Fest 411: FestForums Drills Deep Into B2B & Far, Far Beyond

There was a brief moment during a power panel at this year’s FestForums in Santa Barbara, California, that spoke volumes about what lies at the core of this conference and is baked into the mettle of many of its attendees. It occurred during the “What European and U.S. Music Festivals Can Learn From Each Other” panel with FestForums founder Laurie Kirby moderating a discussion with Eugenié Jones “EJ” Encalarde from New Orleans Jazz Festival, Primavera Sound’s Marta Pallarès, Roskilde Fest’s Signe Lopdrup and Goldenvoice’s Jenn Yacoubian.

In the middle of the panel, Yacoubian’s mic went on the fritz, its volume fading in and out as she tried to speak. A sound tech went to an audio apparatus on stage left, trying to ameliorate the problem, while another panelist instantly passed her mic to the Goldenvoice EVP. “That’s OK,” quipped Yacoubian, “we’re promoters, we know how to roll with it.”

Indeed, for many at this confab of festival professionals, unpredictability, pivoting, a change in plans, improvisation and just having to “roll with it” is their every day, especially in this time of political, economic, social and environmental uncertainty. FestForums’ mission is to ensure that the exchange of ideas, best practices, innovations and networking within the festival market better enable these events to “roll with it” as issues inevitably arise, as we’ve seen acutely over the last five years. Core topics at this year’s conference included festival marketing in a glut market, ticketing amidst a thriving secondary, festivals’ substantial carbon footprints, technology and safety as well as partnerships, talent buying, DEI, sales, activism and far more.

“I can proudly say that we have created a think tank for festivals of all kinds to meet, network and share ideas,” Laura Kirby, FestForums’ owner and founder, told Pollstar. Kirby, who programs the conference, also curated a number of outside-the-box speakers and events that didn’t necessarily connect directly to festivals.

Perhaps the most buzzed-about event during the three-day confab was “Puppiespalooza,” in which attendees got to frolic with puppies courtesy of Spark Rescue Santa Barbara. There were also a number of speakers whose forte didn’t necessarily touch festivals but nonetheless brought inspiration to attendees beyond the festival box.

Marty Callner was this year’s “Living Legend” honoree. While not directly involved in festivals, his Forrest-Gump-like career writing, directing and producing docs, videos, films and more was jaw-dropping and inspiring. What do George Carlin, The Rolling Stones, Diana Ross, Whitesnake, Garth Brooks, Madonna and HBO’s “Hard Knocks” series have in common? Who knows, but Callner, a Grammy and MTV Video award winner, worked with them all. His pivot from sports into music and concert documentaries for decades helped legions of artists and their teams.

Other non-traditional festival speakers included actress Alicia Silverstone (who Callner cast in Aerosmith’s videos), who discussed health and wellness (her non-dogmatic approach to veganism was a relief). Dr. Joseph Smith, an expert in chiropractic neurology and applied kinesiology, did a real-time experiment on an audience member that incredibly demonstrated the power of music on brain function. Skip Martin, who played in Kool & the Gang and Dazz Band, gave inspirational life lessons in a powerful talk titled “Selling Like a Rockstar: Key Lessons for Sales Executives,” where he vividly discussed the challenges of touring.

“This year exceeded all expectations,” Kirby said. “The number and experience of festival industry leaders at FestForums was phenomenal. With over 600 attendees in beautiful Santa Barbara, the collective brainpower was awe-inspiring! As the only B2B conference for festival professionals in North America, I can proudly say that we have created a think tank for festivals of all kinds to meet, network and share ideas.”