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‘I want young people to see producing festivals as a real career choice they can access’

It’s been less than a month since Yas Galletti, Director at We Are OPS and The Fair, launched The Advice Line – a brand new careers tool offering free advice to anybody looking to start their own festival, or kickstart their career in the events industry.

Already, the line has gained widespread attention in event industry press, with time slots to speak with an Yas or another industry professional rapidly filling up.

We sat down with Yas to hear about her own experience working in festivals and events, the challenges young people face getting into the industry today, and how they can overcome them.

So, we have launched The Advice Line this week, how exciting?

Very exciting!

Tell us how you started out in the festival and events industry?

I guess it all started when I was 18. I was going out a lot raving in London, and got into flyering, music and working in the club scene. I kind of accidentally fell upon the festival industry. The first festival I ever did was Eastern Electrics [EE] with Rob Star back in 2012, which is nice because they’re now a client of ours.

Within our team we also set up a series of club shows called Found, and this followed in EE’s footsteps. We did the first ever Found Festival in Haggerston Park.

The first Eastern Electrics festival was actually in Greenwich where the Olympics were also on, which was also a lot of fun…

So, over a decade ago now?

Indeed, yes. I feel old.

Sorry! So, during that time, what challenges do you think you faced starting out in the industry?

Having impostor syndrome for many years was probably the biggest challenge I faced. I fell into the role, and I was trusted with quite a lot of responsibility from a young age, so I was obviously was doing quite well, but there was also a lack of development and staff interaction in the same way that people have these days.

It was more about ‘Let’s sell tickets for the shows’ than, ‘How do we keep our team on board?’ or ‘What’s the importance of having the same people in roles for X number of years?’. I was valued, and I worked really well with the people I worked for and with. But there’s a lot more consideration for younger people’s development in the industry now, which is amazing.

So, from when you first did the Eastern Electrics Festival to now – how did you progress and get to the position that you’re in?

I worked for a company who were promoters predominantly, and we thought we could run a festival ourselves. So, we gave it a go. I accidentally became a producer…or an event production manager…none of us even had labels for our roles.

We really got thrown into the deep end, which was horrific at the time and obviously crushed my confidence even more, because so many things go wrong – more behind the scenes things, everybody came had a good item and left safely. But actually, it’s kind of served me well having to find my feet in that space so early on, in such a dramatic way.

After a couple of years, I thought I was going to leave the industry forever. But I met Nick and Rob (CEO and Director of We Are OPS, The Fair and We Are Placemaking) on site at Ceremony Festival in Finsbury Park where they were doing festival health and safety, and I was freelance event managing. I had a really fun time with them on site and remembered why I do love festivals, and how fun and like-minded people can be in that space.

So, that rekindled my love for working in festivals. I think that was 2016. They offered me a job, and basically, and the rest is history.

And how did you build your confidence in your career?

I started doing something called a self-audit. I felt a bit lost in what I was doing early on, because I didn't have any definition of role. I would recommend anyone who's questioning what they're doing, what their values are, where they want to go, to do a self-audit.

Write yourself a few questions in a note book: 'What are my values? What do I want from a job? Who am I? What am I good at? What are my biggest accomplishments so far?  What do I want my working day, week or year to look like?'

You can kind of make the questions up. But when you get all that from pen to paper, you realise your own values and start to think about what kind of role they align with, and it all helps to figure out what you want. So, that gives direction.

What do you think the challenges are for, say, new promoters right now?

Since I first started producing festivals, there is a lot more regulation and external stakeholder influence. There are much higher standards expected for operational practices on site, safety procedures and local stakeholder engagement, which is a great thing. However, it does mean it’s a lot more expensive to start out with your first event and the SAG process will lead to more considerations and costs than it would have 10 years ago.

So, I would say it’s harder than ever to start your first festival if you don't have big capital or investment behind you to back you up, because it’s highly likely you will lose a lot of money on the first one.

So, what is your advice to those people?

Ring The Advice Line to find out more ;) haha… I’d also say, speak to people – go to industry networking events, join networking groups, meet people and find out what their experience is like. There is strength in numbers and shared knowledge and I think the industry is getting better and better at that! 

So, in terms of The Advice Line, why did you start it and why is it so important?

