How To Become A... Glastonbury Stage Programmer

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 universityHow temp jobs (Transport for London) helped him develop real-world admin & people skillsStarting 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 nightWhy he programs outside the mainstream agent-driven modelScouting talent before they’re “hot”: the Koji Radical exampleThe logistics puzzle of limited Glastonbury tickets and sharing bands across stagesBuilding, rotating and mentoring a backstage team (many are former students)Creating Levelling the Field: a trainee programme for deaf & disabled festival workersTurning festival accessibility into paid, transferable work across other eventsPractical 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 stageWhy rotating crews and artists matters for inclusion and freshnessHow youth development and long-term scouting create career pipelinesThe emotional side of programming, visualising how a night will flowIf you’re interested in:Festival production & stage managementLive music programming & artist scoutingCareers in events, youth development or accessibilityHow to launch creative initiatives that scale across festivalsThis episode is for you.Resources: https://lyrixorganix.co.uk/https://www.glastonburyfestivals.co.uk/areas/the-common/levelling-the-field/🎙 How To Become A... explores real-life journeys behind the careers of everyday people. Each episode dives into the path of someone who's built success outside of the spotlight — no fame, no fortune, just real stories. Discover how they started, the challenges they faced, and what drives them forward. 💼✨🔗 Subscribe, rate, and share to help more people find their own path📩 Got your own story to share? Contact us at [email protected]📱Follow us on socials: @howtobecomea__ Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.