Talia Andrea, a member of our 30under30, is a freelance events professional and the founder of FEMMESTIVAL – a live music festival with an all-female lineup and team. She is also the editor in chief at Strand Magazine, and a host of the weekly Music Industry Mondays panel series at the London College of Contemporary Music.

What made you want to get involved in the industry and why?

I started off on the other end of the industry by reviewing events as a journalist. The more events I went backstage at, the more I noticed the lack of young people, especially young women, represented in those spaces. I felt a change was needed to show that we do have a place in the live events industry and that our voices deserve to be heard, whether onstage or behind the scenes. That’s why I founded FEMMESTIVAL.

What is the first career highlight that comes to mind?

The past twelve months have been a whirlwind from start to finish, ever since I received funding from Youth Music to found FEMMESTIVAL. I’ve been invited on panels, podcasts, and to judge funding rounds for other young people in the music industry, and I’ve met some amazing people along the way. Perhaps the most unexpected highlight, though, was when a student independently approached me to interview me for her BA dissertation, as she thought FEMMESTIVAL was a great example of a “safe space” within the music industry. I can’t wait to read her finished essay, all 10,000 words of it!

What aspect of your role do you find most fulfilling?

I feel so touched whenever someone messages me, or approaches me at one of the shows I’ve organised, to tell me how important FEMMESTIVAL is to them. I’ve had artists say that our crowds have been the most warm and welcoming crowds they’ve ever performed to, and it means a lot to me to be able to foster that space.

Similarly, I remember someone coming up to me at the first all-day FEMMESTIVAL in October 2023, to tell me that when she grew up in the ’80s, she always wanted to be a singer, but didn’t feel like it was a possibility for her because she wasn’t seeing many other women perform live. She told me how happy she was that events like mine exist now, and earnestly told me to “keep going!” before she left. Hearing those words really made me feel like I was on the right path.

What is the biggest challenge you have overcome?

In some ways, I think it’s been believing in myself and my own capabilities as an event professional. I feel like if you’re underrepresented in an industry, you can often be led to doubt yourself and your skills. It can definitely be daunting to start something new, especially if you’re doing it on your own, but the more you do it, the more you realise how much you are capable of. It can just take some time to come to terms with that.

If there was one thing you could change about the live events industry overnight, what would it be?

More funding for grassroots events and venues. There’s so much to be excited about in that space, and it’s such a shame that so many are being forced to close or pause indefinitely, because they just can’t afford to carry on.

This becomes especially important when you consider the communities which often have difficulty accessing funding – female-owned businesses are invested in less, and filling in form-based applications can often deter neurodivergent people from applying if access arrangements aren’t provided. I hope that more opportunities will be provided in the future, to close the gaps in this area.

How important are schemes such as AAA 30under30 and do you believe the industry does enough to support young professionals?

I think schemes which support young professionals, such as the AAA30UnderThirty, are vital. Young people show so much drive and passion for live events, and they are the future of the sector – so it’s important to recognise and value their contributions, as well as supporting them in their future development. Personally, I would never have been able to found FEMMESTIVAL without Youth Music and their NextGen Fund, so the question of the importance of such schemes is very close to my heart.

In all honesty, I don’t believe there are enough of these opportunities for those working behind-the-scenes in events just yet, but I think that this is increasingly been recognised, and am optimistic that we might see a change in the next few years.

The Access All Areas 30Under30 is proud to be sponsored by Event Crowd. Founded in 2021 by Bournemouth 7s Festival founder Roger Woodall, Event Crowd has since welcomed more than 700 students onto its course and helped hundreds of alumni break into the events industry.

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