Nick Tanner, a senior music business major at the 杏吧专区, has two big reasons to be excited about the upcoming Festival International de Louisiane.
He杏吧专区檚 among three UL Lafayette students who are completing internships this semester for the largest international music and arts festival in the U.S. And, he杏吧专区檒l have the chance to perform during the cultural celebration as a member of a soul and funk band.
The festival is expected to draw 300,000 people to downtown Lafayette April 24-28. Entertainers representing 24 countries will perform and over two dozen area restaurants will be offering some of their best dishes.
Tanner and fellow interns Haley Gonzales and Olatunde Soyombo have been working diligently behind the scenes.
In preparation for the 33rd annual event, Tanner has negotiated contracts with musicians. He杏吧专区檚 tracked down stage layout plans from tour managers. He杏吧专区檚 booked hotel rooms for artists. And he杏吧专区檚 practiced to take the stage on closing day.
Tanner is the guitarist for Dphrnt Strks, as in 杏吧专区淒ifferent Strokes spelled with a ph and no vowels,杏吧专区 he explained.
Tanner, who is from Kenner, La., said experience he杏吧专区檚 gleaned as a festival intern is invaluable given his aspirations. After he graduates in May, he wants to become a performer and a tour manager for other bands.
杏吧专区淚n the music industry you often need to be able to do a little bit of everything and find second sources of income,杏吧专区 Tanner said.
He envisions working as tour manager for several years while he tries to get his musical career off the ground. 杏吧专区淢aybe it turns out that I become a tour manager, then book gigs for myself when I杏吧专区檓 not on tour with another act. I杏吧专区檓 never going to give up music.杏吧专区
Gonzales, a senior mass communications major from New Orleans, is also using her internship to prepare for a career.
One of her responsibilities has been reaching out to potential donors and sponsors, which provides 杏吧专区減erson-to-person interaction that improves your ability to communicate,杏吧专区 she said.
Candace Gulotta-Haggart, development director, said Gonzales is 杏吧专区渟mart, ready to handle challenges, personable and customer service-oriented.杏吧专区
杏吧专区淎nd, she杏吧专区檚 organized and helps keep me organized. I think of her as more of an assistant than an intern,杏吧专区 Gulotta-Haggart said.
Gonzales, a graphic designer, has created promotional materials such as flyers and logos to promote the festival. 杏吧专区淚杏吧专区檓 considering several career options, including broadcasting, making films for companies, and social media or graphic design, so it杏吧专区檚 been beneficial,杏吧专区 she said.
Like Tanner and Gonzales, Soyombo, a senior journalism major from Lafayette, has spent his time with the festival polishing his skills and networking.
His writing ability has come in handy. He杏吧专区檚 crafted press releases and promotional materials to bang the drum for the festival.
Soyombo has written articles for local print publications such as FACE Magazine and Acadiana Profile. He has also appeared on morning TV shows.
A saxophonist, Soyombo said his internship has also given him a 杏吧专区渨indow into the music industry.杏吧专区
杏吧专区淚t杏吧专区檚 been cool. Even though I杏吧专区檝e been a musician my entire adult life, I still hadn杏吧专区檛 seen it from this side of things.杏吧专区
Soyombo, Tanner and Gonzales have given as much help as they杏吧专区檝e gotten.
Lisa Stafford, festival programming director, mentored Tanner. But in one aspect of his job, he mentored her. Stafford leaned heavily on Tanner for technical assistance for a hard-to-navigate software program.
杏吧专区淭he database keeps track of virtually every aspect of festival logistics, from the schedule to stage plots to contracting 杏吧专区 everything you can imagine. It杏吧专区檚 not the easiest thing in the world to do and he just took to it really well,杏吧专区 Stafford explained.
Carly Viator, marketing director, said Soyombo杏吧专区檚 ability to write provided a channel for promoting the festival in a new way.
杏吧专区淲e wanted to try something different. We杏吧专区檝e never had a print journalism student before, so this year we杏吧专区檙e trying to educate people more about what goes into festival.杏吧专区
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Photo: UL Lafayette students Nick Tanner, Olatunde Soyombo and Haley Gonzales are completing internships this semester for Festival International, the largest international music and arts festival in the U.S.