We speak in a lot of initialisms at OLG. O-L-G being the main one. But we call each other by nickname, “MT, OF, ML, JB…” so on and so forth…
In 2016, I took a particular liking to “L-Y-B-L,” or Live Your Best Life, if you will.
And that’s what we did at OLG HQ. We lived our best damn lives, with the inaugural Middle Waves Music Festival being the driving force.
You can read MK’s take on how Middle Waves came about and all the incredible people who came onboard to help put on such an amazing event, here. (I’m gonna blow his cover wide-open, though. He writes one part about not touching people, or not liking to touch people, but I can assure you that by the end of MW weekend, I witnessed him kiss a bald stranger on the head at 2AM, outside the Brass Rail. And I don’t know a better way to convey the emotion behind this event other than that mental picture for you all.)
Anyway, all of us at One Lucky Guitar lived and breathed Middle Waves for the past year plus. At the MW Pre-Party & Poster Show, I had a couple people come up to me and ask, “Are you so glad it’s over? Are you excited to get back to your normal life? What are you going to do with all your spare time?” And the answer to those questions is, “It’s not over. This is my normal life. And I don’t know the difference between spared time and unspared time.”
The truth is, the crew at OLG is always collaborating, working on or trying to come up with something bigger, or bolder—whether it’s a little kid’s clothing brand, a live-screenprinting event for one of our favorite clients, an intimate music venue in our offices, or a first-time, destination music festival. And that’s what keeps us moving. The phrase “nine-to-five” means little to me, other than something I know I wouldn’t want to do anywhere—or with anyone—else.
So, here we are. Middle Waves came and went (but is still going, really) and was a resounding success! Our goal in the beginning was to be able to wake up the morning after the Flaming Lips blew the entirety of Fort Wayne away, feeling like our community had grown a little bit closer, or a little more proud of this place we call “home.” And we did.
Forget the sleepless nights, the logistical setbacks and that 1Million Cups presentation Olivia and I totally got obliterated in while we were trying to spread the good word of Middle Waves to some serious nonbelievers—Middle Waves was the best part of 2016, and I wouldn’t want to get back to “my normal life” for nothin’!
LYBL, Fort Wayne.
Emma DePrez
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Some of the work OLGers had a hand in, in preparation and execution of Middle Waves, includes:
• Naming & Brand Development
• Fundraising
• Overall Marketing
• Web Development, with the help of our great friend, Tommy Cutter.
• Event Design & Planning
• Photography & Videography
• Logistics
• Social Media Management
• Art Installations
• Talent Booking
• Volunteer Coordination
• On-site Signage, Wayfinding and Stage Banners
• Booth Life, or “sweaty work” as MW Marketing Chair/OLGer/my platonic lifemate, Olivia Fabian, affectionately refers to it as.
• Media
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Check out some of our Middle Waves work below, and get ready for 2017! -XOLG
