Jai Wall - M.ISRM

14/09/2026

Fresh Crew?

How many of you this year had new members on the team, like brand new, fresh out of the box, first time on an event site?

It's pretty cool when someone takes that risk, could be there first freelance gig, or maybe their mate told them it was a great idea. However, they ended up in that field

But they are yours now, to look after, nurture, support, or ask not to come back again.

Whats your go too? your gut feeling, when it comes to leading these new members?

For me, turning up on time, ready to go. If you've been booked by me, you'll have your handbook, roles and responsibilities, and knowledge of what you should have with you on your first day.

Then its questions, are you able to ask questions? This is a fun one, because its not helpful if you have someone that needs to ask a question every 5 minutes, but you also need people to ask questions so they feel confident enough to get the job done.

Then its work ethic, do you actually want to do this, or did you take a punt on a good idea, then found out its actually quote hard work

Timing, Communication, Want

It takes time for new members of the team to feel comfortable, but that team member needs to work to be part of the team also, you can have the door wide open with a big welcome sign, but sometimes it takes a little more effort to encourage some in

So how do you fit all that in, with the usual busy schedule and the wonderful organised chaos happening around you

How did you manage it this year? what great stories of crew success and crew failure (if you dare to tell them) did you encounter this seaason?

07/09/2026

What a rather excellent weekend.

After a really bloody nice wedding I headed up North to Lindasfarne Festival, Last min call for extra Stage Crew.

I love getting my boots on the ground, even to do the most simple of roles, just to be part of the working mechanism of an event and most importantly it keeps you up to date, with how people are managing, developing and building their events.

The pitfalls, and the wins. There were so many complex situations and decisions that had to be made over the weekend, from weather related, to power related, and for once I got to sit back and observe, while moving the odd amp and drum kit on and off stage

All managed exceptional well by a team that have worked together for many years.

I got to meet Jack Willis who seamless ran the production with his team across all stages on the event, handling any issues in his stride, and I got to be bossed about by the amazing Megan Erskine, its so refreshing to watch a stage manager deal with issues so calmly and keep everything on track no matter what was thrown at her.

Finally getting to catch up with the brilliant Stewart Fullarton, who defiantly had his hands full, I hope getting to take your boots off for a few weeks will feel wonderful

To top it off, the entire event was looked after by the absolute top tier that is HSS Hinson Security Services, it's always a pleasure to work with a team that know events inside and out, that take the time to understand the event customer and the best ways to handle complex situations

Yes in this industry I have my favourites, the people I love to work with behind the scenes and on the ground, but this is why its also important to see how a different operation runs, because then you get to meet the hidden gems, those that may not have passed your radar

So when you get to work with me, you know its not all talk and spreadsheets, I've got the receipts, the scars, and the knowledge to help your event success

2027 is already getting booked, and your tickets may already be on sale. Lets sit down together, look at how this year has been and what the team and I can do to make next year an even greater success

02/09/2026

We talk a lot about security, crowd management, safety and the flow of events. Or maybe that’s just my Feed as I know some really incredible people I can introduce you to for safety and security for your events

I go through the numbers, the business and the customer journey and tell you two things: where you're losing money, and where you're leaving it behind. Then we fix both without turning the event into something people resent paying for

I’ll also help you put the heras up, jump in a tele and make sure the team are supported. I can’t just sit on my a*se and watch the team do all the work

But before my boots touch the ground, lets talk about just what can be done to fine tune nexts years shows to make them more successful, financially, with out taking away from the experience.

This year, iv’e seen post after post after post about how the customer experience has being the priority to the exchange of money for goods

Qualtrics' 2026 global consumer research talks about this across the board, (link below) but we can defiantly look at what we are doing, and what makes our customers want more. exactly what we need to bring into 2027

So we have a fine line between what our event is, and why it exists, how’s its funded, and how the customers see us.

2027 will see the curve of doom level out for independents, if enough effort is put in to looking after the individual spending their hard earned money

So what does it look like working with me?

First of all, you need crew, give me a shout. I’m hands on.

I’ll even manage your site build and break if you like?

But my true passion is looking at the figures. We will sit down go over what you have spent, or what you want to spend.
Find out what’s missing, put it all together in a beautiful and meaningful presentation that you can show to the board or your investors.
Then we will begin the archaeology, digging in, finding the root cause, understanding the history and building on those foundations

Working together over the year on procurement, budgets, contractor agreements, being the dream back office that reports back to you weekly, shows you the difference in savings or costs and helps push through the next level of growth, and or even sustainability, because sometimes its not all about growth.

