Running a two-day outdoor music festival that boasts over 50 acts, 30 sponsors, and tens of thousands of attendees takes a lot of people power. Atlanta’s ONE Music Fest is one such festival; its co-founder and Chief Marketing Officer, Jason “J.” Carter is one of the people behind that power.
Fifteen years strong, the event remains one of the few Black, independently run music festivals in the nation. Despite the symphony of sounds that ONE Music Fest will certainly bring, the executive begins his day with a moment of silence.
“I’ll wake up and just be still,” Carter tells ESSENCE. “I imagine myself moving throughout the day. And honestly, just looking ahead at the success of the day and how I like to see things flow. I am very visual, so I really just conceptualize it, internalize it.” The idea of “looking ahead at success” and claiming victory is something that Carter learned from his mother years ago. “As mom says, ‘Claim it. Own it. Make it happen.’”
The founder’s morning practice also includes words of affirmation, prayer and hydration—two cups of water, to be exact. Days begin in a way that is slow, but intentionally so—all in preparation for a massive event that takes a full year to pull off. “Feeling rushed, feeling angst, feeling stressed. I try to make sure that none of that comes into my person, into my space,” he says.
After the stillness Carter talks to his wife, hits a few pushups, showers and then it begins. The executive takes several calls with his team before heading to Atlanta’s Central Park. Doors open at noon, but he arrives closer to 9:00 am to ensure that the day runs, as planned. Needless to say, this is no simple task. The executive is a master relationship manager, juggling sponsors, brand partnerships, talent as well as other stakeholders. Somehow he does it all without a hitch.
“I am ping-ponging around the festival grounds a lot, but it also doesn’t feel like work. I think the moment it feels like work is a day, I’ll stop doing it.” Carter continues, “I just really, really love and appreciate the ONE Music Fest audience and family that we built over the years. So hopefully this thing will continue to grow for another 15 years.”
ESSENCE shadowed J. Carter on the ground, in Atlanta, during the second day of the ONE Music Fest. Here the entrepreneur and executive takes us through a day in the life of what, exactly, it takes to successfully pull off a multi-day festival.
See excerpts from our conversation with Jason “J.” Carter below. Conversation is edited for brevity and clarity.
6:00 am
An early morning with a moment of silence.
“The first thing I do on a festival day is be still.” Carter continues, “I do my quick prayer, drink my two cups of water, and then hop in the shower. But I think stillness is important.”
Despite the early morning, J. Carter doesn’t do breakfast. “I typically don’t eat before 12:00 pm. So no, I have my water in the morning. I hit 50 pushups, I get in the shower, and that’s my breakfast. Then I’ll have a balanced lunch. And that typically fuels me for a good amount of the afternoon and into the evening.”
7:30 am
Getting in the zone.
The ONE Music Fest founder says that festival mornings aren’t the norm. “I typically check into the hotel on Friday just so that I’m close to the event, close to the team if we need to powwow before we go down to ground zero.”
After fielding a “bunch” of phone calls from his festival team, he ensures that his guest lists, and family are all good with their credentials. His first two calls would be with the event and festival coordinators.
“I’m thinking through everything from what we have to do at production to making sure that my aging parents are comfortable with getting in and out of the festival. So it is dealing with personal things and also dealing with organizational team things as well.”
9:00 am
Touching ground.
“We typically get down to the festival on the first day of the festival anywhere between 8:00 am and 9:00 am, just depending upon how much work has to be done. This year was very different for some reason. We were far ahead of the curve with regards to procedures, production and getting things staged. We almost fell into a system this year, considering how hectic it was all year-round leading up to the festival. Once we arrived, everything was really in place.”
12:00 pm
It’s showtime!
“You will catch me walking by myself throughout the entire festival. Just getting a feel for it or just standing in the corner; just watching the people,” Carter tells ESSENCE.
