We’ve had Hot Girl Summer and Hot Vax Summer, and now we’re declaring 2023 as simply Girl Summer. Taylor Swift and Beyoncé are breaking records everywhere, and this weekend Barbie joined them. We laughed, we cried, we called our moms… and we’re still in head-to-toe Pantone® 219C.

Seeing Barbie, like blockbuster concert tours, has become a girls’ group bonding experience and feels like what Barbara Ehrenreich calls “collective joy.” Friend groups large and small are embarking on momentous nights out — wearing matching outfits, renting party buses and even getting on airplanes to make a weekend out of a one-night show before carrying those positive vibrations back home. They’re singing, dancing, sparkling and crying together. And taking over the men’s bathrooms. 

Many young girls (and some boys! We see you!) are using these events as opportunities to build stronger connections with their friends — and often their parents as well. They’re shaping popular culture for the better (especially Black teen girls), and their choices tell us something important about friendship, connection and optimism.

Collective joy in action!

The group dynamics of these events — the mix of both harmony and adrenaline — are central to their appeal. This feels especially powerful as we come out of the pandemic. As we know, young people bore the brunt of lockdown’s mental and emotional toll; friendship and social interactions are so important in children’s development. When else in life could the thrill of scream-singing your favorite song with 40,000 other fans or being just one body in a pink-hued crowd feel so damned poignant?

The power of crowds is often discussed in the negative. Crowds can turn into mobs or riots, bring out the worst in people or give us social license to engage in acts we otherwise wouldn’t. But let’s look to the girls of summer to show us the other side — comradery, excitement and, yes, collective joy. And what would Girl Summer be without Girl Dinner? Anyone’s welcome to join us for a spread of hummus, pretzels and watermelon slices.

— Erica & Co.

XP LAND XLIST JURY MEMBER SPOTLIGHT: CHARLIE MELCHER

It’s hard not to be riveted when Charles Melcher speaks. He doesn’t simply tell stories — he weaves them, tucking the sights, sounds, smells and all the feels into the open spaces, creating a tapestry so inviting and tight that you couldn’t escape even if you wanted to. It comes with the territory when you’re the founder and CEO of Future of Storytelling (FoST), a creative studio and global community leveraging technology to craft immersive experiences that not only delight, but seek to improve the world, one gathering at a time.

“Stories are the most powerful form of human communication ever invented,” says Melcher. “I’m hungry for living stories that provide a full-bodied, immersive, participatory, multi-sensory, personalized, and social experience that is so memorable it’s transformative.” From curating the world’s first immersive storytelling festival to helping brands forge emotional connections with their audiences, he’s getting his fill.

Keep reading for our interview with the brilliant mind behind Future of Storytelling — who just happens to be an XP Land XLIST jury member — as we talk origin stories, the importance of engaging all our senses, and what’s next in experiential.

🏜️ Forward to a Slowjamastanian — We smell the next Netflix series brewing. An hour south of Palm Springs, Randy Williams, a radio DJ from San Diego, becomes the self-appointed “sultan” of Slowjamastan: a “micronation” occupying 11 acres of desert. In our minds — the ultimate experiential experiment. Learn more about the “rabbit hole of pretend nation-building” in The Guardian.

Does your company need a vibe team? At Canva’s Australian headquarters, workplace experience, event management and hospitality pros work together to create spaces and experiences that showcase the company’s values and signal to employees that they belong. And it all revolves around lunch.

Before we all move on as a culture, we must acknowledge… Barbenheimer worked. 18.5 million people took part in the 6+ hour double feature. According to The Atlantic, that’s because, “Barbie is very funny and joyous to see with a crowd, and Oppenheimer is visually overwhelming and boosting its sales on large, premium screens…” And to that we say, let the people gather and experience communal storytelling once again. We think Charlie Melcher would agree. 😉

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Today's newsletter was brought to you by Samantha Stallard. Editing by Shannon Barr. Graphics by Greg Hall. Marketing by Anne Woodard. Site management by Nick Lawson. Managing edits by Erica Boeke and Caitie Murphy.