15 Steps to Starting a Local Music Festival (during a b a d economy) The one-day festival was put together by a group of residents of Jamaica Plain(or JP, as most of us in Boston call it), a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts. Our rst festival was a tremendous success, with 22 music artistsperforming over a six hour period to more than 1,200 attendees. The festival featured artists who all live or work in JP, ranging from Americana to blues, classical to folk, hip-hop to rock, jazz to pop. With two stages, we kept the music going all day long, rotating back and forth with never a dull moment. The festival was started when musi- cian Rick Berlin and booking agent Shamus Moynihan realized that both Cambridge and Somerville (two great cities close to Boston) had mu- sic festivals, but Jamaica Plain, a neighborhood known for its diverse music community and musicians, did not. It was a very good question... During and since our rst festival, a lot of people have asked us how we produced such a great festival during such a bad economy. With a very lean budget we put together an amazing day of free music and community . JP is already buzzing about the 2012 festival. Of course, your city or town or neighborhood might be different, but since JP’s music community is now (and has often been) supportive of locale and, of necessity , savvy about getting the most bang for every buck (there is blood in the rock as we found out), we wanted to share our model for a local music festival, so we created this short guide... 1. Form a small, strong, determined committee who want to see local music get the attention and respect it deserves. The JP Music Festival was organized by Rick Berlin, the acclaimed songwriter and musician, Randace Moore, Executive Director of JP Centre/ South Main Streetsa “shop local” organizer, and Shamus Moynihan, local promoter and booking agent, including for The Midway Café, the live music venue which has presented local and national acts since 1987. Other key members included Justin McCarthy(graphic de- sign), Charles McEnerney(mar- keting), David “Ferris” Mueller (nance), and Margie Nicoll (stage design). Choose people you know you can rely on to do what they say they’ll do. People who are tal- ented in a specic area that you know will be essential to having the event work. There were no “egos” in our group. As Ferris said, “It’s amazing what you can accomplish when nobody cares about taking the credit.” We met every week for nearly a year. The constancy and regular- ity of these meetings proved inspirational, constructive, and kept our eyes on the prize. They were also great fun! We aimed high, but not out of reach: keep your vision do-able. 2. Become a non-proft. It takes a bit of paperwork and time, but ultimately will help you with donations, sponsor- ships, and fund-raising. Here are some tips on how to start a non- prot. 3. Organize small fund rais- ersleading up to the big day. They need to be often; ours were about one per month. They need not be overly ambitious, but creative and fun. It’s helpful for each fund-raiser to have an emphasis on loca l music. We held one at Video UndergroundThe frst-ever JP Music Festival was held on August 20, 2011. Gordon Gano joins Rick Berlin and Te Nickle & Dime Band on stage at the first-ever JP Music Festival . Photo by Sean Hafferty/5342Studios Find a pdf of this document (with links) at http://www.jpmusicfestival.com/15-steps.php
The one-day festival was put together by a group of residents of Jamaica Plain (or JP, asmost of us in Boston call it), a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts.
Our rst festival was a tremendous success, with 22 music artists performing over a sixhour period to more than 1,200 attendees. The festival featured artists who all live or workin JP, ranging from Americana to blues, classical to folk, hip-hop to rock, jazz to pop.
With two stages, we kept the musicgoing all day long, rotating back andforth with never a dull moment.
The festival was started when musi-cian Rick Berlin and booking agentShamus Moynihan realized that bothCambridge and Somerville (twogreat cities close to Boston) had mu-sic festivals, but Jamaica Plain, aneighborhood known for its diversemusic community and musicians, didnot. It was a very good question...
During and since our rst festival, a lot of people have asked us how we produced sucha great festival during such a bad economy. With a very lean budget we put together anamazing day of free music and community. JP is already buzzing about the 2012 festival.
Of course, your city or town or neighborhood might be different, but since JP’s musiccommunity is now (and has often been) supportive of locale and, of necessity, savvy aboutgetting the most bang for every buck (there is blood in the rock as we found out), wewanted to share our model for a local music festival, so we created this short guide...
1. Form a small, strong,determined committee whowant to see local music getthe attention and respect itdeserves. The JP Music Festivalwas organized by Rick Berlin ,the acclaimed songwriter andmusician, Randace Moore,Executive Director of JP Centre/South Main Streets a “shoplocal” organizer, and ShamusMoynihan, local promoter and
booking agent, including for TheMidway Café , the live musicvenue which has presented local
and national acts since 1987.Other key members includedJustin McCarthy (graphic de-sign), Charles McEnerney (mar-keting), David “Ferris” Mueller ( nance), and Margie Nicoll(stage design).
Choose people you know youcan rely on to do what they saythey’ll do. People who are tal-ented in a speci c area that youknow will be essential to havingthe event work. There were no“egos” in our group. As Ferris
said, “It’s amazing what you canaccomplish when nobody caresabout taking the credit.”
We met every week for nearly ayear. The constancy and regular-ity of these meetings provedinspirational, constructive, andkept our eyes on the prize. Theywere also great fun! We aimedhigh, but not out of reach: keepyour vision do-able.
2. Become a non-proft.It takes a bit of paperwork and
time, but ultimately will helpyou with donations, sponsor-ships, and fund-raising. Here aresome tips on how to start a non-
pro t.
3. Organize small fund rais-ers leading up to the big day.They need to be often; ourswere about one per month. Theyneed not be overly ambitious,
but creative and fun. It’s helpfulfor each fund-raiser to have anemphasis on local music. Weheld one at Video Underground
The frst-ever JP Music Festival was held on August 20, 2011.