I get contacted a lot, as I'm sure a lot of people do in the industry, by students or people who have seen the email on their website and want help on stuff. I always try to go back to them, even if it takes six months. I want to give those people time.

I had a coffee with a guy doing a Stage Management degree. We had 30 minutes and just talked about stuff. After that coffee, he thanked me so much for taking the time and said it had been really useful. I realised how much really simple knowledge we all probably have that could be given to people starting out in the industry, that's really easy to give them, will help them, and doesn't take anything apart from a little bit of our time.

So, now that's The Advice Line - an hour a week of my time each week, which will hopefully help people start their careers in the industry. We’ve already had such incredible feedback – both Rob and I are pretty much fully booked until June!

You've said it's a very challenging environment to work in. It's sort of nonstop all year round. Why should people still want to join the industry?

You're always learning - even people who've been doing this job for 30, 40 years, they will be learning every year because it's always changing, and no event is the same each year, let alone whatever new events you're working on.

I do think events of this nature have a huge cultural capital for people who attend them. You know, people leave a festival and they feel nourished and happy. I'm sure they feel very tired too! But it's a really important piece of culture for people across the world, but particularly in the UK. I feel like your first festival is a bit of a baptism of fire.

There is also genuinely something for everyone, whatever it comes down to. If you're really sociable, if you like doing documents, if you love Excel spreadsheets, if you like music, if you are really technical, there's lots of different areas you can go into.

And to end on a high, what would you say is your career highlight?

For me, just the end of a successful show, where you get to stand there and really take stock of all that you've done. I always watch people leaving and you hear them saying what a wonderful time they've had, and that's always amazing.

At Otherlands last year, for example. We’d launched this brand new festival for one of our existing clients, FLY, in Scotland. It was quite challenging. It was very different. But the festival was so lovely, and the feedback from the audience was too.

A personal highlight was when finally - after my many years of obsessing over drum and bass - Andy C headlined El Dorado Festival, which we produced in 2019. I stood on the main stage where he was performing and thought, ‘Wow, 16-year-old me would be really proud of me. That's cool.’

To get support with your career in festivals or events, head to The Advice Line page to book a free chat with an industry professional.

The WATF 100KM Challenge for One Community.

The team at OPS have pledge to run, walk, cycle, 100 kilometres to help raise money for our extended family at Badu Sports and One Community, a community support and engagement hub based in East London catering for the needs of those most exposed in the local area and beyond.

The call was made and the date was set. Tracksuit bottoms, repurposed from loungewear to armour, had the Wotsits dust shaken from them and training began in earnest. Pinot Grigio and chips were sacrificed for coconut water and carrot sticks to please the gym gods. After all, the call had been made and the date had been set. We have officially socially distanced ourselves from the sofa. This. Is. Not. A. Drill.

Badu Sports mission is to engage with and connect the most marginalised of society. To help everyone that they can through sporting activities, mentoring, and continuous support. Over the last ten years, Badu Sports has developed an extensive team of volunteers and trainers from the local community and beyond offering places for children and young people in Easter and summer holiday clubs. The strength of the organisation comes from the fact that the staff have been through the same struggles their members face. Much of the team consist of young people Badu supported as children, that have stayed on become trainers themselves, providing a unique understanding of testing times with lived experiences of the issues faced.

One Community launched in early 2020 to combat the rise of poverty in the local community. It grew exponentially in answer to the advent of COVID-19 and its disproportionate effect on the BAME community. One Community provide direct aid or guidance to assist callers to attain help for themselves. They offer culturally specific and bespoke care packages including growing tips, food packages, cooking advice, activity packs, and clothing to 120 families and 11 schools across Hornsey, Hackney, Newham, Ilford, and Redbridge. One Community always strive to give everyone who needs help the time to speak, a choice of action, then the best of everything they need.

The last three years has seen Badu Sports birth and develop Badu Community from the growing need to do more. To do more for those with less ability to do for themselves. To do more for those left behind due to no fault of their own. To do more for anyone strong enough to pick up the phone and ask for help. The team build relationships and provide valuable space for young people and their families to communicate, share, and develop through a mentoring group and community events.

