The Giggs Podcast: #34 Ryan Whelpley | Kip Moore’s First Crew Member to Red Light’s Touring Director

Welcome to The Giggs Podcast! Giggs is the career platform for live event professionals. We're starting this podcast because there's not nearly enough content out there about what it really takes to be on the road. Whether you're an aspiring tour manager, a seasoned backline tech, or just getting started in the business, this podcast is for you. We're taking you behind the scenes to explore the highs and the lows of life gigging on the Giggs Podcast. 

Ryan Whelpley is a Touring Director at Red Light Management with over 20 years of experience in live production. He started out mixing front of house at Nashville’s Wildhorse Saloon, then hit the road full-time tour managing the Gin Blossoms. For The Lost Trailers, he did it all—tour manager, front of house, production manager, merch, van driver. He ran pre-show, carpentry, and automation for Tim McGraw, then spent nearly seven years as Kip Moore’s tour manager. These days, Ryan oversees budgets, vendors, staffing, advancing, routing—anything and everything touring—for a roster of artists at Red Light.

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From Front of House to Tour Director

Ryan Whelpley’s career in live events began behind the board at Nashville’s Wildhorse Saloon. From mixing six nights a week to tour managing the Gin Blossoms and the Lost Trailers—while also handling merch, driving, and pre-show carpentry—he’s done it all. He eventually helped build Kip Moore’s touring operation from the ground up.

Now at Red Light Management, Ryan oversees touring logistics, budgets, routing, and staffing for a range of artists.

Helping Artists Scale Smart

Ryan’s specialty is stepping in early to help artists transition from vans to buses and beyond. Whether it’s organizing routing, staffing up, or managing costs, he ensures growing teams have what they need to scale without collapsing under pressure.

Every camp is different, and Ryan adapts—filling gaps and building systems that work.

Grounded in Reality

Ryan often plays the role of reality check. He’s stopped tours from launching when the math didn’t work—like one that would’ve lost $6K out the gate. He encourages underplaying when it makes sense: sell out a smaller venue over multiple nights instead of playing to a half-empty big room.

He brings numbers into the picture early: buses can run $2K/day, trucks $1,500. Those choices matter.

Professionalism Above All

Having worked nearly every job on the road, Ryan’s big on respecting the process. If a crew member doesn’t mesh with a team, that’s fine—just finish the run, don’t ghost. Word travels fast in this industry.

His only real frustration? Being looped in too late. Letting him into the process earlier saves everyone time, money, and stress.

Touring Is a Puzzle—And He Loves Solving It

Ryan still travels about 50 days a year, but he mostly works from home now—solving problems, coordinating teams, and keeping tours running cleanly. For him, every tour is a puzzle: moving parts, people, gear, and schedules.

He’s not chasing the spotlight—he just wants to snap the ball clean every time and make sure the show goes on.