What is it that you want to understand more about your event?

Drop me a DM

This link will take you to a page that’s not on LinkedIn

28/08/2026

Creamfields ready to launch emergency show stop protocol. Why?

Lightning. !!

Early this season we had some pretty epic lightning storms.

Epic enough to cause site shutdowns, lightning protocol kicks in, evacuate the site, build stops. This happened on two of my shows this year, during the build.
I see a lot of communication about the plan, the experts who write it, and what to do in those situations, planned out line by line.

It's quite different when the show is live. You have the whole senior management team to support the call: Head of Security, Safety Officer, Medical Team, Event Director, Site Manager, Production Manager, and more depending on event size.

Each of you knows the protocol inside and out. Live video screen messages warn the crowd of the situation and what to do, simple information, easy to understand, with clear direction. Sitting in a file ready to launch at a single radio call, the AV Team knows what they're doing. Complicated site evacuation plans, talked over time and again, begin to activate.

But on the build, the same documentation is in place, the same guides and rules to follow. The main difference is a distinct shortage of people used to dealing with this live on site.

Now the call lands firmly on the Operations Manager, or even the Site Manager. They need to pull the site crew together to become a fierce, active emergency broadcast system for those without radios or easy comms access.

So what does the site crew know about the evacuation procedure? We usually get fair warning of storms coming in or passing within striking distance, so that morning briefing is key.

Update the whole team on the written protocol: warning distances, strike rate, and what to do when the big red button is hit.
More importantly, during busy, tight deadlines, who's keeping an eye on those moments?

In one case this year, we had exactly that. Storms were passing by, but it looked pretty safe as the morning went on.

Then the first strike within 10km. Radio call goes out: "Be ready." Because of the brief, the team knows it's about time to down tools, put the cherry picker down, and get ready to pull staff and traders together. A warning goes out face to face to those not on comms, letting them know we're getting ready.

Next, 8km. Still outside the written parameters, and the weather maps show the storm heading away, a sigh of relief, we're already behind on the build so that storm can do one.

2.4km. We saw it and heard it. By this point even the untrained knew what to do. Everybody out to the RVP: Stage, marquees, toilets, traders, all down tools as briefed and out.

That small moment in the morning briefing can make all the difference. Live experience, and passing on that knowledge, is key.

I'm not just here to get it done for you. I'm here to show you how it's done, and pass on that knowledge.

22/08/2026

This year’s numbers are worth sitting with for a second

36 festivals cancelled or postponed in 2026. Down from 43 last year. Down from 78 the year before that. **(https://www.aiforg.com/festival-cancellations)**

Is this the sign we have been waiting for? are we starting to level out?

What does that even look like. There are so many conversations about a saturated market. I don't believe it was ever saturated, I believe it was required growth that kept hitting the mark, and then the downturn hit, cost of living hit, and people want more bang for their buck.

I watched companies who have spent years looking at how to get the most cash out of customers pockets as ticket sales have declined, and forgot what actually brings the customer to the table

So now we see a resurgence of real offers and real festivals and real experiences

But before a single person walks through your hallowed gate, you need to know your numbers

Some of the events selling out fastest this year are running on tighter margins than the ones that folded.

The split isn’t about size. It’s about whether someone in the business can see the real numbers early

enough to act on them.

Visibility beats scale. Every time.

What would you actually see if you looked at your cash position today, not at your last budget meeting

19/08/2026

When is it time to call it, what level of risk have you got in the tank?

An event this summer cancelled its entire season. There where big names on the bill.

The reason given was honest, sales were down, and a rescue deal fell through at the last minute.

I’ve got nothing but sympathy for whoever made that call.

Cancelling a show with your name on it, in public, with everyone watching, never mind a full season of shows, that’s one hard decision.

Takes guts to do it, rather than limp on and make it worse.

But it’s also exactly why I bang on about visibility as much as I do.

If you can see your real cash position, not the hopeful version, the actual one, early enough, you get to make that call in January, quietly, with options.

Not in July, in public, with no runway left.

That’s not a criticism of anyone. It’s just what 29 years in the industry teaches you.

The earlier you see the truth, the more choices you get to keep.

Show me the numbers early. Every time. It’s the kindest thing you can do for your team, your artists, and your audience.

image: SotT 2024

18/08/2026

I was speaking to a friend of mine working at Green Man festival last night, and it made me think about what's working and what's not, so I took a little look.

