Introduction
A thriving festival is more than just a roster of superstar headliners – it’s a community celebration that uplifts its local scene. Scene equity is the practice of ensuring local residents and youth are not only present at festivals but are spotlighted as an integral part of the event. This means giving neighborhood crews, school bands, and young talent meaningful slots on stage, not just token appearances. Around the world – from bass music festivals in London and Los Angeles to cultural celebrations in Singapore and Sydney – forward-thinking festival producers are making local talent a core part of their lineups. By involving the community’s own artists and youth, festivals become richer, more authentic experiences while also building goodwill with the very people who host and support the event.
Why does scene equity matter? For one, local artists bring authenticity and loyal followings. In genres like drum ‘n’ bass and dubstep, for example, tight-knit local crews often form the backbone of the scene. Featuring a hometown DJ collective or a neighborhood band can energize the crowd with a vibe that big touring acts can’t replicate. Secondly, including youth and community talent fosters the next generation of artists and industry professionals. Today’s high school guitarist or bedroom DJ could be tomorrow’s headliner – and festivals have a unique opportunity to nurture these rising stars early on. Moreover, when a festival invests in its host community, it earns trust. Neighbors and local authorities see the event not as an invasive carnival of outsiders, but as a platform that benefits local people. This can pay off in countless ways: smoother relations with residents, easier permitting, and positive media coverage highlighting how the festival gives back.
Below, we delve into practical strategies for putting local residents and youth on the bill in a meaningful way. These insights draw from years of festival production experience across multiple countries and genres. Whether you run a small community block party or a massive international music festival, the principles of scene equity can elevate your event – and empower your community in the process.
Reserving Meaningful Slots for Community Talent
If a festival is serious about community inclusion, it needs to reserve meaningful performance slots for local talent. This goes beyond a token opening act at an ungodly hour. It means carving out prime or high-visibility slots where neighborhood crews, school bands, or youth program ensembles can truly shine before a real audience. For instance, a major drum & bass festival in the UK might allocate an early evening slot on a secondary stage to a well-known local DJ crew, ensuring they perform when the venue is busy and vibe is peaking. Similarly, a city food and music fair could have the late afternoon slot on the main stage dedicated to a local high school jazz band or a youth dance troupe, right before a bigger headliner to maximize crowd size. Scheduling local acts in these peak or near-peak times demonstrates that the festival values their contribution as much as the marquee names.
There are several approaches to integrating community performers effectively:
– Dedicated Local Showcase Stages: Some events set up stages or time blocks specifically for regional talent. For example, an electronic music festival in Australia could run a “Local Legends Stage” featuring homegrown DJs throughout the day. This stage can be marketed as a festival highlight, not an afterthought, attracting both local supporters and curious visitors.
– Mixed Lineup Integration: Rather than segregating local acts, integrate them within the main lineup. A festival day could alternate between international acts and local ones. This gives emerging artists the thrill (and challenge) of sharing a stage with well-known performers, and it keeps fans around to catch the local gems between headliners.
– Community Group Performances: Think beyond just bands and DJs. Is there a famous neighborhood choir, a traditional dance group, or a youth orchestra in the locality? Inviting these groups for a special performance can create memorable festival moments. For example, a festival in Mexico City might have a local mariachi youth ensemble kick off an evening, or a big EDM festival in Los Angeles could start the day with a local marching band’s drumline leading attendees through the gates. Such cross-genre surprises not only delight crowds but also root the festival in local culture.
Crucially, offering meaningful slots implies not relegating community acts to when the venue is empty. Pair local performers with strong times and reasonable promotion. Mention them in festival marketing materials alongside other artists (not buried in fine print). When attendees see local names on posters and schedules, it signals that these performers are festival-worthy. And for the local performers themselves, knowing they have a real shot at a decent crowd motivates them to put on a fantastic show. It’s a win-win that can yield some of the festival’s most authentic, talked-about sets.
Professional Tech Support for Community Acts
Nothing undermines scene equity more than giving local acts second-class treatment on stage. Professional technical support for community sets is essential so that local residents and youth feel respected, not like token filler. In practice, this means providing the same level of sound, lighting, and stage crew quality that your headliners receive. If a neighborhood hip-hop crew or a teen rock band steps onto the stage, they should be met with skilled audio engineers, proper monitors, and adequate time for soundcheck – just as any professional artist would.
