What does a Glastonbury stage manager actually do?

In this episode of How To Become A…, Grace sits down with Dan, the programmer and venue manager behind the Rum Shack at Glastonbury, to unpack what it really means to run a late-night festival stage, scout emerging talent, and build community-focused programmes that change lives.

From MCing and MySpace hustle, to founding Lyrix Organix and being invited to run the Rum Shack stage at Glastonbury (first asked in 2013), Dan’s path is full of detours, practical hustle and intentional values.

Dan shares:

• Why he fell into the music scene at university
• How temp jobs (Transport for London) helped him develop real-world admin & people skills
• Starting Lyrix Organix and early nights that helped launch artists (Ed Sheeran among them)
• How he programs 60+ artists across five days and maps the arc of a festival night
• Why he programs outside the mainstream agent-driven model
• Scouting talent before they’re “hot”: the Koji Radical example
• The logistics puzzle of limited Glastonbury tickets and sharing bands across stages
• Building, rotating and mentoring a backstage team (many are former students)
• Creating Levelling the Field: a trainee programme for deaf & disabled festival workers
• Turning festival accessibility into paid, transferable work across other events
• Practical advice: “Start anywhere, follow it everywhere”

He also opens up about:

• Imposter syndrome (and why it doesn’t stop him)
• Balancing values with the practical workload of running a stage
• Why rotating crews and artists matters for inclusion and freshness
• How youth development and long-term scouting create career pipelines
• The emotional side of programming, visualising how a night will flow

If you’re interested in:

• Festival production & stage management
• Live music programming & artist scouting
• Careers in events, youth development or accessibility
• How to launch creative initiatives that scale across festivals

This episode is for you.

Resources:

https://lyrixorganix.co.uk/

https://www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/areas/the-common/levelling-the-field/

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