Despite not growing up in an artistic household in France, Maud Salvi pursued an education in production management with hopes of working in the music industry–eventually landing in Calgary to run Sled Island, a small-venue music festival.
Salvi was born and raised in Saint-Romain-de-Jalionas, a small town in France. Although her parents weren’t any more interested in music than the average person, she had most of her early exposure coming from the radio.
Salvi began exchanging music with her friends as she got older, discovering new music as a teenager by reading music magazines and surfing MySpace.
Discovery of live music
The more she listened to music, the more interested Salvi became in how it would look live—in a room full of people. After attending her first concert, she knew that atmosphere was where she was meant to be.
“I was definitely hooked right away,” Salvi said. “I wanted to eventually be able to put on my own shows and be part of that community.”
A live music venue in Lyon, a big city near Salvi’s hometown, took her on as a volunteer when she was around 15 years old. She continued working there into early adulthood, handling admissions, serving at the bar, and cleaning up at the end of the night.
Salvi fell in love with the community in the DIY or do-it-yourself scene and began learning what goes into live music production during her time there.
“That’s where I really solidified in my mind that this is what I wanted to pursue professionally,” she said.
Post-secondary
After high school, Salvi began a post-secondary diploma in production management.
Taking a work-abroad opportunity in her second year of school, Salvi landed a job at a booking agency in Montreal.
Although Dublin was her first choice, Salvi enjoyed her time in Montreal and was pleasantly surprised by its art culture. The friendships and industry connections she made in Montreal ultimately led her to move there after her student visa expired permanently.
POP Montreal, a popular independent music festival, brought Salvi on as its artistic producer in 2008.
After resigning in 2012, she visited Calgary, attending the Sled Island music festival as a patron. Shortly after Salvi’s visit, Sled Island posted a job offer for executive director, which was brought to her attention.
“I’m not going to lie, at first I kind of dismissed it as it is in Calgary and I live in Montreal,” she said. “But then, after thinking about it a bit more and rereading the job post, truly it did read as it was meant for me.”
New horizons
With an exciting new job offer, Salvi moved to Calgary in January of 2013—immediately jumping on board with Sled Island while trying to settle into a new city.
Six months of hard work were suddenly flipped upside down when the 2013 Calgary flood hit–forcefully cancelling the event.
Artists were stranded in Calgary, unable to go home, and the Sled Island team had to evacuate their office. Many staff members, including Salvi, also had to evacuate their homes.
With help from the community, the Sled Island team relocated, compensated artists and patrons, and found alternative ways to keep the festival alive.
Despite the chaos, Salvi came out of that disaster even more determined to put on future festivals.
“After I did go through it, I was like, ‘Okay, I think that if I manage that, I can probably manage a whole lot of other things.’”
Creating the experience
Although unsure of running Sled Island when the idea was first introduced to her, Salvi’s current job not only meets, but exceeds the aspirations she had as a student.
“I don’t even know if I thought that I could run a festival, let alone abroad when I was a 15-year-old,” she said. “That’s pretty cool to look back on in a way.”
Kurtis Gregor, Sled Islands communication and marketing manager, began working with Salvi in 2017 and says her talent and character make her not only a great friend but also a great leader.
“She takes on a lot of responsibility with the festival, and she’s the one behind it all running smoothly. Maud’s kind of the voice of reason behind everything,” he said.
Gregor said Salvi’s creativity has helped Sled Island survive hard times, like COVID-19. During the pandemic, she put together virtual and socially distanced events to keep the festival going, even under what were, in Gregor’s words, “the weirdest of circumstances.”
He said Salvi’s passion is what truly sets her apart.
“She cares so much about Calgary, about the music scene, about independent music that would never come to Calgary, and she cares so much about people,” Gregor said. “She wants everyone to be seen and everyone to be heard, and that really shines through her work.”
Overseeing the operation of a music and arts festival that hosts nearly 250 artists and 30,000 attendees annually is not without hardship. However, there is much enjoyment to be had in that role, and Salvi remains committed to leading the festival to completion each June.
“I love watching people watching the show and seeing what’s happening in the room,” she said. “Just seeing people lose their minds—for instance, if there’s a band they never thought would come to Calgary in a million years and then it happens. Yeah, that’s really the most gratifying thing.”
Salvi is preparing for this year’s festival, which will take place from June 18-22.
The Sled Island team is also getting ready to host a free student outreach event called the Sled Island Student Mixer, which will be held at the BLOX Art Centre on April 26th. The event starts at 7 p.m. and will include surprise performances throughout the night. More information can be found here.
Correction: An eralier version of this story indicated that Salvi was hired by POP Montreal as its artistic director in 2008. Salvi was hired as the artistic producer.