Toll of rock tours leads to sober assessment for Sahara Herald

For nearly two decades Sahara Herald held the role of national event co-ordinator of the Big Day Out.

Sahara Herald, at the Frontier Touring office in Melbourne. Alcohol is ‘just not for me anymore’, she says. Picture: David Geraghty

For nearly two decades of her working life in the Australian live music industry, Sahara Herald held the role of national event co-ordinator of the Big Day Out.

“It wasn’t all swanning around with rock stars and drinking champagne — it was a travelling circus with upwards of 800 people on the road, and it was hard work,” she said.

At its peak, it was one of the world’s biggest touring music festivals, with ticket sales of 330,000 before its demise in 2014.

Towards the end of her 18 years of working on the Big Day Out, however, the demands of the job began to take a toll on Herald’s health. “I started looking for things outside myself to relieve that pressure, and I started self-medicating with alcohol,” she said. “I probably disguised what was going on with me by pretending to be the life of the party, but in essence I was actually quite sad, lonely and disconnected.”

At the Bigsound music conference in Brisbane on Thursday, she will give a keynote presentation on how to manage the demands of a life in constant motion that is typical of many performing artists and industry professionals.

“When you’re on the road, you’re removed from your family, friends and support networks,” she said. “You’re living in a bit of a bubble, where you’re seeing the inside of venues, hotels and airports, and it can be really quite disconnecting. I think there’s a real change in that conversation about how we support people within the industry to ensure that they’ve got happy and healthy lives.”

Herald’s story is one of ­redemption. Following a stint in rehab, she was offered a part-time job by industry veteran Michael Gudinski in 2014. In November, she was appointed a tour director with one of the nation’s biggest entertainment companies in Frontier Touring, which co-ordinates stadium concerts for artists such as Ed Sheeran, the Rolling Stones and Kylie Minogue.

She is not alone in her sobriety, a task which can be tricky in a business where booze flows freely. The Living End bassist Scott Owen and blues musician Ash Grunwald made a pact to quit ­together on New Year’s Day last year, which the friends have happily maintained.

“I don’t regret it for a moment,” said Herald. “I feel so much hap­pier within myself. I’ve got really good boundaries, and it’s not anyone else’s job to keep me sober. I certainly don’t resent anyone else having a good time (with alcohol) — it’s just not for me anymore.”