Meet Fede Petro | Artist – Music Producer – Event Producer

We had the good fortune of connecting with Fede Petro and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Fede, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
It was something that happened organically. Open Folk started as a mission to create a space to perform music in a different way. A mission to bring communities together, to expand the understanding or love and respect for the artistry and live performance. While trying to expand it, I faced many challenges that made me understand that creating a structure for this music movement was the only way forward. That made me start learning more about event production to pair with the knowledge and experience I had as an artist, bringing talented hardworking people to jump on this project. That was the start of Open Folk and the different types of productions I do. As a music producer and musician, you are also your own business.

Let’s talk shop? Tell us more about your career, what can you share with our community?
As an artist, I work really hard to allow all of my musical influences to meet early in the creative process. The music of Argentina where I was born and raised has always been with me even though I became obsessed with folk and American music at an early age. Wherever you walk in Buenos Aires, our folklore is heard, played live or from speakers of restaurants and retail stores. Midnight Gaucho is my current artist project that I’m bringing to life in 2024. Re inventing and creating the musical project that fits and feels real to the person that I am today was a struggle. Being an artist is always a really complicated emotional rollercoaster.

As a producer, Open Folk has been the project that I have used to collaborate with other artists as an event producer and tm. Open Folk turned 10 years in 2024, having started in 2014 in Buenos Aires and expanded to Barcelona, Madrid, Neuquen, Bariloche, and Los Angeles. There’s been so many challenges along the way to sustain a weekly event for a decade. The most important lesson is to train your resilience. If you resist, you will find yourself on the other side. Open Folk has hosted thousands of shows, free music festival, produced music albums and supported and promoted independent voices around the world.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
I always take my friends who visit to the Griffith Observatory, Echo Park, grab a coffee at Cafecito Organico in HiFi, A burger at GoldBurger, jazz at 1642, great tacos at Villas Tacos, Shows at Hotel Cafe, and Golddiggers. LACMA also a great spot and a movie at The New Beverly. Los Angeles has so much to offer.

The Shoutout series is all about recognizing that our success and where we are in life is at least somewhat thanks to the efforts, support, mentorship, love and encouragement of others. So is there someone that you want to dedicate your shoutout to?
I want to give a big shout out to Martin Grossman, the person who I started Open Folk with, To Pira Bastourre who I started the Fiesta del Futuro series shows, To Nacho De La Riega, the engineer who I worked with the most and gave the support I needed to start producing records for a living. To Juan Pablo de Mendonca my life guru who has pushed to always go for more. And forever grateful for Jack Kerouac for writing On The Road, that made me move from Argentina to the US when I was 21, to find the adventures on the road. “The Only Truth is Music”.

Website: https://www.theopenfolk.org

Instagram: @openfolkla @_themidnightgaucho

Twitter: @midnightgaucho

Image Credits
Angel Origgi, Agustin Donati, Meara McDonald, Flori Pages