It’s remarkable to consider just how much podcasts are a part of our daily lives, but also how much most people aren’t fully cognizant about the industry or the concepts that go into creating podcasts of all scales. Next week, On Air Presents, a festival dedicated to the craft of storytelling and and to the community involved in it will be held in the Williamsburg neighborhood of New York City.
On Air Presents is the brainchild of the creative agency work x work, which began in 2017. It’s been called the “Coachella of Podcasts” because of the multitude of podcasts that will be recording live episodes during the two-day festival, along with film screenings and panel discussions. Under the stewardship of founder Scott Newman and creative director Ray Marrero, On Air Presents has grown to be one of the more anticipated creator festivals in the nation.
“From the earliest days of work x work, we have seen podcasting as bigger than just a channel, and followed the pulse of culture to anticipate what audiences and creators will demand. On Air Fest was our big experiment, and championing the most boundary-pushing creatives, storytellers, and artists working across audio, video, film, art, writing, and music put us ahead of the podcasting curve,” said Newman in a press release.
“Today, as media shifts toward independent creators and omni-channel storytelling (audio, video, social media and events), On Air Presents is our next chapter. Now that the podcast industry - including media & advertising - has caught up, we are broadening our scope and shifting our focus to breaking the next creative barriers, with the same artistic rigor, a stronger creative spirit, and a platform built to shape the trends of tomorrow.”
In an interview with The Signal Awards, Marrero spoke to that element of pursuing new routes to tell stories in podcasts as creators: “I like the idea of expanding the concept of what a podcast can be and offering different routes that you can take as a creator. I think it’s really important to be able to dissect what it means to be an audio artist and audio creator.”
The two-day festival is slated to take place on February 25th and February 26th, and this year will have events divided between three locations - the Arlo Williamsburg, the Wythe Hotel and the creative space XXV. These include tapings of the episodes to some of your favorite podcasts out, such as “Political Gabfest” (celebrating its 20th anniversary), “Pablo Torre Finds Out”, and “The Don Lemon Show” - a highly important taping given Lemon’s fight against the Trump administration over his reporting during protests in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Another landmark event will be The Ambies, The Podcast Academy’s Sixth Annual Awards for Excellence in Audio taking place on February 23. It demonstrates how On Air Presents has positioned itself as a thriving and innovative organization and space for storytelling in some fresh ways. There will also be activations sponsored by B&H Photo and Video, as well as ESPN's "30 For 30" series.
If you’re interested in attending, tickets are still available at their website.