Q: Can you tell me how the event started?
A: During my tenure as Senior Vice President [at Fairplex], the focus of my work was to increase the diversity of the fair and to engage in a marketing strategy around diversifying the age and ‘cool factor’ of the fair. Making the fair cool again for the kids and folks that have been visiting the fair for years and are continually coming back and getting excited about the same Ferris Wheel [plus] all these other things around it that are new and exciting.
We launched a series of programs when I was there. One being Mi Poco LA [in the late 2010s], which were music concerts focusing on local emerging artists and small groups from the community that would bring out their followers there. And those followers come see them perform and stumble on the fact that they're in this massive fair.
The excitement and success around that allowed for us to start thinking about what it would look like if we expanded it. In 2019, we created a bigger stage in addition to the stage we had with Mi Poco LA and it was called the Pop Fusion stage at the fair. It allowed us to increase opportunities to create a platform for local emerging artists to perform. That was a success. Then in 2020, I had a vision of doing six stages, like a mini music festival within the fair. But it would be marketed differently.
[Rivera said the goal would be to attract a younger crowd and older adults unable to afford major music festivals and those “who used to come to the fair, but lost interest because there was nothing new.”]
I had this crazy idea in 2020 of launching six stages with several hundred local emerging artists from throughout the L.A. region, and then COVID happened. We didn't have our fair in 2020 and there were layoffs.
A lot of us got laid off and went our different ways. I started my company. Then the fair came back in 2022 and decided to bring me on as their lead consultant to think about programming the same way I was thinking about it when I was there as senior vice president.
In that conversation I said, ‘Let's really double down on this idea around local emerging artists and create a festival.
Carlos describes looking for artists like going through a box of vinyl…going to different clubs, hangouts and parties and paying attention to what's hot on YouTube, social media and really honing in on these artists from different backgrounds within the L.A. region.
He loves going out and seeing singer/songwriters onstage, performing to six or seven people that are drunk at the bar and they sound amazing.
Going in the third year of NextFest, it has quickly built a reputation as an amazing music festival that supports locals and pays them decently. We respect them as artists and we set them up on quality stages - the same ones you would see at major music venues. It allows them to really flourish and bring their 'A' game and feel loved and supported by another community of artists.
We also allow a lot of the artists to work the event. Some artists might be running the stage or a tech on sound. Then the next day, you see them on stage, It's a full experience around the music festival idea.
Carlos is my go-to, when it comes to what's hot right now, who has the music chops, who sounds great, but is not getting the support they need.
Q: Are you limited to certain genres?
A: No, it's all genres. We do everything from soft rock to New Orleans brass music, country and pop music. Asian pop music artists, Indian hip-hop.
Q: Seems very diverse.
A: Super diverse. We had a group of 55 to 75-year-old women doing a choreographed dance performance]. It's pretty amazing.
It's really to diversify the audience and content. The audience wants to see themselves on stage. We know that we're going to have a lot of Latinos coming to the fair because we're in LA County.
Q: After you did the first NextFest, what kind of feedback did you get from the artists or attendees? Were they really thrilled to have something like this?
A: They said it was the cheapest and best music festival they've ever been to because it sits within the 500 acres of Fairplex and the fair. A lot of kids coming to festivals these days want eye candy. It's satisfying to see their favorite artists onstage, but it's even more satisfying to go and say, ‘I'm going to go check out the pig races.’
Q: Tell me about the silent disco.
A: During my tenure [at Fairplex], we did a silent disco event, and it was really successful. When COVID happened, we had to pivot. When we brought Silent Disco back, I wanted to [do it] in a way that cost us less money to rent all the equipment and really engage with DJs having their own success within the region. Our silent disco is pretty amazing because you get to hear DJs from some of the best parties in LA that are battling each other for the most [listeners].
Q: Are the stages positioned in a certain way so there's no bleed with all the other noises going on?
A: During my tenure as Senior Vice President [at Fairplex], the focus of my work was to increase the diversity of the fair and to engage in a marketing strategy around diversifying the age and ‘cool factor’ of the fair. Making the fair cool again for the kids and folks that have been visiting the fair for years and are continually coming back and getting excited about the same Ferris Wheel [plus] all these other things around it that are new and exciting.
We launched a series of programs when I was there. One being Mi Poco LA [in the late 2010s], which were music concerts focusing on local emerging artists and small groups from the community that would bring out their followers there. And those followers come see them perform and stumble on the fact that they're in this massive fair.
The excitement and success around that allowed for us to start thinking about what it would look like if we expanded it. In 2019, we created a bigger stage in addition to the stage we had with Mi Poco LA and it was called the Pop Fusion stage at the fair. It allowed us to increase opportunities to create a platform for local emerging artists to perform. That was a success. Then in 2020, I had a vision of doing six stages, like a mini music festival within the fair. But it would be marketed differently.
