Week in Review - 16 January 2014

Spain

As I write this week's edition I am sitting on the Veranda of my lovely hotel room in Spain enjoying the afterglow of my first gig of the year at Le Cabaret just outside of Moraira. Through the wonder that is Google I was contacted by this venue that did a search for a Diana Ross Tribute and here I am having a mini-break because honestly, this hasn't at all felt like work! I flew to Alicante very early Saturday morning (I was up with the chickens) and on Saturday night entertained a room full of British ex-pats at this fabulous revamped venue run by Mike Lee and Valerie Sheehy! I have been given the 'star' treatment, which I could easily get used to! Every detail of this booking has been seen too with the utmost care and I am enjoying the glorious sunshine before I had back to England tonight.

I performed my Diana Ross Tribute Show along with my Disco Divas show and every available floor space in the venue was turned into a dance floor. The highlight for me was when I was singing Amy Winehouse's 'Valerie' and a gaggle of ladies started screaming and headed to the dance floor. They were so raccous that I finally had to ask what they had them so worked up, and it turned out that one of he ladies was called 'Valerie' and she was dancing up a storm! So I grabbed her and we had a little boogie together! After the show Valerie pulled me to the side and told me that she was a cancer survivor and that was the first time in 18 months that she felt strong enough to get up and dance. Then she hugged me and thanked me profusely for giving her the opportunity to dance because she used to be a dancer. It is these types of moments that make what I do a sheer joy! 

What a way to start the year and if the rest of my shows go half as good as this one, I am in for a fantastic year of performing! We've already discussed having me back again, as well as some of GME's acts! I'll keep you posted as these shows develop!

In other news, on Monday I attended the first Cultural Partnership meeting of the year which is a work stream within Shaping Portsmouth, and is made up of business leaders and individuals involved in the arts in the Portsmouth area who play a vital role in cultivating a strong cultural image for the city. Since Portsmouth is my adopted city, and is s rich soil in which to grow GME, I want to do my part in giving back to my local community and the Cultural Partnership work stream affords me many opportunities to get involved, not just in areas of music but in the arts as a whole.

On Thursday, Dominic Elton of Mayfield Studios and I met with the organizers of Victorious Vintage to discuss ways that the studio can get involved with this year's festival! Victorious is a massive event for Portsmouth and Mayfield Studios and GME are looking forward to supporting this event. Watch this space for more details.

The rest of the week was spent organizing the entertainment for weddings and private events as well as putting the final touches on the brand new GME website that will be launching in the next few weeks!

What are you celebrating this year? Getting married, a milestone birthday, an anniversary? Or maybe you don't need a reason to celebrate, you just want to? Call me to discuss adding a bit of sparkle to your next event with one of our quality Acts. We provide solo performers up to 8-piece bands covering all genres of music from the 30's through today including star quality Tribute Acts. My new office number is 02392 894902, or you can email me at gloria@gloriamillermusic.com.

That's it for now. Have a great week!