Goldenvoice VP Ellen Lu on Zipangu and Inspiring the Next Generation of Japanese Music Fans

Ellen Lu, who serves as Vice President of Regional Festivals at Goldenvoice, shares that while attending concerts in high school in Los Angeles, she found a sense of community while attending Tegan and Sara shows at The Fonda. That said, Lu notes, “I grew up never seeing artists who look like me on stage at a festival. And even if they were Asian or mixed race, it wasn’t really ever discussed.” Now Lu and her team are preparing to put on the debut Zipangu, a one-day festival dedicated to celebrating Japanese music and culture. Presented by Goldenvoice and Cloud Nine, the fest takes place May 16 at Brookside at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, and is headlined by Ado, a Utaite known for their anonymity (Utaite is a Japanese term for a singer who posts covers and often uses Vocaloid software). The lineup also features ATARASHII GAKKO!, CHANMINA, HANA, MAN WITH A MISSION, Yuki Chiba, and 10-FEET. A Yokocho food and beverage experience promises to “evoke the energy of Tokyo’s iconic alleyway dining districts, offering curated Japanese cuisine and drinks.”

Pollstar caught up with Lu to learn more about her story and Zipangu.

Pollstar: What inspired you to work in the live industry? Ellen Lu: I’ve always loved music. I was the kid that would go to Best Buy, buy a CD and come home immediately, put it on and read the lyrics. But I also knew very early on that I was not talented by any means musically. So by the time I got to college, I had in my mind that I wanted to be a music journalist. I loved reading Under The Radar and Spin magazine in high school. I was going to a lot of concerts in L.A., specifically Goldenvoice concerts. A friend of mine in college sent me an internship link for Goldenvoice and I applied and ultimately got it. And that catapulted me into having a few internships within the music industry to find what fit.

The last internship I did was actually a talent buying internship at Goldenvoice and that was when I had met Donna Busch, who is a legendary talent buyer over here at Goldenvoice and she had booked these Tegan and Sara shows at the Fonda. And when I was in high school, queer, not out, didn’t really have that community or this sense of obviously feeling safe enough to come out, I went to that show. I went to multiple shows actually alone and took the metro, got my way over to the Fonda, and that was the first time I felt like I was a part of some type of community, even though I didn’t know anybody there.

And so when I met her and I realized that she was the person who booked those shows, it was like a light bulb went off in my head. And then from there I ultimately started working at Goldenvoice and was in the talent buying division all the way up until now.

How did you rise through the company and what does your role entail now as Vice President of Regional Festivals? So out of college, I started working for this wonderful talent buyer, Lesley Olenik, in the talent buying division. I moved to San Francisco to be a talent buyer for Goldenvoice up in the Bay Area and after putting in a few years there I moved back down to L.A. I was working on Camp Flog Gnaw at the time, which is a festival we do and naturally over time I moved away from the venue talent buying side of things and more into the festival side. That was simultaneously when we partnered with 88 Rising on another festival called Head in the Clouds, which focuses on artists from the Asian diaspora. … Fast forward a few years, here I am. I book three festivals: Zipangu, Head In The Clouds and Camp Flog Gnaw. And what that entails is I see these events and these festivals from beginning to end – from booking talent to working with marketing [and] ticketing to announcing the lineup and putting the show on sale and subsequently any marketing campaigns that happen thereafter. I work closely with our global partnership team on securing sponsors for the festival and working with my festival director on all things production and operation related on-site. … I get to see the full breadth of what goes into bringing these shows to life.

How are preparations going for Zipangu? What’s been the reaction to the festival as far as ticket sales? It’s been exciting from announce until now. It’s great to see the fan excitement toward Japangu and I think specifically in the U.S. they’ve never really had a chance to see a lineup like this before, where they’re seeing an artist like Ado who is from Japan but has really broken into the U.S. play alongside up-and-coming artists like HANA. From the chatter that we’re seeing online and just the response that we’re getting from socials, fans are really excited. And as for preparations, things are really coming along great. We’ve been working closely with Cloud Nine, who are our partners on the show and they also manage Ado, to create a great first year experience. And now that we’re a few weeks away, we’re just buttoning up some of these last minute elements. Goldenvoice obviously has the festival experience of things, but Cloud Nine has the authentic Japanese voice in this because they can speak to us of what will make this feel unique versus another Goldenvoice festival.

How did Zipangu come to be? So, AEG worked with Cloud Nine on Ado’s last tour that she did in the U.S. And Zipangu is very much the brainchild of Cloud Nine. This is their baby, if you will. When they expressed wanting to produce an event that would celebrate Japanese music and culture, naturally the conversation carried from AEG over to Goldenvoice since we have experience in large scale events. I got looped into a conversation with Cloud Nine and really worked through what they were trying to achieve. … Personally, as an Asian-American in the music industry, that has been a very big goal of mine, whether it’s through Zipangu or Head in the Clouds … Once I kind of understood their mission, it became really exciting to be able to partner with them to help achieve that.

Any acts that you’re personally excited to see? I’m excited to see HANA because I’ve heard so many great things about them and I’ve never seen them before. But I’m also really excited to see ATARASHII GAKKO!, who I’ve seen so many times, but their show is so fun that anytime if they’re playing on a festival or if they’re playing a show in L.A., I’ve always gone because they never disappoint.

The festival takes place during AANHPI month. The federal government has seemingly taken a stance against DEI and diversity. It feels like events like these are like more important than ever. And not just now in this current administration, but for the foreseeable future, right? Speaking as someone who’s Asian-American, I grew up never seeing artists who look like me on stage at a festival. And even if they were Asian or mixed race, it wasn’t really discussed. And so now I find it so empowering for myself but also for this generation of of Asian-Americans who get to see a show that is completely Asian, right? Or even festivals that are not exclusively about the Asian diaspora. Seeing [these artists at] Coachella and all of these other festivals – we get to see artists that look like us and that is so powerful because that inspires the next generation. For me, I went to into the industry side of things because I’m not [musically] talented but it’s like, if you see it and you know it’s possible like you’re going to go for it and it’s amazing that like we’re starting to see so many more Asian artists be discovered or Asian people choosing to be musicians because they know they can at least see like a path for themselves. My whole mission is to be a bridge and to help push this to the forefront and keep it going.

_Originally reported by [Pollstar](https://news.pollstar.com/2026/05/14/golden-voice-regional-festivals-vp-ellen-lu-talks-zipangu-how-the-japanese-music-event-is-inspiring-the-next-generation/)._