Scene Support Episode 27: O+ Festival and Lara Hope

In this episode of Scene Support, I sit down with Lara Hope — musician, community builder, and Director of Music Programming for the O+ Festival in Kingston, NY.

We dig into the origin story of O+: how a brewery owner, a dentist, and an artist-activist turned a simple idea — trading art for healthcare — into a nationally recognized nonprofit that’s rethinking what it means to truly support artists. Now in its 15th year, O+ has grown from a grassroots festival into a year-round ecosystem providing musicians and visual artists with access to dental care, primary care, acupuncture, chiropractic services, and more — all through a creative exchange model.

Lara breaks down:

• How the submission and curation process works

• Why healthcare need factors into booking decisions

• The challenges of booking headliners on a barter model

• The expansion into a year-round exchange clinic

• The launch of O+’s new 334 Wall Street space for all-ages shows, workshops, and community events

• What it really takes (staffing, volunteers, grants, donations) to sustain a mission-driven festival

We also talk about ego, community responsibility, DIY ethics, and how working in service of something bigger than yourself can reshape your perspective as an artist.

This isn’t just a conversation about a festival. It’s about infrastructure. It’s about care. It’s about how scenes survive when people build systems that support each other beyond the stage.

If you care about DIY music, artist sustainability, and community-driven models that actually work — this one’s for you.

O+ Festival

https://opositivefestival.org/

https://www.instagram.com/opositivefest/

https://linktr.ee/opositivefest

DCxPC Live

https://www.instagram.com/dcxpc_live

https://www.facebook.com/dcxpcbooking

https://dcxpclive.com

Intro Song & Outro Song By Joshua "Danger" Dobbs

Executive Producer: Trev Allen ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/struggling_artist_record_club/⁠⁠⁠