FestForums®

Don’t just attend the festival industry’s premier B2B conference, OWN your presence in it. 🎡🚀 With 2027 sponsorship opportunities now open, there has never been a better time to get face-to-face with the people who run the world’s biggest festivals. 600+ decision-makers. Three unforgettable days. Endless opportunities to build the connections that actually move the needle. Hear from our 2026 partner: “Being a lead sponsor at FestForums gave us the opportunity to build real relationships with festival organizers and partners. It’s clear this community is built on collaboration.” — Stacy Egusa, Executive Business Operations Manager at @ips_nationwide FestForums® 2027 sponsorships are open! Secure 2026 pricing by April 1st! Contact us at [email protected] or check our link in bio!

We’re coming to you from the beautiful sunny Santa Barbara, California, where the @musicmediacollective had the honor of being an official media partner for @festforums , the B2B live gathering for festival producers, organizers, and industry leaders A common theme across this event? Industry leaders are also feeling the impact of the decline of music media on their ability to reach new audiences, sell tickets, and promote their festivals, which is now harder than ever. FestForms was an incredible place for us to connect face-to-face with industry professionals about our mission. Huge thank you to @lauriebkirby and her entire FestForms crew. Shout out to @phoebejchoi . Thank you so much for having us. The conversations that we’ve had and the new connections that we made are going to be invaluable for our work ahead. 🎥 @festivalprosoftware @pollstar_official @hollyowen3 @nikkiboo_9 @colorimetrylights @shifthappensvolunteers @lilyrocks01 @miaa.reid @eventenyteam

Thank you to everyone who joined us in Santa Barbara for our 9th FestForums! Let’s relive the highlights, the energy, and the moments that made this year so special. 🎥 Shot & Edited by @brandon_lebaron

The music industry is having an honest conversation about mental health and @universalmusicgroup just turned up the volume. 🎶 This week, UMG announced a major expansion of its mental health strategy, partnering with @weareamber to provide 24/7 industry-specific mental health support for artists and songwriters, and becoming a founding member of Project Healthy Minds' workforce mental health research initiative alongside Harvard Business School. Mental health in live events is an industry-wide conversation, not just a label conversation. In 2023, we hosted our Mental Health panel featuring Dre Durant, @emmafayerudkin , Chris Bullard, Syreeta Butler, and @zackborerlmft (Co-Founder of Amber Health). At FestForums®, wellness has been part of our conversation for years. Because the people who build these extraordinary experiences for hundreds of thousands of fans deserve the same level of care and intention that goes into building the events themselves. #FestForums #LiveEvents #MentalHealth #MusicIndustry

The next generation of festival fans isn’t coming…they’re already here and @shabangslo is proving exactly how to build them 🎶 Now in its 12th year, Shabang isn’t just a music festival. It’s a pipeline for the next wave of live event professionals, advocates, and lifelong fans. We spoke with @hailey_cadmus , a UCSB student and Shabang 2026 ambassador on her experience behind the scenes and as a festival attendee. For festival producers, there’s a real lesson here. Ambassador programs, intentional community programming, panels that actually add value. They’re the difference between an event people attend and one they remember. We got the full recap on the FestForums® blog — link in bio. 🔗 FestForums > Blogs #FestForums #LiveEvents #festivalindustry

Our very own @nikkiboo_9 headed to the California desert for Coachella 2026 and she shared her full experience. From @lilbieber ’s emotional comeback set to @madonna crashing @sabrinacarpenter ’s stage, to breakout stars @sombr and @katseyeworld stealing the whole weekend, this year delivered. But beyond the moments, it’s the feeling that Coachella does better than almost anyone. The fashion, the community, the FOMO, the music — all of it, all at once, for 125,000 people in the middle of the desert. We got the full recap on the FestForums® blog — link in bio. 🔗 FestForums > Blogs #FestForums #Coachella2026

