About

ABOUT LIFEATFESTIVALS.COM

My goal was to show a different vision of the festival world

There are incredible forces that come into play for those events to happens, I want to celebrate them

I also want to document the lifestyle of the people working in that world

More to come soon…

 

ABOUT MR. GREY 

matt

Always been a dreamer
I joined the festival industry to help create a better experience for the public, to be part of projects that innovate and to answer my personal quest for adventures on the road.
I’m grateful for all the wonderful people I’ve met on the way, the incredible life changing experiences and good memories.

Started to throw parties when I was 15, from 50 peoples in a loft to 600 in old warehouses. I had found something that motivated me like nothing else at the time. I left school early, started an event company, was a DJ for a few years, but still always wanted to be part of something bigger…
After attending my first festival Les Vieilles Charrues, in France, I discovered a new passion. I started volunteering and working at local one like Les Escales Improbables de Montréal, FEQ, etc.
Really loved that mindset of big gathering and that space it created for people to dream together, enjoy a multitude of activity, let go… and often for a whole weekend or week rather than a few hours. It gives a chance to create and live a full experience!

I later joined a service&equipment provider and was sent to deploy technology in some of the biggest and most prestigious events around the world. Worked in 10 different countries (pretty awesome) but often came with hard work conditions, high level of stress, lack of sleep…

The life on the road,  living out of hotel rooms 6-10 months/year, changing every 15 days can be challenging. It change me. The lifestyle broke me a few times. And like an addict, I always went back. Nowhere else could I find that magical high energy crazy stimulant work environment… Thankfully, I met some incredible people who quickly became like a second family.
This type of work attracts some of the most complex and fascinating people.

Sometime it’s so intense, you even forget there is a party going and some people are having fun. But then, I look around, remember why I’m here and how lucky I am, get the shivers and it’s all magical again. I love it.

While I’m mostly an operation guy, at the moment I love creating immersive art projects for events, installations, deco and much more. I would love to design more stages or spaces at events in the next years.

I’ve been living on the road for over 6 years now, trying to find balance hasn’t been easy. Currently it is : 7 Months work, 4 months of travel/vacation, 1 month invest in a volunteer project.
I keep telling myself that around 40 I’ll retire on a farm, away from this intense life… but I love the festival life so much and that community of vagabond that gather to connect, exchange and celebrate life!  Guess we’ll see, I’ll try to mix of both.

P.L.U.R.  🙂

 

 

EMPTY GROUNDS (Article in collaboration with FEST300 )

Now on : https://www.everfest.com/magazine/photos-of-empty-festival-grounds

Screenshot_2015-10-12-14-36-43 - Edited
I am not a photographer. I am an opportunist. I started taking pictures to share my adventures with my family and friends. I was fascinated by the atmosphere of the empty grounds, ready to receive thousands of festival-goers. It’s a very special feeling to be alone walking on a festival field, knowing that in a few days or hours, everything – from the landscape to the sky – will be greatly altered.

The massive growth in the number of festivals over the last decade has brought along a need to have the most elaborate stage design and the most beautiful playgrounds upon which festies can frolic. I think some people don’t realize the amount of work done by some production companies to turn an open field into those amazing yet ephemeral places. They are immersive environments carefully crafted to offer the best festival experience to their fans. This photo series started at Coachella 2014, and is an ongoing album that I update on lifeatfestivals.com . In the last few years I got the chance to work with over 40 of some the biggest festivals in the world. Needless to say, the experience changed me. Special thanks to the amazing people who made these festival adventures possible: my family, Isabelle M., Katie H., Pascale L., Fred R.H., and many more.

 

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