Photo by Lauren Kallen

After founding his own artist management company, This Fiction, and signing X Ambassadors, a band which would go on to reach double platinum status with their hit single Unsteady, Seth Kallen is still exceeding all expectations. This coming September This Fiction along with concert promotion company DSP Shows are putting on Cayuga Sound, a new music festival in Ithaca, NY, with the likes of X Ambassadors and The Roots headlining. While this is the first festival Seth Kallen has ever been a part of creating, he does not seem worried at all.

What inspired you to create a brand new music festival like Cayuga Sound?

It’s been a personal dream of mine, since reading about Glastonbury in NME as a kid, to start a festival. Living in New York for over a decade, I’ve fallen in love with the beauty of the state – the Hudson Valley, the Catskills, the Finger Lakes, and more, so when the opportunity came up to do this in Ithaca, it was a no brainer. Festival culture has exploded in the states because people are looking to connect with other human beings, away from their smartphones, and feel a real connection to music and their peers – but even still, there’s just been such a saturation of gigantic behemoth festivals. So we wanted to start something small, that is really about the city of Ithaca, the scenery, the people, the food, and X Ambassadors’ roots. And although I wanted to do this for ages, it wasn’t until really connecting with Dan Smalls from DSP Shows that I realized this little idea could become a reality.


Has putting on a music festival always been a goal for you/This Fiction or was Cayuga Sound an idea that came more recently?

It was always a dream, yes, but only became a real goal once X Ambassadors broke through to the mainstream. The band thought I was crazy at first, but I knew if we found the right partners and took our time with it, we’d build something really special for the city that made them who they are today.

How involved have X Ambassadors been in the creation and planning of Cayuga Sound?

Every single artist on the lineup was chosen by X Ambassadors. It’s a combination of artists they are massive fans of (The Roots, Margaret Glaspy), friends (Crush Club, Savoir Adore, Jukebox the Ghost), and amazing local artists that the guys want to showcase (Sammus, Izzy True).


What has been the hardest part about putting together a music festival from scratch?

To be honest, most of the hard stuff has been taken care of by our partner Dan Smalls! I’ve handled a lot of the marketing with my amazing team at This Fiction, but he’s the one handling building a festival site from scratch in Stewart Park.

You’ve stated in the past that you look to the MECA Festival in Brazil as inspiration for the type of experience you are looking to create in your own music festival. What steps have you taken to make sure that Cayuga Sound is a unique and intimate live music experience like the MECA Festival?

We just want the entire experience to be positive for anyone attending – teenagers, college kids, families…everyone. We want the people of Ithaca to feel like we’re bringing something special to their town, so that they’ll welcome us all back for years to come. But most importantly, we’re brewing some special limited edition craft beers with Ithaca Beer so everyone will be happy, right?


What would a successful Cayuga Sound look like for you?

Honestly, if my team, my family, and my friends are all drinking a beer at sunset on Cayuga Lake and everything is running smoothly – that’s success to me.

If all goes well with Cayuga Sound this year do you see it continuing and returning annually?

We absolutely want to bring this back for years to come! This is something we want to grow alongside the careers of This Fiction and X Ambassadors.

Do you see This Fiction putting on more music festivals in the future?

I’ll get back to you after we get through the first one.

Cayuga Sound takes place on September 22-23 2017 in Stewart Park Ithaca, NY.