Jose Montano

CEO of Ascending 7 Productions

Jose Montano is a 30-year industry veteran specializing in site operations and festival logistics. Over the years he has directed Site Operations for Bottle Rock (Napa, CA), Life is Beautiful (Las Vegas, NV) and Outside Lands (San Francisco, CA) under his company Ascending 7 Productions which he launched in 2015.

A native of San Salvador, Jose started early in the business, first as a stagehand, then as a rigger, and followed by his passion, site operations. His first big break was with the X Games (Los Angeles, CA) and Aspen Winter Games (Aspen, CO) which opened the door to festivals including Rothbury (Rothbury, MI), Electric Forest (Rothbury, MI), Bonnaroo (Manchester, TN) and Hangout Music Festival (Gulf Shores, AL).

Known for his unique vision, ability to build in and navigate challenging environments as well as knack for proactive planning to reach max efficiency, Jose’s work has led to new innovative green procedures. He created a complex closed system for water and waste at Hangout Music Festival that removed all pumper trucks from the site and had all trailers, comfort stations, gray water collections going straight to the sewer. He also spearheaded the use of vac toilets into mainstream festivals. He enjoys the challenge of creating a safe and captivating space where guests can come together and enjoy an incredible experience.

He is a graduate of the Los Angeles Music Academy for guitar where he studied jazz and still enjoys playing various styles including funk, blues and fusion.

Jose currently resides in La Habra, CA with his four children and when not working at an event he is an avid outdoorsman and horticulturist.