Take 5 with the brains behind BIGSOUND: QMusic general manager, Kim Pengelly

BIGSOUND is one of the biggest events on the Australian music industry calendar.

A jam-packed three days which sees industry and artists come together to hear some of the foremost community minds speak, network and discover the next big thing in Aussie music.

2018 promises to be the biggest year yet, with keynotes from the likes of Paul Kelly, Virginia Hanlon-Grohl, Erin Kelly-Burkett and stacks more. Not to mention the 100+ musical acts that will be bringing their A game to showcases right across Brisbane’s Fortitude Valley.

To prep for the massive conference, TMN is catching up with the people that make it all happen.

Kim Pengelly is a management machine, holding senior management positions with Woodford Folk Festival for over seven years.

This experience saw her managing a team of 43 people, overseeing 800 volunteers across 13 departments including; 16 bars, 180 stalls, performers merchandise (460 artists), official merchandise, visual arts workshops, art galleries, restaurants, and general stores collectively turning over in excess of $2.5M in six days.

So she’s the perfect person to take the reins of the monolith that is BIGSOUND 2018. We caught up with Kim to find out about the logistics behind such a massive event.

When it comes to festivals most people will have one specific section to manage but as a GM you have to do it all, can you talk us through the process of overseeing an event like BIGSOUND?

BIGSOUND is a logistically complex event with so many moving parts.

Overseeing it takes a bunch of intricate analysing of its every facet to ensure that every single decision, big or small, is made from a perspective of providing the best experience for those coming along.

What’s the most important thing to get right with the logistics of BIGSOUND and why?

Making sure that every piece of the puzzle fits together perfectly and that each person involved, punters included, know what to do, where to go, how to get there and what to expect – well before they realise they need to know any of these things.

BIGSOUND has 139+ artists showcasing in 18 venues across 4 nights, 23 parties, 77 partnership relationships, 140 conference speakers, a team of 250 and around 15,000 people across the event nights so one oversight could have an undesirable ripple effect. Nailing the logistical flow, in-turn the vibe created is critical for the event’s success.

What’s something that’s a huge part of your job that no one would expect to be?

Data analytics. All great decisions are made from statistics, data and tracking trends. I dream of spreadsheets at night.

What’s your strategy for when (heaven’s forbid) things go wrong?

Behind the scenes with every event, there are always challenges out of your control. Poor weather, flights being cancelled, systems crashing, people getting sick, airlines losing equipment – you can never predict what’s going to happen.

Part of the charm of managing large scale ephemeral events is the element of the unknown – it’s probably what keeps us coming back each year. My only strategy for when things don’t go to plan is that every issue has a solution, so find one and action it quickly.

Give us your number one tip on getting the most out of BIGSOUND and emerging relatively unscathed?

It’s a marathon, not a sprint.