BLOOM LOS ANGELES
SKILLS
Event planning and operations, marketing (creative direction, social media + street team), curation and artist relations, hospitality, budgeting and bookkeeping, and staff management.
SUMMARY
While a business and music industry student at the University of Southern California, I applied the skills I acquired interning at the Bootleg Theater and created an event production collective with close friends. Our mission was simple: create an environment that we saw missing in our college scene. A music-based event that was excellently curated, organized and clean, and focused on bringing people together. I plan to keep throwing intimate shows with friends in the future as Bloom.
Setting the tone
We found that our efforts put into designing the aesthetics and finding talented performers translated to attendees letting their guards down and immersing themselves in enjoying art and meeting strangers. I ensured all the music, event descriptions and posts, visual art, and staff reflected these values. We decided on a collective name and image that was universal and reflective of our purpose: to grow together through art. Below, we created an event title and logo that was quite silly thus recognizable. Yet, it looked cool in many variations.
This is a recap video of our event in January 2017. We invited jazz-hop band Harmonious Monks, psychedelic pop band Superet, two DJs, and three painters to perform. We asked our film major friend Ana Pierucci to film the event then helped her cut the footage.
Music for Everyone
We created a set template for each event: bands then DJs. It's a simple format mirroring the success of 21st century multi-genre music festivals. Those who wanted to see bands would come early, have a drink with their friends, then be ready to dance once DJs going on at 11pm. Attendees who just wanted to dance would come later. It was always amazing to see the sudden change in atmosphere once the bands ended and DJs began.
Community
In all, we threw over 15 shows, booked fifty-plus music and visual artists, averaged 500 attendees a night and earned our place in the college scene. It was a very fun way to pay off all my music festival experiences for two years.
More shows
The work at USC led me to also throw an album release party at VRArcade in Downtown Los Angeles and an electronic music show at ArtShare, an art gallery. On the right is the promotional poster for the ArtShare show that featured three electronic producers in the USC composition program. It featured a unique combination of LA beat scene music and avant-garde film scores accompanied by breathtaking visuals from their music videos and VJs.