Yasmin, Jan and Millie have been volunteering at the Badu food bank every Thursday for the past few months, packing boxes and mucking in at the distribution centre at the Olympic Park. Sadly stocks are starting to dwindle and as people slowly head back to the their normal lives, the early mutual aid and generosity of the masses has started to dwindle. So, we are doing this 100k to fundraise for the One Community project and to ensure they can continue with their food delivery support at least until schools reopen fully and hopefully the need for food parcels can be reduced in the post Covid world!

Festivals, What Is the Future?

We have explored the history of festivals in our last few posts, but what could the future hold for the world of large-scale events. Will we see millennials watching artists performances from their computers, or could music become a near irrelevant part of a ‘festival’ in the future?

Over the last decade, in an effort to diversify from the crowd, festivals offer more than just a musical experience. As a result, the average attendee has become savvier at finding an event that speaks directly to their taste and focuses on using creativity to make it a unique experience for punters. Creative stage designs, artistic installations and immersive performers/performances are some of the many angles festivals have taken to stand out from the growing crowd.

GALA (Peckham) has been pushing the boundaries creativity and visual experience across their weekend, switching the pace and evolving each year to keep their audience engaged and entertained. Highlights include the cladded main stage, kitchen themed ‘Cooking with Palms’ trax stage and infamous Pleasure Dome – featuring hanging red scrolls – definitely displayed their eclectic and free attitude towards this element.

El-Dorado also deserves a mention when it comes down to imagination and set design. The camping festival in Herefordshire has also developed annually, gradually introducing new ideas for their audience. Secret stages accessible through decorated sheds, Persian rug covered mini stages, a mirror lit forest pathway and a boat themed stage floating on the lake, has their audience hooked.

With these two shows becoming better known each year, it is clear that creative set design is something that we will see more of in the future.

Technology has played a huge role in the development of events. Touring shows have implemented the latest equipment in engineering, pushing the boundaries to help create unreal experiences.

In 2012, Coachella used hologram technology to simulate a performance between a digital Tupac reuniting the late rap legend with Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre. This was the first time something like this had been utilised for a live music event but not the last. After the Tupac appearance, there were rumoured tours of Buddy Holly and Whitney Houston in holographic form. Maybe our long lost musical heroes will again grace the stage for a digital performance like never before. Their music has already transcended time, maybe their image can too.

Beyoncé 2016 tour – ‘Formation’ used some incredible technological advances. The show included a huge LED covered monolith in the centre, which had the ability to open, split in two and rotate with ease revealing new features. As this technology is utilised more frequently and built upon, it could become more accessible to lower level performers – allowing even more creativity with less budget constraints.

The most common and wide-spread adoption during our times of isolation has to be the advent of streaming. Since the Coronavirus lockdown was enforced, virtual mass gatherings of DJs performers and artists have taken to the digital stage, using platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitch and YouTube to provide an alternative to the events we were looking forward to attending.

Mental and physical wellness is another area we envisage festivals moving even closer to in the near future. There has been a steady increase of events focused on wellbeing over the last few seasons, with more and more people willing to move away from the traditional festival set up. Festivals such as Balance (hosted in the Truman Brewery), Love Fit (St Clere Estate) and RunFestRun all revolve their concept around fitness activities, with music playing a relatively small role in the overall event.

Experience led festivals are also taking off as it has been proven that customers crave the unique, new and exciting. If the individual elements of wellness festivals, creativity, theatrics, poetry, comedy could all be combined into one event, wouldn’t this make for something spectacular? Although this is not anything new, we wonder whether the diversification of festivals will lead to alternative activities being more common place in all events, and something that is nearly expected of.

Camp Wildfire is top of the list for this with a theme of ‘adventure camp for adults’. As it says on the tin, its adults only. However, revellers will release your inner child whilst taking part in over 50 activities such as Quad Biking, Trapeze, Rock Climbing, Yoga, Crafts and so much more. Into the night, head to one of the many miniature bars and party till the early hours.

Latitude is another festival that follows a similar route. Although it is widely known for its music and line-up, the event also has an incredible reputation for providing an abundance of alternative entertainment options. Comedy, Theatre, Films, Kids areas, several food options including a restaurant, wellbeing activities and so much more.

