Former One Direction member Louis Tomlinson recently announced his 2023 Faith in the
Future Tour, which features stops in Cincinnati, Columbus, Cleveland, and Indianapolis. And,
after several years on hiatus, alternative band Paramore will also be visiting Columbus,
Cleveland, and Indianapolis on their highly anticipated arena tour.
Having waited for these concerts for so long, many fans will be inclined to catch them as many
times as they can. Following bands and artists on tour is becoming an increasingly popular
aspect of fan culture. And while it can certainly be a fun experience to travel to new cities while
seeing your favorite artists live, there are also some safety concerns that come along with it.
Abby Cawthon is no stranger to this. The University of North Texas entrepreneurship student
was often given a shake of the head when she asked her parents if she could attend multiple
dates of a tour. After seeing the concert frenzy become more intense as a result of the
pandemic, Cawthon decided to come up with her own solution. From these experiences
spurted her company Tomorrow and Tonight.
Cawthon knew she had a big idea but was not exactly sure how she would execute it.
In the initial planning stages, she came up with a number of options. These included fans
sharing RVs, but she found that none of them offered the comfort and safety she knew fans
needed. After doing some research, Cawthon came upon the concept of renting tour buses.
But others didn’t see the same potential in the idea that she did. After spending just a week
writing a business plan and taking it to UNT’s career center, she was rejected. The university
gave her resources, but even those didn’t seem to brighten others’ outlook on the venture. Still,
Cawthon kept going.
The college student worked up to 80 hours a week to build the company up. Despite this, the
logistics of the tours she’d hoped to follow in the beginning just didn’t work. On top of that,
social media wasn’t exactly supportive, either.
“I was running it faceless,” explained Cawthon. She hadn’t yet put a face to her brand, leading
some fans to believe she had the worst of intentions.
Eventually, though, the company gained traction on TikTok. Cawthon utilized music industry
resources like the Girls Behind the Rock Show Facebook group to spread the word, which lead
to partnerships and press features.
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In 2022, Cawthon was finally able to take Tomorrow and Tonight on the road. Sad Summer Fest,
a tour featuring alternative music, was a space for her to promote the company and drive
interest in future tours.
When I spoke to Cawthon, she was soon going to be flying to Ohio to pick up one of the buses
that will be used this summer. While one tour is already in the books, Cawthon spoke of the
demand for other artists such as 5 Seconds of Summer.
Cawthon is aware that not everyone may be keen to the idea of Tomorrow and Tonight right
way.
“Safety is the number one thing,” she said. Tomorrow & Tonight requires background checks
for both staff and passengers to ensure the comfort of everyone.
This contrasts with the carpooling that many fans do during tours – sometimes having only met
their fellow fans in person once. The driving also often takes place overnight, even after fans
have spent long hours at shows – just one of the concerns that Tomorrow and Tonight hopes to
address.
Tomorrow and Tonight packages for Louis Tomlinson’s tour run from $100 to $250 per day,
with bundles available for longer stretches of tour dates. Amenities include charging ports,
entertainment systems, and private showers, depending on the package chosen.
Being a fan herself, Cawthon knows how the expenses of even attending a single tour date can
add up. With concert ticket fees on the rise, saving money where possible is important to fans.
She stated that the company does their best to “keep things at cost” and is “not built for
profit.”
The young entrepreneur, even in her social media materials, emphasizes the concept of “living
like the artist” while aboard a Tomorrow and Tonight bus. There are only a few short months
between now and when fans get the first taste of that experience.
To learn more about Tomorrow and Tonight and view current offerings, visit the company’s
website at tomorrowandtonight.com.
Louis Tomlinson will begin the Faith In the Future Tour in Uncasville, Connecticut at Mohegan
Sun Arena on May 26.
Carly Webster
Staff writer