Terry O’Brien
Founder & Sales Director
Terry came up with the concept of EFEx, inspired by the success of Showcase Scotland, the equivalent event for Scottish folk, roots, and acoustic music held in partnership with Celtic Connections. Following a 2012 pilot, English Folk Expo was established as an annual event in 2013. In January 2018, Terry took a step back from leading English Folk Expo and moved into the new role of Sales Director where she leads on delegate sales, international partnership cultivation and selling advertising, trade stands and other sponsorship opportunities.
In addition to working on English Folk Expo, Terry is the owner of Playpen Management and Agency, representing the live careers of a roster of successful folk artists. She has also led on projects funded by ACE, Creative Scotland, PRSF and EFDSS.
Alongside the agency she has worked as an A&R consultant for One Little Indian Records, run her own imprint label Unearthed Records and she produced the 5000 Morris Men weekend event at the Southbank Centre and Embankment in 2012. Prior to setting up Playpen, Terry worked for mainstream music management and promotion companies in London and ran training for young manager for the MMF.