Artist of the Month - Everyday Sunshine

This dynamic duo gives you a big-band sound, in an affordable two-person act and are in great demand for Weddings, Venues, Corporate and Private Events and Festivals!  

Choosing a band for your special occasion can be difficult so Everyday Sunshine purposely set out to make it easy for you by tailor making each set to your specific environment and audience.

After playing together over a 25 year period, and having success on TV, radio and touring across Europe, Ed and Paul have the experience and know-how to provide the ultimate in musical entertainment.

Everyday Sunshine have painstakingly created and produced each song to make them sound like nothing you've ever heard before and to give that "full band" experience from an exciting and energetic duo. They provide entertainment of the highest standard with one goal in mind - to make everyone, from every generation, get up and dance, and most importantly leave with a smile.

Whether you want a set of up-to-date hits or classic party tunes we are confident that Everyday Sunshine have the songs to ensure that your event will never be forgotten. They can put on a show in any type or size venue. Between performances they can also provide recorded music for a full night's entertainment.

Call Gloria Miller Entertainment today on 02392 280829 to book them for your next event.

Week in Review - 26 September 2014

Craig Charles

I usually start my weekly review with the beginning of the week, but in this edition I'm going to start with the weekend.

On Friday my originals band Mayfield did a show with the much celebrated Craig Charles at The Cellar in Southampton, and what an amazing night we had performing in a sold-out venue to a room full of Soul & Funk enthusiasts and sharing the stage with the most amazing DJ I have experienced since living in the UK! Mayfield performed a 1-hour set of our most Soulful, Funky tunes and the audience was with us from start to finish. At one point, I scanned the entire crowd that stretched right to the back of the venue, and each person was bouncing, dancing and grooving to our tunes. That was the most fabulous feeling! Many of our Portsmouth fans joined us in Southampton and we made many new fans who bought CDs and Vinyls after we finished. The hi-light of the evening for me was when Mr. Charles held up our album and the crowd erupted into thunderous applause. That was well cool!

Now, my plan was to stay for about 20 minutes of Craig's set because this is a 3-gig weekend for me and the mounting years means I need my rest ... LOL! Well, before I knew it I was drenched in sweat, dancing like a teenager at a rave, and more than an hour had past. I finally made the very tough decision to get my old bag of bones home and to bed. What a night!

Move On Up

As I write this, it's Saturday night and I just finished a sound check with my covers band, Move On Up, and will be heading back to Southwick Park Golf Club for a private event. Since we finished the sound check at 7:30pm and I live just 15 minutes from the venue, I decided to come home and do a bit of work :). On Sunday, it's up to London with Move On Up to perform songs from my CD, Let Go, at Pizza Express Jazz Club in Soho! I am deliciously tired, but looking forward to rockin' it tonight and tomorrow.

The earlier part of the week was all about photo shoots. On Tuesday, I drove to Somerset for a 12-hour power shoot with my latest venture, The Midnight Soul Sisters. Within MSS are several tribute acts, including Diana Ross (me), Tina Turner, The Supremes, The Ronettes, Beyonce, Whitney Houston and The Three Degrees. During the shoot there were many wig and costume changes, and much laughter and fun as we transformed ourselves into these great performers. My favourite wig of the day was the giant Afro I got to sport during The Three Degrees shoot. There is something very powerful about the Afro ... as soon as I got that thing on my hands went to my hips, my head tilted to the side, and I was dripping attitude ... LOL! Yeah, I was feeling that Afro! I'll post some of the pics once they're done.

Me as Tina Turner

On Thursday, I had two photo shoots, one for my new Tina Turner Tribute show in the morning, and then later for the four ladies of the Cathedral Innovation Center who have been nominated for a Venus Award. We're going to be featured in The News Porstmouth this week as we lead up to the Venus Awards Ceremony on the 1st of October. Hopefully, in next week's edition I'll be announcing that I am a Venus Award winner ... fingers crossed!