[Rivera said the goal would be to attract a younger crowd and older adults unable to afford major music festivals and those “who used to come to the fair, but lost interest because there was nothing new.”]
I had this crazy idea in 2020 of launching six stages with several hundred local emerging artists from throughout the L.A. region, and then COVID happened. We didn't have our fair in 2020 and there were layoffs.
A lot of us got laid off and went our different ways. I started my company. Then the fair came back in 2022 and decided to bring me on as their lead consultant to think about programming the same way I was thinking about it when I was there as senior vice president.
In that conversation I said, ‘Let's really double down on this idea around local emerging artists and create a festival.
Q: How many stages did you have for NextFest 2022?
A: Five stages and about 200 artists. Last year, we had about 270+ artists, which was a huge success. This year, they're looking at the same numbers. The program created under the NextFest banner…[went after] a new audience of fairgoers.
A: Five stages and about 200 artists. Last year, we had about 270+ artists, which was a huge success. This year, they're looking at the same numbers. The program created under the NextFest banner…[went after] a new audience of fairgoers.
My vision around this has been really focused on supporting local emerging artists throughout the L.A. region and creating platforms for them, not only to build their audience, but also build music jobs.
Q: How do you go about finding these artists? Do you call for submissions over a certain period of time?
A: I've been in LA for about 11 years. I was brought out from Philadelphia to spearhead the Grand Park [concert series in LA]. In downtown, Grand Park, I started connecting with a lot of artists and friends that I've worked with [as a DJ], curators that I've worked with in the past. Carlos Guiaco was one of them. We've been working together for a little over nine years.
Q: How do you go about finding these artists? Do you call for submissions over a certain period of time?
A: I've been in LA for about 11 years. I was brought out from Philadelphia to spearhead the Grand Park [concert series in LA]. In downtown, Grand Park, I started connecting with a lot of artists and friends that I've worked with [as a DJ], curators that I've worked with in the past. Carlos Guiaco was one of them. We've been working together for a little over nine years.
Carlos describes looking for artists like going through a box of vinyl…going to different clubs, hangouts and parties and paying attention to what's hot on YouTube, social media and really honing in on these artists from different backgrounds within the L.A. region.
He loves going out and seeing singer/songwriters onstage, performing to six or seven people that are drunk at the bar and they sound amazing.
Going in the third year of NextFest, it has quickly built a reputation as an amazing music festival that supports locals and pays them decently. We respect them as artists and we set them up on quality stages - the same ones you would see at major music venues. It allows them to really flourish and bring their 'A' game and feel loved and supported by another community of artists.
We also allow a lot of the artists to work the event. Some artists might be running the stage or a tech on sound. Then the next day, you see them on stage, It's a full experience around the music festival idea.
Carlos is my go-to, when it comes to what's hot right now, who has the music chops, who sounds great, but is not getting the support they need.
Q: Are you limited to certain genres?
A: No, it's all genres. We do everything from soft rock to New Orleans brass music, country and pop music. Asian pop music artists, Indian hip-hop.
Q: Seems very diverse.
A: Super diverse. We had a group of 55 to 75-year-old women doing a choreographed dance performance]. It's pretty amazing.
It's really to diversify the audience and content. The audience wants to see themselves on stage. We know that we're going to have a lot of Latinos coming to the fair because we're in LA County.
Q: After you did the first NextFest, what kind of feedback did you get from the artists or attendees? Were they really thrilled to have something like this?
A: They said it was the cheapest and best music festival they've ever been to because it sits within the 500 acres of Fairplex and the fair. A lot of kids coming to festivals these days want eye candy. It's satisfying to see their favorite artists onstage, but it's even more satisfying to go and say, ‘I'm going to go check out the pig races.’
Q: Tell me about the silent disco.
A: During my tenure [at Fairplex], we did a silent disco event, and it was really successful. When COVID happened, we had to pivot. When we brought Silent Disco back, I wanted to [do it] in a way that cost us less money to rent all the equipment and really engage with DJs having their own success within the region. Our silent disco is pretty amazing because you get to hear DJs from some of the best parties in LA that are battling each other for the most [listeners].
Q: Are the stages positioned in a certain way so there's no bleed with all the other noises going on?
A: The stages are set up so bleed is not an issue. It's almost like the fair is happening and then in the periphery, you have stage activations…we adjust a couple of stages every year just to see if it works better. We’ve honed in on the perfect set up now.
We focus on making sure to curating community with folks from the karate school, Hawaiian dancers, folkloric dancers, making sure that they're participating in this entire experience as well.
We focus on making sure to curating community with folks from the karate school, Hawaiian dancers, folkloric dancers, making sure that they're participating in this entire experience as well.
For more info, go to nextfestla.com.
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