Chris Simmons

Entrepreneurial Event & Festival Director with a track record of founding and leading successful live music events, festivals, and youth development programmes. Experienced in strategic project leadership, partnership development, funding negotiations, stakeholder management, and multi-venue event delivery. Passionate about building thriving music communities, developing emerging talent, and creating innovative cultural programmes that deliver lasting impact.

Founder & Director - Start Me Up - West Sussex

(2025-10)

Founded and led a youth-focused music development initiative creating performance, mentoring, and industry engagement opportunities for musicians under 18.

• Developed partnerships with industry professionals, promoters, and festival organisers to expand access to live performance, networking, and career development opportunities.
• Oversaw programme strategy, stakeholder engagement, event delivery, and community development, establishing a sustainable platform for emerging young artists.

Founder / Project Manager - The Smithereen Takeover - Brighton

(2023-08)

Curated and project managed a three-day live music showcase featuring 80+ artists across multiple venues.

• Led event logistics, scheduling, production coordination, artist liaison, and stakeholder communications.
• Delivered targeted marketing campaigns that increased audience engagement and event visibility.
• Managed live operational troubleshooting in high-pressure festival environments

Festival Director - City Sounds Festival - Chichester

(2023 - 2024)

Founded and delivered a city-wide multi-venue music festival from concept to execution.

• Secured council funding through successful proposal negotiation and stakeholder engagement.
• Managed budgets, venue partnerships, artist coordination, logistics, and festival promotion.

Director - We Are Wolfgang Recruitment - West Sussex

(2020-09 - 2023-09)

Founded and managed an independent recruitment agency during the COVID-19 period.

• Developed client partnerships, managed operations, marketing, recruitment campaigns, and business development.
• Oversaw contracts, budgeting, scheduling, and multi-project coordination under tight deadlines.

HND - Audio Visual Studies - Northbrook College, Worthing

BTEC - Media Studies - Northbrook College, Worthing

GCSEs - St Andrews High School, Worthing