The rest of my week was basically prepping for photo shoots and gigs, while trying to fit in the daily running of GME. I had a little breather the beginning of September to recover from a very busy summer, but now it seems that I'm back to the grind through the end of the year. To be honest, I wouldn't have it any other way!

That's it for now ... I've got to get back to my gig.

Week In Review - 12 September 2014

As I'm just completing my second year of running GME, I am starting to see a pattern developing for my busy season, definitely the summer, and my breathing season, September & January. This works great with my companies' year because I like to use the first month of my business year, September, for planning. That's exactly what this week has been about ... Setting my annual, quarterly and monthly goals, and laying out a plan for how to reach those goals. 

Red Embers, GME Act

I want this year to be more focused on the acts I represent and the clients who book them. This area was a little bit neglected last year as I focused on several large events. This year I aim to strike a much better balance between these two vital areas of my business.

On Wednesday, I attended a Marketing Strategy Workshop at the Innovation Space in Portsmouth. The workshop was led by Lizz Clarke of LCM, who I work with in the Business & Enterprise work stream of Shaping Portsmouth. As I go into my third year, I realize that if I want to grow my performer and client base, I need to develop a solid marketing strategy. The tips Lizz shared has given me the tools to begin this process. All of us who attended this workshop seemed to be unclear of what 'marketing' actually is. Before this workshop, I wasn't clear on the differences, if any, between marketing, advertising & PR. Here's my take on Lizz's definition of marketing:

Lizz Clarke, LCM

'Marketing involves tactics that drive revenue. Those tactics include: advertising, PR, sales, social media, promotions, networking, etc.' 

As I build GME's marketing strategy for 2015 I have to look at all these areas with the aim of driving revenue. That's a lot to think about, but vitally important to the growth of the business. I encourage you to develop your own marketing strategy, and find ways to make yourself more marketable, no matter what you do in life. For businesses, contacting Lizz Clarke is a great way to start this process.

Also on Wednesday, my originals band Mayfield had an amazing rehearsal in our very own recording studio! The studio is still being built, but our last few rehearsals have been in this awesome space, and the recording room is sounding great! We should be fully up and running by early 2015. 

On Saturday we are  recording a demo at River Studios in Southampton to have a trial run on one of the mixing boards that we are considering for Mayfield Studios. We will be releasing our second album in late 2015 and have already written several new songs for the project. The demo will be of our newest song, Ready, Set, Go! which we will be recording over the next couple weeks. Watch this space for your sneak listen to this track. We may even offer it as a free download! Stay tuned to find out.

In addition to preparing to go into the studio to record the demo, we are also getting ready for a couple big shows happening this month:

20 Sep - The Jolly Sailor, Southsea - Rowan's Charity Event w/SoulTime DJ Martin Jackson (free entry)

26 Sep - The Cellars, Southampton - Supporting Soul & Funk DJ Craig Charles of BBC Radio 6 (sold out)

If you can't wait for the sneak listen to 'Ready, Set, Go!' then come see Mayfield at The Jolly Sailor where we'll be debuting this new song! Can't wait to hear what you think of this new tune!

I've got a full day on Sunday, starting with judging the OpenMic UK auditions at Ferneham Hall in Fareham in the afternoon, then I'll be heading to The Pyramids in Southsea where I'm exhibiting and performing Supremely, Diana Ross at a wedding show. Getting married? Then join me at The Portsmouth Wedding Show on Sunday!

Finally, I am performing my own songs from my solo release, Let Go, backed by my covers band, Move On Up! We will be supporting Alt3r Ego at Pizza Express Jazz Club in Soho, London on the 28th of September from 12:00 noon. Tickets are £15, but if you order your tickets in advance quoting 'Yemen7' the tickets are just £10. Click here to purchase your tickets!

Well, that's it for now. Have a fabulous weekend!

