ECCHO Live

Thirty five years ago, ECCHO Live Founder and Executive Director Chris Lisle stepped onto his first show site as an 18 year old kid, running lights on a small tour through the Pacific Northwest. Four shows. One unexpected opportunity. A crash course in lighting. And somewhere on a quiet highway crossing Wyoming, the realization that this wasn't just a job. It was the beginning of a career.

The live events industry is full of stories like this. Someone takes a chance on you. Someone shares what they know. A single opportunity turns into a lifetime of work, friendships, challenges, and unforgettable experiences.

Thirty five years later, Chris is still doing what he loves. His journey has taken him across stages, venues, festivals, and countless miles of road. For the past fifteen years, it has also included building a support network for the people behind the show, first as Touring Career Workshop, and now as the growing ECCHO Live.

Congratulations, Chris, on 35 years in live events. Here's to the people who gave you your start, and to the many lives you've impacted along the way. Thank you for the vision, the persistence, and the heart you've invested in this industry and its people. We're grateful to be part of the story. 🧡

Behind every sponsorship is a person who believes the people behind live events matter.

Someone who understands that the tour manager, stagehand, rigger, production coordinator, bus driver, freelancer, and crew member are more than the work they do. They are people with families, responsibilities, goals, challenges, and lives that continue long after load out.

Through ECCHO Live's All Access programs, live event professionals can access free, confidential mental health and financial wellness support from professionals who understand the realities of this industry.

This graphic helps illustrate what that support can look like in practice. A single sponsorship can help provide meaningful resources to dozens of professionals throughout the live event community.

Every contribution represents more than a dollar amount. It represents someone choosing to invest in the health, wellbeing, and sustainability of the people who make live events possible.

Learn more about supporting the mission at eccholive.com/donate.

Every time these conversations show up in industry publications, it helps make support a little more visible.

During Mental Health Awareness Month, we're especially grateful to MusicRow for helping shine a light on the people behind the music and the importance of accessible mental health resources across the live events community.

Read the full article at eccholive.com/in-the-news.

One of the easiest ways to dismiss what we're feeling is to compare it to someone else's experience. If somebody else has it worse, we tell ourselves we shouldn't be stressed, overwhelmed, struggling, or in need of support. But pain doesn't work that way.

Someone else's hardship does not make your experience less real or less deserving of attention. There is no leaderboard for suffering, and there is no prize for convincing yourself you're fine when you're not. Taking your own mental health seriously isn't selfish. It's healthy.

Some people have been taught to treat rest like a reward instead of a basic human need. Like slowing down has to be justified. Like exhaustion is proof they are working hard enough. At ECCHO Live, we do not believe people are meant to run on empty until they crash. Rest is not laziness. Rest is not failure. Rest is part of being human. 🧡

Long days. Late nights. Tennessee heat. Bonnaroo season is upon us.

All Access Onsite will once again be providing free, confidential on-site counseling sessions for live event professionals throughout the festival.

Working the show? You can schedule ahead or simply walk up when you’re there. Scan to book a session, save this post for later, and send it to somebody on your crew.

Not your stop? Find your festival and learn more at www.eccholive.com/programs

People can be dependable, successful, funny, productive, talented, and still not be okay. A lot of people have learned how to keep moving while quietly running themselves into the ground, especially in environments where slowing down can feel impossible. At ECCHO Live, we believe there is strength in being honest about where you are instead of feeling pressured to perform “fine” for everyone around you. 🧡

The live events industry teaches people how to adapt quickly, solve problems under pressure, and keep moving no matter what. What it does not always make space for is sustainability.

For Mental Health Awareness Month, members of the ECCHO Live Board of Directors reflected on the meaning behind E.C.C.H.O. through the lens of their own experiences in this industry and the things they believe matter most in building a healthier, more connected, and more sustainable future for the people behind live events.

Education. Community. Connection. Health. Opportunity.

The result is less a traditional mental health campaign and more an honest reflection on the values, relationships, support systems, and perspectives that help people navigate an industry that asks a great deal from the humans powering it.

Swipe through the series, then scan the final slide or click below to read the full piece. Maybe something here echoes back to you. 🧡

May Blog Post: www.eccholive.com/post/the-meaning-behind-e-c-c-h-o

Finally, a festival essential that isn’t electrolytes (but you shouldn't skip those either...)

All Access Onsite will be out supporting the humans behind the music this season with free, confidential on-site counseling sessions for live event professionals.

Working the show? You can schedule ahead or simply walk up when you’re there.

Scroll through, find your stop, scan to book a session, save this post for later, and send it to somebody on your crew.

More drops coming - see you out there!🧡

People openly talk about going to the gym, getting better sleep, drinking more water, or stopping at the store to buy bananas because they’re trying to take better care of themselves physically, yet mental health still gets treated like something people are supposed to quietly keep to themselves. At ECCHO Live, we believe talking to someone, checking in on yourself, and asking for support should feel just as normal.

The stigma only keeps its power when people act like these conversations are unusual, dramatic, or shameful, and we’re not carrying that mindset forward. 🧡