The festival avoids any last minute emergencies through meticulous pre-planning. “If you have a festival with over 50 different acts and talent, you employ over 4,000 people throughout a festival ground. Everybody has their own life. Everybody has their own issues. Everybody has their own dramas, personalities. So the idea of nothing ever happening is rare, especially with artists who have a team around them.”
“There’s some artists that may tour 100 to 200 days out of the year. That is exhausting. So some artists may wake up under the weather, may miss a flight, somebody on the team may have some issues, which then trickles down to what they have to do.” Carter continues, “But one thing that I can’t do is stress myself out for something beyond my control. So being in this space, you have to be very solution oriented.”
2:00 pm
Your network is your net worth.
As co-founder of the ONE Music Fest, Carter most certainly has to “work the room.” He’s engaging artists, politicians, family and the press. And in its 15th year, the festival boasts over 30 sponsors on the ground—the most that it’s ever seen.
The CMO explains, “Part of what I’m also visualizing early morning is who do I have to touch and see? Who has to see me? Who do I have to speak with? Who do I have to make sure they are taken care of?
6:00 pm
The show must go on.
Being at the helm of a multi-day music festival means that one must be flexible. Rolling with the punches is the name of the game. Notably, BossMan Dlow and Cardi B both became ill ahead of the 2024 festival and canceled their performances. And Carter’s job is to regroup and pivot.
“It’s tough. No one sees that side of it, right? They want to blame the festival.” He continued, “BossMan Dlow announced early in the week that he was ill and canceling everything. He’s still a human being that has to monitor his wellness and health, mental health and physical health. If he had to take a mental break, let that man take a mental break.”
The co-founder also reflects on how he pivoted after news of Cardi B’s hospitalization and subsequent cancellation of her ONE Music Fest performance. “Cardi had a child, and if she’s having some postpartum issues, it happens. It’s not the festival’s fault, it’s not Card’s fault. It happens.” He continues, “A lot of festivals would just be like, ‘I guess we just don’t have a headliner.’ But we’re like, ‘Nah, we’re not going to do that.’ So we lean into our relationships.” ONE Music Fest has relationships with the management teams for Latto and DJ Drama—they put together a set with several different artists, including singer-songwriter Jeremiah, and Atlanta’s own, 2 Chainz. The set was certainly a success.
9:00 pm
Headliners take the stage.
This year the ONE Music Fest headliners included Latto, Jill Scott, GloRilla, Gunna and 2 Chainz, but for J. Carter, there was one act who took the cake. “Earth, Wind & Fire. Hands down,” says the founder, emphatically. “I had to make my way to that stage to enjoy that show, and I’m so glad that I did.”
Carter had over a dozen family members in attendance at the festival this year. Watching the legendary band perform together, as a unit, was especially memorable for them all.
“What do I love to take away from this [ONE Music Fest] the most? It’s looking at the connectivity between the people in that audience—the smiles, the excitement, the energy (excuse the language), but the ‘Oh s–t!’ moments,” says Carter.
10:30 pm
It’s a wrap! Time for a celebratory toast and last remarks.
“We’re clearing folks out,” says Carter. The “We typically have all departments—from security, to site operations, to media, to co-promotion partners with Live Nation—get together to do a toast and kind of mini celebration. That’s right after the festival.” This year Hennessy and Don Julio provided the libations for the commemoratory moment. It’s a celebration!
12:00 am
All signs point back to the hotel.
“When I get back to the hotel, I do nothing. I absolutely do nothing. I give thanks for a safe event with no issues—nobody got hurt. Everything really happened according to plan.” He continues, “And then I literally have to fight myself to get in the shower, I’m so tired. I just want to just be still and lay down. But I’m typically dusty as hell.”
After bathing for “a good 30 minutes,” it’s time for bed. Carter’s head actually hits the pillow close to 1:30 am, but unlike most nights, he allows himself a few extra moments (read: hours) of relaxation. “I typically will stay in bed for a good 10 to 11 hours,” he says finally.
A rest well deserved.