Ecology and Charity
Because our festivals are about unique locations, not only do we want to make sure we leave those environments intact and create no ecological impact that is in any way negative, but we also want to give to the community. We named Tortuga after the turtles that breed there. We not only raise awareness for beach and ocean conservation but also hundreds of thousands of dollars for various charities.
Executive Profile: Evan Harrison, CEO of Huka Entertainment
Every Detail Matters
Expectations from fans are high, as they should be, because fans have choices, so we’re focused on every detail of the fan experience, from teaser announcements right through post-festival. Every detail’s incredibly important. We want to create an experience that stands out, not only having great sound quality, great artist experience, but every touch point from the beauty of the surroundings to the customer experience.
We take a lot of time listening to our fans to tweak the experience. We send out a post-show survey that’s hundreds of questions long and have a tremendous response rate. That gives us a nice base to build from.
Entertaining a Village
When you roll into a town like Pemberton, British Columbia, you’re talking about a couple thousand residents. Last year, we had upwards of 40,000 people a day. And the vast majority camp there, so we’re creating a little village in a town that normally has a very small population. We’re creating an infrastructure, but above and beyond that we have to make sure everyone’s entertained and taken care of, so we’ve started doing pop-up performances where people don’t expect them, breaking down barriers and really fostering the community that fans have come to expect.
Offering a Premium Experience
Tortuga has a VIP swimming pool connected to the cabanas that’s overlooking the main stage. That’s about as lush as it gets. In Pemberton, the backstage amenities are unparalleled. The culinary experience is out of this world. We’re constantly trying to one-up our game based on what fans are asking for. We can tell simply by demand that we’re doing a good job. This year, before we even announced any of our artists for Tortuga, we sold out of our Super VIP packages. We go above and beyond having good sightlines.
Competition and Value
The live music space has gotten incredibly competitive and overcrowded in some sections. It’s starting to balance itself out—last year you saw a lot of festivals cancel. A lot of artists are able to command higher prices, which leaves promoters with paper-thin margins. Some of that pressure has to go onto the fans; however, we do our best to keep prices in check and make sure there’s a fair price for the service.
Growing Forward
Huka Entertainment has had astronomical growth over the last couple years. We have three festivals at various stages of maturity—BUKU is on year six, we’ve got Tortuga coming back for its fifth year and Pemberton we’re now planning our fourth year. Our concert and touring division has been growing quickly. We do a couple hundred shows a year and we’re starting to do more shows around our festival footprints as well. It’s not easy to build a festival on the sand or in the mountains. We’re constantly evaluating where the next great space is going to be.
Years with Company: 2
Clients: 400,000 festival attendees in 2016
For more information on Huka Entertainment, visit huka.com.
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