Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jason Galaz. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Jason , looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. Can you tell us about a time that your work has been misunderstood? Why do you think it happened and did any interesting insights emerge from the experience?

People think business owneres or promoters have tons of money. We just have the most debt.

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

I’ve founded and hosted independent music festivals across the U.S., Europe, and Latin America. Sounds fancy, but I’m just a huge music nerd with the courage to fly where eagles dare. That’s what I tell myself. I think the real issue is I dream big and don’t know how to tell myself “NO.” That behavior has caused a good handful of very public failures, but I wouldn’t change it for the world. Muddy Roots gives a home to artists that fall between genres. Let’s be honest, we all have larger playlists than we admit to our friends. Yes, it’s ok to like old guy country or blues if you’re punk or metal head, or whatever.

Muddy Roots started in East Nashville in 2009. I was fairly new to town and was shifting my music tastes. There were a few bands that I was introdued to that pretty mich did not tour through Nashville. It seemed the only way to see these bands was to book them myself. That’s when I found Matty’s Alley in East Nashville, which is now The East Room. They let me bring any band I wanted in. Not that I knew what the helll I was doing. Within a few months I had the great idea (sarcasm) to bring these bands together in one field for a massive festival. Yeah, turns out 336 people came and most were actually from Europe. I was at a financial loss that year but decided to try it again. I basically had to work an entire year to pay that debt. Within 2 years we started another festival in Begium. Then year by year we expanded into other states and countries.

Truth is, I still didn’t know what I was doing for a very long time. I just wanted to see all my favorite bands. There was also a glaring truth that needed to be addressed and that was their is a bridge between scenes and genres that needed to be built. Our mission was then to connect the different pockets of local DIY scenes around the world. A movement was built on an ethos, not a genre.

In recent years I stopped being a full time promoter. Now my best friends Milton and Delane in Tennessee, and Nicky and Annelore in Belgium continue the primary tasks of hosting the festivals. I now help the bands I knew to find home. I’m all growns up now with a Realtor job across multiple states. The financial strength of this job will eventually level out the decade of madness we just went through. We don’t do massive sponsorships. We’re DIY til we die. These festivals are sponsored by our working class jobs.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Myspace, then Faceook, and now all the others has been the key factor on the Muddy Roots scene being able to grow by connecting direct interests from around the world. One band may not have a strong following in one region or the next, but we can pool together like a school of fish in our field.

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

Go to shows and buy merch from the bands. Pay cash. Share their posts and tell your friends about their work.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.muddyroots.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/muddyrootsmusic/?hl=en
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/muddyrootsmusicfest/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/muddyrootsmusic?lang=en
• Youtube: https://youtube.com/@MuddyRootsMusic