The slight to our programming cuts deeply. I know how hard everyone in this room has worked on those concerts and don’t take kindly to it being dismissed so callously. Not even by her. “Excuse me?”
My tone brings Jayme out of her reverie, and she holds her hands up apologetically. “No, it’s perfect for that series. But it’s not what we should do for this one. We’re trying to reach the Kyleighs out there, want them to see Americana Land as a fresh, current vacation destination that they can support.”
She’s pointing at Kyleigh as though she’s the representative for an entire generation.
“And?” I prompt, willing to see where she’s going but impatient for her to get there when she’s talking poorly about my own department's work. “End state, please.”
“A festival. A weekend-long festival.”
Jayme’s statement should mean something. Or at least she says it as though it does. But I don’t get it. Pivoting for more insight, I try for a softer approach. “Please explain.”
Xavier flinches next to me, so I guess I was a bit sharp. Especially given the arched brow glare Jayme is shooting my way.
“We’ve been reaching out to artists, trying to organize them to come weekly. But guests are going to pick and choose who they want to see from the line-up. It’s not like students can get out early every Friday for a concert or ask for time off work. They’ll have to prioritize, probably pick one at most. But what if they didn’t?”
Jayme makes a loop around the table, meeting the eyes of every member of my team, ending with Kyleigh, who looks like she might throw up. I get the feeling she thinks she started this firestorm, but I’m hoping it’s going to be a beneficial burn by the time Jayme’s finished.
“We’ll have a festival . . . music, special food and drinks, merchandise, activities. It’ll be like Coachella or Electric Daisy Carnival, but right here at Americana Land. We’ll do an all-access pass so people can see every show and ride every ride. With it all happening at once, people can come for a long weekend. It’ll be the event of the summer.”
I’m starting to get it, or at least understand her excitement. But productions on this scale don’t happen overnight.
Being the logical, reasonable one isn’t usually my area of expertise, but thinking out loud, I say, “With the concerts spread out, we have a renewable stream of photos, advertising, and posts for social media. It’s one thing if one concert doesn’t go well” —I hold up one finger, and then a second— “and we have another to fall back on. But a festival? It’ll be do or die, all our eggs in one potentially fucked-up basket. The social media blasts from attendees will have to match the narrative or it’s going to be a huge failure. Like Fyre Festival-level catastrophic.”
“It’s dangerous, I’ll give you that,” Jayme concedes. “But aren’t you a gambling man? One who likes risks?” She bats her eyelashes, well aware that she’s using my own habits against me.
I answer her with a wry glare.
“Gamble on yourself, your team, on me.”
The soft plea in her tone surprises me. She could easily boss this thing into fruition and no one would give it a second thought. They trust her because I trust her.
But that’s not what she’s doing. She’s letting the decision be mine. At the end of the day—or the festival, I guess—it will be my redemption or my failure. She’ll stand beside me either way, but it’ll be mine to own.
In a way, this is the repair of my reputation as well.
“All right, people. This is a lot to do in a short period of time. Is it even possible?”
Scanning for feedback, I see Spencer talking in hushed tones with Kyleigh. Spencer has been on the marketing team since before I was here. She’s in her fifties, with a closely cropped sharp hairdo that she keeps a soft shade of blue to match her boldly oversized glasses.
“You sure?” she asks Kyleigh. The beaming smile is answer enough. Spencer holds up her hand. “Carson?”
“Yes?”
“Kyleigh and I would like to take this on. We’ll be project managers and get everything rolling. I’ll need everyone’s full cooperation—both marketing and the broader AL team—but I think we can do it.” Spencer looks certain, and she is not one to do things halfway.
I look to the rest of the team. “Anyone opposed? This is going to be a major time crunch, so if you need to step away from this, now’s the time.”
No one says a word.
“Well, I guess we’ve got a festival to plan.”
CHAPTER 12
JAYME
Carson’s team files out, excitement and nerves leading them to chatter about the various things they need to work on. This is going to be an epic undertaking of massive proportions on the tightest time crunch.