Water Worx interview: Jan Vondráček, Let It Roll

The name Honza Vondráček is impossible to overlook on the Czech event scene. People in the industry know him only by his long-standing nickname, “Jedi.” He has organized dozens, if not hundreds, of events that people talk about and remember. For the second year in a row, he has been the CEO of Beatworx, a company that, among other things, organizes Let It Roll, the world’s largest drum & bass festival. How challenging was it to move such a large event to a new location? What was and is the collaboration with the city of Most like? You’ll find that and much more in our interview.

The Let It Roll Festival took place for the first time at Lake Most in the summer of 2025. After many years, you changed the venue. What turned out to be the biggest production snag or the biggest challenge in moving such a large festival?

I’m not sure if I would classify anything as the biggest challenge, because everything was actually the biggest challenge. Moving a functioning festival of this size is a relatively demanding task. And not just from a logistical standpoint, but also in terms of finances, energy, and human resources. The Lake Most location was completely new to us. We visited the site very frequently, planning, sketching, and calculating. We were in close contact with city officials, local business owners, and partner companies. The entire process took about a year. Based on discussions with local authorities and endless site visits, we prepared what we believed to be the best possible version of the festival—the first edition of Let It Roll at Lake Most. Even during the event, we realized that some of our decisions weren’t entirely ideal, and it wasn’t until we turned our plans into reality that we discovered what would work and what wouldn’t.

Can you already tell us what specific improvements you’re planning for the next edition and the second year at Lake Most?

The real-world experience from the first year is driving us to refine and fine-tune the festival grounds and improve the overall comfort for visitors. The location at Lake Most is beautiful; we can use the city’s infrastructure, there are access roads, a beautiful beach, electricity, a waste management system, and so on. On the other hand, however, part of the infrastructure is insufficient for the needs of hosting such a large event. For example, the water supply would be enough for us at most to water the lawn. The same applies to electricity. However, we believe that in the future, following an agreement with the city, these capacities will be significantly increased so that we can make use of more and more local resources.

Let’s stay with the location for a moment. One of the site’s greatest assets is the adjacent lake. However, this comes with certain safety requirements and the need to adjust access. How did the festival approach this, and what measures did it take to ensure visitor safety in connection with the nearby body of water?

Of course, we asked ourselves this question as well. The safety of our visitors is crucial and of the utmost importance to us. The beach itself was not part of the festival grounds. During negotiations with the city of Most and lease agreements with the state-owned company Diamo, we committed to ensuring that access to the beach would remain open to all local residents so as not to disrupt their summer activities. At the same time, there are operating rules in place that govern behavior in that area. Our approach was that, although the beach and access to the lake are outside the festival grounds and not part of it, we provided both lifeguards who worked there around the clock and patrolled by boat, as well as coordination with the Municipal Police, who had crews on the boat, and the Czech Police. Furthermore, through our channels—such as social media, the website, the app, PR, and others—we communicated very extensively about the benefits of being near the water, but also the dangers that come with it. We strongly warned people about these risks.

This has already been mentioned in previous questions, but I’d still like to come back to it. What was the collaboration with the city of Most like? How difficult was it to build relationships?

As is the case everywhere else, whether in business or in life, it’s always about the people. If the city has local government officials who love the place, their work, and the people, then the most fundamental requirement is met. We got along very well with city officials and other parts of the municipal infrastructure. We are very grateful for their positive attitude and helpfulness. At the same time, we believe—and this became clear during the first year—that the benefits of cooperation flow to both sides.

What are they?

We highlight three key factors for building the city’s image. The first is the economic impact, which we measure through a specific study. We know exactly how much money festival visitors spent in the city and, by extension, in the region. The second is the sociocultural impact, which encompasses the influence of music, music festivals, and cultural contributions, including the associated tourism. And the final impact is building the image of the city itself. It has been proven that music festivals and other social events help build the city’s image and strengthen residents’ pride in their city. It’s one of the things that works, and one of the key pillars I’ve been talking about.

Do you think relationships are the most important thing within the festival sector or the cultural sector in general?

With a certain level of professionalism and responsibility, it’s a very good combination. Good relationships are the foundation of any operation, at least for me. Then it requires a high degree of responsibility and adherence to all agreed-upon terms.

When I step back from the new location and look at the festival from a slightly broader perspective, one of the key pillars of Let It Roll is the festival’s narrative. It’s a unique feature that isn’t very common at festivals in the Czech Republic. Could you briefly outline the thought process? How is the event’s narrative arc built and developed?

That’s an interesting question. Our story began to take shape many years ago, when the festival’s narrative arc was first conceived. The story weaves its way through recent editions, evolving in various ways, building to a climax, then looping back and heading in a different direction. It’s all interconnected and forms a cohesive concept. Honestly, I think we should be working with it much more than we have in the past. It gives the festival meaning, certainly also in relation to the community. It’s part of the brand.

How does it all come together?

It’s a project led by several creative people on our team. They put it all together and refine it down to the last detail. Based on that, the design of the main stage, elements within the venue, and the visual identity of that year’s edition are developed. This changes every year, but we stick to our rules for how to work with it.

As part of organizing the festival, you collaborate with a whole range of suppliers, agencies, and the like. We, Water Worx, are one of them. How do you view this collaboration?

Of course, from the visitor’s perspective, your services should be evident in the form of a certain level of comfort that they experience thanks to you. But the visitor doesn’t care who the supplier is, where those things come from, or how complicated or simple it is to set it all up. They’re interested in the result. Plenty of water, toilets, showers, waste management—they don’t worry about how all of this gets to them at the venue. They just enjoy it. But we’re the ones who handle all of that. We’re building a festival—or rather, a city—where about 25,000 people live, work, and move around for several days. We’re building it on a greenfield site where there’s absolutely nothing. Without partners and suppliers like you, we could never pull off this festival.

How many people work on-site during the festival?

The volume of services and materials required to ensure that thousands of people can enjoy high-quality accommodations, meals, entertainment, and dancing demands a huge amount of human resources—people who contribute to the festival. In our case, that’s about three thousand people working on-site to ensure visitors have the best possible experience. So collaboration with suppliers like Waterworx is crucial for us. You provide us with comprehensive water and wastewater management from A to Z, including distribution systems and technology. We greatly value this partnership and plan to expand it in the future. I see great added value in the constant progress made in addressing specific aspects of our collaboration and in your creative approach in general. Nothing is a problem; everything can be solved somehow.