Week in Review - 5 September 2014

I am still unwinding from a very busy summer, and it actually feels weird having a bit of down time. September is my planning and goal setting month, so this week I've been thinking about areas in which I'd like to see growth. Of course, the obvious is book more gigs for my acts, but within the 'more gigs' I am also looking at the quality of those gigs. I currently have some great acts and over the course of this month will be adding a few more to my books. The challenge is now pairing these great acts with the types of bookings that regard the level of talent and professionalism my acts bring to their performances. I think a great way to meet this challenge is by connecting with local businesses and venues as well as branching out to other markets across the UK. This week I made some great connections through an organization that I recently joined, Shaping Portsmouth, when I attended my first meeting with the Cultural Partnership work stream on Monday.

It was great being in the room with the people who drive culture in our area, and I was amazed by the number of fantastic programs being offered ranging from opportunities to partner with Portsmouth University, to the Making Waves Film Festival happening 22-28 September, to a program I want to get involved with, Get Into Music. This program targets 14-24 year olds and works with local schools, colleges, universities, local business, venues, promoters and music industry professionals. Get Into Music aims to make young people aware of the opportunities available to them within the music industry, predominantly offstage opportunities.

Andy Grays of Portsmouth Cultural Trust invited me to attend a meeting held at the Guildhall on Wednesday to discuss Get Into Music, and I was also given a copy of their development plan. I am really looking forward to supporting this program. I will keep you updated on my involvement with their upcoming events.

I've been working from home since I started GME two years ago, and one year ago I was taken under the wings of the Cathedral Innovation Center in Portsmouth, which allowed me the use of office space a few days a week. As I go into year three of the business I thought I might want to secure a permanent office space outside of my home, and this week I viewed several small offices ranging from large office complexes, to small industrial estates and sadly, all out of my price range. I also emailed Francis Davis, of CIC informing him that I was looking for permanent space, and today I had a lovely chat with him. I am thrilled to announce that Francis has offered me several options to choose from for a full-time office space and each at a rental rate I can afford. So, in October, I will be moving into my own office. More details to follow ...

The Wine Vaults in Southsea is a venue I book acts in on a regular basis, and last night my band, Move On Up performed to a packed house, and enthusiastic crowd! Our sets were a unique blend of Jazz, Soul, Blues and a bit of Classic Rock covers and the audience really showed their appreciation for this eclectic mix of genres by singing and dancing along. What a great night!

Tonight, I am return to The Jolly Sailor to judge the first of two semi-finals of Southsea's Got Talent. This is going to be a terribly difficult night because we have put through some amazing performers from the individual heats that have been going on monthly since March. Tonight me and my fellow judges, Ross McInally, Landlord of Jolly Sailor and Cheryl Buggy of Express FM will be battling it out to determine who goes through to the Final and will be a step closer to claiming the £1,000 Grand Prize!

I have a rare weekend off this week, but the hubs has already assigned me some household duties. So, for the next two days I'll be 'fall' cleaning and organizing. Oh how I wish I had a couple gigs ... LOL!

GME is now accepting bookings for 2015. Get in touch to discuss the entertainment your special events for next year. Call me at 07504 611 173 or click here to request a quote for your next event.

That's it for now ... have a great weekend!

Week In Review - 25 July 2014

Mostly this week has been about prepping for a very busy summer of gigs and events. In order to help keep myself organized and on top of getting ready for shows, running the day-to-day business operations and the constant battle of learning new material, I decided to attend a workshop on Time Management (which I was late getting to by the way ... LOL)! On Tuesday, I headed to Chichester to attend 'Time Management & Focus' run by Cara Moore and most of what was shared I already knew, but wasn't exactly implementing. But, the biggest thing I walked away with was finding out what my 'golden hours' are during the day and tackling my biggest projects during this time. The golden hours are the time of day when you're most focused. Cara encouraged us to protect these hours and not squander them away on the things that don't necessarily build the business. She even suggested not scheduling meetings during the golden hours, as they can be time killers. 

