10/14/2026
Hells Gate was definitely for the love of the game... after a year of planning, it was over in a flash. Most people dont understand how much time, energy, and money goes into putting on an event, especially on a bigger scale. First comes the concept (theme, lineup, and overall idea), securing a venue which includes putting down a deposit, then the booking of artists (which dealing with national acts means dealing with agents and managers which is endless emails back and forth sometimes leading you no where) which is more money with deposits, booking flights/hotels/transportation, then there is the Marketing/Promotions (endless hours of creating content/promos/posting/ads), then the actual planning of the day of event (logistics and run of show)..
So theres a venue fee which includes security and production staff, artist fees, flights, hotels, transportation, hospitality, marketing budget, decor, media (photographers/videographers), insurance, event staff, then miscellaneous things that once you add it all up youre 30+k in the hole and it's all on you. To say that its a stressful position to be in is an understatement. Being in the red day after day until the day of the event is a whole other level of mental torture. Thankfully we just made it to the black an hour after doors opened... biggest relief ever. Breaking even and made a tiny profit. Considering everything stacked against us just breaking even is a win and making a little was a nice surprise but the real success is all the support we received from the community and everyone who showed up. It ended up being an amazing show and seeing everyone in the crowd enjoying themselves made it all worth it.
Honestly don't know if we will do this event again. It was just so much work and time but most of all the financial pressure... in these economic times its getting more riskier to do projects like this especially for an independent diy production.
In closing, keep on supporting your local community, the bands, the vendors, the artists, the promoters, the venues, everyone who keeps the dream alive. Give your local event producer a some love, a little appreciation goes a long way.
๐ฉธ๐ฉธ๐ฉธ- FANG CLUB
