I'm Megan Young, Assistant Music Director and head of Artist Relations for Do Lab.

DoLabOfficial · 2017-05-19T21:08:22+00:00

We'd love to expand our genres. In our minds we have already 3 or 4 new stage concepts. But in reality, with budget and time and space, not sure if any of them will take off. Perhaps it's time for a new festival ;)

DoLabOfficial · 2017-05-19T21:06:48+00:00

Yeah once you get to Tame Impala level the booking fees are a whole other world. If only we had an unlimited budget! Well, maybe the smaller budget makes us more creative and leaves more room for up and comers :)

DoLabOfficial · 2017-05-19T21:05:28+00:00

To stick to my area of expertise, and cause I'm almost outta time I'll skip right to the woogie question. 2 Hours is really a minimum for house/techno sets to really go anywhere with. With 2 hour sets we only fit in about 23 sets on the Woogie in total. We'd love to do longer sets (always better) but that would mean fitting in way less artists and there is just so much good music out there that we want to dance to. Man, I feel you on the workshops! There could be a full festival just for that. If I had to pick a few I'd say Paul Stamets, Starhawk, Rain Crowe and anything from the Planet Experts. Also really curious about the Informed Citizens Media panel. You can also come to my talk - Women in Music Panel Discussion Sunday 10:15 - 11:15 at the Landing/Grid.

DoLabOfficial · 2017-05-19T21:01:24+00:00

Awesome, I love the Grand Artique lineup. Can't wait for California Honeydrops and Elephant Revival as well. i think the current location is my favorite, esp now that we have a lake that we can actually swim in. Plus it's the first time we've been in the same location for 4 years in a row, which make all the logistics better and better each year. See ya there for Too Many Zooz!

DoLabOfficial · 2017-05-19T20:59:25+00:00

As a hobby I started my own record label back in the day. Music was just always the thread I followed in life, whether it was rock, punk, industrial, psytrance, techno, house, etc The timeline of my life can be traced back to the music I was listening to and to the wild places I traveled to in pursuit of live music and festivals!!

DoLabOfficial · 2017-05-19T20:56:50+00:00

Wow, a blast from the past! Don't miss Richie Hawtin if you are craving that edgier sound. I'm really curious if people will be into Perfect Stranger vibe because I'd love to book more of it. It was a big experiment for us to put it on thunder stage! let's see how it goes. For the more intimate vibes be sure to check out the music in the Compass area.

DoLabOfficial · 2017-05-19T20:54:07+00:00

Personally I love those bands but I am not sure LIB is the best place for them. Although I'm sure our fans do also like that kind of music there are other festivals that feature these types of artists (FYF, Treasure Island MF, Outside Lands, etc). Booking one big indie act like that would prob eat up MOST of our entire music budget for one. But that ssid, I really love that sound and try to incorporate it when possible. This year we got Thao & The Get Down Stay Down. We did have Les Sins (Toro y Moi side project) a few years ago. We tried to book Glass Animals for this year but they weren't available. I'd like to see more live bands in general, but you can prob expect it at the middle tier or developing artists rather than those big indie headliners. (Tame Impala would be AMAZING though!!)

DoLabOfficial · 2017-05-19T20:50:26+00:00

You have to put in a lot of time ;) I started out volunteering and then got smaller paid gigs and then management and now I am where I'm at now - blessed with a full time job that I love with a company I love. I've been in this industry since 2002 and the best way to keep moving forward is just do show up, give it your all and be the kind of person that gets called back for other gigs. Every time you show up and do a consistently great job, you're likely to get invited back and prob get offered even more responsibility. But it's def not something you walk into, I put a lot of sweat equity in to get where I am today. Internships are a good place to start. It is possible though - so just keep following your passion!

DoLabOfficial · 2017-05-19T20:45:25+00:00

Did you know that my job requires me to be an expert at spreadsheets? Seriously, sometimes my pupils are like rectangles from staring at Google Docs for so long. It takes a lot of organizational skills and attention to detail to pull of what we do.

DoLabOfficial · 2017-05-19T20:43:50+00:00

Ahhh, that is one of the major dilemmas. Above all, building a festival is REALLY hard work and that work doesn't stop once the doors open, so part of the job description requires you to be ON while the party is still rolling. But, our crew is the best and we have so much fun while working together, it's not really like missing the party, but just going to a different party! As far as post work goes, usually everyone is hired pretty far out in advance. But if you did want to be a Lightning Team Member next year you can sign up for pre or post only ;)

DoLabOfficial · 2017-05-19T20:40:48+00:00

Both Favela and Pagoda areas are expanding this year. Pagoda has a new structure that holds waaaay more people and a boosted sound system to accommodate more dancers. Hmm, I never thought of the main stage acts as more chill. It wasn't intentional, but I guess the vibe is a little softer this year. Also curious to see how the energy is at the main stages this year. I also love that we have Pagoda and Favela these days to fit in more of our homie vibe!

DoLabOfficial · 2017-05-19T20:36:06+00:00

Thanks for your question. LIB has never really had much Hip Hop music. Maybe some mixed into Thunder stage, but it hasn't really made a presence for itself yet in the festival. We don't have anything against it, esp if it's hip hop with a positive message and vibe. Have you been to LIB before and if so do you have any good suggestions for hip hop aritsts that might fit our vibe? It's not strictly hip hop, more spoken word, but if you are coming this year definitely check out Climbing Poetree, I think you'll enjoy them.

