CAPS’ Todd Dyer sat down with Disco Donnie Presents’ Vice President Evan Bailey to celebrate the return of Ubbi Dubbi this April 24 and 25, discuss pandemic precautions, and spread some hope for the future of live entertainment. If you're interested in learning more, drop Todd a business inquiry, comment, or a note to chat more.
Be sure to follow our three-part Crew Corner series featuring Todd Dyer, where the Live Events expert also weighs in on the latest headlines and interviews General Manager Stuart Ross.
Todd Dyer: How did you decide to proceed with Ubbi Dubbi and make it the first U.S. festival to return?
Evan Bailey: Since February, we’ve been in a pattern of waiting to see if we needed to push the event back, but as case numbers started to improve and vaccine distribution seemed to get its legs, we started thinking it could be possible. When the Governor of Texas made his announcement that the state was opening up 100%, it changed things. Frankly, one of the challenges was potentially a mix of regulation—so things could ultimately boil down to local regulation—what the health department wants to do, what the mayor wants to do, or what the local judge wants to do. So, when Governor Abbott made that announcement, it let us know that at least from a regulatory standpoint in Texas, it looked like the event could move forward. And there’s always the caveat that the pandemic can change.
It’s a mix of emotions, since you’re excited, of course—because you want to get back into events—but you want to be careful because you want to do the right thing. You feel like you’re under scrutiny, because frankly, you will be. So, you want to do a great job. We had spent probably three, four months on phone calls to a lot of different companies that offer testing and technology solutions. And at one point, I had the idea that I’m going to contact CLEAR because they're possibly rolling out this Health Pass; and they were being adopted in the sporting leagues. And Hawaii was looking at it and I heard Live Nation might be looking at it, so I reached out to them and they wrote back very quickly, and I got on a call with them, and it was one of those things where you know it when you see it. As soon as I started talking to them, I knew they were our partners for Ubbi Dubbi.
Todd: How will CLEAR and their technology pave the way for a safe concert?
Evan: The way CLEAR works, and one thing we liked about it, is it’s not necessarily overly prescriptive. CLEAR’s a technology company, but their core business is security and privacy, which is why TSA partners with them in the airports. Besides being very secure and very professional and having a big network of people they work with, it also gives you the ability to look at the time and place that the event is being held and say, “Here’s what we need to have a safe event.” So, it can be a variety of actions—it can be waivers, temperature scans, vaccine registries, testing, etc. You can pull in any of those elements, and you can make your own elements. It’s like conditional logic, and you can get one of these green light Health Passes. So, that’s why we liked it: It buys us a few weeks to assess the global health situation, especially as it pertains to Texas.
They also have excellent partners. I had a call yesterday with the team that works with FEMA and other organizations, and you can just tell these guys work fast. It didn’t feel like some entrepreneurial operation. I asked them, “How fast can you activate this or that?” and they said, “Give us a couple of weeks.” So, we’re developing a lot of COVID-related plans for the festival coming up, and this deals with things like food and beverage, sanitation procedures, messaging to fans about what the check-in process will look like, and the credential process for staff. So, we’ve been constructing it, but some of it’s going to be placed in at the last minute on what it is we think we need because, frankly, the pandemic could get a lot better or it could get worse, and those scenarios require totally different solutions.
Todd: Are you mandating a Health Pass for every person to access the entry points? How are you messaging protocols to fans and the crew?
Evan: So, for staff, it would be a staff advance. For vendors, it would be a vendor advance. And that will probably read a little different. Ubbi Dubbi is a mail-fulfilled festival, but it doesn’t mean people can’t buy tickets at the gate. But, it does mean the vast majority of wrist bands are mailed to people’s homes. The mailer is a very important touchpoint for us to establish tone, and those are going out toward the end of the month. Another thing we’re going to do is use a vanity URL for the event, so we can be nimble and update the information in real time. That way there’s a hub, such as ‘ubbidubbi.com/HealthPass,’ and that will become this repository. From a creative standpoint, we have a new character. The festival is very character based, and the new character will be sort of the patron saint of doing good. And that particular character will handle some of the fan messaging, so it will get people’s attention because it’s a new element and narrative … maybe someone to blame, too.
Todd: How are the artists feeling? Have they expressed any hesitation or are they all on board?
Evan: Artists are just people … like our friends. We have friends who take it very seriously and some friends who just want to get back to work, so there’s not one singular opinion. We’re seeing a few things like artists who can’t get into the country to work, and that’s a challenge. There’s a handful in the lineup that will require a wait-and-see approach. Overall, agencies protect their clients, and they’re interested in what we’re doing, so we will be communicating very heavily with the agencies over the next couple weeks about what this and that looks like. But, yeah, artists are kind of their own category. But as it pertains to people on stage or production or crew, they would be required to get the Health Pass, too.
Todd: Do you think there’s any possibility it could be pushed?
Evan: I don’t think so. But you never know. I don’t want to be a fool about this. I actually told Donnie this morning, “You know, I had a feeling every festival up until this date would be been pushed.” But this is the first time I’ve felt in the past 12 months that a festival can be realistic. And I’m optimistic about the next year or so in live events. I don’t know exactly what that will look like or when, but I think people are starved for these experiences, even something as simple as restaurants or sporting events. We’re always going to do what is safe, but all signs are pointing to this festival as being realistic. I also think it’s going to be a very crowded fall, so fans are going to have a lot of options to pick from soon.
Todd: How is Disco Donnie Presents capable of making this happen before other major festivals?
Evan: We consider ourselves leaders in this space, and have a responsibility to make a safe event, but we also feel we’re capable of accomplishing that goal. We’re excited to have this opportunity—it’s historic to some extent. Through partnerships with companies like CLEAR and others, we feel we can make the event happen safely.
Todd: Is the concern the concentrated number of people in a limited space?
Evan: I’m glad you brought this up. Part of what we like about this venue—the Texas Motorplex—is that it can easily hold 100,000 people, so the space helps with density.
Todd: Will there continue to be VIP pits as there are at conventional festivals?
Evan: We were talking about this yesterday a little bit. For example, in Tampa, people love VIP sections and the like. But yes, we’re looking very closely at what the VIP experience will look like, including aspects like bottle service, through the lens of health and safety.
Todd: Well, the Cast & Crew family and I are rooting for you.
Evan: It seems like a lot of people are. Just an hour ago, a good friend of mine who is a very well-known DJ said, “I’m so excited. I’m so glad you guys are the ones doing it.” And he just wanted to talk about it. So, I think everybody is excited to potentially get live events going again … and safely.
If you're as excited about the Ubbi Dubbi Festival 2021 as we are and want to attend on April 24 or 25, purchase your tickets today.
Want To Catch Up With Todd?
The world may have pressed pause on live shows, but Todd and the rest of the CAPS crew are gearing up behind the scenes for their return. For the latest insights on the world’s “return to live” and how you can be ready for it, drop Todd a business inquiry, comment, or a note to chat more.