In order to grow River Beats New Orleans into an established local media source, it became apparent that we would need to shake some things up.
While challenging the current status quo, we still need to pay homage to our roots. Long before River Beats New Orleans was a thought, another vibrant promotional group existed in the New Orleans music scene.
EDMutual was one of the major promotional groups to welcome mainstream dance music to The Big Easy post-Hurricane Katrina. They utilized venues like Republic NOLA to draw in a younger generation of dance music lovers who were just beginning to make their way into the scene. The company mission was simply to change the world, through passionate events. In our eyes, and so many other loyal supporter’s, EDMutual did just that. New Orleans owes some of its sweat and blood to this group.
Today River Beats New Orleans officially acquired the EDMutual brand. With this acquisition, the EDMutual brand will merge with River Beats New Orleans. Effectively passing the torch onto a new generation of music lovers.
We invited the owner and co-founder of EDMutual, Matt Ford, to speak on why the time is right for this merger, and give EDMutual’s foregoing words to their fans and friends.
When was EDMutual created?
“EDMutual was created in early 2013. Our first official EDMutual event was on June 21st, 2013 at The Hangar featuring Force Feed Radio, Unicorn Fukr, Kthulu Prime, Klutch, Sugarbear, & more. Our second official EDMutual event was on August 8th, 2013 featuring MIMOSA!
The goal for EDMutual was to create local music events that had the vibes and energy experienced at festivals. We wanted to connect like-minded music lovers in an atmosphere of positivity and love, centered around the music that had changed so many of our lives.”
Why do you feel this is the right time for River Beats and EDMutual to merge?
“River Beats has embodied the same values and goals in their publication that EDMutual created through our events. There’s no one better to carry on EDMutual’s mission than the team at River Beats.”
Anything you wish to say to your fans?
“I could go on and on with this one but I’ll keep it short: When I think of EDMutual, I think of what was potentially the most important part of my entire life.
Throughout the journey, I met some of the greatest people I’ve ever known, established meaningful relationships that I’ll have for the rest of my life, and had experiences that were not just the most fun, but more importantly the most profound moments of my life.
So many people believed in what we believed and helped to push the movement forward. To everyone who remembers and cherishes the ‘EDMutual days’, thank you so much for all the love and support you gave through those unforgettable years.
Very special shoutouts to Clay Coco and Cody Pitre, my partners in EDMutual and friends for life. To Taran Cornejo for making the movement move harder than virtually anyone, and for conquering any task at hand like a BOSS
 To Nick Thomas for all of his guidance and for believing in us from the very beginning. To Reeves Price and the whole team at Winter Circle Productions, y’all saw our talent and instead of looking at us as competitors, you looked at us as friends.
To Megan Holland, Evan Mathis, Lance Schaeffer, Ashley Cavignac, Dylan Barilleaux, Kristen Leigh, Jose Recio, Chrissy Garcia, and so many others who made our promo/street team the best that has ever been.
To Chase LaBure, Andre Waguespack, Jacob & Jeff Hoerner, Michael Pearson, Matthew Zuppardo, Sugarbear, and all the artists who made our events so special. And to all of our friends that we call family, none of this would have existed without every single one of you. Thank you all so much.”