diff --git a/backend/routers/shows.py b/backend/routers/shows.py
index aeb5743..ae2d17a 100644
--- a/backend/routers/shows.py
+++ b/backend/routers/shows.py
@@ -34,82 +34,87 @@ def create_show(
         
     return db_show
 
-def serialize_show(show: Show) -> ShowRead:
+def serialize_show(show: Show) -> dict:
     """
-    Robustly serialize a Show object to ShowRead, manually handling relationships
-    to avoid infinite recursion in Pydantic v2/SQLModel.
+    Robustly serialize a Show object to a dictionary.
+    Returning a dict breaks the link to SQLAlchemy ORM objects completely,
+    preventing Pydantic from triggering lazy loads or infinite recursion during validation.
     """
     try:
-        # Base fields map directly
-        s_read = ShowRead(
-            id=show.id,
-            date=show.date,
-            slug=show.slug,
-            vertical_id=show.vertical_id,
-            venue_id=show.venue_id,
-            tour_id=show.tour_id,
-            notes=show.notes,
-            bandcamp_link=show.bandcamp_link,
-            nugs_link=show.nugs_link,
-            youtube_link=show.youtube_link,
-            # relisten_link is on model but not in ShowRead schema? 
-            # Check schema again if needed, but safe to omit if not in schema
-        )
+        # Base fields
+        data = {
+            "id": show.id,
+            "date": show.date,
+            "slug": show.slug,
+            "vertical_id": show.vertical_id,
+            "venue_id": show.venue_id,
+            "tour_id": show.tour_id,
+            "notes": show.notes,
+            "bandcamp_link": show.bandcamp_link,
+            "nugs_link": show.nugs_link,
+            "youtube_link": show.youtube_link,
+            "vertical": None,
+            "venue": None,
+            "tour": None,
+            "tags": [],
+            "performances": []
+        }
         
         # Manually map relationships if present
         if show.vertical:
             try:
-                s_read.vertical = VerticalSimple(
-                    id=show.vertical.id,
-                    name=show.vertical.name,
-                    slug=show.vertical.slug,
-                    description=show.vertical.description,
-                    logo_url=show.vertical.logo_url,
-                    accent_color=show.vertical.accent_color
-                )
+                data["vertical"] = {
+                    "id": show.vertical.id,
+                    "name": show.vertical.name,
+                    "slug": show.vertical.slug,
+                    "description": show.vertical.description,
+                    "logo_url": show.vertical.logo_url,
+                    "accent_color": show.vertical.accent_color
+                }
             except Exception as e:
                 print(f"Error serializing vertical for show {show.id}: {e}")
 
         if show.venue:
             try:
-                s_read.venue = VenueRead(
-                    id=show.venue.id,
-                    name=show.venue.name,
-                    slug=show.venue.slug,
-                    city=show.venue.city,
-                    state=show.venue.state,
-                    country=show.venue.country,
-                    capacity=show.venue.capacity,
-                    notes=show.venue.notes
-                )
+                data["venue"] = {
+                    "id": show.venue.id,
+                    "name": show.venue.name,
+                    "slug": show.venue.slug,
+                    "city": show.venue.city,
+                    "state": show.venue.state,
+                    "country": show.venue.country,
+                    "capacity": show.venue.capacity,
+                    "notes": show.venue.notes
+                }
             except Exception as e:
                 print(f"Error serializing venue for show {show.id}: {e}")
 
         if show.tour:
             try:
-                s_read.tour = TourRead(
-                    id=show.tour.id,
-                    name=show.tour.name,
-                    slug=show.tour.slug,
-                    start_date=show.tour.start_date,
-                    end_date=show.tour.end_date,
-                    notes=show.tour.notes
-                )
+                data["tour"] = {
+                    "id": show.tour.id,
+                    "name": show.tour.name,
+                    "slug": show.tour.slug,
+                    "start_date": show.tour.start_date,
+                    "end_date": show.tour.end_date,
+                    "notes": show.tour.notes
+                }
             except Exception as e:
                 print(f"Error serializing tour for show {show.id}: {e}")
                 
-        return s_read
+        return data
         
     except Exception as e:
         print(f"CRITICAL Error serializing show {show.id}: {e}")
-        # Return a minimal valid object or None? 
-        # Safest to return basic info without relationships so user sees something
-        return ShowRead(
-            id=show.id, 
-            date=show.date, 
-            vertical_id=show.vertical_id,
-            slug=show.slug or ""
-        )
+        # Return minimal valid dict
+        return {
+            "id": show.id, 
+            "date": show.date, 
+            "vertical_id": show.vertical_id,
+            "slug": show.slug or "",
+            "tags": [],
+            "performances": []
+        }
 
 @router.get("/", response_model=PaginatedResponse[ShowRead])
 def read_shows(