2_YDMF LOGO_Share copyIn coordination with the Office of Experiential Learning,  a crew of Berklee students helped produce the inaugural Yellow Dog Music Fest. The following post was written by Selina Meuross, one of the festival organizers. Read a post by fellow organizer Noah Gopen.

By Selina Meuross

I first heard about Yellow Dog Music Fest (YDMF) when a job opening for a social media coordinator became available in the summer of 2015. The festival was marketed as an all-day music beach event that featured seven talented Berklee bands. In addition, it was a benefit for The Barnstable Land Trust (BLT), a Cape Cod environmental organization. As much as I loved Boston, its crazy snowstorms made me miss the sun, beaches, and music festivals back home in Australia. To be presented with an opportunity to be a part of an event that combined live music, beaches, and charity was a dream come true. I jumped at the chance to be a part of the festival and was thrilled when I became the social media coordinator for YDMF 2015.

The team included Jordan Hope, Katie Hattier (Berklee students), Sarah Mayo (the founder and lead organizer of YDMF) Pamela Danforth, and Christopher Adams (representatives of BLT), Jay Sheehan (an audio engineer and Berklee alumnus), Ivan Rambhadjan (an equipment and video services provider), a large number of wonderful volunteers, and myself. To say I was nervous about helping to produce a music festival is an understatement. I’d been to many festivals before, but I had never been behind the scenes of one, nor did I think I ever would be. It was stressful and downright exhausting at times, but the results more than paid off in the end. With a lot of hard work and dedication we pulled off a small but successful YDMF 2015.

YDMFSmall Poster 2016-page-001The planning for YDMF 2016 is now underway and it’s shaping up to be bigger and better than ever. Our most exciting news is that our headliner this year is international pop star Cody Simpson. Supporting him will be two Berklee bands (Self Portraits and Kyle Thornton & The Company), a Berklee alumni band (Amy & The Engine), a Boston College band (Juice), and a Cape Cod local band (Crooked Coast). This year, I’m extremely honored to be the lead student organizer. I’m grateful to be working with a brilliant team of nine Berklee students – most of whom have acquired IN-299 and IN-399 internships for their hard work. With the festival date set for Saturday, September 17, we will no doubt be faced with a number of challenges over the next couple of months. However, with such a strong team, I am confident that we will pull off an incredibly successful YDMF 2016.

Selina

Selina Meuross is a seventh-semester vocal principal from Sydney, Australia. She is currently majoring in music business/management with a focus on the management track. In addition to her position as the lead student organizer for YDMF, she works in the Music Business/Management office as a work-study student.

 

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