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Today's read ... 8️⃣ minutes

Headliner Tami Richter is loving Doja Cat's 'Kiss Me More'

Burning Man goes virtual for 2021, the Dodgers give vaxxers a special stadium section, country music’s top names will hit the stage at one of Texas’ most iconic venues this summer; 

and join us on Thursday for   BOH's Virtual Job Fair on Clubhouse.

Chicago plans to utilize ‘Vax Pass’ in the near future. Health officials are emphasizing that this is not a vaccine passport, but rather an access pass to music events only available to vaccinated people. This announcement follows the Open Chicago initiative that is easing COVID-19 restrictions in the city. 

At New Zealand’s Eden Park, 50,000 people attended a concert from SIX60. This show is believed to be the largest concert post-COVID. The country’s lockdown and border closures have largely stomped out COVID-19 there, so attendees at live events are not required to wear masks or present a negative test, and around 97% of the population is not vaccinated. 

Jagermeister and artists like Foo Fighters, Radiohead, and Phoebe Bridgers are joining the ‘Save Our Stages’ efforts. 

The International Olympic Committee and local organizers of the Tokyo Olympics just released an updated version of the COVID-19 “Playbooks” for athletes with more testing measures but no two-week quarantine requirement upon arrival.

Over 100 concert venues, promoters, venues, and festivals in Los Angeles have banded together to form the Los Angeles Independent Venue Coalition. They are advocating for and seeking bi-partisan support for emergency funding and reopening plans to save their live music scene’s organizations and workers.  

Encouraged by the increasing vaccination rate, Mayor Bill de Blasio says officials aim to fully reopen New York City businesses on July 1, but the state has yet to make an official decision.

The Los Angeles Dodgers will test a ‘vaccinated only’ section at their games. Attendees having received their second dose at least 14 days prior to the event will be seated in a non-socially distanced space, but will still be required to wear masks.

Leveraging the high demand for the return of live events, ticket resale sites are significantly inflating prices and could be increasing COVID-19 risks for fans. These ticket touts could make it difficult for organizers to track attendee health information prior to entry. The unreasonable prices could also dissuade fans and slow the much-needed industry reopening.

Miranda Lambert, Thomas Rhett, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Travis Tritt and other country favorites will perform in Texas at the iconic Billy Bob’s to a reduced capacity crowd this summer. 

Barcelona city council’s ‘Barcelona Never Stops’ recovery plan has set aside €500,000 in grants for the promotion efforts of large-scale concerts from May to September (paywall).

Burning Man Goes Virtual While Others Press on for In-Person

• Despite the previous discussion of vaccine passports, Burning Man organizers have officially announced the cancellation of their 2021 in-person event. An interactive virtual event will take place August 21 - September 5, but hopes are high for 2022. 

• Disco Donnie’s Ubbi Dubbi, the #FirstFestBack, took place on April 24-25 with nearly 60,000 ravers in attendance. Safety precautions included reduced capacity, the use of the CLEAR health pass, COVID-19 sniffing dogs, and an intended mask requirement, but the effectiveness of these measures is up for debate. The event received both criticism and praise for taking the leap back.

• The Railbird Festival in Lexington, KY will return for its second ever installment this August. My Morning Jacket, Dave Matthews Band, Leon Bridges, and Black Pumas will be performing. See here for the lineup.

• Mempho Music Festival will return this October to Memphis with headliners Widespread Panic and the Avett Brothers.

• Spain’s Primavera Sound Festival will double its typical length next year, spanning two weekends in June 2022. 

• In Columbia, MD, the M3 Rock Festival will open up the Merriweather Post Pavilion’s summer of events.

