I know most of you know how much I love connecting with both sides of the music industry and today we have a backend titan who has been making waves for years - we have the VP of Disco Donnie Evan Bailey on and I couldn't be more excited to share this episode.
Evan and I met at ADE in October and after hearing him speak on branding and sponsorship I knew that I had to get him on SITB.
In 218 we discussed:
-Journey Into The Music Industry: Born in NYC but raised in Ohio, Evan always had a profound love for music. He was in a band in college and always planned on rock/punk until he went to his first rave and saw Paul Johnson killing it and fell in love with dance music. He shifted gears and went all in on electronic music throwing parties, DJing and immersing himself in this new world. He eventually crossed paths with James "Disco Donnie" Estopinal and joined forces - the rest is history.
Role With Disco Donnie: Evan came into Disco Donnie in the early stages and has been a core influencer in helping the event and promotion company explode over the past 20+ years. As VP, Evan is responsible for a little bit of everything and there's nothing that is below him when it comes to making the experience a memory that they will never forget. Spanning over 100 cities around the world, Evan helps Disco Donnie Presents produce thousands of live music events and festivals including Ubbi Dubbi, Sunset Music Festival, Freaky Deaky and Lights All Night each year.
Equity, Inclusion, Diversity Programming: One of Evan's major focuses is making sure DDP events are a safe and comfortable place for both patrons, artists, and vendors. Evan recently set up a music scholarship through Vanderbilt that honors their former colleague Leon Jackson that gives anyone the opportunity to pursue music as a full-time career. Evan also works very hard to give a spotlight to diverse up and coming artists to play at their events - his passion certainly shows on and off the stage. Loved this portion of the interview!
2023 is just getting started but Evan and the Disco Donnie team have a massive year planned that is sure to drop some jaws. I cannot wait to see what they have coming!
Evan is one of the most humble, driven and intelligent people I've met in the industry and I'm so glad we made the time to get his full story.
Thank you so much for coming on my friend and I look forward to connecting again soon.
Let's get into it right now so you can hear his story for yourselves, this is episode 218 with Evan Bailey.
