From an audience perspective, music festivals are a chance to see all your favourite musicians on one stage, with flower crowns and free-flowing alcohol. But from an organiser pespective, they are often scrappy enterprises.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I began my career volunteering at music festivals and over the last decade, have been part of the backstage crew at some of the largest ones in the country, in various roles. I have run stages, looked after production, been an artist liaison and handled transportation. I have also been a tour manager and travelled with artists to festivals, witnessing first-hand the chaos behind the scenes. Here are some of my learnings and experiences from my time working at many of India\u2019s most well-known music festivals.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
You will walk. A lot. And all the time.<\/strong> You will deal with a lot of egos, but for the most part, the people you work with will be quite nice<\/strong> Not all artists and their teams are that friendly though. Some years ago, at a festival in a palace in a small village three hours from the nearest city, the manager of a popular Indian singer-songwriter threw a tantrum. He\u2019d been asked for his transport requirements well in advance but hadn\u2019t sent it in until he was already on-site at the festival. The vehicles could only arrive six hours later, but he demanded them at once and started throwing his weight around. This was at a festival where the international headliners and their management had been friendly, calm and highly understanding. Thankfully, he was quickly shut down by the organisers.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n An international DJ at the same festival landed at the airport on a late-night flight, claimed he couldn\u2019t find the person assigned to pick him up and promptly checked himself into the nearest five-star. With no way to contact the man himself, the organisers frantically emailed his agents, and heard back only early next morning, whereupon they were forced to pay for the hotel room. He eventually only reached the festival ground much later that evening, less than an hour before his scheduled slot.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n
During the lockdowns, I started using one of those fitness bands that count your steps all day. A couple of weeks ago, at the first music festival\u00a0I worked on in two years, I\u2019d already crossed my daily goal of 5,000 steps before 10 am. I did over 12,000 steps over the course of that day. That\u2019s par for the course at a music festival. I have walked at least double that amount in a single day, running from backstage to sound consoles, to food areas, to roads near the venue where I\u2019ve attempted to let security allow artist cars to come through.\u00a0I\u2019ve toiled away on festivals that ran through the night, going till 8 am the next morning and then starting back up at noon. I\u2019ve gone four days with next to no sleep, and I know people who have done even more, being on ground from a week before the event to leaving two-to-three days after. If you\u2019re an aspiring festival organiser, my one piece of advice would be: Always always, always wear comfortable shoes.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I\u2019ve had artist-facing roles at many music festivals and for the most part, I\u2019ve found musicians to be a polite, kind and generally understanding bunch of people. As long as they have their food, drink and sometimes, a little something to smoke, they\u2019re happy to wait if soundcheck is a little delayed. For some, the last of those items is essential. Some years ago, a band from central Europe that spoke little English, found a way to communicate with their Hindi-speaking driver to score a baggie at a rest stop on a highway while on their way to the festival. I was in the other car and absolutely unaware of this, and was shocked when a shady man appeared out of nowhere and presented them with the goods.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n