Cara Moore, Executive Coach

I identified my golden hours as 1-3pm. That's the beginning of my work day and when I feel most ready to tackle the day. Before attending this workshop I was using this time on operational tasks (emails, social networking, scheduling, etc.) and not on the activities that build my business (new business research, developing new clients, servicing existing clients, newsletter, etc.). I immediately implemented refocusing the tasks I work on during my golden hours and just like that revolutionized my work week. More of my quality time is now directed to building my business with the every day tasks still getting done, but in a more efficient way. 

We were also encourage to delegate the tasks that can potentially steal those precious golden hours. I'm now identifying tasks that can be outsourced to a Virtual Assistant. I tried using a VA before when I first started my business, but I wasn't quite ready to let go of the reigns in certain areas. Now that my business has grown and therefore the demands of running the business have grown, I'm willing to try using the services of a VA again. I'll let you know how I get on with delegating. I'm scared, but willing ...

Last night I had a lovely mid-week gig at the Portsmouth Guildhall Cafe performing as part of their Summer Sessions with my Duo. A special shoutout to Nathalie Gunn who booked me and John Sackett of Big Adventures who organized the event. The evening was called 'Alfresco Thursdays' and it was indeed a lovely evening to perform outside. We had a lovely crowd who were singing along, even on my original song 'Because of Your Love.' I also ran a little contest during 'Ain't No Sunshine' which the crowd eagerly participated in. You know that part of the song that goes ... 'I know, I know, I know ...?' I promised the first person to accurately call out how many times I actually sang that phrase a free CD. So I sang it 18 times, really, I'm not kidding, and ended up with several people nailing the answer. So I gave out about 5 CDs and then a random lady who was just walking by the cafe at the time got a free CD too! What can I say, I'm easy. Please don't let that get around :)!

These Summer Sessions will continue through the end of August. Do support this new venture be spreading the word and coming down to the Guildhall Cafe to enjoy the lovely atmosphere of live music ... alfresco style!

Lastly, in preparation for the upcoming Southsea Show on the 1st-3rd of August, I had rehearsals with my covers band, Move On Up on Tuesday and my originals band, Mayfield on Thursday who will both be performing during this 3-day event. Supremely, Diana Ross is also making an appearance. It would be great to see you at this event. If you do come, please be sure to say hello!

Well, that's it for this week ... have an amazing weekend!

Week In Review - 27 June 2014!

It's Foodies Festival time again and I am finalizing the performers for the Bristol event that is quickly approaching on 11, 12 & 13th of July. Despite cancellations and schedule juggling, the list of performers and the developing running order are quite impressive. I've managed to book several new acts for this location including Kick In The Crochet (yes, that's really their name), Bashema, and Elles Bailey! Some favourites from Brighton & Clapham will be returning, and I can't wait to introduce Bristol to Half Crown, Jipsy Magic & RemedySounds.

Mayfield @ IOW Festival

I promised some photos from my band Mayfield's performance at The Isle of Wight Festival. Here's one from backstage. I'm still waiting on more pics to come. We are now gearing up for our next show at The Cellar in Southampton. The event is being hosted by the Soul 45 DJs and we'll be sharing the stage with the legendary Craig Charles. If you will be in the Southampton area on Friday, 26 September, please come to the show. We'll be performing selections from our current CD, Tempo of Your Soul, and we are working on new songs as well, two of which we debuted on The Hipshaker Stage at the IOW Fest. Another new song is in the works, and we hope to have it ready by the 26th! Click here for ticket info.

This has been a busy week of organizing some private & repeat bookings for some of my acts. I also received some lovely feedback from the private birthday party I performed by Diana Ross Tribute at last week. 

"Gloria's [Supremely, Diana Ross] performance and preparation contacts beforehand were brilliant. We all enjoyed her amazing performance at Tony’s birthday party on Saturday, especially in the heat when she had to wear a Diana wig! The feedback from our guests was amazing, and they wanted to know where I had met her. I think if it hadn’t been such a hot day, more of us would have been up on the floor. I certainly was, as were some of our family, including some of our granddaughters, with whom Gloria very graciously shared the limelight! How can you not dance when she sings?

