The term "roadie" is a nickname for "road crew." A roadie is a technician that travels on tour with a band, and the term can refer to a wide variety of job titles. Guitar techs, bass techs, drum techs, lighting techs, and stage managers, among others, are all part of the roadie category. The roadie serves an essential purpose, and does his job to ensure that the band will be able to play at the venue with proper sound and lighting.

A roadie who deals with instruments is generally a musician as well. In some cases, an individual will work as a roadie for a band, while also serving as the main band's opening act. In some cases, a roadie may go on to become a successful musician in his own right. This was the case for Noel Gallagher, who was a roadie for the band Inspiral Carpets before rising to fame in Oasis.

A roadie generally gets a job touring with a band either by being a friend of the band's, or by gaining experience working behind the scenes at a theater company or with a production company. You can also gain experience by getting a low-level job at a music venue, and working your way up.

Though many people think that the life of a roadie is glamorous because he is touring with a well-known band, the job generally consists of a lot of hard work, and, in many cases, the band members never directly talk to the roadie. The road crew generally travels in a separate tour bus from the band members. However, in some cases, roadies become friends with band members, and are acknowledged in CD liner notes and elsewhere.

In 1980, the singer Meat Loaf starred in a movie called Roadie, in which he played a roadie from Texas on tour with a rock band. A former roadie named Karl Kuenning, who has worked with more than 200 bands, including Elvis Costello, BB King, and the Talking Heads, has published a book called Roadie: A True Story (At Least the Parts I Remember), which features his confessions of living on the road.