An element we cannot neglect has to be location and venues. They truly make the difference between a festival is a success, or not. Muddy fields, backyards and farms hardly spring to mind as the most picturesque of settings. Although they allow for a wealth of creativity with a blank canvas to build up from, modern day customers are now looking for unique experiences, which stand out from the crowd.

Fly Open Air in Edinburgh prides itself on their unique venue selection. Predominantly a club show, they have branched out into the festival world hosting two shows a year. A September show in Princess Street Gardens and a May show at Hopetoun House & Estate. The gothic stately home makes a perfect backdrop to accompany the jaw dropping techno line-ups.

Another incredible UK based show series is Heritage Live. Based in Kenwood House and Audley End House, the multi day concert sees acts such as Chic, Nile Rodgers, Van Morrison and Noel Gallagher bless the stage

Moving out of the UK, a show that needs special mention has to be Meadows in the Mountains. Held in the peaks of Bulgaria, this festival must be one of the most remote. In order to get production kit up there, it has rumoured that even 4x4s just do not cut it and horse and cart prevails. When you get there, dancing above the clouds definitely wakes you up to the importance of a venue.

Last but definitely not least, Dimensions | Outlook although having to move venues recently have previously operated out of the most incredible venue in our opinion. An old half-derelict castle in Croatia utilising moats, caves and other features are used for the two back-to-back festivals. The areas used allows the production team to use some incredible lighting effects and creates an experience like no other.

Special Mention: An event we are looking forward to hit the festival scene in the next year is ION. Curated by LWE, the show will be based in an Albanian ex-military base. Again, using caves, submarine bases and other areas of the site will put this on the map for the near future.

How to Have A Festival Experience Without Leaving Your House.

It’s the weekend and we all know what that means – it’s paaaaaarty time! Don’t let enforced confinement be a Debbie downer, I’m here to show you that while Glasto may be off, you can still have an authentic British festival experience without ever leaving your flat.

Step 1: Getting there

You can keep it traditional and use a large camping rucksack, or go rogue and take some kind of wheeled-suitcase scenario. As no one is actually going to see you, you won’t be subject to the looks of scorn/ amusement/ derision that would normally haunt you as you drag it, mud-caked and heavily sweating, through the 8th field. Once you’ve loaded yourself up you basically just need to tramp up and down your hallway for approximately 40 minutes or until one of your shoulders is glowing red from the Ikea bag straps cutting in, because you couldn’t decide if you should bring boots or trainers or both and so have 5 pairs of shoes with you. Normally you would have had at least a couple of cheeky cans in the car on the way there, so technically, you’re behind. In an effort to catch up, be sure to drink continuously throughout your hallway voyage and do not stop to go to the toilet even if you are desperate. Feeling like you might piss yourself is an integral part of any festival journey!

Step 2: Setting up camp

Now, obviously you’re in your house where (I can only assume) you already have a bed, so you may be tempted to skip this bit, but you really would be missing out on a wonderful part of the experience: pitching the tent. It’s best to find a patch of floor where there isn’t quite enough space so you bash into furniture as you wrestle with tent poles, nearly poke someone in the eye, and trip over a lot. Once the tent is assembled and you’ve piled all your stuff inside, have a heated argument with someone (housemate, pet, stuffed animal etc) about your bad choice of tent door direction that you are too lazy to now do anything about.

Step 3: Heading out

I hope it goes without saying that you should have been guzzling down your choice of tepid beer/cider throughout the entirety of the tent uprising, and have now ascended to the higher plane of consciousness known as ‘tipsy’. As it’s only the first night of the fezzie there won’t be much on, but you may as well head out and get your bearings. Wander aimlessly from room to room for a couple of hours, pausing to watch half an hour of a very average improv show on youtube, and some kind of dad disco garden shed set. Keep the door of the biggest room, or as I like to call it, the ‘main stage’, shut – that doesn’t open until tomorrow!

