Coalition of Festivals launches to promote an equitable and sustainable music festival industry

A new US-based Coalition of Festivals has formed to promote a more equitable, diverse, and sustainable music festival industry.

At launch, an impressive list of festivals have signed on the Coalition of Festivals including Broccoli City, The Governors Ball Music Festival, Hulaween, Lightning in a Bottle, Outside Lands, and multiple AEG Presents festivals.

Participating production companies include Do LaB, Founders Entertainment, Fox Pocket, Gravity Productions, Hula Holdings / Good Form, Old Soul Production Services, and Superfly.

The Coalition of Festivals was launched by a group of live music industry leaders: Jonathan Azu (Culture Collective, Diversity in Music), Kyle Casey (Gravity Productions), Kierrah Matthews, Veline Mojarro (SHIFT Consulting), Katelyn Scott (Winter Circle Productions), Jen Stiles (Founders Entertainment), and Evan Tzeng (StayAltered).

It is also supported by social impact partners including A Greener Festival, Diversify The Stage, Diversity in Music, she said.so, SHIFT Consulting, and Well Dunn.

At launch, the Coalition has two program initiatives:

Program 1, “Be The Change” A series of educational webinars and facilitated dialogues for current festival producers, department heads, and promoters. Topics range from allyship, building a culture of consent, and undoing toxic traditional workplace habits. Closed-door discussions allow festival producers to strategize on best practices and how to apply them to back-of-house and on the ground.

Program 2, “Create Change”: Co-founded with partners Diversify The Stage and Well Dunn, the goal with Create Change is to amplify existing educational programs and mentorship initiatives for future music industry leaders. Together, the Coalition will work to eliminate barriers to entry within the industry by creating access to job opportunities for underrepresented communities, including women, people with disabilities, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ individuals.

For more information: https://coalitionof.org/

Bruce Houghton is Founder and Editor of Hypebot and MusicThinkTank and serves as a Senior Advisor to Bandsintown which acquired both publications in 2019. He is also the Founder and President of the Skyline Artists Agency and a professor at the Berklee College Of Music online.