It helped to make Tony's birthday, unforgettable and he loves Diana even more now."

Joyce Seaman
June 21, 2014, Botley Community Centre, Hedge End

Joyce also gave me and the agency a 5-star rating on our client feedback form. 

I guess that's it for this edition ... have a fabulous weekend!

Weeks In Review - 6 June & 13 June 2014

FranClassic
Foodies Festival - Clapham

Apologies for not getting my 6 June Week In Review out to you. I usually write this blog on the Friday, but last Friday was Day 1 of Foodies Festival Clapham and I jumped right into the deep end of this 3-day event and didn't come up for air until Sunday night! The entire week was really devoted to sorting out all the last minute details for the event. We were so lucky with the weather over the 3-days and had huge crowds at the Entertainment Stage throughout each day. 

On 5 June I went to an early morning BNI networking meeting at the Hilton in Farlington where I gave a 1-minute presentation about GME. BNI is a worldwide network who are looking to launch a Portsmouth area chapter. I was invited back this week, but 6:45am is a bit too early for me, especially since I'm still recovering from Foodies :). Later on the 5th Dominic Elton (Mayfield band leader) and I met with Jeff Powell of Groovefinders to discuss Mayfield Studios, which are in the process of being built. We also discussed songwriting for our next album and development ideas as we take Mayfield to the next level as a band. 

Jerry Williams
Foodies Festival - Clapham

Jeff is a visionary manager who works with several emerging artist, including the very talented Jerry Williams who I booked to perform at Foodies Clapham. She was delightful by the way! There is mutual interest between Jeff and Mayfield to work together and I'm excited to see how things unfold in the coming months.

Even later on the 5th, I was at The Jolly Sailor judging Southsea's Got Talent! It was a very early start and long day, but no matter how tired I may feel when I get to SSGT, I am always energized and amazed by all the untapped talent in the Portsmouth area. This night was no exception. Each contestant was at the top of their game, and sadly only 3 were able to be put through to the next level! That was a hard decision to make!

Now we come to this week ...

Supremely, Diana Ross

On Monday, I had to drag my very tired self out of bed for a meeting at a venue where I'm booked to perform Supremely, Diana Ross for a birthday party. I am triple booked on this date, 21st of June,  so I need to check out the venue ahead to make sure I know how to get there and to see what equipment I will need to bring. I will be on such a tight schedule on this date, so there's very little room for errors like ... getting lost!

Wednesday I had my 1st full vocal coaching session with my new student, Nicola. I am helping her prepare set lists, find the right songs for her voice and music business coaching in addition to helping her fine tune her vocals. We had a great session and I am always thrilled when I see a student learning and growing. I recorded most of our session and played it back to Nicola. She struggled to listen to herself, but doing that helped us identify things she needs to work on, and the songs later in the session were already showing a marked improvement. I'll be seeing her again in a few weeks. 

If you are someone you know is looking for a vocal/music business coach, do get in touch to set up a free consultation.

Move On Up!

Thursday, I was with my band, Move On Up at The Wine Vaults and we had a fantastic night! We were worried that we would have a small crowd due to so many events happening at the same time including camper's night at the Isle of Wight Festival, and the opening night of the World Cup. However, we had a great crowd who were already on the dance floor by the third song of the first set ... this is very rare! By the end of the second set, the place was packed to the rafters and the punters were screaming for more ... even after our second encore! Sadly, we were out of energy and out of songs so we left the crowd wanting more, which is not a bad thing!

Speaking of Isle of Wight festival ... Mayfield are gearing up to make our debut at this great festival on the Hipshaker Stage on Saturday starting at 9pm! We had our final rehearsal prepping for the gig on Tuesday and the set is sounding very tight. We'll be dropping some new songs from our next release, and Amy and I will be donning new dresses that she designed and created! I'll have loads of pics to share with you next week.

