When Jonathan Mayers started interning at Jazzfest he didn't exactly know he would one day helm a company responsible for putting on some of the biggest and best music festivals in the United States. But that is exactly what happened.
While living in New Orleans, in addition to interning he was booking a club called Tipitina's where he met Rick Farman and through him Kerry Black. The three of them started thinking about doing their own events and Mayers brought in Richard Goodstone, a friend from high school who moved down to New Orleans. And Superfly was born.
They started with concerts and concert series around special events like Jazzfest and Mardi Gras. The four focused on creating unique one off events, "thinking about it almost like an art project," as Mayers told Business Insider, putting extra effort into getting cool art for the posters and creating engaging environments at the concerts.
With their expertise growing the four decided to launch Bonnaroo in 2002 and it quickly blossomed into one of the premier summer festivals. As that event has grown over the years the group has added more festival and more staff.
The 4-man team has grown to around 60 full time employees in offices in New York, Chicago, and San Francisco. And on top of festivals they've also moved into brand marketing programs, creating unique experiences around brands and companies.
To stay grounded and continue the fun, family feel they started with, Superfly has created an open and relaxed office environment. This keeps it easy for people to work together and collaborate and come up with the new and exciting ideas that keep their events fresh.The occasional late night karaoke session helps too.
But at the end it is about the music and show and when we stopped by their office they were gearing up for this year's the Great Googa Mooga which will take over Prospect Park on May 17-18.
Welcome to Superfly!
The company has a fun entrance that can also serve as a workspace. Julie Daly, seated at the desk, has been an administrative assistant at the company for a year and a half. She enjoys the "family vibe" around the office and loves the company's music festivals. For Googa Mooga she is looking forward to seeing the Yeah Yeah Yeahs.
A souvenir from last year's Great Googa Mooga, a fun way to kill time if you have to wait in the waiting area.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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