This post below is from one of my favorite writers in New Orleans. He talks music and analyzes venues – especially festivals – like no one else in town. Obviously I am posting it here because I think this is helpful for market organizers, learning how others are communicating the changes that are necessary for managing event spaces during a pandemic. The links below lead directly to the communication put out by these two entities.

in the spring, I started tracking how festivals talk to their fans and people invested in their events. I thought BUKU Music + Art Project did a great job, talking to their audience as peers and fellow music lovers, communicating with enough candor to make fans feel connected to the event. Others – you can fill in the blanks – kept it remote, saying as little as possible, as if every extra syllable was a state secret.

Another model for doing it right just arrived from Festival International de Louisiane, who gave us a rundown of how 2020 went, the challenges they’re facing for 2021 – starting with the challenge of booking international acts – and called for input with a few basic ideas such as keeping downtown Lafayette involved as fixed points. Festivals live on the strength of their connection to their fans, and that kind of openness goes such a long way to keep it solid. Will anyone locally learn from it?