Stars Making a Social Impact: Why & How Brad Sweet of ‘Same Same But Different’ Is Helping To Change Our World
The biggest lesson I’ve learned is how important your team is. None of this happens without the team around the festival that makes it all happen. As we’ve grown, I’ve found the majority of my focus is on the team and making sure they’re taken care of. If they’re happy, the festival works better and that’s all that matters. This was truly three lessons in one.
As a part of our series about stars who are making an important social impact, I had the pleasure of interviewing Brad Sweet.
Brad Sweet has been enamored with the culture, attention to detail, and boundless creativity that goes into festival production since attending his first music festival when he was 14 years old. Now the CEO of Same Same But Different, lauded “Best Emerging Music Festival of 2020” by USA Today, Sweet’s mission is to preserve the festival’s intimacy and community while continuing to attract new fans. Sweet began Same Same But Different along with Co-Founder, Festival Director and Talent Buyer Peter Eichar, who oversees the day-to-day coordination between artist management, operations, production and more, to ensure each sector comes together as a harmonious working whole. In preparation for expanding SSBD this fall, they engaged the expertise of Festival Co-Producer Chris Racan, who brings two decades of festival management and production experience from some of the world’s largest music festivals including San Diego’s KAABOO and, most recently, the world’s first NFT-gated festival, Afterparty.
A lifelong musician, Sweet believes it isn’t the main stage performances that make a festival experience stand out, but rather the side shows, performers, and the connections formed with other people when you allow yourself to get lost in the experience. With SSBD, he’s able to tap into that emotional connection by curating a tight-knit community. As a company leader, Sweet prioritizes the customer experience in every facet of the festival.
Through SSBD, Sweet focuses on cultivating a positive work environment by empowering his team members to excel as well as accomplish their own career goals. Building on SSBD’s brand, Sweet has introduced Same Same Presents to activate new events and will soon introduce a new festival.
Thank you so much for joining us on this interview series. Can you share with us the backstory that led you to this career path?
I’ve been a musician for years and I went to my first festival in Illinois when I was 14 years old. When I moved to Southern California, I went to amazing, huge festivals with mind-blowing elements, but I was craving the feeling of a smaller, more intimate festival. Since those were very limited, I set out to create a festival that I would enjoy and hoped others would, too.
As someone with a degree in environmental health, Same Same But Different’s carbon footprint has been something that has been critical to me in the creation of the festival. From the start, we have taken into consideration the impact the festival would have on the ecosystem and surrounding community at Lake Perris State Park. I want Same Same But Different to be known not only for its musical performances, but also for its sustainability efforts. It’s something we strive to approve upon with each new year.
Can you share the funniest or most interesting story that occurred to you in the course of your career? What was the lesson or takeaway you took out of that story?
I was booked to play a music festival with my band, and when we arrived, the promoter of the festival completely forgot to get gas for the generators, so there was no power for any of the stages through all of Friday night. My band ended up using a few different car batteries and a portable generator to create a renegade stage, so we were the only music happening until the promoters got gas. It was a fun and memorable experience, as well as a good lesson in what not to do and how to always be prepared.
What would you advise a young person who wants to emulate your success?
I would advise them to have patience. If you keep creating an amazing experience and have the patience to give it time, word will spread and the event will build. Don’t try to create something like this in a few months though or try to cut corners. Have patience.
How are you using your success to bring goodness to the world? Can you share with us the meaningful or exciting causes you’re working on right now?
When leaving a concert or city-based festival, people are often walking over thousands of plastic water bottles and cups, and passing overflowing trash cans. We didn’t want that type of experience associated with our brand. The culture of Same Same But Different prioritizes the land and community with the goal to leave it better than we found it.
To help offset the damage that can unfortunately come from large-scale music events, Same Same But Different is committed to becoming a negative carbon footprint organization. We’re implementing this right at the beginning with ticket purchase. For every ticket purchased, we plant groups of trees to restore ecosystems and assist local populations in areas where deforestation has impacted communities. Last year, we planted 18,000 trees and we continue to build off of this success with a goal to plant more than 40,000 trees.
When at the festival, we encourage food vendors and guests to use reusable or compostable cups, plates and to sort their trash. We offer vegan, vegetarian and raw food options for all lifestyles. At Vendor Village, many artisanal vendors sell upcycled and locally-crafted handmade goods. We also book workshops led by experts in the fields of environmentalism to discuss new ways attendees can improve habits and activate their community.
