For the first time, The Voodoo Experience accepted 32 music industry students as official interns to assist in organizing and running the three-day music festival.
In the past, volunteers helped with the weekend’s activities and directed festival-goers, but Kate Duncan, career coach and internship coordinator for the College of Music and Fine Arts, said this new internship is a different experience.
The Voodoo Experience takes place this year on the City Park fair grounds from Nov. 1-3.
Out of 53 Loyola students who applied, 32 were selected for the internships by the coordinators of the event.
Music industry studies senior and intern for The Voodoo Experience this year Molly Portier said that she jumped at the chance to apply for The Voodoo Experience internship.
“I’m graduating in December and I really wanted to get into festival production,” Portier said. “I’ve looked into other internships, and they didn’t quite give the experience that this internship was offering.”
Duncan said she hopes that through this internship, students will learn “to see not only their major, but to think past that, to think about all of the skills that go into a person to be successful in these jobs across the festival world.”
The 32 music industry interns will work on site during the festival weekend. Duncan said the internship program divides students in to groups, and each group is assigned to work a different stage at The Voodoo Experience. They will follow the artists performing on that stage and provide social media coverage.
“I think it’s a trend in the arts to have more on-sight training where you’re learning practical and applicable skills as opposed to reading from a book,” Duncan said.
Sig, executive vice president of marketing & partnerships at Rehage Entertainment, the company in-charge of creating and executing The Voodoo Experience, said he believes that this internship will attract the kinds of students they are looking for.
“This is a way in for people who really want to be a part of a festival experience, really want to learn, really want to meet people, and are really excited to be there and participate,” Sig said.
Because of these expectations, Sig said that The Voodoo Experience made the decision to look exclusively for Loyola interns.
Duncan said internships play an important role for music industry students.
“We have a really reputable program,” Duncan said. “I think that the industries’ successes are made from people who started out as an intern and learned the ropes that way.”
Diana Walsh, music industry sophomore, said she was excited by the idea of students interning for The Voodoo Experience.
“Number one, they get credit. Number two, they give you a lot more responsibilities, a lot more hands-on training,” Walsh said.
Duncan said Loyola hopes to continue to offer this internship opportunity in the years to come, and possibly get other festivals to invest in Loyola’s music industry students as well.
Mary Graci can be reached at [email protected]