Gloria Miller Duo

Finally, tonight I'm rehearsing with my Duo partner, Dennis Elvie as we prepare for our next gig which is the first of the three gigs I've got booked on the 21st of June. We will be doing Jazz & Blues originals and covers at The Spring in Havant! 

I've got one hour to prep for rehearsal, so that's it for now! Have a fabulous weekend!

Week in Review - 23 May 2014

Okay, so I've just got TiVO in my house and it has been terribly difficult to pull myself away from it to get some work done this week ... LOL!  I feel strangely obligated to watch the shows it recommends and there have been some weird ones ... 'Grimm' ... really? 

Besides being glued to my telly, this week has been about paying the man ... yes, it's tax filing time! Through the beauty of networking I have found a fantastic accountant, Lee Scott of Addo Accounting, and he has been amazing at hand-holding me through the process. I barely understood US tax laws, and the British ones might as well be in Japanese! My record keeping is okay, but Lee still had his work cut out for him to get me ready to file, but he's done it and we're ready!! 

I'm starting to get inquiries for New Year's Eve entertainment, and really, this is the time to start booking if you want the best entertainment possible for your venue or event! Here at Gloria Miller Entertainment we've got some fantastic party bands, solo, duo and tribute acts so contact me today if you are in Hampshire, Dorset, Devon, Somerset, Wiltshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire, Surrey, Kent, Sussex or London! Check out some of our Party Bands and get in touch to book your New Year's Eve entertainment!

Glo's Music for the Soul Radio Show aired last week Sunday, and I had a listen to it this morning and got my dance on a few times. This is Vol. 3, the 'Foodies Festival' edition featuring some of the amazing acts I've booked on these events throughout the summer! For those of you who can't make the Foodies events, or live outside the UK, this is a great chance for your to experience what the entertainment at the events is like!

The producers of my show, One World Radio, said that the show rated quite well when it went live on Sunday and I hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed putting this one together. WARNING:  The show is quite eclectic and will make you want to dance ... more than once! Enjoy ...

This week has been amazing for booking some great shows for my acts. And I am thrilled to announce that Supremely, Diana Ross and Move On Up party band will be appearing this summer at the Southsea Show! I performed at this event last year with The Fliks, and I'm thrilled to be returning this year. More details to come ...

Well, that's it for this week ... time to get ready for the first of two Supremely, Diana Ross Tribute Shows that I'm performing this weekend. I need to channel my inner Diva for this!

There she is ... :) Have a fabulous weekend!

Week in Review - 9 May 2014

FranClassic

Foodies Festival Brighton was this past weekend and the combination of great weather, great food and amazing entertainers created a magical three days that I am still recovering from!  We had 18 amazing performers on the Entertainment Stage delighting the crowd with a delicious blend of acoustic, folk, Motown, blues, pop and more! Crowd favourites included Elvis, FranClassic, Jipsy Magic, & Dr. Bluegrass and the Illbilly 8 to name a few!

Dr. Bluegrass

The next Foodies Festival event that I host the entertainment for will be 6-8 June at Clapham Common in London with another fantastic line-up of emerging talent from across the UK. The next installment of 'Glo's Music for the Soul' radio show will feature several of the bands who performed at Brighton. The show will air later this month, but watch this space for a sneak listen!

A special shout out to my sound man Will, and my assistant for the festival, Kayla! They were both amazing during the weekend!!

Later in the year, GME will be exhibiting at the Portsmouth Wedding Show being held on 14 September at The Pyramids in Southsea. On Friday, I had a fantastic meeting with Ric, the organizer of this show and we have agreed that Supremely, Diana Ross will be making an appearance and we've got some fantastic surprises planned for those attending.

I have been added as a last minute judge for the Area Final of Teen Star being held in Fareham on Saturday! I will be judging three age categories, Pre-Teen, Mid-Teen, and Late-Teen with the winner of each category being put through to the Grand Final being held at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham on Saturday, 19th of July! I am so happy to have been asked to be a part of this great competition and I am looking forward to discovering some amazing new talent!!

