LOG ENTRY 007

Forty Years on the Road

The miles weren't the journey... the people were.

After writing my last Journal, I found myself thinking about that unexpected walk to Waters Edge. One decision. One conversation. One morning that quietly changed everything. It made me realise something. Looking back over the last forty years...

My entire life has unfolded exactly like that. Not through some grand master plan. Not because I always knew where I was going. Quite the opposite. I've simply spent a lifetime saying..."Yes."

When I was a teenager, I thought I knew exactly what my future looked like. I was going to play guitar. Write songs. Tour the world. Become a rock star. It didn't quite work out like that. Instead of standing under the spotlight... I somehow found myself making sure the spotlight came on. And, strangely enough...I discovered I loved that just as much.

People often ask me how I ended up doing so many different things. The honest answer is...I don't really know. I never sat down and planned a career. I just kept opening doors. One opportunity led to another. One conversation led to another. One friendship introduced me to another. Before I knew it... The road had become my classroom. I've promoted concerts. Owned music venues. Managed tours & talent. Taken care of artists all over the world. Worked in production. Moved freight around the world. Helped solve problems that audiences never even knew existed. Some days I was wearing a headset. Other days, a high-vis jacket. Sometimes a suit. Sometimes, soaking wet in a loading bay at three o'clock in the morning. It never really mattered. Because every day was another lesson.

One of the greatest things this industry has taught me is that no one succeeds alone. People often see the artist. They see the lights. They hear the music. What they don't always see are the hundreds of people quietly making it all happen. The drivers. The riggers. The freight teams. The catering crews. The local promoters. The venue staff. The runners. The security teams. The production offices. The people who never take a bow...but without them there would be no show.

I've been incredibly lucky to stand alongside those people for most of my adult life. And they've taught me far more than any qualification ever could. I've learned that trust isn't built during the easy days. It's built during the difficult ones. When the truck breaks down. When the flight is cancelled. When the gear gets stuck in customs. When the artist loses their passport. When the venue phones to say there's a problem. That's when you discover who people really are. And it's also when you discover who you are.

If I'm honest...

The jobs themselves have become a bit of a blur. The memories haven't. I remember laughing until sunrise with crews after impossible days. Sharing motorway service stations at ridiculous hours. Watching nervous young bands play to fifty people...and years later seeing those same bands headline festivals. I remember friendships that began over a cup of coffee backstage and have lasted decades. Those are the things that stay with you. Not invoices. Not contracts. People. Always people.

Someone asked me recently what my greatest achievement has been. I thought about it for quite a while. It isn't a particular artist. It isn't a particular tour. It isn't even one moment. It's the fact that after forty years... There are still people who pick up the phone. There are still people who trust me. There are still people who believe that if we sit down together...We'll find a way. To me...That's worth more than any title.

Looking back now...I realise something that never occurred to me at the time. I wasn't collecting jobs. I was collecting experiences. Every venue taught me something. Every tour taught me something. Every mistake taught me something. Every friendship taught me something. Every mile taught me something. None of it was wasted. Every single experience quietly became another tool I'd one day need. I just didn't know what I was building.

People sometimes ask me whether I ever regretted not becoming the rock star I dreamed of being. The answer is easy. Not for a second. Because music still gave me everything I ever wanted. It gave me a passport to the world. It introduced me to extraordinary people. It showed me places I'd never have imagined visiting. It taught me resilience. Humility. Patience. And above all...It taught me that the best things in life are almost always built together.

So when people ask me where Terra Nueva came from...The name may have arrived in the 1980s. But the experience behind it...That came from forty years on the road. Forty years of listening. Learning. Helping. Failing. Starting again. Meeting incredible people. And never losing the excitement of wondering..."I wonder what's behind the next door?"

Perhaps that's why I still wake up excited about tomorrow. Because after all these years...I'm still learning.

The journey continues... 🌍

Next Log: The Unexpected Detour

Stu