The JamFam Story
HOW DID WE
GET HERE?
Mike Kestin, the founder of JamFam Productions, has always been a huge music fan. As a child, he would hide in his bedroom to listen to Casey Kasem’s American Top 40, recording that week’s Top 10 on cassette with his boom box. His love grew to include the live music experience and he’s attended over 500 concerts from coast to coast. Most kids (and many adults!) dream about making it in the music industry and Mike was one of them, hoping to become a rock star some day. Music has always had a deep-seated and profound hold on his soul.
Mike is a devoted member of the NY/NJ/PA Tri-State regional music scene and he became friendly with many of the region’s top acts and musicians. As a result, he saw an opportunity to finally enter the music biz by helping his friends book better shows at local venues and regional festivals. Initially, it was a slow go and Mike learned that it’s easier said than done. But he also learned that persistence, a strong work ethic and, most importantly, honesty will take you a long way.
Over the years, Mike attended many musical festivals, including: Gathering of the Vibes, The Peach Music Festival, Lockn’, Lollapalooza, H.O.R.D.E., and Mountain Jam just to name a few. He couldn’t get enough of the music, the vibe and the awesome people at the festivals, but he also came to appreciate the business model they used and the many opportunities they offered. The wild idea of producing his own festival started running through Mike’s head and in 2018, he began researching how he could make it happen. The pieces came together quickly and the JamFam Music & Arts Festival was born! What started out as a festival for local artists and tribute/cover bands suddenly grew into something much bigger when Mike got a call out of the blue from The New Riders of the Purple Sage. Members of the band live in NJ, they heard about the festival and they wanted to hold their 50th anniversary concert at JamFam! They were signed to headline and Mike raised the bar further by adding Melvin Seals and JGB to the line-up and getting David Gans as his emcee/artist-at-large. It had all come together so beautifully but like so much in 2020, it was lost to the pandemic. Mike was devastated.
Mike has an entrepreneurial spirit that would not be crushed by this setback. During the long days of lockdown, Mike used his new knowledge and contacts to help bring live music back to stage. He produced very successful drive-in concerts at The Sussex County Fairgrounds in Augusta, NJ that included Railroad Earth, Twiddle, Darkstar Orchestra and The Disco Biscuits. All the while, he was also working with local venues to help them survive the pandemic and launch their businesses forward with live music. Mike booked the bands, handled the promotions, managed the ticketing and executed ticket sales. To date, JFP has produced over 200 live shows in several venues with tremendous success.
HOW DID WE
GET HERE?
Mike Kestin is the founder of JamFam Productions and has always been a huge music fan. When he was a kid, he would hide in his bedroom on Sunday mornings, listening to Casey Kasem’s America’s Top 40, while recording the week’s top 10 songs onto cassette with his boom box. Mike has attended over 500 concerts from coast to coast! Like most kids…and adults, Mike has always dreamed of being involved in the music business, maybe even become a Rockstar himself one day! Music has always profoundly been seeded deeply in his soul.
Mike is very involved with the Tri-State area’s music scene and became friendly with many of the region’s top bands and musicians. He had the idea to book some of these bands into local venues and regional music festivals. Initially, Mike had mediocre success at best; it’s easier said than done. Persistence, hard work and probably the most important…honesty go a long way.
Mike Kestin is the founder of JamFam Productions and has always been a huge music fan. When he was a kid, he would hide in his bedroom on Sunday mornings, listening to Casey Kasem’s America’s Top 40, while recording the week’s top 10 songs onto cassette with his boom box. Mike has attended over 500 concerts from coast to coast! Like most kids…and adults, Mike has always dreamed of being involved in the music business, maybe even become a Rockstar himself one day! Music has always profoundly been seeded deeply in his soul.
Mike is very involved with the Tri-State area’s music scene and became friendly with many of the region’s top bands and musicians. He had the idea to book some of these bands into local venues and regional music festivals. Initially, Mike had mediocre success at best; it’s easier said than done. Persistence, hard work and probably the most important…honesty go a long way.
Over the years, Mike attended a number of music festivals: Gathering of the Vibes, The Peach Music Festival, Lockn’, Lollapalooza, H.O.R.D.E., and Mountain Jam just to name a few. Mike fell in love with the structure, vibe, awesome people he had met, and of course, the music. So for years, he tossed around the idea of producing a music festival himself. In 2018, he began doing his due diligence about actually producing a music festival on his own! Things fell into place very quickly, and the JamFam Music & Arts Festival was born. Initially, the festival was supposed to be local artists, tribute bands, and other cover bands. Then one day, out of the blue, he got a call from one of the members of The New Riders of the Purple Sage – within a couple of days, NRPS was booked as a headliner, he then added Melvin Seals & JGB, David Gans was to be the MC and Artist at Large – then… COVID-19 hit and his dreams of a music festival were crushed. We will leave it at that.
Mike’s entrepreneurial spirit didn’t allow this to knock him down for too long, during the COVID lockdown, he was heavily involved and co-produced Twiddle, Railroad Earth, Dark Star Orchestra and The Disco Biscuits at the drive-in concerts series at the Sussex County Fairgrounds in Augusta, NJ.
All the while, Mike coordinated the booking of bands, promotions and ticketing and ticket sales with local venues to keep them alive to produce live shows all through the pandemic...and beyond. To date, JamFam Productions has booked, promoted, and executed over 200 live shows in several venues with tremendous success.
JamFam currently has a working relationship with roughly 100 Tribute and Cover bands. In addition to the Northern & Central New Jersey markets, JFP has produced shows in New York City, Atlantic, City, and Bethlehem, PA. JFP is currently seeking to increase their geographic reach to the Hudson Valley, Philadelphia/ Eastern Pennsylvania, and Maryland/Delaware Markets.