From the Eric Church Tour to the Grammys: On the Bus with Cellist Kaitlyn Raitz

You’re riding along with Kaitlyn Raitz as she breaks down the real mechanics of touring at scale: staying human on a bus, finding tiny routines that keep you sane, and surviving the sleep math when you’re one of twelve buses on a massive run. Then it’s straight into the onstage reality of modern country arena production: 24 musicians, a full string quartet, choir, and horns, plus the challenge of making strings translate in a loud arena. You get the practical gear-and-tech layer too: DPA mics and pickups, dynamic EQ, managing cello loudness, and how tools like ToneDexter fit into keeping tone consistent when the room is working against you.

You also get the career side, unfiltered: how the Eric Church gig happened through the Nashville relationship web, why being excellent and easy to be around matters, and why “Nashville is a ten-year town” if you want longevity. Kaitlyn’s stories span arranging and learning charts mid-tour from iPads, to the whiplash of getting a Grammy call with barely any runway, to recording in LA and wondering how anyone actually functions there. The episode closes with the mindset and performance skills that keep pros durable: protecting your brain and nervous system, flipping a stage persona on and off, and the practical win of transitioning to IEMs for a cellist when monitors are run well. Bottom line: this is how you keep your craft sharp, your head steady, and your show consistent night after night. Always Be Performing.​

• 00:00:00 Gig Gab 522 – Monday, February 23rd, 2026
  • February 23rd: Curling Is Cool Day
  • Guest co-host: Kaitlyn Raitz
• 00:01:55 Protein and Joy on the bus
• 00:02:14 Passing the time productively on the bus…and on the tour
  • Swimming
  • Swimply OR PlacesToSwim.com
  • Thrifting
• 00:05:53 Sleeping on the bus!
  • Twelve tour busses on this tour
• 00:07:26 24 Musicians on stage
  • String Quartet
  • 8-Person Choir
  • Horn/Woodwind Quartet
• 00:09:45 Micing a string quartet in an arena
  • DPA Mics AND pickups
  • Dynamic EQ
• 00:14:47 Cellos and Loudness
  • ToneDexter
• 00:18:50 Writing, arranging and learning charts mid-tour!
  • Reading from iPads
  • Eleanor Denning, String Lead and Arranger on the Eric Church Tour
  • Bitter Pill has a cellist, too!
• 00:21:33 Getting the Eric Church gig
  • Sub list for the Nashville Symphony
  • Everything in Nashville is relationship-based
  • Be good at what you do, and also be a pleasant person that people want to be around
  • Nashville is a ten-year town
• 00:25:07 SPONSOR: Squarespace. Check out https://www.squarespace.com/GIGGAB to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code GIGGAB.
• 00:26:55 You played on the Grammy’s?
  • Used to play with Brandy Clark, and occasionally gets a one-off gig call still.
  • AND, a week-and-a-half before the Grammy’s, the call came in
  • Do you want to play the Grammy’s with me?
  • Kaitlyn has questions for LA-denizens:
    • How do you live in LA?
    • Do you see people that you know?
    • Do you take public transportation?
  • Recorded at Sunset Sounds in LA
• 00:33:05 Protecting your brain and nervous system
  • Take on a persona
    • “You are Kaitlyn Motherfucking Raitz”
    • “We are bad bitches, we have earned this”
    • Gary Cherone is the master of turning the stage persona on AND OFF
  • Let the lights blind you
• 00:40:25 Transitioning to IEMs
  • It’s great for a cellist!
  • IEMs are better than having to use bone conduction
  • Kaitlyn’s IEM mix – she hears the band
  • It comes down to who’s running monitors
  • Ultimate Ears UE7 Pros IEMs
• 00:47:06 Kaitlyn Raitz’s Music
• 00:48:52 Gig Gab 522 Outtro
  • Follow Kaitlyn Raitz
    • On Instagram
    • On Facebook
  • Contact Gig Gab!
    • @GigGabPodcast on Instagram
    • feedback@giggabpodcast.com
    • Sign Up for the Gig Gab Mailing List

The post From the Eric Church Tour to the Grammys: On the Bus with Cellist Kaitlyn Raitz – Gig Gab 522 appeared first on Gig Gab.