At the end of their gigs, up-and-coming Norwich country-rock band Brown Horse jump from the stage to their merchandise stall.
Selling T-shirts often earns them more money than the show itself.
That income is crucial to keeping them afloat on the road. Like many musicians who aren’t established names, the rising cost of touring means it’s “a constant struggle” to afford to keep going, they say.
“We joke about basically being travelling T-shirt salesmen,” singer Patrick Turner says. “A lot of the time that’s how it feels – with a soundtrack.”
After a tour date, the five band members usually sleep on friends’ floors or drive their 30-year-old van for hours to save on accommodation.
Following a show in Oxford last week, they arrived back in Norwich at 3.30am before starting their day jobs the next morning, then went back on the road a few days later.
“In order to break even, you have to make a lot of sacrifices for your wellbeing and comfort – which we do – and all the bands we know do, and it’s just culturally accepted that that’s what you have to do,” Brown Horse bassist Emma Tovell says.
Their next UK tour in October will be slightly easier, however.
A £1 levy has been added to tickets for recent arena and stadium shows by stars including Harry Styles, Olivia Dean, Lily Allen, Take That, Foo Fighters, Florence and the Machine, Lorde and My Chemical Romance.