Give up around 11pm, reminding yourself that it is a marathon, not a sprint. Stagger back to your roomtent realising how drunk you are, and then realising you have been drinking for 9 hours straight. Luckily for you it is much, much harder to get into the wrong tent, when there are no other tents. Another win for Flatfest! What a great weekend this is already shaping up to be eh? Before getting into your tent, be sure to find a four-hour psy-trance playlist on Spotify and put it on a portable speaker positioned approx 1.5 metres from your head. Ideally also open the window and turn your heating off so it’s fucking freezing. To counter this, you should put on every single item of clothing you bought with you, but just know you will wake up dripping in sweat and with feet akin to burning coals. Goodnight!

Day 1: Flatfest

Wake up and immediately start drinking. This is very important and (like with so many other things now) time is irrelevant. Let the smell of one of your co-habitants cooking bacon waft over you, as you sadly eat 3 x frankfurter sausages from a can and curse past you for eating all the good snacks. Spend the next 2-3 hours ‘getting ready’ which in this context means: trying on every outfit you bought with you, making cocktails, spilling cocktails, trying to mop up cocktails before they get inside your sleeping bag, repeatedly losing and finding your stuff within the square metre of your tent, and making more cocktails. Once you’ve got bored of that, announce “shall we head in and check it out” to no one in particular. Repeat every 15 minutes for an hour.

Now this bit will take some imagination on your part, but using whatever technology is available to you, set up live streams / mixes / concert recordings to play from different devices in each room. You could cheat by only putting on artists you actually like, but to retain the authenticity of the experience I would advise putting on a mixture of things you feel like, hate, and have never heard of, in disparate genres and at varying volumes. You can put on something you love, as long as it’s at the same time as the one other thing you love, but in the room furthest away, so you can dash between them. Ideally all of the noises will coagulate in a lovely sound clash and create a transcendent sound bath** experience in the hallway.

Roam from room to room, drinking heavily. Whenever you need the toilet, wait outside the door for at least 10 minutes before going in. You could also try a cup wee. Maybe it’s something you’ve always wanted to have a go at but were too nervous out in the fields? And you did say you were going to use this time to learn new skills… This is your time to shine! Probably don’t let your housemates see, though, especially if they don’t already know about Flatfest. They will definitely think isolation has pushed you over the edge, and probably also make you buy a new cup.

Additional fun festival activities at home can include but are not limited to:
Shouting out random names to see if anyone answers. You can switch this up with just chanting the same name over and over again, or just use random words. There doesn’t need to be a reason why.
If anyone answers to any of the names, celebrate wildly. Obviously this is less likely to happen if it’s just you in your flat, but you could have a go shouting names at characters on the TV instead and see if you get any of those right? #isolationhacks
Facetime random contacts in your phone. Virtually recreate awkwardly bumping into them in a field. Make polite small talk while desperately scrabbling in the sloshy recesses of your mind to work out who the fuck they are. (Except this is much weirder, because you’ve facetimed them at 3pm on a Friday afternoon during a global pandemic, off your face and pretending you’re at a festival in your kitchen.)
Order some niche world food that you would never normally eat, like paella or churros, to be delivered. If possible, pay twice what you want to for it.
Turn on aeroplane mode and try desperately to call/text/whatsapp your friends with no signal.
Pretend to overhear someone saying their sisters’ boyfriends’ mate tours with Radiohead and they are playing a surprise set at 5pm down the Rabbit Hole. Spend the next 2 hours trying to find the Rabbit Hole before dismissing it as unfounded rumour.
Recreate the waltzers by spinning really fast in alternative directions while turning in a circle until you want to puke.
Name the rooms in your house fun quirky things like “the wizards willy” and “pineapple shakedown” so when you run into your housemates/irritated spouse/small children and they ask you what you’re doing, you can confidently answer “just heading through the sunflower field to Dobby’s Castle Party to catch Baaaa-llerina Boogie’s 3 hour disco sheep ballet workshop” etc
Change your outfit 4-6 times per day, in increasingly bizarre combinations. Ideally you would have themed Flatfest in advance, and created specific costumes for each day and theme. Come on, what else do you have on?
Lose all of your things again.
Pretend to overhear someone raving about the amazing once-in-a-lifetime unmissable Radiohead set you missed and swear violently.
Once it is dark outside you should keep all the lights off inside too, especially in the bathroom. Navigate your way by the stars/your phone torch. Head back to the tent so that you can get changed and do your make up in the dark. Make yourself up a hideously strong bottle of spirit and mixer and head back ‘out’. For added danger, mix your drink in total darkness.

