Breakaway Music Festival

Adam Lynn and Zach Ruben met as students at the University of Michigan. Noticing that tours by emerging artists often skipped college towns, each founded a small promotion company (Lynn’s Social Studiez and Ruben’s Prime Productions), bringing artists such as Wiz Khalifa, Steve Aoki, Kid Cudi, and LMFAO to small markets overlooked by major promoters; the two companies later merged into Prime Social Group, and Lynn later moved to Columbus, where he and Ruben developed what would become Breakaway.⁠[1][2][2][2]

In 2016, Lynn and Ruben launched Breakaway in Columbus, Ohio. The first edition, headlined by Chance the Rapper, sold about 16,000 tickets, with a lineup that also included electronic and hip-hop artists such as Alison Wonderland, Dillon Francis, Rae Sremmurd, and RL Grime. Lynn estimated that the festival’s sponsorship revenue in its early days was only in the tens of thousands of dollars.⁠[2][3][2]

In 2017, Breakaway expanded to three cities, modeling itself as “an EDM- and pop-focused Vans Warped Tour” that brings higher-caliber dance music shows to underserved markets, and subsequently entered cities including Grand Rapids, Charlotte, and Nashville.⁠[3][2]

In 2019, Lynn was named to Pollstar’s annual NextGen list. That same year, Breakaway Ohio booked John Summit on its second stage; he later became a headliner of that stop.⁠[1][1]

In March 2023, Breakaway partnered with the events company All Roads Traveled to launch Spring Break(away), five consecutive weekends of entertainment and immersive events in Mexico.⁠[3]

In May 2023, Breakaway’s two-day festival at zMAX Dragway in Charlotte sold out, with about 20,000 attendees each day and a lineup headlined by Illenium, Tiësto, Deadmau5, and Zedd.⁠[4]

On June 14, 2023, Breakaway announced a $6 million Series A round led by RSE Ventures, the private investment firm co-founded by Matt Higgins, with participation from Marshall Sandman’s Animal Capital, Honey founder George Ruan, then–New York RangersNew York RangersThe New York Rangers are a professional ice hockey team based in New York City. They compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) and play at Madison Square Garden in Manhattan.Open the full entry captain Jacob Trouba, Splice co-founder Steve Martocci, Human Ventures, Bustle Digital Group, and Gross Labs. Lynn said the funds would mainly be used to enter more markets and expand the team.⁠[3][3][3][3][4][4]

At the time, the company was headquartered in Columbus and had opened an office in Los Angeles; the 2023 festival ran in seven cities, including Kansas City, Grand Rapids, Columbus, San Francisco, and, for the first time, Boston, with the San Francisco edition produced in partnership with Another Planet Entertainment. Lynn said the long-term goal was to hold 20 stops nationwide.⁠[4][3][4][4][3][4]

In 2025, Breakaway held festivals in 12 markets with a daily capacity of about 15,000, adding new markets including Minneapolis and Tampa; the company had more than 40 full-time employees, launched the record label Breakaway Projects and an artist management business, and had the energy drink brand Celsius as its title sponsor. That year it also held dozens of ticketed Breakaway Presents shows, a multi-day run of events at the Wynn in Las Vegas, and private events such as McDonald’sMcDonald’sMcDonald’s is a publicly traded restaurant company headquartered in Chicago, known for hamburgers, fries, drive-thrus and its franchise network. Its origins lie in the restaurant opened by Richard and Maurice McDonald in 1940; Ray Kroc expanded franchising from 1955. It operates across more than 100 countries, with the great majority of restaurants run by independent operators.Open the full entry birthday party for its mascot Grimace. Total attendance for the year exceeded 300,000. In an August 2025 interview, Lynn recalled that before reaching this point the company had failed several times, at one point came close to bankruptcy, and had paid salaries with credit cards.⁠[1][1][1][1][1][2][1]

On October 8, 2025, Breakaway announced that Neff Headwear founder Shaun NeffShaun NeffShaun Neff is an American entrepreneur who in 2002 founded Neff Headwear, a headwear and apparel brand aimed at skiing, skateboarding, and other action sports communities, and later co-founded the celebrity brand incubator Beach House Group with PJ Brice. He is also a member of the ownership groups of X Games, Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC), and the music festival company Breakaway.Open the full entry and Gross Labs founder Nick Gross had joined its ownership group to support the festival’s national expansion and develop new businesses in music, media, and lifestyle. Co-founder and CEO Lynn said the two shared the company’s strategic direction of going “beyond live events”; Neff said the goal was to deliberately expand the national platform Breakaway had built.⁠[5][5][5][5][5][5][5]

In 2026, Breakaway held festivals in 12 cities, including Dallas, Tampa, Grand Rapids, and Worcester, Massachusetts, with headliners including Marshmello, Kygo, Tiësto, Fisher, Disclosure, and John Summit. The company offered college students tickets starting at about $40 per day; Ruben said about 60% to 70% of attendees lived within about 60 miles of the venue and did not need to pay for flights or hotels.⁠[2][2][2][2]

Lynn said sponsorship revenue had grown nearly 20-fold since bringing in title partner Celsius. According to CB Insights data, as of March 2026 Breakaway had raised nearly $50 million in total across several funding rounds.⁠[2][2]

Breakaway describes itself as a national touring music festival that brings globally known artists to regional cities, with affordable tickets, community engagement, and waste reduction and recycling as operating principles. As of October 2026, its brands include Breakaway Group, Breakaway Presents, Breakaway Projects, and Breakaway 360; 2026 season stops include Michigan, Mass, Philadelphia, Carolina, Utah, and Houston, while Breakaway Presents also holds events such as Haunted Fest in cities including Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, and early-bird tickets for the 2027 season are already on sale.⁠[6][6][6][6][7][6][6][7]

Breakaway Music Festival: Official website: https://breakawayfestival.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[7]

X: Public account: https://x.com/BreakawayFest (opens in a new window)⁠[7]

LinkedInLinkedInLinkedIn is a social networking platform for professionals. It was founded in 2002 by Reid Hoffman and others, launched in 2003, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2011; after Microsoft acquired it for approximately $26.2 billion in 2016, it became a wholly owned Microsoft subsidiary. Its revenue comes from membership subscriptions, advertising, and recruitment solutions.Open the full entry: Public account: https://www.linkedin.com/company/breakaway-music-festival/ (opens in a new window)⁠[7]

YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry: Public account: https://www.youtube.com/user/PrimeSocialGroup (opens in a new window)⁠[7]