Week in Review - 30 May 2014

Last week I received the news that I've been nominated for a Venus Award for Customer Service and have made it through to the quarter final. I am just under two years being in business and it is quite an honor to have been nominated. My customer service approach is basically the golden rule ... treat others the way I want to be treated, and to be recognized for this feels amazing.  The Venus Awards is a national organization that have just launched a Portsmouth chapter. I am so pleased to be working with this organization and for being nominated in the Portsmouth area premiere year. 

This week's focus in the office has been on sorting out the final details on the next Foodies Festival event being held 6-8 June at Clapham Common in London, as well as finalizing the entertainment lineup for the forthcoming Bristol event 11-13 July. The Clapham lineup is excellent with some new performers to the list as well as a few favourites from the Brighton festival. I'm still filling slots for Bristol, but that lineup is shaping up quite nicely too! If you are in the Clapham Common or Bristol areas during the festival dates, why not join us for what is always a fantastic event, especially if the weather is with us! You can purchase tickets in advance through the Foodies website or on-site at the event. I hope to see you there, and bring the sunshine with you!!

My band Mayfield are in the process of building a recording studio, and the band leader Dominic Elton and I had a fantastic meeting with Gareth Henderson, the founder of River Studios in Totton, Southampton. We toured this amazing facility and discussed consulting with them on fitting out the studio with latest equipment, as well as River Studios providing technical support to help us get up and running. As we are waiting for our studio to be finished, we will be using River Studios to demo some of the new songs we're working on for our second album that will be released sometime in 2015. 

With Tara Howard
Founder of the Venus Awards

Lastly, tonight I will be returning to The Piranha Bar to perform a Motown/Soul Night and to sort out some future bookings for several of my acts. This lovely restaurant was one of my first clients in the early days of GME and have been working with the agency and me for almost two years. The last time I spoke with the owner there, she said how proud she was of me for the growth of GME and she remembered when I only had about five acts that I was booking for. I've got a few more acts and clients now, and possibly this is due to good customer service :)! Do you see how I tied that in to my Venus Award nomination? So sorry, I couldn't help myself. And now I'm gonna be quite cliched in saying ... I don't care if I win, it's just nice to be nominated! LOL!

Okay, I'm done ...

Have a wonderful 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 - 2 May 2014

Guess who's playing the 2014 Isle of Wight Festival?? Mayfield!! It's official. Mayfield will be playing the Hipshaker Lounge on the 14th of June hitting the stage at 9pm! We are so happy to be a part of this event along with so many other fantastic performers. Click here to view the full Hipshaker line-up. 

On Tuesday, we put together a preliminary set list and will be debuting a few new songs as well as performing the Mayfield classics that our fans have come to know and love. 

In recent editions I've spoken a little about the goals I've set for GME this year. In January I went to a 'Visioning Day' hosted by Lisa Sturge who encouraged us to put together vision boards for what we wanted to accomplish in the year. This week I've been looking at those boards and of the 7 boards I created representing my 4 goals for the year, I've fully accomplished one, developing my 'I'll be Seeing You' wartime show, and I'm on track to fulfill the other goals too. Having a visual has made a real difference in remaining focused on what I've set out to accomplish this year by minimizing the distractions that can so easily cause me to get side track. 

On Thursday, I was back at the Jolly Sailor judging Southsea's Got Talent, and I have to say, that was by far the hardest heat to judge. It was great sharing the judges table with Andrew Pearce, aka The Fabulous Miss G, Nicole Geddes of Manic Stage Productions and Cheryl Buggy of Express FM, and we were all agonizing over which three of the nine acts would go through. There was an eclectic mix of genres being represented including Opera, Acoustic, Rock, and even Accapella. 

The first Foodies Festival is happening this weekend in Brighton! The entertainment stage will be the place to hangout all day long because the line-up of performers over this three-day event is outstanding. Now I'm just hoping the weather will be on our side. It's forecast to at least be dry, with possibly a few sightings of the sun! Here's hoping!  If you haven't done so already, follow me on twitter @gloriamillerent for festival updates throughout the weekend including pictures and video clips!

Me & Kayla!

