Exploring Life & Business with Jeff Consoletti of JJ-LA

Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeff Consoletti.

Hi Jeff, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
I’m a Boston kid who came to Los Angeles with an honors degree from George Washington University, a lot of ambition, and absolutely no idea how many zip ties one human can go through in a single load-in. (The answer is all of them. Every zip tie in Los Angeles County.)

I fell for live events the way most people in this business do: completely by accident and then all at once. There’s a moment right before the doors open, when the crew is wrapping the last cable, the sound check is booming across an empty field and you know thousands of people are about to walk into something you dreamed up. I got hooked on that feeling early, and I’ve been chasing it ever since.

In 2009 I founded JJLA with a simple idea: build events from the ground up that actually make people feel something. Not just a stage and a step-and-repeat, but experiences that grow audiences, energize fans and bring communities together.

From there it snowballed. From running major PRIDE events from coast to coast, to working with incredible artists like Dua, Tate, Chappell and Benson, to anchoring around major brand activations at Super Bowl, Coachella, Sundance and SXSW, I’m so proud and grateful for the extent of experiences that have shaped my career.

Then 2020 hit and the live-events world went dark overnight. But instead of sitting still, we launched OUTLOUD as a digital series spotlighting queer artists. In 2021 we brought it back to life as the first post-pandemic live concert at the LA Memorial Coliseum, streamed to more than 5 million viewers on Twitch. That was the moment OUTLOUD stopped being a side project and became a movement.

Today JJLA is an Top 100 Ranked, Award–winning production and experiential agency. We produce WeHo Pride and the OUTLOUD Music Festival, drawing more than 250,000 people to West Hollywood each year, alongside continuced work for clients like Netflix, Crocs, Amazon, ABC TV, Warner Records and more. I live in West Hollywood with my husband, Rob, which means the commute to the biggest show of my year is refreshingly short.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Smooth? Honey, I produce outdoor festivals in Southern California. I have personally negotiated with wind, heat, fire, permit deadlines, and the glamorous job of scheduling restroom cleanings. Nothing about this road has been smooth, and that’s honestly part of why I love it.

The biggest struggle was OUTLOUD itself. For more than ten years it was a passion project that lived in pitch decks and in meetings that went nowhere. I heard “no” so many times I started to think it was a term of endearment. What kept it alive was a stubborn belief in the idea, a willingness to ask for advice, and inviting other people in to help shape it. When the pandemic shut everything down, we had every reason to wait. Instead we launched, and that leap is what finally pushed OUTLOUD forward.

The pandemic was its own gut punch. Our entire industry is built on people gathering, and overnight that was gone. We had to get scrappy, pivot to digital, and keep a team together through a stretch when nobody knew what the calendar would look like. I was determined to keep the smiling faces that show up for me day in and day out gainfully working — and we did it and emerged stronger!

And then there’s the everyday reality of running an independent small business in a field full of giants. We compete with massive agencies and promoters, so every event has to earn the next one. Producing Pride also carries a weight that a typical festival doesn’t. With LGBTQ+ rights under attack, especially for trans folks and drag artists, our stages are about more than entertainment. That responsibility is heavy some days, but it’s also the reason I get up in the morning.

The lesson I keep relearning: the hard days don’t mean you’re on the wrong path. Usually they mean you’re about to build something worth the trouble.

As you know, we’re big fans of JJ-LA. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about the brand?
JJLA is an Top-100 Ranked, Award–winning live event production, experiential and entertainment agency based in Los Angeles. In plain English: we’re the people who make the magic happen and then quietly sweep up the confetti at 3 a.m.

We build events from the ground up: concerts and festivals, immersive brand activations, fan experiences, corporate events and nonprofit benefits. Our team handles everything from creative direction and talent booking to site operations, fabrication and full production management. You bring the dream, we bring the trucks, the stages and an alarming number of walkie-talkies.

Over the years we’ve produced activations around the Super Bowl, the MLB All-Star Game, the Rose Bowl, the Academy Awards, Coachella, Sundance and SXSW. Our clients include Netflix, Amazon, ABC-Disney, MLB, Crocs, Warner Records, MAC Cosmetics and the City of West Hollywood. JJLA is also a certified diversity supplier and small business enterprise.

What sets us apart? Three things:
• We actually deliver. Shocking concept, I know. We plan every event like we’re throwing it for our best friends, because usually we are. No fluff, no false promises, just seamless production, great sound and an experience people talk about for years.
• We’re builders, not just vendors. Some of our proudest work is the stuff we created ourselves. We don’t just execute someone else’s idea; we know how to dream one up, find the audience and make it last.
• We lead with community. As a queer-founded company, we know events can be acts of joy and acts of resistance at the same time. That perspective shows up in everything we touch, from a Fortune 500 activation to a neighborhood block party.
What am I most proud of brand-wise? OUTLOUD, hands down. What started as a pandemic-era digital series is now one of the country’s leading LGBTQ+ music brands, and its flagship OUTLOUD Music Festival at WeHo Pride has hosted Kylie Minogue, Paris Hilton, Grace Jones, Kesha, Janelle Monáe, Diplo, Carly Rae Jepsen, Adam Lambert, Doechii and, this year, The Pussycat Dolls. Hearing the crowd roar when Kylie took the stage at our sold-out 2024 festival is one of the proudest moments of my career. OUTLOUD earned a 2025 GLAAD Special Recognition Award, and seeing a crowd that diverse singing every word together never gets old.

But I’ll be honest: the thing I’m proudest of is the team. Producers, creatives, coordinators, fixers, our photographers, our amazing and longtime partners, and incredibly kind and fun clients. These people run toward the fire extinguisher, not away from it. They’re brilliant, hilarious and a little bit unhinged in the best possible way, and none of this exists without them. I just get to be the guy chatting with you and taking the credit. But none of this is possible without the people who back you up.

What should your readers know? If you have a big idea, whether that’s a festival, a brand launch, a premiere, or a party that needs to feel like the event of the year, come talk to us. And if you just want to dance, we’ll see you in West Hollywood Park every June.

What are your plans for the future?
Bigger stages, louder music and, more exciting customized programming to create and roll out.

First up is LIVE ON SUNSET on Saturday, November 14, a free show that brings live music back to the legendary Sunset Strip. Some of rock and roll’s greatest stories were written on that stretch of road, and I can’t wait to add a new chapter with the City of West Hollywood.

We’re already deep into planning WeHo Pride and the OUTLOUD Music Festival for 2027. In this business, the next year’s show starts the minute the stage comes down. We’re also growing OUTLOUD beyond West Hollywood, with a goal of taking it across the country and eventually around the world, so queer artists and fans have a home wherever they are.

Pricing:

• • Every JJLA project is custom-built around the client’s goals, audience and budget.
• • Services range from full-scale festival and concert production to brand activations, premieres, corporate events and nonprofit benefits.
• • For project inquiries, visit jj-la.com.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.jj-la.com // www.outloudmusicfestival.com
• Instagram: @jeffcons, @meetjjla, @officiallyoutloud
• LinkedIn: @jeffconsoletti

Image Credits
1 – Main Photo 1 – @CallawayGable
2 – Jeff & Rob – @StevenOnTheScene
3 – Team Photo – @StevenOnTheScene
4- Jeff Rainbow – @jviscott
5 – Green Suit – @CallawayGable
6- @StevenOnTheScene
7 – @StevenOnTheScene