Who doesn’t enjoy a good music festival? From the 18th century's Three Choirs festival to 1969’s iconic Woodstock to the modern-day Lollapalooza, music festivals have been bringing people together for an unforgettable experience. According to a Nielsen Music report, 52% of Americans attend a live music event each year. Out of 52%, 44% attend at least one festival. By 2022, Pricewaterhouse Coopers anticipates the live music industry will exceed $31 billion worldwide.
© Kevin Yatarola
With the industry growing, it’s imperative festival organizers make their experience unique. Shanta Thake, co-director of globalFEST, a global music platform established in 2003 in response to 9/11, is providing musicians from around the world a chance to showcase their art to a broader audience. Unlike other music festivals, globalFest moves international music to the center of the performing arts field. It fosters a robust and sustainable ecosystem for world music in the United States. Its programs catalyze creative and artistic networks that break down cultural and social boundaries to support and share the world’s music through performance, touring and media.
Thake comments, “I was able to really see the impact of what it means to be working in a cultural space; what is the importance of the work that we're doing? How are we making the case for cultural work as a necessary part of civilization and what's the way that we can sort of move the dial, whether that's through conversation or through civic dialogue. It's about bringing these other cultures from around the world into places where they wouldn't otherwise be and giving a sort of more nuanced look at what a country can represent.” In 2018, globalFEST was awarded the APAP William Dawson Award for Programmatic Excellence and sustained achievement in programming.
From left, Korean Folk and Rock singers Seungtae Shin, Heemoon Lee, and Dahye Chu, all of the group ... [+]
Thake’s ability to grow the festival from an acclaimed festival/showcase into a catalytic non-profit service organization for curators, artists and the performing arts field is a testament to her dedication and perseverance. In addition to organizing the festival, she’s also the director of artistic programs for the Public Theater, an independent, non-profit music venue dedicated to supporting performing artists at every day of their careers. Initially, she started working as an assistant. Over the years she’s now worked her way up to director where she oversees six programs and books over 800 shows a year.
“I think I have a very good sense of where I want to spend my energy on a given day,” she shares. “There’s a level of prioritization that has to happen. There's definitely a ramp up to globalFEST and a ramp down of activity that feels like it is manageable over time…In terms of balancing it with what has been my work at Joe's Pub, which of course is a very different pace and juggling any number of things, I think it's just about understanding that these things do feed one another. The reason I can do my job well at the Public and Joe’s Pub is because of my role at globalFEST. They don't have to feel like two totally separate things like I have to turn one off to turn the other one on.”
Ukrainian Cabaret musician Solomiya Melnyk (left) plays accordion with the Dakh Daughters at the ... [+]
Although at times, Thake has to balance two positions that come with two sets of challenges, the final product is worth the hard work. “The idea of kind of constantly being connected to a world through culture through both the performers and these artists, and then also the differences, you know, the sort of magical newness of it all is really such a privilege.” Over the years, Thake and her co-directors have expanded the music festival. To assist them, they have relied on the following steps:
- Set a series of excellence expectations or rules around what success will look like for you.
- Diversify your portfolio. It shows that you have a broad set of skills that could be valuable for multiple industries.
- Familiarize yourself with the area that you want to go into. You can never do enough research to prepare yourself for the opportunity.
“I work in a field of storytelling,” Thake concludes. “My narrative is really about trying to find ways to collaborate in a way that I think I started out really trying to figure out how to tell my own story. Now, I'm just much more interested in getting creative people together and figuring out the biggest possible impact we can have.”