Avoid the common pitfall of treating community performers as an afterthought. For example, imagine a local DJ is invited to open a bass music festival in New Zealand but isn’t given time to properly check audio levels; the result might be a muddled set that does no one justice. Contrast that with a scenario where the festival’s technical team works closely with a young DJ duo from the local community center, helping them set up gear and adjust sound well before the gates open. The second scenario not only produces a better performance but also leaves the artists feeling valued and confident.
Here are practical ways to ensure top-notch tech support for local and youth acts:
– Assign Experienced Crew: Pair community performers with some of your best sound and lighting technicians. Seasoned crew members can adapt to less-experienced performers, guiding them through the process (for instance, showing a band how to use in-ear monitors or helping a DJ with a quick mixer tutorial). This guidance can calm nerves and elevate the show’s quality.
– Soundchecks and Stage Time: Whenever possible, schedule a brief soundcheck or line-check for community acts, even if main artists have tighter schedules. A 15-minute soundcheck in the morning can make a world of difference for an inexperienced school band about to play on a big stage for the first time. It also shows them that the festival cares about their sound.
– Quality Equipment: Provide the same caliber of backline and AV equipment that you’d supply for any artist. If you’re giving local rock band “The Neighborhood Knights” the stage, don’t stick them with battered old amplifiers or a subpar microphone. High-quality gear will add polish to their sound and signal that their music deserves the best presentation.
– Equal Footing in Production Schedules: List community sets in the production schedule with the same detail and priority as other acts. The stage manager’s show file should have notes for the local youth dance troupe’s lighting cues and the community choir’s microphone needs, just as it does for the headlining DJ’s pyrotechnics. By normalizing professional support across the board, the festival team reinforces that every performance matters.
When local artists receive professional support, the audience can sense it too. The performances come across as polished and engaging, rather than “amateur hour.” This bolsters the reputation of the community talent in the eyes of festival-goers and industry folks present. It can be life-changing for young performers to realize their music can captivate a big crowd when given the proper platform. Moreover, these positive experiences spread by word-of-mouth in the community – local residents will talk about how great the neighborhood choir sounded or how impressive the teen DJ’s set was, further validating the festival’s commitment to quality and inclusion.
Offering Paid Backstage Mentorships
Incorporating local youth in a festival shouldn’t stop at stage performances. Festivals can also offer paid mentorships backstage to engage young people in the production process and grow long-term capacity in the community. Many successful festival producers view this as seeding the next generation of talent behind the scenes – the future stage managers, sound engineers, lighting designers, event coordinators, and even talent bookers might be found among enthusiastic local youths today.
A paid mentorship or internship program can take many forms, depending on the festival’s resources and local interest:
– Production Assistant Roles: Hire a handful of local college students or passionate high-school grads as production assistants. Assign them to departments like stage management, audio, lighting, or artist liaison under the wing of experienced crew chiefs. For example, a festival in Canada partnered with a local arts college to bring on students as junior stage techs, paying them a stipend while they assisted professionals during the festival weekend. These young assistants load gear, run errands, and observe the decision-making and problem-solving in real time – an invaluable learning experience.
– Mentorship Workshops: In the lead-up to the festival, organize workshop days where festival staff teach interested youth about various aspects of event production. For instance, in the UK, a large dance music festival hosted a “behind-the-scenes bootcamp” for local teenagers, demonstrating everything from sound board basics to how lighting rigs are programmed. Attendees who complete the workshop could then earn a paid runner job at the festival, where they continue learning on-site.
– Shadowing Programs: Pair a young person with a veteran festival team member for a day. Let a local college student shadow the talent booking manager, or have a recent audio engineering grad shadow the front-of-house sound engineer during a major set. They won’t operate critical equipment during the show, but they will witness the process up close. Some festivals in New Zealand and Australia have done this through formal “industry experience” initiatives, giving youth a taste of live event work under mentorship.
– Diverse Department Exposure: Encourage the mentees to rotate through different departments if possible, rather than being stuck in one task the whole event. One day they might help the logistics crew with artist transport, another day assist the marketing team with social media updates on site. This holistic exposure can spark interest in a specific festival career path they might not have considered before.
The key is these opportunities should be paid or come with a fair stipend/perks – not simply volunteer labor. Paid mentorships lower the barrier for youth from all backgrounds (not just those who can afford to volunteer for free) and demonstrate that the festival respects their time and potential contributions. Moreover, paying local interns or mentees helps set an industry standard that labor, even at the learning stage, has value – a lesson that will serve them well if they pursue event careers.
