What we’ve been up to since our last newsletter:
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PLASA London – September
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WILM founders Malle Kaas and Hannah Brodrick outside Olympia
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| Thanks to all of you who made it to PLASA in London this year. We had a blast meeting old and new WILM members alike and catching up with our friends from the industry! Special thanks goes to Gertie, Carly, Olga and Amy who came by to assist at the WILM stand ❤ We hope you had a good time! |
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Subul Lodi hosted a brilliant lighting micro-workshop at Ambersphere
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We especially enjoyed our panel on “Parenthood in the Live Industry” and Subul Lodi’s micro-workshop in lighting as well as the Bullsh*t Bingo session at the Solotech stand!
Thank you to all our friends at Allen & Heath, Solotech, Shure, Digico, Audio Technica, Ambersphere, Women In Lighting, Ayrton, Production Futures, MA Lighting and more! (sorry if we missed anyone!) See you next year! |
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Tour Management Workshop with Patchwork London – September
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September was a busy month for us as the day after PLASA we held our first UK Tour Management Workshop with the wonderful Patchwork London.
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WILM members with Steve White at Patchwork HQ in Great Offley
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WILM members learned all there is to know about tour management – budgeting, advancing, riders, crew welfare and more! It was a brilliant and inspiring day.
As this event proved so popular we are looking at repeating it early next year. If you missed out on a spot, keep your eyes peeled for when we announce the second workshop. A huge thanks to Steve and the PWL team for having us, we hope we can do another one soon! |
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Classroom lectures and lunch in the sun in the lovely surroundings of Offley Hoo Farm
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MA3 Workshop @ Gobo, Stockholm – September
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| Senior lighting supervisor Kamilla Bjellsäter did an excellent job teaching the 10 attendees at our MA3 workshop. Both the experienced and newcomer lighting engineers were extremely focused from the first minute of the workshop to the very last, and still so eager to learn more about the MA3 after a full-on day! |
| The attendees also enjoyed a refresher session on the importance of Event IT Networking conducted by Jens Holm from Gobo. |
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The panel at ‘The Node’ discussing “Why Don’t You Smile Some More?” – a question female crew are often asked, and much more concerning ‘hidden harassment’.
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| During the evening event we hosted a panel at The Node in central Stockholm with many stories to share. The main conclusion of the event was that a stable level of diversity still has a long way to go in the music industry. There are still too many situations and interactions happening today that belong to the time of the dinosaurs. But we could do much better in general if we communicate more openly with each other and include the whole live music industry as one unit, encompassing everyone from the stage to the backstage. This collaborative approach not only promotes inclusivity but also contributes to creating a more inviting and improved event industry for the future. |
| ✨A Big thanks to The Node and shesaidso.Sweden for co-hosting the event – and to Emma Andersson for running the tech so smoothly. |
| ✨Thanks to the amazing panel with representatives from The Node, shesaidso.Sweden WILM and Women In Lighting. |
| ✨A special thank you to Topstage AB for making sure we had a delicious meal in the evening! |
| (The Node is a newly opened venue, combined with a restaurant, a stage and 14 small studios people can rent on a monthly basis. The project is a collaboration between the municipality of Stockholm and the Avicii Foundation among others.) |
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Production Futures ON TOUR – Wakefield, UK – September
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Many students came to our stand to learn about WILM from Sofie and Hannah, and grab a handful of chocolates
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| Once again WILM headed up to Production Park in Wakefield to meet the next generation of live event professionals. The day was packed with brilliant seminars, discussions and we enjoyed meeting students and suppliers alike. Well worth a visit, thank you Production Futures for having us and to everyone who came by our stand to have a chat! |
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LEaT Con – Hamburg, Germany – October
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| We were extremely excited to be part of LEaT Con in Hamburg this October. It was an exceptional trade show for the event industry, impeccably organized. Notably, it was the first trade show we have visited where children and dogs were welcome, and complimentary catering was provided — truly an all-around delightful experience! |
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Kids, dogs, free catering – what’s not to like at LEaT Con?
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| The show was packed with some of the best manufacturers, great seminars, a bunch of networking opportunities, old friendships and a lot of hugging. Hamburg LEaT con 2023 – du hast unsere Herzen ♥️ |
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Our booth at the show where we met up with so many old and new friends
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Intersonic Seminars – Stockholm, Sweden – October
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| Another great city that we got to visit this autumn was Stockholm 🍂🇸🇪 |
| We were invited to join the Swedish distributor Intersonic AB for their first Intersonic Forum – a day packed with seminars and talks. WILM was invited to ‘educate’ the audience about the facts concerning diversity you didn’t know you needed to know, where we played our legendary Diversity Bullsh*t Bingo game – a fun way to learn why diversity is important and what we still need to do in order to secure a sustainable diverse backstage in the live music industry. The event was a big hit with the many that played along with us. A big thank you to Intersonic for inviting us 🙏 We would be delighted to come back again next time for the Intersonic Forum. |
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We had many visitors at our booth that wanted to hear more about the need for diversity and how to achieve it.
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Walk & Talk with PJ Harvey – Copenhagen, Denmark – October
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| In October, Tour Manager Suzi Green and Production Coordinator Nathalie Candel invited us behind the scenes to get a peek of their touring production with PJ Harvey! |
| We were delighted to have the opportunity to explore the entire backstage area, witnessing all the behind-the-scenes activities. Additionally, stepping onto the stage provided a firsthand view of the gig preparations by backliners, lighting experts, and sound technicians gearing up for the show! |
| As a special treat we got to watch the soundcheck and the girls learned just how much goes on before doors on a show day. |
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| A big thank you to Nathalie Candel (green shirt), Suzi Green (right behind Nathalie) & the rest of the PJ Harvey crew, as well as Falconer Salen Frederiksberg and DTD Concerts. (Fun Fact: Nathalie Candel & Suzi Green met each other through WILM during the pandemic, and are now working together!) |
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We got to meet the local merch seller, who told us we need to focus more on nichés like merch – which is so true! 👚
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We also got to met the local crew in form of the house techs and promoters who were so forthcoming and willing to share details from their different careers in the industry 💜
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Gender@Work in association with Stage Manager Carine Tredgold & Music In Africa – Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania – November
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| Once again we had the amazing opportunity to work with Stage Manager, Carine Tredgold and Music In Africa on the fantastic project Gender@Work – a training program to increase and stabilise diversity behind the stage on the African continent. |
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The lighting team sharing their know-how
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| Fifteen girls from across Africa – all with a background in the event industry were gathered together for a whole week, receiving intense training that evolved into a practical internship at the three-day long showcase festival ACCES. |
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The sound team checking out the M32
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| WILM was thrilled to assist with the technical part of the training, executed by WILM trainer Soph from the UK. You can read the full story about Soph and her adventure with Gender@Work here. |
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The whole team at the training facilities at the ‘Haddypro’ rehearsal space in Dar es-Salaam
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Debs, one of the G@W stage techs micing up the stage at the ACCES Festival
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and lastly… Instagram Takeovers!
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🚀 Dive into the heart of our world!
Check out our latest Instagram Takeover Stories to experience the magic behind the scenes and learn about the many different roles backstage on big productions! |
| Head to the highlights section on our Instagram and immerse yourself in the captivating adventures shared by Malle Kaas, Abby Shum, and May Coughlan. ✨ |
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