How to Tour as an Indie Artist Before Anyone Knows Your Name ft. KELS #266

KELS didn’t wait until she was “big enough” to tour. She used touring to BECOME big enough.In this episode, we break down how she went from cleaning houses to selling out secret shows, building her own DIY touring model, playing unconventional venues like diners, barbershops, libraries, and churches, and turning real-life fan connection into serious momentum.She shares how she picks cities, sells tickets, keeps costs low, uses fan data, promotes her music relentlessly, and built a world around her “dirty blues” sound that people actually want to be part of.FREE ACCESS to "100 VIRAL CONTENT IDEAS FOR MUSICIANS": https://forms.gle/zGWuUrLA8mBfqz7F8JOIN OUR DISCORD:https://discord.gg/rTAYsPcyEYWANNA WORK WITH US? Make us an OFFER! https://forms.gle/tVdon5vyoGAqPjx6AGET 30% OFF DISTROKID:http://distrokid.com/vip/onemoretimeFOLLOW KELS:https://www.instagram.com/findingkelsFOLLOW One More Time:https://www.instagram.com/onemoretime.fmhttps://www.tiktok.com/@onemoretime.fm00:00 Intro02:23 KELS Is Blowing Up in Real Time03:58 From Cleaning Houses to DIY Touring05:41 How KELS Built Her Own Touring Model10:27 Secret Shows and Weird Venues13:13 Owning Fan Data and Selling Tickets Directly16:08 Why Most Artists Wait Too Long to Tour17:45 How KELS Picks Cities and Builds Demand20:26 The Real Grind Behind Her Music Career22:49 How Much DIY Touring Really Costs25:16 How to Sell Tickets as an Indie Artist30:21 Live Performance as Music Marketing34:27 The Viral Sam Buck Video That Changed Everything36:40 DistroKid37:35 Building the Dirty Blues Brand42:13 Sonic Identity vs Visual Identity45:35 Why Great Music Alone Is Not Enough48:56 How KELS Made “Gone” Work55:26 Why Indie Artists Shouldn’t Give Up on Songs57:28 Turning Followers Into Ticket Buyers01:01:08 Why Relatability Matters for Artists01:03:02 Rapid Fire Rampage ft. KELS