Eliote Durham

With over 18 years of event production experience, Eliote merges creativity and logistics at all of her events. The end result is an event that is both aesthetically pleasing and functional. Eliote focuses on the simplicity in the complex. 

Eliote began working in the industry in college at Berklee College of Music in Boston, MA where she learned the in and out of lighting design, sound, and stage management as applied to music and theatrical shows. When Eliote moved to San Francisco she delved into the business side of events by learning about the conference end of the industry. Her first large conference was the Third International Conference on AIDS held in Vancouver Canada. Through this experience she learned early on about international travel, RFP’s, and writing a winning proposal. 

After spending several years on the conference end of events Eliote moved on to work in the entertainment industry at the Rosebud Agency. She began as an assistant to the lead booking agent for the west coast where she learned about negotiating contracts and all legalities involved in producing a show. The artists she worked with include Ben Harper, The Staple Singers, Charlie Musselwhite, and The Dirty Dozen Brass Band. Eliote went on to work as the in-house PR person for John Lee Hooker, Robert Cray, Loudon Wainwright III, and J.J. Cale. For the past five years Eliote has served as the Director of Operations for Hardly Strictly Bluegrass, the free music festival in Golden Gate Park that draws over 500,000 people per year. Eliote has also worked with Foote, Cone and Belding where she was the event producer for the design department of Levi's corporate sales meetings that are held nationwide. Most recently she has worked with Dominic Phillips Event Marketing where she has served as a producer on such events as the opening of the MUNI T-Rail, unveiling of the Park Galleria's new conference facilities, Open House of for Yahoo's San Francisco new office and the gala dinner for the San Francisco chapter of the National Association of Black Accountants. Eliote volunteers her time and talent to many organizations in the community including the Volunteer Center and the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition. She is an avid cyclist and swimmer including completing the escape from Alcatraz swim three times. In her free time she enjoys long motorcycle rides along the coast.

Dharma Barsotti

You're producing an event: A celebratory gathering for a hard-working office team, or a funky (but black-tie) reception for two dozen hand-picked VIPs. Perhaps you're producing a music festival in the great outdoors for two thousand — or eighty thousand. Maybe your organization is activating a presence at a crucial industry conference. Whatever the occasion, you need to make an unforgettable impression, and you have no idea how to turn your creative vision into reality. You need help. You need Dharma Barsotti's help.

Barsotti is an artist, a designer, a fabricator, a maker, a problem solver, and BD+20's Creative Director. He has decades of experience in the music and events production industries — in fact, he was born into it. His father, Peter Barsotti, was the creative director for Bill Graham Presents, and played a crucial role developing the visual identity for legendary Bay Area music venues, festivals, and beyond. Young Dharma Barsotti grew up with his father, on the road and backstage. Producing extraordinary visual environments is in his blood — literally.

Barsotti has designed, developed, and manufactured stage sets, large ceiling treatments, sponsorship activations, immersive visual environments, custom props and more. He’s used reclaimed wood, metal and other natural materials, as the art director of BottleRock to build inviting, naturalistic spaces over the entire venue. He created a "flaming" backstage environment out of steel, black vinyl, polypro rope, trees, lights and smoke machines — which looked so realistic the fire department showed up to investigate. (The show, Summer Sanitarium, for Metallica, went on without a hitch.) He took a lifesize humpback whale, carved from a single redwood tree, on HORDE tour across the country, and hung a half mile of fabric as a custom ceiling treatment in the Winelands tent at Outsidelands Music Festival. His ingenious streak and knack for getting things done means that no matter how big or small your idea, he can help you make it a reality.