We usually credit the performers or the stage design for a great concert (as we should). But oftentimes, the sound and atmosphere is shaped by an unknown expert: the music curator. We sat down with 14 experts who create the setlists for Fever’s hit concerts, such as the top-selling Candlelight and other Fever Originals experiences in NYC, and asked them about their complex roles, musical careers, and the rising influence of AI.
How does one become a music curator?
When you ask what they actually do, you won’t get a simple answer. One curator described his day-to-day role as scouting for local talent, brainstorming new ideas for programs, and commissioning arrangements—all the while coordinating with other teams and venues to ensure great artistic quality. Ricky Schweitzer, Lead Curator for Americas compared it to building a narrative in real time, “we are, essentially, the “writers” of the show, so basically, from the moment the musicians step on stage until the moment they leave, that is our domain.”
Although there is no single “correct” path to becoming a music curator, they didn’t get here by accident. Most come from years and years of classical music, musical theater or jazz training in different parts of the world — all sharing deep academic backgrounds, from studying musicology at Oxford and film scoring at Berklee to earning PhDs in musical composition and music business.
And it shows. There is passion to how they talk about music and how they apply their knowledge. But the stereotype of the rigid classical musician does not hold at all here. If anything, their long training seems to have given them a wider palette to draw from. “I approach every project from a musician’s point of view,” said Ana Sofía Vela Ramirez, Junior Music Curator.
“Having a background in music allows me to empathize with artists and act as an effective bridge between them and Fever.”
The balancing act: Taste vs crowd
When it comes to choosing setlists, instinct and their own music taste plays a big role but they also go for crowd-pleasers. Since today’s music charts are essentially dictated by what’s trending on social media, “those signals inevitably influence programming decisions, ” one said. At the same time, the decision comes down to finding the balance between giving long-time fans of the celebrated artists both iconic hits and deep cuts, while introducing audiences to new songs they might not know.
Social media and AI: “Music is special because it is fundamentally human”
Then there’s technology. In an algorithm-driven world, social media has become a major discovery tool for artists, giving them visibility on platforms like Instagram and TikTok. On the other hand, AI barely registered as a major influence. Although it can serve as a helpful assistant in admin work, it will never replace human judgement when curating.
According to German Ocampo Barrera, Jr Music Curator for UK, Ireland, Malta and Slovenia, “music is special because it is fundamentally human, […] I don’t think a machine will ever be able to create more than a hollow pastiche”. After all, algorithms can’t read rooms, take risks or build a journey for concertgoers, but humans do.
Similarly, Andy Deschenes, Curator for Canada and Brazil added, “music is a living, breathing, thing created by living, breathing, artists, and it would be incredibly disrespectful to the art form… to relegate the best part of the job to AI.” For Deschenes, relying on human expertise is what safeguards the core of the performance and elevates the curation process.
Which brings us back to that feeling you get when you’re at a Candlelight or Jazz Room concert and the music just works. Now we know, it’s a dedicated team of people who carefully shape that feeling and you’ll probably never see. Even for the curators themselves, “going to a show and seeing how it impacts people, watching couples hold hands at our romantic Valentine’s shows, seeing people smile when they recognise a song”, is the best part of it all. I guess this incredible feeling cannot be replaced by AI, either.
*Curators: Pablo Moreno Sánchez, Robert Tyler Bechtle, Javier Calderari Torres, Ricky Schweitzer, Ana Sofía Vela Ramirez, Andree-Ann Deschenes, Hyunmin Kang, German Ocampo Barrera, Adrian Martens, Paula Gonzalez, Paula Flores, Lulu Whittington, Ross Raymond Mccaw and Aalok Gandhi