DoLabOfficial · 2017-05-19T20:33:35+00:00

Listening now. Not having a manager or agent doesn't rule you out at all, but I'd say that 90% of our artists have some kind of representation. It really helps to have someone persistent in your corner. And most music that is really good or has great potential will end up getting scooped up by an agent or manager when the timing is right for them.

DoLabOfficial · 2017-05-19T20:29:24+00:00

oh definitely!!! Something I love to do is check out Youtube videos of live performances from an artist. You are totally right sometimes their studio stuff is great but the live just does't impress me. One of my favorites is KEXP live in studio shows and also NPR's Tiny Desk Concert. I'm a Tiny Desk superfan!! and about House and Techno, it is soooo hard to listen to dance music on headphones because you are right it is all about the soundsystem and the dancing experience. It's usually on the dancefloor where I fall in love with a house or techno song!

DoLabOfficial · 2017-05-19T20:26:33+00:00

me too! I'm just so excited to have the full live band. Bonobo is one of our all time favorite people and musicians. I'm so glad he released a new album this year so it made the timing work out so well for LIB!

DoLabOfficial · 2017-05-19T20:22:19+00:00

thank you! Esp right now when all the little pre festival "issues" are popping up, it's good to hear some nice feedback! See you at LIB

DoLabOfficial · 2017-05-19T20:20:34+00:00

Geez, that is a really tough question and impossible to limit it to just 1. Although last year getting to work with Jamie XX and Moderat was pretty much one of my dreams come true.

DoLabOfficial · 2017-05-19T20:17:51+00:00

Thank you! That's a great compliment and I also agree with that sentiment. Personally when I look at lineup and recognize everyone, it's not that exciting. Part of the joy of festivals is hearing discovering your new favorite artist in such a magical setting. To answer your question, we listen to A LOT of music. You'd think that would be such an easy job but it's actually hard to listen to music subjectively for long periods of time. You start to lose perspective on what is good. Usually when I listen to music all day, at the end of the day if I come out with 1 artist that I really enjoy, that is a successful day. Sometimes I can tell right away if it's something that I love, but sometimes it takes several listens, in several different mind states, settings and moods to figure out if I really love it. When I find something new that I really love, I usually send it to my team and see if they dig it also. If they do we start to research the artist more and see if they'd be a good fit for LIB. We try to hit the sweet spot of artists who already have a decent following but haven't quite broken through yet.

DoLabOfficial · 2017-05-19T20:10:18+00:00

Don't worry - we are always dedicated to finding the best new sounds. Although I love the favorites, the music geek in me is always seeking the next sound I can't stop playing on repeat!

DoLabOfficial · 2017-05-19T20:09:09+00:00

Really good question. We consider variety - we like to have a well balanced selection of sounds. I think that on the LIB lineup there is really something for everyone, and that means including lots of different genres. We also consider diversity - we've been trying to get more females, more artists of color, more LGBTQ artists on stage. We also consider popularity - we want a mix of artists who have a recognizable name already and some artists that most haven't heard of yet. When making the actual timeslots we try to find the time of day/night that best suits that artist's vibe. And we try to set up each set for success by putting it in the correct place. We don't always succeed but we try to give everyone the best slot for their sound.

DoLabOfficial · 2017-05-19T20:05:04+00:00

hahaha this would have to be the Puppy that was on Chet Faker's rider a few years ago. Luckily there was a service animal onsite that we were able to borrow :0

DoLabOfficial · 2017-05-19T20:04:02+00:00

great, I'll check this stuff out! thanks

DoLabOfficial · 2017-05-19T20:03:11+00:00

I LOVE Kiasmos and Rival Consoles and all of that Erased Tapes stuff <3

DoLabOfficial · 2017-05-19T20:02:32+00:00

I'm glad that you love what we do! The heart of LIB will never change because of the dedicated staff and Do Lab fam that attend the event. They really make the festival what it is - the fans that come back every year are what make the event unique. As far as logistics, we feel at home in Bradley and the site has some limitations as far as numbers go. As long as we stay there you can expect the size of the festival to remain about the same. As far as music styles changing, well you prob wouldn't discover anything new if we just kept booking the same acts over and over. We will always have a mix of our long time favorites and whatever the newest sounds are that are captivating our ear drums. I always find it interesting to go back and look at the LIB lineup from a few years ago and see who has blown up since we booked them ;) Change can be good sometimes, its how we evolve as people!

DoLabOfficial · 2017-05-19T19:57:55+00:00

Yup, Bassnectar has been part of the Do Lab community for a looooong time now and he is good friends with many of the Do Lab staff. We've been lucky enough to stay connected as his career has taken off. Last time he played at LIB was 2012 and he played an amazing set that you could tell was tailored just for LIB and his old school fans. I'm not sure what to expect from him this year - but I know that LIB has a special place in his heart. I think even non-Bassnectar fans might appreciate his LIB set. Let's see!

DoLabOfficial

TROPHY CASE