CNTRL: Beyond EDM (North American Bus Tour)

Sep – Nov 2012 | Project Lead & Tour Manager

Featured artists (alphabetic order): Carl Craig, DJ Sneak, Eddie Fowlkes, Gaiser, John Acquaviva, Josh Wink, Kevin Saunderson, Loco Dice, Paco Osuna, Richie Hawtin, Seth Troxler, The Martinez Brothers, Tiga, tINI, Victor Calderone.

The first CNTRL College Tour span over 17 North American cities in 20 days, each with a college lecture during the day and a DJ club show at night (a total of 34 events).

The tour consisted of two tour busses and a touring party of 19 people including an on-board social media manager, a journalist, technicians, a film crew, as well as a changing cast of artists. My responsibilities included the preparation of all 34 events in cooperation with the booking agencies, DubSpot (the partner in education), the local promoters and our team.

I was in charge of flight and hotel bookings for all artists and crew, planning of the bus route including parking & accommodation, equipment logistics, customs paperwork (Carnet ATA), coordination of requirements with the local event promoters, restaurant reservations for 20+ people and more.

As Tour Manager it was my job to coordinate everything and everyone on ground and to ensure that things ran smoothly and as planned during the advance process. In the case of a problem, a solution had to be found and decisions made. In addition I also set up and administered the tour budget.

29 Oct Buffalo, NY (US)
Lecture: University, Center for the Arts
Show: CANCELLED (due to hurricane Sandy)

30 Oct Syracuse, NY (US)
Lecture: CANCELLED (due to hurricane Sandy)
Show: Westcott Theatre

31 Oct Boston, MA (US)
Lecture: Berklee College of Music
Show: RISE Club

01 Nov Washington, DC (US)
Lecture: American University
Show: Echostage

02 Nov Philadelphia, PA (US)
Lecture: Drexel University
Show: Electric Factory

03 Nov New York City, NY (US)
Lecture: Tisch School of the Arts
Show: Webster Hall

05 Nov Montreal, QC (CAN)
Lecture: Concordia
Show: SAT (Société des arts technologique)

06 Nov London, ON (CAN)
Lecture: University of Western Ontario
Show: London Music Hall

07 Nov Windsor, ON (CAN)
Lecture: University of Windsor
Show: The Boom Boom Room

08 Nov Toronto, ON (CAN)
Lecture: Ryerson University
Show: The Hoxton

12 Nov Detroit, MI (US)
Lecture: Wayne State University
Show: TV Bar

13 Nov Urbana, IL (US)
Lecture: University of Illinois
Show: The Canopy Club

14 Nov Ann Arbor, MI (US)
Lecture: University of Michigan
Show: Necto Nightclub

15 Nov Dayton, OH (US)
Lecture: University of Dayton
Show: Masque

16 Nov Chicago, IL (US)
Lecture: Columbia College Chicago
Show: The Metro

17 Nov Madison, WI (US)
Lecture: Madison Media Institute
Show: The Majestic Theatre

18 Nov Minneapolis, MN (US)
Lecture: Slam Academy
Show: Barfly

In 2012, Richie Hawtin, Loco Dice, Ean Golden and a a group of like-minded electronic music producers jumped on a bus to take underground electronic music into the heart of colleges to inspire the next generation of music producers and performers.

CNTRL visited 17 cities in the USA and Canada in 20 days to represent a new movement. Central to the CNTRL concept were daytime seminars in the colleges to inform and inspire people about technology, music production, live performance, and the business of electronic music. These took place from around 5pm-7pm on show day and were presented by world renowned electronic music production and DJ school, DUBSPOT.

All DJs performed on the night participated in the master classes by day, and CNTRL invited local DJ / production / industry pioneers from each region to also take part in the events. CNTRL was a future thinking session but also ensured the students left with a deeper understanding of how the genre developed. The event then ended with a low-ticket gig at a venue near campus, and gave the students a chance to experience the artists in action.

CNTRL was all about engaging young North American fans of EDM and showed them the roots of the music, the history of a global movement and demonstrated what the future of music technology and performance has the power to become. The tour took place in over 15 cities across the eastern part of North America. A complete list of cities, schools and venues follows below.

CNTRL is what America needs right now: an effort to reconnect the electronic dance music movement with its history, without forsaking either innovation or imagination.

Philip Sherburne, spin.com
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