road·ie

/ˈrōdē/
INFORMAL
noun

1. a person employed by a touring band of musicians to set up and maintain equipment.
   “he looked a bit like a roadie for a heavy metal band”

The magic of a live show does not come from the performance alone. Live music is an immersive experience. It takes scores of specialized technicians + crew to ensure the lighting, sound, visuals, wardrobe, rigging and the like are all functioning perfectly while setting up and tearing down with dizzying efficiency.

These crew members – roadies – are passionate about their work, to them it is as much of a craft as the performance on stage. However, the toll it takes on them and their families can be devastating. We have dedicated our careers to the live entertainment industry and now we are rededicating our lives to leaving it, and the family we formed along the way, better than we found it. We are all part of an eclectic group of people called roadies, and we work hard touring the world to bring joy and entertainment to the masses.

Co-founders Courtney and Paul Klimson have lived this life together for over 20 years. They have risen in the ranks of touring from van + trailer tours to theaters to arena + stadium headliners such as John Legend, The Roots, Justin Timberlake, and Drake. In between Legend and Timberlake, Paul auditioned at Saturday Night Live for a new, unknown show that would later become Late Night with Jimmy Fallon (and subsequently, The Tonight Show). The success never made it easier as the demands only increased for the two of them.

Despite how lonely it felt at times, Courtney and Paul only needed to look around at their road family to see that they weren’t alone in their struggles. There is an industry-wide need for physical, mental, and emotional support and those who need it most – the roadies – are most hesitant to ask for help. The calling was clear,

“ The Klimsons knew that they had to create a place by roadies, for roadies to ensure a safe space for this community. “

It was with these insights and resolve to improve life on tour that Courtney and Paul founded The Roadie Clinic (TRC) in July 2019. Just three months later, they closed on the historic commercial building that would become the flagship location for a physical home for TRC.

Roadies live according to a “day sheet,” which is an hour-by-hour breakdown of what is happening that day, how they are getting there, when they will eat, and when they will rest. When you factor this daily grind, often with very little sleep and self-care, plus the fact that these people are gone for months at a time, the formula for re-entry into home life can become nearly impossible to solve for some.

The most common issues amongst the touring community include – isolation, depression, anxiety, paranoia, broken marriages (and the co-parenting that follows), and addiction. At times our friends and family at home find it difficult to relate to our lifestyle, often saddling our work with harmful stigmas. Roadies are routinely discouraged from discussing the health and wellbeing of the families back home. Not only do we routinely miss major life events from weddings to funerals, keeping up with our own health isn’t an option, as benefits are non-existent in touring.

Roadies will be the first to tell you that community and support are a two way street. Everyone on crew has a vested interest in the success of those working around them as it directly affects their own success. Road crew are some of the most self-reliant people you will encounter. They are educated, business owners, self-insured, self-employed, with self-made retirement plans.

That two-way street holds true for The Roadie Clinic and our relationship with the town of Niles, MI. Niles is our adopted home and where we will create our haven for roadies in need. We owe much of our early success to the open, welcoming arms with which the community has embraced us. We have, and will continue to reciprocate that support by involving Niles in our plans and make ourselves available to the town to help create a thriving Arts District.

Healthy road life. Healthy home life.

The Roadie Clinic exists to empower + heal roadies and their families by providing services and resources tailored to the struggles of the touring lifestyle.

We are committed to providing a safe space for our community to heal off the road, to advocate for – and empower them to obtain – a healthy work environment while on the road. We intend to grow our network to have a global outreach while our three-story, multi-faceted space will offer therapy, education, advocacy, financial guidance, recovery resources and temporary housing when available. It is our goal that, through donations and partnerships, we will be able to offer our services at no cost to roadies.

we offer to roadies + their families