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Running a Jazz Festival — The Truth
A few years ago I ran a small jazz festival — one day, fourteen incredible acts. Here’s what I learned.
I had been curating and presenting some radio shows for Jazz Bites Radio in the United States, and they asked if I would run an inaugural festival in London. They gave me a very decent budget. The idea was to promote jazz artists who they and I believed deserved wider recognition, from the UK and further afield.
I had never run a festival before, so you can imagine I was thrilled to be asked, but also a little worried whether I could do it.
Getting ready
Finding a venue was easy. I went and saw a few and chose The Brewhouse in London Fields, a venue set in old brick railway sheds. They offered a bar, a good-sized stage, and outdoor and indoor seating. All was booked for a date in June.
The next thing was booking a decent piano to be delivered and tuned on the day. Again, this was relatively easy, and the piano was booked.
Food was next, and I booked a waffle stall on the understanding that 25 percent of the takings would be donated to the charity the event was supporting. I had…