From the festival’s perspective, investing in youth mentorship pays off over time. First, it builds local capacity – the next time you return to the city or region, you may have a pool of trained local freelancers to hire who already know your event’s workflow. Second, it strengthens community bonds; parents, schools, and community leaders will see the festival as a partner providing career opportunities. For example, after a festival in India offered backstage apprenticeships to students from a local audio institute, many of those students later found jobs in the live events industry, and the festival gained a reputation as a talent incubator. Such stories enhance the event’s image and often attract media attention as a positive, feel-good angle.
Clear Pathways from Community Stage to Main Stage
Offering local artists a small stage slot is a start – but to truly empower them, festivals should publish a transparent pathway from a community stage to the main bill. In other words, make it known how a local act can progress to bigger opportunities at future editions of the event. This transparency turns the festival into a ladder for talent development rather than a one-off showcase.
There are several ways to design and communicate such pathways:
– Tiered Stage Progression: Some festivals set up a tier system. For example, an indie music festival in the U.S. might have a “community cafe stage” for very new local acts, a mid-sized tent for regional rising artists, and of course the main stage for big names. A local artist who draws a great crowd or generates buzz on the cafe stage could be invited to the mid-sized stage the next year. If they continue to grow in popularity, perhaps they make the main stage line-up in a subsequent edition. The festival can formalize this by announcing that each year one or two standout community-stage performers will earn a slot on a larger stage at the next festival. Knowing this, local bands will see a tangible goal to strive for.
– Contest or Audition Programs: Many events use competitions to find local talent and give winners bigger exposure. For instance, a festival in Germany might run a “Battle of the Bands” among local groups months before the event, with the winner guaranteed a late-afternoon festival slot. Or a drum & bass festival in New Zealand could hold a DJ contest on social media for local producers, where the top vote-getter plays a set right before a headliner. If contests are used, keep the judging criteria and reward (the future slot) very clear and fair. Also, avoid making it purely a popularity vote – incorporate judges or credible figures from the community to ensure talented but less well-known acts have a chance.
– Emerging Artist Programs: Formal emerging artist programs, like the BBC Introducing stages at UK festivals or Singapore’s Baybeats Budding Bands program, explicitly bridge new talent to major festival stages. In such programs, the festival (often with partners or sponsors) selects a cohort of promising local artists to mentor and feature. The best of that cohort may be fast-tracked to a prominent stage. For example, a rock festival in Spain might partner with local music schools and industry mentors for a year-long incubator, culminating in those artists performing at the festival and potentially moving up to bigger festivals nationally. If your festival has the capacity, creating an annual “class” of local emerging artists shows a serious commitment to scene development.
– Published Guidelines and Success Stories: Transparency is key. Publish on the festival website or in the program guide how the selection process for local acts works and what the opportunities are. If you have a community stage, explain how acts are chosen for it and what they can expect if they do well (e.g., consideration for larger stages or slots next time). Share success stories of artists who made the jump. For instance, perhaps a few years ago a then-unknown local DJ opened a side stage at your festival and now they’re a nationally touring act – celebrate that journey in a blog post or an announcement. This not only motivates emerging artists but also shows fans that your festival helps launch careers.
By making the pathway clear, you transform a potentially symbolic gesture into a real development pipeline. Local artists will put more heart into their community stage sets if they know it’s being watched as an audition for bigger things. Fans will also tune in, recognizing that they might witness “the next big thing” at the smaller stages. Over time, your festival could become known for breaking new talent – a major reputational asset. In the drum & bass and bass music world, for example, the rise of many DJs and producers can be traced back to small-stage festival appearances that catapulted their recognition. If your event publicizes that “X big-name headliner actually played their first big set on our community stage three years ago,” it enhances the festival’s prestige as an incubator of talent.
Reporting Outcomes and Building Goodwill
To truly solidify the impact of these scene equity initiatives, it’s important to report outcomes publicly. This means documenting and sharing the results of your community inclusion efforts, which helps build civic goodwill and holds the festival accountable to its promises. Transparency in outcomes can turn skeptics into supporters and ensure that the festival continues to improve its community engagement year after year.
What might outcome reporting look like?
