The Team
Who We Are

Tyler Larrabee
Founder, Promoter, & Festival Director
Tyler founded New Ground, LLC in 2019 after he saw a disconnect between the high school/college music scene and the larger Knoxville music industry through his experience with his own local band. Now a full time festival promoter and tour manager, he aims to highlight as many of the great touring bands in the Southeast here in Knoxville as he can.
865-804-5417
Sebastian LaTorre
Co - Owner, Creative Director, & Media Team Head
Originally working for New Ground as a photographer, Sebastian joined the festival team full time in 2021to bring in fresh ideas and to grow relationships with colleges and markets across the Southeast.
865-221-4673



Rusty Odom
Festival Consultant & Owner of Second Bell Music Festival & BLANK Newspaper
A staple of the Knoxville music scene and loved by all in the festival and media business, Rusty encouraged Tyler to create a music festival and has remained an integral part of the team. He also acts as Tyler's assistant manager for weekend activities
Daniel Fluitt & Jess Hale
Festival Consultants & Owners of Tomahawk Group
Dan & Jess, the Knoxville festival power couple, work as our head concessionaire and artist relations manager on-site, respectively. They also are essential to pre-event planning and organizing the bar. Dan & Jess do a little bit of everything, and we honestly couldn't make the festival happen without them!