Gordon Gano joins Rick Berlin and Te Nickle & Dime Band on stage atthe rst-ever JP Music Festival. Photo bySean Hafferty/5342Studios
Find a pdf of this document (with links ) at http://www.jpmusicfestival.com/15-steps.php
where we charged $5 and weall watched JP-made movies atthe store, sold food and drinks,met new musicians, and receiveddonations. At each of these weasked all participants (includingourselves) to pay the door fee.
Ask local retailers and merchantsto donate small items that can
be used at fund-raisers. We heldsilent auctions and raf es atDoyle’s Café and James’sGate and raised over$2,000 each time.
4. Create somebuzz. We mod-eled our squirrellogo (right) ona mysterious,white squirrelthat some haveseen near JamaicaPond. We made stick-ers and got them up all overtown. For ve months peoplewere asking, “what’s the hipstersquirrel all about?”
5. Organize regular events atlocal music venues . We heldevents at The Midway Caféwhere we organized tributenights: everyone had to coversongs by Neil Young and BobDylan. These regular events alsokept the festival fresh in every-one’s mind.
6. Organize a Kickstarter campaign . We raised $1,500 andrewards included a custom songfrom Rick, Shamus’ homemade
chili, etc. We also let people do-nate via PayPal to give directly.
7. Ask a local music retailer todonate back line drums andamps for use during the festivalin exchange for a prime sponsor-ship of the festival. This allevi-ates the need for confusing andtime consuming change-oversas well as chewing up musicians personal gear. We had a safe
house – a volunteer-staffed truck – where guitars could be stashedwhen artists weren’t performing.
8. Keep the production costslow. We paid $6,000 to rentthe stages and sound equip-ment (and they were also one ofour sponsors). The sound crewdonated their time. Other xedcosts included electric generator($900), Porta-Johns ($500 for
three), police detail ($800),tents and tables ($600),
bike racks ($150), backstage food
($250), posters and banners ($1,200), permits ($200),city inspectors($500), insurance
($500), and on siteelectrician ($400).
We also spent $3,000on items to help manage
and market our fund raisers.The whole festival’s budget wasunder $15,000.
9. Ask musicians and perform-ers to play for free to help getthe festival off the ground. We
began as labor of love, not pro t.JP has a rich music landscape tochoose from. We had more than100 submissions from musicianswho live and work here. We werealso lucky to have Gordon Gano of The Violent Femmes , whosesister lives in JP, to sit in onseveral songs, which added to theexcitement.
Be very speci c with the artistsabout what is expected in terms ofset length, when and where they
show up, and with what gear. Askthem to promote the event. Be inclear and constant communica-tion. Your stage managers willneed their cell phone numbers forthe point person in each band incase of emergency.
You will also need the perform -ers to check in one hour ahead oftheir slot time so you know thatthey’re there and can be located.
Have them check in once they ar-rive. Put clocks on stage so thateach act knows precisely whentheir time is up. Overlaps can hurtsubsequent performers, so strictadherence to set times is essential.What really helped make thishappen in our ‘hood was keepingit local. With every act having alocal angle, it brought a greatersense of pride of community. Wewere all in this together.
We designed a show that had a lotof bands and a lot of genres, gen-der and ethnic variety, but we keptthe sets short (15-20 minutes atmost) so that we could t in moreacts and attract a broader crowd.We did have two stages so thatwe could alternate between actsquickly. While one band was play-ing the next band was setting up
10. Find an outdoor space thatyou can utilize for free. Weobtained a permit from the Cityof Boston to hold the JP MusicFestival near Jamaica Pond , a be-loved (and famous) park designed
by Frederick Law Olmsted . TheParks Department was a greathelp and we left the park cleanerthan when we arrived.
Choose a location that excites thecrowd and the bands. You’ll alsoneed a plan in case of rain. Eithera secure rain date or an indoor lo-cation that can work.
Understand all the restrictions asfar as your city or town is con-cerned. It’s a learning curve, butworth the trouble. One misstepand the game’s over. If you earn
a good reputation the rst time itwill be that much easier next year.
Note: Dealing with multiple andessential permits can be a painin the ass. Seek out any cityrepresentative contacts you mightknow personally. Have them on
board (or on your board). Theyget red up about what you’redoing and want to help adviseand smooth the complicated path
to realizing those permits.
11. Seek sponsor dollars fromlocal restaurants, cafes, retail-ers, education outlets, etc . Weraised more than $8,000 from 15sponsors! Many more are askingabout how to get involved for ournext festival.
12. Do strategic, inexpensivemarketing. Without a marketing
budget, the JP Music Festivalfocused on using social mediato the maximum (mainly Twitterand Facebook) along with mediaoutreach to the Boston Globe ,local community newspapersand web sites like Bostonist , JPGazette , Patch , Universal Hub ,local music blogs (some of whomgenerously donated advertis-ing space), including BostonBand Crush , Bradley’s Almanac ,Dyson Sound , Ryan’s SmashingLife , and MusicSavage . Word ofmouth got the word out acrossBoston. We also hung yersaround town (see attached) andmade a 75 minute mix-tape tohear before the festival.
13. Keep it free. We held the JPMusic Festival in a big open eldwhere people could come and sit,stand, or dance and was free forall to attend. We had every agegroup at the event and a wide di-versity of attendees. Have gamesand stuff for kids to do. We had2 volunteers from The Boy’s and
Girl’s Club setting up games andactivities all day.
14. Have food available on-sitefor sale. We brought a local foodtruck to feed the satis ed masses.We also had t-shirts and postersfor sale and gave shirts for free
to our volunteers, so the secretsquirrel was everywhere!
15. Document the event. We hadvideographers, photographers,reviewers, and bloggers on handto document the event. Naturally,you can nd video and photogra-
phy from our event online...
We hope thes e ideas help you create an amazin g local music festiva l in your corner of the universe. Please let us know how yourevent goes at [email protected] or via Twitter or Facebook !