– Post-Festival Community Report: After the festival, prepare a simple report or news release highlighting the community participation. Include statistics like how many local acts performed, how many hours of stage time were given to community groups, and how many local youths got involved as staff or mentees. For example, a festival in California might announce that “15 local bands and 5 school groups performed across our stages this year, totaling over 10 hours of programming dedicated to homegrown talent. Additionally, 20 young people from the region worked behind the scenes through our mentorship program.” Such figures make the commitment tangible.
– Acknowledge Success Stories: If any local artist had a breakout moment at your festival, or if a youth mentee went on to land a job in events, tell that story. It could be a short video testimonial or a written blog feature. Perhaps the timid teenager who shadowed your lighting tech one year is now designing lights for a local theater – that’s a heartwarming narrative to share on social media or with local press, showing the festival’s positive ripple effect.
– Community and Stakeholder Meetings: Consider holding a debrief meeting with community stakeholders (residents’ associations, city council, local partners) where you present what the festival did for the community. This could be an informal celebration event or an inclusion in a town hall meeting. By proactively sharing how the event benefited locals (economically and culturally), you strengthen the case for the festival’s continuation and possibly unlock more support (like grants or sponsorships focused on community outcomes).
– Surveys and Feedback: Part of reporting is also listening. Gather feedback from the local performers and youth participants about their experience. Did they feel truly included? What could be improved? Include some of these quotes or survey results in your public report. For example, “90% of the local artists who performed said they would do it again, and 85% felt their set was given professional treatment by the festival team.” These kinds of stats and testimonials not only highlight success but provide a baseline to improve upon next year.
Publicly sharing these outcomes demonstrates accountability. It shows that “scene equity” isn’t just a buzzword for your festival – it’s a commitment that you measure and take pride in. Media outlets may pick up on these positive stories, which enhances the festival’s public image. Local governments or cultural organizations that value community impact will take note too, potentially leading to partnerships or funding.
On the flip side, reporting outcomes means you’re also implicitly promising to continue the effort. If one year you announce all these great numbers and stories, there will be an expectation to meet or expand on that next year. This is a good motivator for the festival team to keep prioritizing community inclusion and find creative ways to integrate even more local flavor into the event.
Conclusion
Embracing scene equity by putting local residents and youth on the bill is not just a charitable gesture – it’s a strategic move that enriches a festival’s content, builds its reputation, and nurtures the cultural ecosystem that sustains it. Festivals in genres from dubstep to folk, in locations from bustling cities to remote countryside, have witnessed the benefits of giving local talent a platform. The next generation of festival producers will be wise to continue this legacy of inclusivity.
By reserving real slots for community performers, providing top-notch support to make those performances shine, investing in youth behind the scenes, and creating clear paths for growth, a festival becomes more than a once-a-year party – it becomes a cornerstone of the local scene. The payoff is a festival experience that feels organic and inclusive, as excited locals mingle with traveling fans, all cheering on both global stars and hometown heroes.
As festival organizers implement these practices year after year, they cultivate loyalty and goodwill that no amount of advertising can buy. A resident who sees their neighbor’s band on stage, or a teenager who got a career break through the festival, becomes an ambassador who will champion the event for years. In an age where communities often view large events with skepticism, scene equity offers a blueprint for festivals to be seen as partners and benefactors of the community. It transforms festivals into incubators of talent and unity, ensuring that the culture around the festival thrives long after the lights go down on the final encore.
Key Takeaways
- Prioritize Local Talent: Intentionally include local artists, neighborhood crews, and youth groups in your festival lineup with meaningful slots (not just early morning fillers). This adds authenticity and wins community support.
- Professional Support: Treat community performers with the same professionalism as headliners. Provide quality sound, lighting, tech crews, and proper soundchecks so their sets are polished and respected by audiences and artists alike.
- Youth Mentorship: Implement paid mentorship or internship programs for local youth behind the scenes. Engaging young people as production assistants or crew trainees builds skills locally and invests in the next generation of festival staff and talent.
- Clear Advancement Path: Create a transparent path for local acts to grow – for example, from a community stage to larger stages over successive years. Communicate how local performers can progress, and highlight success stories of those who have.
- Transparency & Goodwill: Publicly share the outcomes of your community inclusion (number of local acts, participants, success stories). Reporting these results builds trust with the community and stakeholders, reinforcing your festival’s positive impact.
17th September 2025