Jul 223 min read

Plastic-Free Playlist: Natasha Johnson talks festivals, family and finding calm amid chaos

Mother and daughter pose sweetly against a pink brick wall

Today we caught up with Bye Bye Plastic's Austin-based Sustainability Consultant, Natasha Johnson, to bring you the beats that keep her dancing towards a plastic-free future!

Hey Natasha! As a Project Manager and Event Producer, you’ve been involved in your fair share of music events. Give us a track that captures your most memorable event experience

I started in the event industry as a special event coordinator while I was still pursuing my undergrad in Business Management at Texas A&M University, at 20 years old.

I began working with a local event promotion/production company called Real Music Events here in Austin, TX which has since created Seismic Dance Event and opened up The Concourse Project, known by DJ Mag as “Best Club #28 in the world and #5 in the nation”.

Fast forward from a young newbie, nearly 6 years in the industry and I’ve now become one of the core producers of Seismic Dance Event, which has also been nominated as “Best Boutique Festival” by DJ Mag multiple times. I’ve co-produced / project managed: Seismic Dance Event 2.0, 3.3, 4.0, 5.0 and 6.0 as well as 2 editions of Seismic Spring, a smaller version of the main event.

This has opened up many doors for me and I now have multiple clients that I project manage / event produce for, including and not limited to festivals / nightlife events and private / corporate events.

Deadmau5 - 'Strobe'

Back in April, you were the powerhouse behind Austin’s Earth Day and Night Weekender which had to cancel its outdoor offering due to severe thunderstorms. What track keeps you resilient when things don’t go to plan?

Unfortunately, but fortunately haha, I am well versed in last minute changes due to weather implications. When things don’t go as planned, which is fairly common in the event planner world, you activate your inner motivation as well as resources to make it happen.

Sadly, this wasn’t the case for April’s event, but up until the moments before final call to cancel I had leveraged every plan B option available to me. Sometimes mother nature makes the final call and you have to do what’s best for not only patrons and all stakeholders involved, but yourself and your own mental health.

Sofi Tukker & John Summit - 'Sun Came Up'

From club nights to festivals, tell us about your best live music memory

Gosh this is a hard one considering I’ve had countless “this is the best moment of my life” amidst nights out dancing with my best friends and exploring festivals around the world. One experience that sticks out to me would have to be having my daughter out for Seismic Dance Event 5.0. She was able to come for a few hours during the day on the last day of the event when the dust had settled (for the most part). Being an event producer in this industry isn’t necessarily family forward, so being able to show her my months of hard work and share a sweet dance with her will forever be embedded in my memory.

Lane 8 - 'Keep On' (Mixed)