We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Bri Long a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Bri, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.

One of the biggest risks I have taken was packing everything into a U-Haul and moving to Colorado to a town I had never visited. Moving to Fort Collins Colorado in 2013 was a huge move driven by my desire to work in the entertainment industry. I had spent the summer traveling to and working at different music festivals coast to coast. Along my travels I met many friends and some of them just felt like lifelong friends. Those friends lived in Fort Collins Colorado. They shared with me the city’s passion for music and creating culture. Through multiple venues, street festivals, food festivals, Fort Collins provided a much livelier artistically driven community than small town Illinois. This move eventually led me to my current position of Talent Buyer for the Live on The Lanes music series presented by The Mishawaka. In this position, take risks every day booking amazing national, international, and regional talent.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers?

I’ve always been a music fanatic. From the time I can remember I’ve been singing and dancing. I went to my first concert in 3rd grade and was hooked! From then on I went to as many concerts as I could, sneaking off in high school to go to concerts out of state and stagehand with local metal bands. As I got older I started to think about what goes on behind the scene to make these productions possible. After seeing my first large scale production, Wakarusa Music Festival, I knew I had found my calling. Not long after I moved to Fort Collins to try and get in where I could. I started street teaming with a local venue that has since closed, Hodi’s Half Note. I became good friends with the staff there and eventually a part of the team working Security. They had a few built in weekly events, one being EDM Tuesday. I saw an opportunity for me to get my hand in the booking world. I started booking local EDM djs and producers and turned the event around from something that had almost burnt out to something that was on FIRE! This led to my position at the Aggie Theatre. helping with marketing and the street team there. The Mishawaka (legendary venue) Owned by Dani Grant, asked me to be a part of booking which led to me ultimately being a part of the Mishawaka crew and booking for the Live on The Lanes venues currently. This has been one of my biggest ventures or risks, as it involves venues in markets I have not explored yet.

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

A lesson I had to unlearn was you can’t focus on yourself and work for others. When I switched gears to my Digital artist career: the biggest lesson I have learned is, it doesn’t matter if you’re using adobe suite or an app or anything. CREATE CREATE CREATE. Find a passion that distracts you from your paid position. A passion, not a hobby. Something to keep you sane while the corporate world wraps you up. I’ve been hiding my art for a long time and never thought of myself as “an artist” the moment I started creating and expressing myself in a different way, my work load felt lighter. In the booking and management position, you’re constantly working for someone else and it’s easy to get caught up in their dreams. Do something for yourself and you will feel 1000% better about doing something for someone else.

For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?

The most rewarding thing for me lately has been finally being a creative and not just being a part of this creative world. To be able to put my little thumbprint on a world that I’ve cared about for so long, has meant the world to me. I’ve followed many artists, bought art, I have over 100 art pieces in my house: but to finally have something I can share and call my own, and be proud of has been game changing for me. I still love all of the art I’ve followed for years and am constantly looking for new artists and inspiration but there’s something special about having your own. My passion grew from watching and helping people grow to giving myself the space to do the same thing.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.chipperslanes.com/
• Instagram: pieces_ofbri
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/brilong.91
• Twitter: nova_goes

Image Credits
All designs digital designs created by me. Venues photos by Julian Dereaux