Week In Review - 11 April 2014

For as long as I can remember, I have always been quite goal oriented and this year I set four goals for GME. One of those goals was to develop two new shows ... 'I'll Be Seeing You,' a wartime show and 'Totally Tina Turner,' a tribute show to the rock & roll legend.  On Easter Sunday, I'll be debuting I'll Be Seeing You at the Hayling Island Sailing Club, and on the 4th of July, I'll be performing Totally Tina Turner alongside Supremely, Diana Ross at The Exchange in Bournemouth!

Andrew Sisters

So, this week has been all about fine tuning the wartime show and I have sooooooo enjoyed researching the songs from WWI & WWII and I'm finding that I love the purity of the vocals on these songs. The Andrews Sisters' musicianship is beyond words with their intricate harmonies and pitch perfect vocals on such delights as 'Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy' and 'Chattanooga Choo Choo'! Vera Lynn seems to have captured the hearts of the entire country with her heartfelt vocals on 'Bless 'Em All' and 'We'll Meet Again' among many other WWII favourites.

The real fun was in finding WWI songs like 'Pack Up Your Troubles in Your Old Kit Bag' and 'It's A Long Way to Tipperary'!  I've included a few of the videos I used for research in choosing the set list for 'I'll Be Seeing You' in this week's newsletter. I hope you enjoy them as much as I have.

On Tuesday, I had a meeting with Martin Bargent, the Director of Brown Sugar Events to discuss working together on future projects. Their next event is 'The All Woman Show' being held on the 22nd of June at the Mountbatten Leisure Centre in Portsmouth. Having met Martin at the launch of the Portsmouth Venus Awards reinforces how important networking is in business. 

Next week I am having a mini-holiday with Neal at our place in Spain, but I will have to do some work finalizing the entertainment for Foodies Festival, Clapham Common. I've still got a few slots to fill for Clapham and I'm looking for solo performers, duos and bands who perform folk, soul, pop and/or Jazz. Please contact me if you're interested in performing for any of the Foodies events.

Neal & Me

Click here to view final running order for the Brighton event being held on 3, 4, & 6th of May. The Clapham Common event is the 6, 7, & 8th of June. 

That's it for this week. Have a fantastic weekend!

Week in Review - 4 April 2014

This week has been about finalizing the entertainment line-up for the first of the five Foodies Festivals for which GME is managing the entertainment stage.  The Brighton event is just short of a month a way on 3-5 May, and I am so excited to bring this line-up to the very enthusiastic Brighton crowd! Here's a preview of who will be performing:

Kyle Parry
Jipsy Magic
Beth Oliver Band

I will publish the full running order next week. Tickets are available at the Foodies Festival website. Stop by and say hello at the entertainment stage!

Last night's heat of Southsea's Got Talent unleashed some fantastic talent!  Every month's competition is full of surprises, and this time was no exception. Among those who took to the stage at The Jolly Sailor we had a David Bowie Tribute, Opera Singer, Diva and a 16 year old who sang with soul and passion way beyond his years. It was also a pleasure to share the judges table with Lulu from Love Southsea, Cheryl Buggy Express FM and Si Genaro who appeared on Britain's The Voice!  Si also performed a fantastic set during the intermission and from the first note, it was evident why he made it as far as he did on the show. He will be appearing in this Saturday's episode of The Voice ... be sure to check him out!

Tomorrow night I will be stepping into the persona of Diana Ross for a fun-filled party night at The Piranha Bar. I'll be starting with Supremely, Diana Ross and finishing up with a party set of party favourites from the 60's through today!  It's gonna be a good night!!

Well, that's it for this edition. Have a groovy weekend!!

Week in Review - 28 March 2014

It's weeks like this one that make me so happy I've started my own business. It's been an incredibly exhausting and rewarding week so let's get into it!!

