The annual Y2K International Live Looping Festival, was begun in 2001 by Rick Walker, himself a found sound/live looping artist. It is the first international live looping festival and longest running one in history. We are a non-profit organization registered as “Y2K International Live Looping Festival”. After a 20 year professional career as a drummer/percussionist, Rick had begun the found sound/live looping portion of his career in 1995 when the Lexicon Jamman was first released to the public in a live looping trio called ‘Third Wave’ with fellow loopers, Gary Regina and Bill Walker (Rick’s brother). The original festival was preceded in 2000 by a series of small local looping festivals but in 2001, Rick decided to put on a Bass Looping Festival as an excuse to showcase London solo bassist, Steve Lawson. Along with famed bassist Michael Manring, several other live looping bassists and several hundred audience members filled the brand new Rio Theater for a free concert. This festival was followed by a 2nd Bass Looping Festival which was the beginning of the Y2K Festival the next year. From the Y2K2 International Live Looping Festival until the present day, the festival has grown and grown, bringing as many as 70 artists from 17 countries in 6 days in 5 cities in Northern California a year. Hundreds of live looping artists have come to the festival from 20 different countries and the festival itself has inspired other live looping festivals in over 20 countries around the world. Originally, The festival drew from the community that congregated on the daily mailing digest of Kim Flint’s website, www.loopersdelight.com.