Green Man sold out 25,000 tickets in about an hour. No corporate sponsor on the bill. Food and drink from independent Welsh traders and it generates roughly £28m a year for the Welsh economy.

Do you think that's a festival getting lucky with demand? Nope that’s a business that’s been built properly, for a longtime, with a clear idea of what it’s for, why it exsists

No sponsor logos to lean on. No corporate cash cushion if a bad year hits. Just an operation that knows its audience, protects what makes it different, and runs tight enough to survive without either.

But that takes years of customer loyalty to develop. Is there an 'off the shelf' start up kit for this kind of loyalty from customers? Not a chance. It takes a few years of risk from your founding customers, your festival friends. You need to show them you can build the vision.

Association of Independent Festivals have an amazing podcast thats worth a listen if your right at the beginning of your dream, but it's also worth a listen if your growing too.

Independent doesn’t mean fragile. Sometimes it means exactly the opposite — nobody to bail you out, so you build it so you never need one.

More of this, please.

https://www.aiforg.com/podcast

https://www.facebook.com/greenmanfestival

12/08/2026

“It’s not rocket science” No, it’s Event Science

As a supplier, do you have SLA’s in place or do you prefer your client to bring them to the table.

Busy season can be absolute chaos with last minute bookings, breakdowns, or staff shortages. So, what’s your minimum standard, and how do you keep to it?

Delivery or collection delays cost clients’ money and time, incorrect or damaged equipment falls short of what you offered.
So what’s the expectation, does the client suck it up and take the hit, or do you?

I’ve seen both sides of the coin. It’s not easy when things start to go wrong, especially when you have planned ahead and have a good reputation.

Events have strict deadlines, not to dissimilar to highway motorway work. The job must happen at the exact and right time. Delays to equipment delivery, knock everything off, almost as much as the weather.

I’ve watched clear, precise communication and documentation fall flat on its face due to one missing piece of information in one link of the chain.

So naturally there will be problems to solve, dynamic situation to manage, but who is accountable? It can’t always land at the feet of the crew to work later and harder without reward.

What’s the worst delay you’ve had on a site build/delivery this year, and what caused it?

11/08/2026

While the teams are still out on the ground building, I’m watching their back, ensuring the client is getting the best bang for their buck

This year I’ve been managing the procurement of site infrastructure and logistics for a 21 location UK touring festival show. A show produced by Live Tour Promotions and operated by the excellent Lockstep Event Management while being built on the ground by the mighty Got Hustle.

When you’re looking at multiple locations and multiple dates, it’s easy to forget the mass of equipment being hired. Each event capping at an average 4,999 you only need 300 panels of Heras on most shows. Now times that by 21.

That’s 6300 panels of Heras, 20,790m, 12.9 miles of fence. Now tell me saving 5p per panel isn’t important

I can tell you the average price per panel in the event industry right now and I can tell you what I can get it for, but first it would be important to discuss whether you need service or price.

But let’s get back to the bigger picture, £315 over the season if you only get a 5p saving on a panel. Now add in PED, do the same and you double the saving.

At the beginning of this season when the first quotes started coming in, I was quite taken aback by the cost of some infrastructure and equipment, prices I had regularly seen and contracted, had doubled in the space of a year.

Let’s be honest I always work in a 3%-10% increase year on year from suppliers in my budgets, but the idea of renting a piece of equipment 21 times, and the cost of that coming in more than the purchase of it, was where I drew the line. When did it become the norm for ROI to be in its first year

I set to work comparing costs, bringing up previous contracted costs and looking at what the reality looked like. In those first few weeks I pulled out £2,000 - £3,000 in costs from each show, over 21 shows £42,000 - £63,000, that’s on infrastructure alone.

When was the last time you really got to scrutinise the cost of your event, and have the backup of someone who knows what you really should be paying

A 40,000 capacity green field festival can use in excess of 11,000 Heras panels.

You’re losing money

Lets Talk

29/07/2026

One of my favourite venues in the UK to build an event has to be Robin Hill Adventure Park on the isle of White
A purpose built venue to house festival and events, an amazing team run and operate the park and me and the crew always have a fantastic time out there.

This site is possibly one of the most complicated to plan the logistics too, which makes it way more fun for me

Talk to me about your current 2026 shows, how they look and feel, and where your bottom line is. Lets work together to fine tune your infrastructure for 2027.

I come with a large black book of event sites around the UK that I can help you land and grow your operation