On Tuesday I had a lovely meeting with Steve & Chrissie of One World Radio to put the finishing touches on my next radio show, and I'm happy to announce that Glo's Music for the Soul Vol. 2 will be airing on Saturday, 5th of April at 7pm! I'm quite excited about this show and I'm looking forward to hearing your thoughts once it airs. In the mean time, click here to listen to my debut show that aired on Valentine's Day. You will be able to use this same link to listen to Vol. 2. Please let me know what you think about the shows. I would appreciate your feedback, suggestions and tips on how to make the show better.

Visit Their Website

Wednesday I went to a fantastic joint networking event held by the Hampshire & Dorset Chambers at Careys Manor & Hotel which is a delightful hotel and spa in the New Forest. Wow, what an impressive establishment run masterfully by their staff! We were given 5-star treatment starting with lovely, tropical pre-lunch drinks, followed by a delicious 3-course lunch! Careys provided a great atmosphere for networking and I connected with some fantastic people including Claire Oldham, a manager at Careys who gave us a delightful tour of the spa facilities. I was ready to book a spa day then and there!  I also met Carolyn Freeman of Revelation Marketing who spoke so passionately about marketing to people who are 50+. It was quite the 'revelation' speaking with her and I look forward to meeting up to discuss reaching this virtually untapped demographic.  It was also fantastic meeting Wendy Savage of Marie Curie. She was such fun and sat next to me during lunch. I am looking to partner with her on community fundraising events for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight. 

Visit Their Website

I'm always surprised by the generosity of people at these networking events and how eager they are to help you connect with other people.  Carolyn made sure I met Jo Legg of Global Radio who run several radio stations. And then Jo made sure I met Kim Clayton, with Dorset Chamber. The more I run GME, I'm realizing that doing business is all about developing relationships with the people first and then through those relationships finding mutual ways to benefit each other in business.

With Tara Howard

My Wednesday didn't end there, later that night I went to the launch event of the Portsmouth Venus Awards. The Venus Awards acknowledges the achievement of women in business, and I had the pleasure of meeting the very enthusiastic founder, Tara Howard. It's so great to be a part of something when it's first starting, and you could sense the excitement in the room as several of the sponsors of this event spoke about why they were bringing the awards to the Portsmouth area. I am happy to announce that GME will be sponsoring the entertainment for the Portsmouth Venus Awards Ceremony being held at the Portsmouth Marriott on the 1st October, 2014.

If you know a woman in business who you feel deserves a bit of recognition, please do nominate her. Click here to find out more about the Portsmouth Venus Awards and place your nomination!

Thursday morning I attended a 'Coaching Skills Taster' at the Langstone Hotel on Hayling Island being run by Jane Child of JCA Learning. I am thinking about doing some coaching for people in or who want to be in the music business, and attending this taster gave me a great opportunity to see if coaching would be something I would indeed pursue. I absolutely loved the taster. I even got to do a 'mock' coaching session ... I was a bit rubbish, but also invigorated by the whole process. I am definitely going to pursue getting my qualification to coach, so watch this space!!

Because I am just a performer at heart, the highlight of the week was performing 'Supremely, Diana Ross' at the 'Spring Into Action' event put on by the very talented Nathalie Gunn and held at the Wedgewood Rooms on Thursday night. The evening was a true Variety Show with singing, dancing, magic, burlesque and a contortionist! Just fabulous!! The event was in honor of Nathalie's good friend, the late Kerry Harvey who bravely battled Pancreatic Cancer and the proceeds of this event will benefit those who are still battling this disease. The venue was absolutely packed with people, each thrilled to do their part to support this cause. I'm so glad I could be there too!

Supremely, Diana Ross

What a week! Today I'm recovering a bit before I sit in on vocals with the fantastic band, 'Beau' at the Woodpecker in Waterlooville on Saturday night. My friend, the lovely Chloe Dixon is their regular singer, but due to a bout with laryngitis, she has asked me to cover. I will not do justice to the songs like Chloe can, but I will give it my best shot :)!

I think that's enough for this week ... have a fantastic weekend!