![\"\"](\"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/11\/Lollapalooza-director.jpg\")
Smith switched his major to theatre and film studies and found his calling in the thrill of live production\u2014the lights, the sound, the teamwork and the shared energy that connects artists and audiences. He built a career one show at a time, first with StagePro at the Wakarusa Music Festival, and then as an associate technical director at the Lied Center. When the recession wiped out his next full-time job, he turned to freelance work\u2014\u201cthe mercenary game,\u201d as he calls it\u2014which led to contract work with C3 Presents. By 2013, he was on staff full time, helping manage the country\u2019s biggest live festivals, including Lollapalooza, Bonnaroo and Austin City Limits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With 250 full-time employees, C3 produces about 30 big festivals each year, along with events such as the NFL Draft and FIFA Fan Fest. Smith\u2019s portfolio includes festival oversight, safety and security planning, and even development of the company\u2019s internal contracting software.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still, for the global scale of his work, Smith has never forgotten the spark that started it: a student job that opened a world he didn\u2019t know existed. That memory inspired him to create KU LEAP\u2014the Live Event Accessibility Program\u2014which introduces students to the broad range of careers behind the stage lights.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe crux of it is trying to provide access and opportunity,\u201d Smith says. \u201cMost of the jobs in entertainment aren\u2019t performers or athletes. Obviously there\u2019s the whole technical side of things, but we also have graphic designers, tradesmen, medical professionals. Everything is represented in the entertainment field.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Twice a year, Smith returns to campus to lead LEAP seminars, open to all interested students and even alumni. He shares his own journey and invites alumni working in production, entertainment or media to do the same. After the spring seminar, attendees are invited to apply for a weeklong, all-expenses-paid immersion at Lollapalooza, shadowing C3 staff and experiencing the festival through a professional lens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not about hanging out with the artists\u2014it\u2019s about learning how the whole thing works,\u201d says Smith, who funds both the seminars and immersion program himself, along with his company\u2019s charitable contribution match. \u201cBy the end, we want them to see it through new eyes: Why is the venue laid out this way? How do we keep everyone safe? What does it take to make this city come alive?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Among the growing list of LEAP alumni now working in the biz is Genesis Garcia, c\u201923, a native Chicagoan who attended two seminars and the Lollapalooza immersion before landing a coveted gig as Smith\u2019s administrative assistant. \u201cWhen I went to the festival as a patron, I was always just in awe,\u201d Garcia says. \u201cAnd then when I was in LEAP, I got to see the background side, and I was amazed. Nobody realizes how hard these people work for eight to nine months to put on a great show.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Garcia, who worked at KJHK and the Lied Center as a student, credits both LEAP and KU with changing her life. \u201cI took a chance and told Tuba I wanted a job,\u201d she says. \u201cHe took a chance on me, and I\u2019ll be forever thankful, just as I\u2019m forever thankful that I chose KU. I could have gone closer to home, but KU really did change my life. I\u2019m in such a great place right now. I\u2019m so happy with my job, and I really see a future in this career.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Smith delights in Garcia\u2019s success story, and he\u2019s especially thrilled to keep adding KU alumni to C3\u2019s roster as well as those of production outfits nationwide. He notes with a laugh that when he leaves his number for another industry exec to return his call, he\u2019ll occasionally hear, \u201c\u2018785? Oh my God, you\u2019re another<\/em> Kansas person?\u2019 Yes, I am, and we are everywhere<\/em>. The best people are from Kansas, and I\u2019m happy to keep pouring gas on that fire.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Chris Lazzarino, j\u201986, is associate editor of Crimson & Blue.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n KU alumnus and Lollapalooza festival director Tim \u201cTuba\u201d Smith has parlayed his success into priceless opportunities for fellow Jayhawks.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":43,"featured_media":724,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[14,13],"tags":[54,81,58],"class_list":["post-727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-alumni","category-jayhawks","tag-college-of-liberal-arts-sciences","tag-mentoring","tag-music"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/kualumni.org\/stories\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2025\/11\/Tuba-Smith-C3-Presents.jpg\")
\n\n\n\nPhotos courtesy of C3 Presents<\/h6>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"