Festival-goers are also encouraged to explore miles of hiking trails, take in scenic views and swim within Lake Perris State Park where SSBD takes place.
Can you share with us a story behind why you chose to take up this particular cause?
Creating a music festival is something I’ve wanted to do my entire life. The process took a lot of elements falling perfectly into place in order for this to get off the ground, but I’ve always wanted to create a space like Same Same But Different, where people can be unapologetically themselves and feel completely free, even for just a weekend. The festival has given me the opportunity to not only have a positive impact on the climate, but also touch so many lives through Same Same But Different. It truly is a best-case scenario.
Can you share with us a story about a person who was impacted by your cause?
I have had so many incredible conversations with people who have come to our festival and I’ve had life-changing experiences, so it’s really hard to just choose one.
We’re proud that we’re able to positively impact entire communities and regions affected by deforestation by planting new trees with every ticket sold. Spurring the environmental health of these affected areas in turn creates a better living situation for the people living nearby and the planet as a whole.
Aside from affecting people in these deforested regions who we may never have the opportunity to meet, we are also able to impact so many people who come to the festival. We’ve encountered a lot of people who were going through hard times, but found new support from Same Same But Different’s community. Many have told us they found new meaning in their lives or were inspired to explore new paths after leaving the festival. We’ve also had a lot of couples meet at our festival, and, now, they are getting married. One particular couple plans to have their actual wedding at the festival, and that’s super inspiring.
Are there three things or are there things that individuals, society, or the government can do to support you in this effort?
The best way to get involved is simply to come to the festival and become an active part of what we’re doing. We create a blank canvas in a lot of ways so individuals can bring themselves to the festival and help create a lot of the magic, both for the community and the environment.
For those not able to attend, we recommend getting involved with The Eden Project: a phenomenal organization working to help plant trees and create ecosystems. The organization also take into account the socio-economic impacts on the areas where they plant trees and create new forests, as well as the weather, agricultural and societal impacts.
What are your “5 things I wish someone told me when I first started”
The biggest lesson I’ve learned is how important your team is. None of this happens without the team around the festival that makes it all happen. As we’ve grown, I’ve found the majority of my focus is on the team and making sure they’re taken care of. If they’re happy, the festival works better and that’s all that matters. This was truly three lessons in one.
When I started out I wish I’d had an even better understanding of the small, simple changes organizations can make in reducing their carbon footprint; and to understand the tremendous effect small actions can make in overall environmental impact.
Finally, I wish someone could have told me how Same Same But Different would grow over the years. I never would have thought this simple idea would grow into what it is now all of these years later. Originally, I thought this idea would simply be a party in a backyard with friends. I never saw any of this coming.
If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger.
Same Same But Different is our movement. The festival is not just about seeing your favorite musical artist or enjoying the scenic location. Same Same But Different is about a way of life we’d love to see more of in our every day — from caring for the environment, to exploring new things, to prioritizing the good of the community.
Can you please give us your favorite life lesson quote? And can you explain how that was relevant in your life?
“Always remember this, you can literally do whatever you want in this life,” I think about that quote a lot, whenever I feel stuck in a rut or feeling like I don’t have options, I remember that you’re never unable to change your life.
We are blessed that some very prominent names in Business, VC funding, Sports, and Entertainment read this column. Is there a person in the world, or in the US with whom you would love to have a private breakfast or lunch, and why? He or she might just see this if we tag them.
Gary Vaynerchuk. He posted a video years ago about taking action, and It happened to be exactly what I needed at that time to get the wheels turning in my head and ultimately to creating Same Same But Different.
Is there a person that made a profound impact on your life? Can you share a story?” or Can you please give us your favorite life lesson quote? And can you explain how that was relevant in your life?
A coach I had about 10 years back taught a class called “How To Read People.” It was a deep dive into the psychology of why and how different humans make decisions and how each of us need different forms of connection to communicate. Some people want to connect as friends before they do business with you, others want to see all the facts first. Each person’s different and understanding how to pick up on those cues makes all the difference in having important communication.
This was very meaningful, thank you so much. We wish you only continued success on your great work!
Stars Making a Social Impact: Why & How Brad Sweet of ‘Same Same But Different’ Is Helping To… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.