cma touring mentorship program
The CMA Touring Mentorship Program gives early-career touring professionals access to experienced professionals in their desired fields. Throughout the program, mentees meet with their mentors monthly over 6 months and discuss best practices in their role, trends in the industry, and receive real-world experience through shadowing and projects. The program begins with a kick-off for mentees and mentors to meet and set the rest of their program meetings, and the program ends with a celebration of their work and a chance to share what they’ve learned. In 2026, the program runs from April to October and includes 7 tracks: Tour Management, Production Management, Band Leader/Musician, Front of House (FOH) Engineering, Monitor Engineering, Lighting Direction/Design, and an introductory Touring 101 Track.
QUALIFICATIONS & HOW TO APPLY
Mentees should have less than 5 years of experience in their career field or field of interest and be able to commit to meeting with their mentor for at least 2 hours per month for a six-month period. Mentees must be CMA Members.
Mentors must have 5 or more years of experience in the live entertainment industry or field of interest and must be able to commit to meeting with their mentee for at least 2 hours per month for a six-month period. Mentors must also be CMA Members.
SCHEDULE
Late March – Mentors and mentees notified of pairing
The program runs from April to October.
*Exact mentorship meeting dates to be agreed upon by mentor/mentee pair
mentorship program content
Each mentor has developed a curriculum and topics of discussion for the 6 planned meetings. The mentor/mentee pair will customize pieces of it based on the interest and experience level of the mentee.
The pair will also decide what type of project or scenario would be a valuable exercise for the mentor and mentee to work together on over the term of the mentorship.