Sydney, Australia – Jessica Ducrou leaves as co-managing director of Australia's Secret Sounds Group, producer of the Splendor in the Grass festival and a range of live music brands.
As co-founder of Splendour, the premier mid-winter camping festival, Ducrou is the country's leading female concert and festival organizer.
With co-CEO Paul PiticcoDucrou built Secret Sounds Group, one of the country's biggest music groups, representing Splendour, Harvest Rock, Falls Festival, Secret Sounds Touring, Village Sounds, booking agency, Secret Sounds Connect, commercial rights and creative agency, North Byron Parklands, The Triffid live music venue in Brisbane and more.
In 2016, Live Nation acquired a controlling interest in Secret Sounds Group.
Ducrou announced her departure on the morning of Friday, June 21, a month before the 2024 edition of Splendor in the Grass was set to play in Byron Bay, with a bill featuring Future, Kylie Minogue, Arcade Fire and more.
This is not happening. Splendour, as previously reported, canceled this year's event just days after tickets went on sale to the public, becoming the highest-profile casualty of a batch of brands that have decided to quit or close for good.
“So many memorable moments over the last almost decade with Secret Sounds, what a wild ride it's been,” Ducrou comments in a statement. “I have to take a summer vacation abroad, so it's a good time to take a break before starting my next chapter.”
Established in 2001 and held annually in Byron Bay, a picturesque beach town on the easternmost tip of Australia, Splendor is a destination event.
The festival would become the hottest ticket in the colder months.
In recent years, however, the show has hit a particularly rough patch, first with the pandemic, which saw the festival announced and then shelved several times. Then in 2022, extreme weather conditions ruined the first day of Splendor 2022, contributing to softer than usual ticket sales for the 2023 edition.
It was Ducrou who faced the media when the skies opened and on occasions when the Splendor was pushed back. In 2021, when the health crisis shut down festivals everywhere, Ducrou led a novel project that would turn Splendor into a virtual world, with more than 50 exclusive in-game performances.
Ducrou will spend time with her children, travel and, in the meantime, continue her duties as president of SoundNSW and deputy president of the Australian Festivals Association.
“It was an epic journey that was truly inspiring and an opportunity to work with the best in the business,” he continues. “It wouldn't be as fulfilling, powerful or enjoyable if it weren't for the people I've worked with. Paul Piticco has been a great business partner for over 30 years and we will no doubt continue our friendship well into the future. The Secret Sounds team, especially Elise Huntley and the festival gang, are the best, I'll miss working with the awesome people who inspired me every day. I wish everyone at Secret Sounds and Live Nation the best of luck in their future endeavors.”
