We Need To Talk
In the non-stop stream of tours/festivals and their complex pre-production, we develop custom ways of working and tailored systems of communication. What steps does it take to successfully bring the tour from the Excel draft to the stage? ‘We Need To Talk’ aims to describe the roles involved in the process and how crucial communication between each team member can easily become compromised due to a variety of factors. How can this be improved in order to avoid conflicts, stress and most importantly, costs for all parties?
Thursday 17. April 14:00 - Room: Frognerparken
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Mod: Julia Markiewicz // Knock Out Productions (PL)
Julia is responsible for marketing at Knock Out Productions and Mystic Festival. In recent years, she has also become involved with Touring Production and Artist Management at Goetia Productions. Working in various roles has allowed her to recognize many frustrations and communication issues that hinder their collective work. Her latest amateur research focuses on improving crucial internal communication to work more effectively and preserve the passion that initially brought them all together.
Bruno Russo // Cobra Agency (AU)
Bruno is an experienced music industry professional with over 10 years of expertise. He began his career as a tour manager, gaining extensive firsthand knowledge of the live music industry before transitioning to booking. As an agent at Cobra Agency for over three years, he represents artists such as Blood Incantation, Gatecreeper, and Green Lung, while also supporting the day-to-day booking of major acts like King Diamond, Black Label Society, and Danzig. Bruno collaborates closely with artists and their teams to develop effective touring strategies, leveraging his deep industry insight to connect talent with audiences worldwide.
Merle Doering // Catch 22 (DE)
Merle Doering is the founder, owner and Managing Director of Catch 22, a young agency that not only books shows all over the world, but also offers bands assistance in management, merchandising and ticketing. Merle began working in the live music industry as a booking agent in 2010 and from there also worked as tour manager and artist manager. Over the years she has worked with bands such as The Black Dahlia Murder, Death Angel, Sonata Arctica, Finntroll, Skálmöld, Stam1na, Pain Of Salvation, Twilight Force, and more.
Catch 22 is a young agency that books shows all over the world and offers bands assistance in management, merchandising and ticketing. The focus being artist development, Catch 22 represents promising newcomers such as OUR PROMISE, DEAR MOTHER and FIGHT THE FIGHT, while its intentionally select roster also includes well established acts like THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, FINNTROLL, DER WEG EINER FREIHEIT and more.
Nicolas Bastide // Noiser (FR)
Born and raised in the south of France, Nicolas started music lessons at the age of 7, learning both theory and practice along the way. His first exposure to live music came at the age of 9, during a four-hands piano concert at Albi City Theatre with his sister. Since then, he has remained connected to the musical world through bands and gigs.
In 2009, while working as head of logistics in a pharmaceutical company for 16 years, Nicolas founded Noiser with friends. The goal was to put Toulouse back on the map for heavy shows after Le Bikini, the city's largest independent venue, was destroyed by a chemical explosion in 2001. Today, Noiser is an established organization with three permanent employees and 20 volunteers.
Since its creation, Noiser has produced around 400 shows in Toulouse, from small-capacity venues to the biggest they could achieve. This path also led to band management, working with acts such as Plebeian Grandstand, Nostromo, Mourir, and Chlorine Free.
Since 2022, Nicolas has also been collaborating with Hellfest, focusing on headliner headquarters.
Arvid Silos // Aboss (NL)
Arvid Silos has been a driving force behind live music productions and tours since 2002, when he first hit the road with a South American metal band. Over the past two decades, he has crisscrossed the globe as a tour manager for bands and served as a production manager for international theater shows—covering everything from logistics, technical pre-production, and shipping sets in containers to driving the trucks, handling visas, and building & breaking down stages.
Arvid’s passion for the art of music runs deep: he firmly believes that when artists are relieved of back-office burdens, their creative potential soars. In pursuit of this vision, he founded ABOSS, an online back-office platform that streamlines workflows and provides data-driven insights for artists, managers, and booking agents. Today, ABOSS empowers over 30,000 artists across 130 countries—letting them focus on what truly matters: making music for the crowds to enjoy.