By George Pirounakis
Respect to anyone trying to run a DIY fest. Especially with no staff, no sponsors, no budget, and still going for a solid lineup. But here’s the thing — passion doesn’t cover your mess. You can’t book bands and hope the rest works itself out. You can’t be texting drivers day-of, or printing schedules the night before. You can’t call it “DIY” when what you really mean is “I’m unprepared”.
I’ve seen it too many times.
- Bands show up and nobody’s there;
- Crews doing ten jobs with no info;
- No transport plan. No backstage setup. No briefings.
- Fans love the vibe but leave pissed because nothing worked right.
At some point, you either get serious or you stop wasting people’s time.
I say this because I’ve been in it. I’ve done the emergency patchwork. I’ve saved shows at the last minute. I’ve built full logistics plans when the head organizer was still figuring out where the airport is. I’m done doing that unless people meet me halfway.
If you’re ready to run a real operation — I’m there. If you’re just hoping it’ll work out again like last year — count me out.
No drama. Just boundaries.
This scene deserves festivals that respect the bands, the crew and the fans — not barely-surviving DIY chaos. You don’t need a perfect plan. You just need a real one.
You can’t run a festival on good intentions and last-minute volunteers. Either build a system — or stop dragging people into the fire with you.
- George Pirounakis is a merchandise and tour manager based in Thessaloniki, Greece. He is co-founder of OneTwoSix Hardcore Clothing.