By about 3/4am you should be jumping on the sofa blasting Donna Summer’s “I Feel Love”, simultaneously feeling a bit sick and like this is the best night of your life. Call a random acquaintance and tell them how much you love them and that you’ll always be there for them. Find a novelty party hat from somewhere and use the Houseparty app to drunkenly make friends with strangers. Continue drinking until you are sick on your shoes. Stumble back to your tent for the crack on! Spend the next 3 hours chatting top quality shit. It doesn’t really matter if you’re by yourself for this bit as no one would be listening to you either way. Eventually pass out fully clothed, party hat askew.

Day 2: Flatfest

Repeat Day 1, but with less enthusiasm and a hideous hangover.

Day 3: The last hurrah!

It’s sloshy Sunday, baby! You should smell a bit funky, look like shit, and feel slightly unhinged from barely bothering to sleep for 3 days. The great thing is, as you’re actually still in your house and not at a festival, no one else can see how disgustan’ you currently are. Eat half a pack of plain digestive biscuits while staring blankly into the abyss. Wash down your dry, dry mouth with a big gulp of water. The water was straight gin. Dry heave out your tent porch. Deliberately let your phone die so you can’t text your friends and find out where they are. As you’re in isolation and can’t see them anyway this won’t be as annoying as usual, so that’s another positive.

At this stage I would strongly recommend cracking out a box of red wine (sweet precious), putting on your comfiest sparkly leggings, and lying on the floor listening to readings of Letters Live, sobbing quietly at the really emotional ones. Alternatively, try to have a nap whilst feeling guilty for not ‘making the most’ of the festival. As the sun sets, it’s time for the final push! You’re really tired and can’t be bothered, but you force yourself to change and start half heartedly drinking the paltry remains of your booze supply, which is now Tesco basics vodka with flat tonic and squash. Luckily everything shuts early on a Sunday, so after a final limp boogie, you crawl back to your tent and collapse into your sleeping bag, grateful that tomorrow you can go home and sleep in your nice clean bed after the easiest journey home ever!!

*depending on your definition of expert

**I do not know what sound baths are

This blog was originally written by Tamsyn Black for the popular festival blog ‘That Festival Life‘

Inspiration for the Creative Imagination: The Chemical Brothers.

Do you know that feeling when you watch a live performance back and your whole body shivers? The hair on your arms stands on end, your heart rate quickens, and your breath gets short. This is what I get when I watch the earth-shattering Chemical Brothers 2019 Glastonbury set. I am instantly back in that moment. The warm June night air enveloping my best friends and me, a big smile on my face, and a warm beer in hand!

It is amazing to think it’s “just two guys on DJ decks”.… well just two guys on decks performing LIVE music from six number one albums and thirteen top twenty singles, including two number ones! Their shows are SO much more than your typical ‘DJ set’ (do not even get me started on their technical rider). The amount of time and passion they put into their displays and visuals only enhances the experience, making it second to none. After all, there is a good reason they have headlined ‘The Other Stage’ for a record five times since 2004.

The intense array of bespoke visuals was developed for The Chemical Brothers by Marcus Lyall and Adam Smith, paired with strobes galore, lasers and lights makes them more than worthy of NME’s apt review: “There is no greater live dance act in the world right now.” (NME, 2019).

An interview with Lyall and Smith, the show’s designers, stated: “The visuals become the lead singer. Most of the films involve real-world action shot with performers, sometimes enhanced with computer graphics and featuring incredibly ambitious productions’’.

(You can read the full interview here – Dezeen 2018)

Personally, I believe their visual performance shortens the space between you and the DJs because you can see the whole show. Rather than squinting to see the tiny person on the stage, your viewpoint is focused up and around you. You are dancing with the people next to you, fully engrossed in the music and the visual spectacular before your eyes. They also have GIANT robots on stage for good measure.

This is an excellent example of how to headline a main stage as a DJ: Bigger than life visuals, so the 5ft 4 lady at the back of around 40,000 can also live that moment. Performances like that are why I got into festival production in the first place; I highly suggest you see these agents of amazing live in your lifetime.