This week was incredible. 🎷✨ Our very own Laurie Kirby got to soak up the magic of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival — and we are living for every second of it 🥳
 There’s something about New Orleans that just hits different. The smell of something delicious coming from every direction, the brass bands weaving through the crowd, and music pouring out of over a dozen stages at once — Jazz Fest isn’t just a festival, it’s a whole experience.
 This year’s lineup was stacked — we’re talking the Eagles, Stevie Nicks, Rod Stewart, Lorde, Kings of Leon, Jon Batiste, Tyler Childers, Nas, Earth Wind & Fire, Trombone Shorty, and so many more. Basically a dream setlist for anyone who loves live music.
 But the real highlight? Laurie got to connect with EJ, President of Festival Productions Inc. and COO of Jazz Fest — the incredible mind helping to bring this legendary event to life year after year. Getting a behind-the-scenes perspective from someone at that level is exactly the kind of insight that makes the FestForums® community so special. 🎤
 This is why we do what we do — showing up, connecting with the best in the business, and bringing those conversations back to our stage in Santa Barbara.
 #FestForums #JazzFest #NewOrleansJazzFest #neworleansjazzandheritagefestival #festivalseason

Happy May! 🥳 Each month we love putting a spotlight on the festivals that make this industry so extraordinary, and May is shaping up to be another phenomenal month! 🌼 🎉 From the Central California coast’s Shabang Music Festival, to the groundbreaking film premieres at Cannes Film Festival, to the new music acts debuting at Brighton’s The Great Escape Festival, festival season is now in full swing! “May flowers” have arrived! 🌸🌷🌻 Here are some May festivals we think you should keep an eye on: 👀 5/2 - 5/3 - Shabang Music Festival  5/7 - 5/17 - Seattle International Film Festival 5/8 - 5/18 - Canadian Tulip Festival 5/13 - 5/16 - The Great Escape (The Festival for New Music) 5/13 - 5/24 - Cannes Film Festival  5/14 - 5/17 - Joshua Tree Music Festival  5/15 - 5/17 - Golden Road Gathering  5/20 - 5/24 - Lightning in a Bottle  5/22 - 5/24 - BBC1 Big Weekend Sunderland Festival Each month we’ve been highlighting festivals across the country (and around the world!) that we love — festivals that remind us why live events matter!  Can you think of one we missed? Be sure to drop your May festival plans in the comments below! 👇

Could State Fest be the future of the Santa Barbara music scene? 🎶 Go to the FestForums® site (🔗 link in bio > Blogs) to read about our Social Media and Outreach Coordinator @tommylapidese ’s experience attending and performing at the inaugural @statefestsb - complete with photos by @ivstreets , and an interview with State Fest founder @mjumiapp ! 🪅 📸 @ivstreets (slides 2, 4, 10, 12) 📸 @deejayblahsay (slide 6) 📸 @flowstyle_kyle (slide 8) #statefest #festforums #festivals #santabarbara #statestreet

What happens when you take festival energy and drop it into a bar crawl? You get @statefestsb 🎶🍻 Santa Barbara just got its newest music festival — and it doesn't look like anything you've seen before. One night. Eight venues. One wristband. All local artists, each producing their own event under one unified lineup on State Street. Founder of MJ Morrison didn't try to build a festival from scratch. He activated what already existed — the venues, the talent, the community — and gave it the connective tissue it was missing. Between 2,500–3,000 attendees showed up for the inaugural run. We'd call that a success. 🎉 We love seeing innovation happen in our own backyard here in Santa Barbara, and State Fest is exactly the kind of grassroots, community-first thinking that makes the live events industry so exciting. Read the full story on the FestForums® blog 🔗 link in bio > Blogs 📷 Photo Credit: Callahan Morgan (AKA, @ivstreets ) courtesy of State Fest in Santa Barbara, CA #FestForums #LiveEvents #StateFest #SantaBarbara #MusicFestival

At this year’s Pollstar Live! (@pollstar_official ), @oakviewgroup ’s Chief Content Director Ray Waddell sat down with @headcountorg chairman and @locknfestival founder Peter Shapiro to discuss how his city-kid roots inspired him to build festivals from the ground up. #pollstar #pollstarlive #locknfestival #headcount #festivals

Happy National Pet Day! 🐾 In honor of this special day, please take a peek at some of our favorite furry friend festivals! 😊 #nationalpetday #pets #festforums #festivals #petfestivals