. So after my first festival summer, I knew that I had to work on my work life balance if I wanted to keep working as a Tour Manager (which I really wanted, because I love my job) before it got out of hand. I noticed that the main problem was, not being able to differenciate each task’s priority. Each task, each e-mail, each phone call was a priority for me. Therefore I couldn’t stop working till everything was finished, which could be very tricky working with people from different timezones. Also tours and shows are not advanced in one day, but as long as it wasn’t finalised I did not have any peace of mind, which gave me a lot of unnecessary stress. One day someone from my crew told me, “Dalal, you know you are not a 24/7 service, right?” And this was kind of the turning point for me. I started putting my work method and hours in a different perspective. Understanding that, first of all I wanted to respect people’s time where they wanted to be undisturbed and second that, I as well had the right to have some time off, where I don’t pick up the phone when I’m eating dinner or I am not responding to emails when I’m with friends. I started to understand that people will be able to contact me if there is in fact an emergency and that when I receive an email at 10pm on a Sunday, 3 weeks before show day, about whether they have a kettle at the venue or not, is not a priority to write a response immediately. The right balance is different for everyone, especially in the music industry as we do not have regular working hours. Once on tour you are on the job 24/7, so it is important to create a good work life balance before and after a tour as it is important to have some time off once in a while so you can keep doing the job you love for a long time.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
The moment the house lights dims and the audience’s cheers crescendo, I still get goose bumps, guided only by the beam of my flashlight as the artist makes their way toward the stage. It’s always such an excited moment! Since my first concert at 15 I then realised my future was in the music industry.

I pursued a bachelor’s degree in Music Management, a curriculum rich with the promise of event organization and networking opportunities but unfortunately Covid had different things in mind. However, this setback has given me the breathing space to think about what I want to do and draw up a more defined career plan. During this time I got inspired by the YouTube series Tour Management 101 create by internationally experienced Tour Managers who generously shared their expertise on touring, which I am very grateful for.

Luckily, by the time I started my internship with LobbyCall, things had changed for the better. Pandemic restrictions were lifted and there was a huge demand for live music again. Tours that had been postponed were now back on schedule, marking a strong comeback for the industry. This wasn’t just a recovery—it was a vibrant revival that opened up many opportunities for those eager to dive in. I was ready to jump right in, excited to turn the dynamic energy of this revival into the career I had always dreamed of.

From the first concert I attended, the sight of so many joyful people gathered together made me want to be part of the team that creates that happiness. Every time I hear the crowd’s cheers, it fills me with joy and the satisfying knowledge that I’ve done my job well. While I love music, the most rewarding aspect for me is the opportunity to work with a diverse group of people, each bringing their own experiences, skills, and personalities to the table.

As both a tour manager and a production manager, my goal is to always create the best possible work environment for my artists and my crew. I am a team player, everyone deserves to be heard. Although we all aim to do what’s best for each person, achieving this isn’t always realistic. So, I will always try to find a solution at finding a middle ground to keep everyone content. We can’t always meet everyone’s demands, but for me, leaving them unsupported is not an option. I want the world to understand that I’m a people person. I’m neither an extrovert nor an introvert, but I thrive on learning from everyone and enjoy being around those who share this mindset. This is what I appreciate most about the touring industry, where people recognize that success is a team effort.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
I come from this small city called Bruges, and hope you will be able to visit this medieval town at least once in your live! When you visit I would definitely recommend grabbing a morning coffee at Stera! It is a coffee bar, where you can drink great coffee while being surrounded by lots and lots of plants. Big plus, they allow dogs inside and no one better to come greet you at the entrance than the owner’s dog Leia herself!

Another great place, where you can have a drink is the Cherry Picker. While waiting for your drink you can roam around, as this is also a record shop. On some days they also have concerts going on. So would 100% recommend having a look!

For the folks who prefer to have a taste of our national treasure, Belgian beer, I highly recommend going to ‘t Poatersgat. It is situated in a cellar and holds so many different flavours of beer. ‘T Poatersgat is a real gem and is just a great place to hang out with friends after work or during the weekend. The look and feel inside is very medieval and just let’s you enjoy the Bruges of the old days.

Bruges has a big range of activities in the city, but my favourite one is going to the movies in the cinema hall: Lumière. The small building has so much character and is adored by many film buffs! They show a variety of national and international films, both indie and mainstream. It is situated in the city center, so after the movie, you still have plenty of options to grab a bite to eat or something to drink!

Some places I recommend to grab a bite are L’Estaminet, De Stoepa, 27B Flat, Otomat, Brugsch Friethuys. Each are a different kind of kitchen, but all very tasty and affordable.

And of course, we can’t forget the dessert, so you go down to the best ice cream shop in town, Gelateria Da Vinci! I know I am biased but the queues in front of the shop, proofs my taste buds are very much still working.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are so many people I am thankful for for guiding me and supporting me to the person I am today and the achievements I made. I am very fortunate that I am surrounded by loving family and friends, who always encouraged me to go do what makes me happy!

But one of the main factors to were I am today are the people at LobbyCall. LobbyCall is a tour & production management company where I work alongside talented and experienced tour directors and managers. My shoutout would definitely go to Mathias Cobbaut (co-founder & tour director) & Gilles Bouttens (tour manager), as they were the first ones in live touring to give me a chance. I am forever grateful for their time, trust and patience. From the moment I started my internship at LobbyCall, Mathias was aware I was in for the long run and his trust made sure I could use my full potential to achieve my goals. Over the past couple of years I have gained so much experience from them, but also from the other Tour Managers in the LobbyCall collective. Talking and working with different people in the industry helped me broaden my perspective on touring and work methods. It showed me new ways to improve myself and I’m happy that I get the chance to explore all of that.

There are two other particular people that deserves a lot of credit and those are my colleagues and close friends, Lou Rochdi and Maya Dottin. Not many of my friends understands what it means to be a Tour Manager/Production Coordinator and how our day to day looks like and how we are under a lot of pressure to make sure everything runs smoothly. So when one of your best friends is also a TM, it’s great to be able to vent to someone who understands what you mean. Also, not gonna lie, but it is so much fun to work with your friends on the same production! Truly a dream team!

Thanks again to all these people to answer already so many of my questions. There are yet more to come 😉

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dalal.rajhi?igsh=MW1uOHQ0anh5YTM0dg%3D%3D&utm_source=qr

Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/dalalrajhi

Image Credits
Taike De Wilde (Instagram: bytaike) Hannah Gray (Instagram: thegrayhall) Lou Rochdi (Instagram: lou_rhd)