EU Events Continue to Test Safety as US Buyers Remain Hesitant 

The non-socially distanced trial concert in Barcelona that took place last month showed “no signs” of a COVID-19 outbreak among the 5,000 guests. Everyone was required to wear a mask and present a negative test that day. Though six attendees have reported infection within 14 days of the event, four of them do not believe they were infected at the show.In the UK, a nightclub in Liverpool will host 6,000 ravers over two nights with no masks or social distancing requirements. This trial aims to test the possibility of safely restarting full-capacity live events by the Prime Minister’s intended reopening date of June 21. Despite these more promising findings, read why most U.S. adults do not plan to attend live events soon.

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Tami Richter is currently the Director of Event Staffing & Resources for SXSW, LLC. During her 18+ year career with SXSW, she has overseen the growth of the SXSW Volunteer program from approximately 800 to over 3000 volunteers and manages several hundred hired event personnel annually. In addition to staffing, Tami leads event safety efforts and training, coordinating SXSW event activities extending from the hiring of security staff to emergency management planning with city agencies, down to the provision of PPE for event personnel. Tami also oversees the SXSW Accessibility program, which coordinates support services and accommodations for attendees with disabilities.Prior to joining SXSW, she was an event manager for celebrity charity events and supported production for a multitude of festivals and sporting events throughout the United States, holding positions ranging from security to transportation coordinator.Tami is committed to changing safety culture across the industry and spreading the mission of the Event Safety Alliance. “Whether planning a wedding or a global event, safety planning and training should be a top priority.”Outside of her role with SXSW, Tami is a military spouse, which allows her to utilize her event planning, volunteer, safety, and production background to support and volunteer for programs centered around the military lifestyle. She currently lives on Fort Sam Houston in San Antonio, Texas with her husband and four children.

It's Time to Dust the Rust Off & Get Back to Work! 

“Our industry is known for forging on, and that no matter what, ‘The show must go on.’ That’s outdated and needs to change.”

As many of us return to work on events, Tami Richter, Director of Event Staffing & Resources at SXSW and Board Member of the Event Safety Alliance, tells us we need to adjust our mindset and reset our expectations for ourselves and for those around us. We’ve all been through something incomparable last year and every person is dealing with the pandemic in their own way. Before we can get back to work, we need to step back and make sure we are both mentally and physically prepared to do so. Tami walks us through some of the resources available to the event industry and how we can “dust the rust off” before getting on site.

Which rocks harder:

Or

89% of BOH readers believe RFID is a must have at festivals.

▶️  The Broadmoor World Arena is hiring a customer experience focused leader to be the new, full-time Event Services Manager in Colorado Springs.▶️  HeadCount is looking for an Artist Relations Manager to establish, support and grow relationships with artists specifically in Rhythmic/Hip-Hop/R&B, Pop, or EDM genres in New York, LA, or remote. ▶️  The wristband company ID&C Ltd is looking for a new Logistics Manager to join their team near Tunbridge Wells.

▶️  Check out this list of the best springtime music industry conferences from Symphonic Distribution to see which one you could attend.▶️  See the trailer for Questlove’s “Summer of Soul” film about the 1969 Harlem Cultural Festival and for Dave Grohl’s “What Drives Us,” his movie about touring and van life with interviews from St. Vincent, Slash, Flea, and more.▶️  Here’s a list of marketing and branding must-reads.

THIS THURSDAY: Join Back of House and hiring managers from WE Fest, Danny Wimmer Presents, Insomniac, and more for our  Festival ALL CALL Virtual Job Fair. Let us help you get hired & GO TO WORK!

May 13: The Secret to Successful Attendee Retention: Year-Round Engagement is a free webinar presented by EventMB and EventMobi on how to engage and maintain audiences for your virtual events.

May 20-21: Hear from Eventbrite CEO, Julia Hartz, NIVA Board President, Dayna Frank, and more at RECONVENE, a free virtual networking and skill sharing summit about the future of events for independent event creators. 

June 8-10: Event Tech Live, US & Canada will take place virtually with a focus on solutions to help organizers to keep hosting events through the pandemic and, ultimately, to pivot back to some sort of normal.

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