Lyte’s Angeline Chase Priefer: From P.O. Box to permanent (with a side of adventure)

Angeline Chase Priefer lived out of a suitcase for the better part of the last decade. As an independent contractor for event production, she worked at some of the best music festivals around — and she traveled everywhere.

Bonnaroo. Newport Folk Festival. Pilgrimage Music and Cultural Festival. Okeechobee Music and Arts Festival. To name a few.

“It’s been a great gig,” Angeline says. “Getting to be a part of various aspects of the production of so many festivals. It’s a lot of work but with tremendous reward. For a number of years, I juggled this and taught yoga and just stayed on the road. It’s been amazing.”

So why would Angeline give all that up to become Lyte’s new Senior Client Operations Manager? It’s probably pretty obvious that she is the type of person who embraces change. What’s more, Angeline’s new role at Lyte will still let her have cross-country adventures working on some really great live events — only now she has a place to hang her hat at night.

Here, the Southern California native discusses being nomadic, P.O. Boxes and her love of festivals that embody family and community.

Maggie: How are you settling in? Is it weird going from being on the road to having regular hours?

Angeline: It’s definitely a big shift. That said, between planned field operations here at Lyte and ongoing year-round involvement in the production of Pilgrimage Music and Cultural Festival, there’s still plenty of road time in my future as well as hours that stretch far beyond the norm each day.

The biggest difference is coming into the same office space Monday through Friday — and actually having a mailing address that is a physical residence and not a P.O. Box!

Maggie: Describe your new role at Lyte. What will you be doing?

Angeline:I was hired as a Senior Client Operations Manager. That means I will really own the end-to-end success of our clients, from onboarding to the setting up the exchanges to the events themselves, all while building and strenghtening our ongoing relationships. I’ll also work on the ground with onsite teams at festivals and live events.

Right now, I’m getting into the groove and learning the process. I’m familiar with it all from the promoter side, so there’s definitely a lot of applicable knowledge — and it’s super interesting to be diving in from this side and connecting the dots. It lends to a greater view of how it all flows and comes together.

Maggie: You are from SoCal. Tell me about your new life in San Francisco.

Angeline:I’m super excited about it! I found a month-to-month, fully-furnished rental, so there’s still a certain level of impermanence and flexibility. But for me, it’s a huge step from what I’m used to — and it feels really good.

Maggie: You loved working both the Newport Folk Festival and Pilgrimage Music and Cultural Festival. Why are they among your favorites?

Angeline: Newport has a really special place in my heart. You can feel the energy from the guests, the patrons, the artists and the entire team. Everyone is honored to be there. In its 60thyear, you can imagine the rich history involved. What’s more, the venue is incredible. There’s not a bad seat in the house. Newport is actually where I met the team from Lyte. While coordinating credentials for the festival, we shared a trailer.

Pilgrimage Music and Cultural Festival has been an incredible journey. I’ve been with the festival from its inaugural year in 2015. In year one, I had the opportunity to build the credentials department from the ground up, which included defining an access grid and building internal systems for advance and issuance. In the years following, I became the Director of Ticketing, overseeing our entire ticketing process in addition. In our fifth year, I’m now involved year round as the Administrative Director of the festival, maintaining direction of everything related to ticketing, credentials and access as well as vendor and staff contracting, database management, budget monitoring and oversight of all of our marketing and social media teams among other things.

Everything about this festival is handcrafted and meaningful. With a small core team, the opportunity to participate in every aspect of the production throughout its lifecycle is not only there, but necessary. It’s a large commitment, which also makes the entirety of it very personal and as time is valuable, we get to choose where we spend it. This dedication has led to a team that is a family. We’re riding the waves together, and we’ve dealt with some pretty monster waves. I truly love it and am grateful to be a part of the core and our continued growth.

Maggie: What was working Bonaroo like?

Angeline:I’ve worked Bonnaroo for the last nine seasons and managed the Credentials Department for the last five. It’s an incredible production. The pure size of the site alone! Beyond the edges on “Centeroo,” which is the main venue, there are mini-festivals going on in the PODs, which are community service centers in each of the camping areas. The community feel as a whole at Bonnaroo is palpable. It’s a festival that attracts all ages and interests and really epitomizes the inherent good of humanity and the connection we share. Music serves as the conduit.

All of that said, I have a lot of standout memories at Bonnaroo over the years. Watching U2 from side stage in 2017 is a more recent moment at the farm that comes to mind. The experience of seeing a band you love and looking out at an expansive crowd, fully in the moment, at an event that you’ve poured heart and soul into over the years — it’s pretty damn euphoric.

Maggie: What drew you to Lyte?

Angeline:I had been wanting a change for a number of years and was looking for the right fit but with hesitation as I wasn’t willing to let go of all the amazing relationships I had formed with people in the industry. It’s new and exciting for me to continue work in this industry with a more streamlined focal point. Coming from 10 years of experience working in event production from the promoter side, I hope to apply the knowledge I’ve acquired to assist in both the functionality and marketing reach of the platform. As a solution-based and unique business model, Lyte serves to benefit each organization, artist, venue, festival, fan and more. It’s solving for an epidemic in the ticketing world. I look forward to assisting with these connections and helping to grow this offering exponentially. At Lyte, you can feel the positive energy in the office because it is so rapidly moving and growing.

With extensive experience in festivals, in particular, I’d like to really hone in on those partnerships and the many possibilities that exist. I’d love to see Lyte become a natural and automatic extension of the ticketing process, operating as part of the whole. It feels like we’re en route to achieve this, and as we continue to develop client relationships, the benefits for all parties will be very apparent.

About Lyte

Lyte makes it easier for fans to go to more live events. Founded in New York City and San Francisco by CEO Ant Taylor, our killer fan feature is returnability. In an industry where a “no refunds and no cancellations” policy is the standard, Lyte enables fans to return their event tickets, no questions asked, to the official point of purchase.

Lyte also provides a safe and official reservation booking system, offering fans who sign up a fair price for in-demand tickets. One hundred percent of the tickets bought and sold through Lyte are issued through our ticketing partners and delivered directly to fans. Lyte has delivered millions in fan savings — $1.8 million in 2018 alone. It’s only getting better from here, thanks to our growing partnerships with bands, venues, promoters, ticketers and festivals.

For the industry, we function as a full inventory management solution, including a private-label secondary market to optimize event yield for event producers. Visit lyte.com.