Tour Design Is Getting Simpler: Raw Cereal on Tech Fatigue and 6-Week Turnarounds
Touring production is swinging back toward simplicity, according to Anders Rahm and Cort Lawrence, co-founders of creative studio Raw Cereal, in an interview with IQ Magazine (Hanna Ellington, June 9, 2026). As production companies consolidate and AI creeps into creative workflows, the pair say artists and audiences are pushing back toward stripped-down shows built around live connection rather than screens.
Founded in 2022, Raw Cereal's credits include Calvin Harris, Cardi B, Morgan Wallen, Noah Kahan, Phish, Fred again.., BIGBANG and Lainey Wilson. Lawrence describes the studio as a creative "one-stop" team, reflecting the industry's shift toward consolidated 360° services.
Earlier Booking, Tighter Creative Timelines
Rahm says expanding services is convenient for clients but can alienate peers: a design-only shop finds it easier to partner with other content studios. He calls it a "double-edged sword" — competition is business, but it can cost relationships with would-be collaborators.
From stage to backstage, tour dates are locked earlier, tickets go on sale sooner, and fans spend more and travel further — yet creative teams have less time to prepare. Lawrence says managers and tour directors want longer lead times, but artists often don't commit until the last minute. Rahm adds that dates can be set early; the real bottleneck is assembling the team and getting decisions made.
- Standard lead time: about 6 months
- Minimum for established artists: 6 weeks
- Some emerging artists are now planning earlier than before
Less Content, More Camera Work — Screens Start to Disappear
Rahm observes that touring visuals are being scaled back while camera-based work grows in importance, citing Charli XCX's BRAT Tour as a turning point. The direction discussed with artists is simple, intentional, and sustainable — away from massive structures. Screen-driven production is still growing, but it's also pushing designers to consider when to turn screens off in favor of lighting and live moments.
AI has entered production pipelines, with adoption varying widely. Rahm recalls a tour they were set to work on that instead hired an AI creator to replace the entire content team; the result had resolution errors and was full of flaws — he compared it to "a Facebook post." The studio itself uses AI to handle shorter timelines, while artists split between embracing a hybrid approach and rejecting AI entirely. Recent live visuals have shifted toward hand-drawn and stop-motion animation, and Lawrence says the studio has returned to shooting in-studio to avoid shows that end up looking like just color palettes and motion graphics indistinguishable from other stops.
Working with Calvin Harris alongside design studio EighteenTwentySix, Rahm recalls the artist saying he didn't want to be "another artist throwing robots on screens," opting instead for cinematic segments and audience-driven visuals. Lawrence believes a new generation of concertgoers — who attend dozens of shows a year — is now fatigued by technology, pushing creative focus back toward the artist, the music, and connection itself.
Hovercraft Acquisition and a Six-Person Team
Earlier this year, Raw Cereal was acquired by private equity group Hovercraft Ventures, joining the UK's OMM, US-based Hovercraft Studios, and Visual Endeavors to form what Rahm calls a experience-production "supergroup." He says the group effectively fills out service lines that would normally take decades to build. Lawrence adds that the experiential side of entertainment is also consolidating: venues, expos, retail, and sporting events are all entertainment now.
This year's projects include Noah Kahan, Queens of the Stone Age, and Bryson Tiller. Lawrence says the core team remains six people, and the hardest part is managing creative work so it meets every client's specific needs.