This year I'm getting some much needed help from my God-daughter, Kayla who just finished her first year at Richmond University in London. Yesterday was her last day and I picked her up this morning. I'm looking forward to be her surrogate mom until she heads back to the states sometime in June! She's going to be my assistant for the Brighton and Clapham Common events. For the other three, I guess I'm on my own. Any volunteers??

Well, that's all for now! Have an amazing weekend! 

Week In Review - 18 April 2014

Sunshine, Sangria, Spain!  I am on holiday in sunny Spain and loving every minute of it! It has been a slightly working holiday because I am still sorting out the first two of my five forthcoming Foodies events.  The Brighton event was 100% sorted last week, but due to a few last minute issues, it's now about 99% sorted ... LOL!  I'm just waiting on final confirmation from a couple replacement acts.  The Clapham Common event is quickly approaching, 6-8 June, and I am presenting the performer list to the Foodies organizers next week for their approval.  I hope to have both events done by the end of next week, but I think I'm dreaming a bit regarding Clapham!

Volume 2 of 'Glo's Music for the Soul' Radio Show, which airs on One World Radio, was released last weekend and I know I'm risking being thought of as vain when I admit that I've listened to it about 10 times already! The radio show is all about showcasing music that feeds the soul, and I'm really enjoying the song selection. Click here to listen and please let me know what you think. Also, if you have any song suggestions, that would be awesome. Next month's edition of the show will feature 'Foodies Festival' performers. Most of the acts I've booked on these events perform original music, and I'm looking forward to sharing their amazing music with you!  

I'm happy to announce that I'm working with a new venue in Southsea, 69 Wine Bar & Bistro and have booked the fabulous Marlene Hill to perform two R&B and Disco infused sets of music on Easter Sunday from 7:30pm! Marlene is the first act GME has booked into this venue, and I know she will set the bar high! If you're looking for something to do on Easter, join Marlene at 69 Wine Bar & Bistro and get your dance on!!

I mentioned last week that I'll be debuting my 'I'll Be Seeing You' wartime music show on Easter Sunday at an event at the Hayling Island Sailing Club. I've had a couple run-throughs of the show while on holiday, and it has come together quite nicely! The only potential problem is fitting into the cute little military number I purchased to wear for the event! Pitchers of sangria and pans full of paella seem like a good idea when you're indulging, but not so great when you're bulging!!  I barely fit into the outfit before I left for Spain, so I'm glad I sorted out a 'back-up' outfit just in case!  Here's hoping ...

That's it for this week ... have a fabulous weekend and ...

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 - 7 March 2014

This has been a typical work week for GME. I spent a couple days working from my office in Portsmouth getting caught up on marketing some upcoming events.

Today I attended a Hampshire Chamber event at the Portsmouth Marriott, 'Future Portsmouth,' and I am so happy to be a part of this growing area on the South Coast. They talked about planned development, grants and loans available for small to medium sized companies, and the main focus was Apprenticeships and how companies of any size can benefit as well as support our local economy by hiring an Apprentice.  

It was a struggle getting to this early breakfast seminar, especially after spending an amazing evening the night before at the O2 in London with Beyonce! I saw her last year at the O2 but was sitting in the nosebleed section of the arena ... this year, we were on Level 1!  What an amazing show. I was literally drained by the end of the night, and by the time I arrived home well after 1:00am I had major doubts about making it to my meeting. I'm so glad I did, though, because I left the meeting feeling even more connected to my adopted community!

On 8 March, Mayfield will be performing again at The Jolly Sailor. This is our first gig there this year and we are looking forward to spending a Soulful evening with our friends in Southsea!

My party band, 'Move On Up' will be performing at The Grosvenor Casino Osborne Road for their Wedding Fayre on Sunday, 9 March from 12p.  Hopefully, our performance will lead to a couple bookings. With our unique blend of Soul, Funk & Rock classics, we work hard to make any event sizzle from start to finish!  

Finally, I am gearing up for the first of five Foodies Festivals for which I will be managing the entertainment stage.  GME was scheduled to work on seven events, but the entertainment for the Marble Hill and Kenwood House festivals will now be handled directly through these venues.  Our first event is Brighton on 3-5 May. I will be announcing the performers for Brighton in the next couple weeks!  Watch this space.

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

Foodies Festivals 2014

Gloria Miller Entertainment is pleased to announce that we will be organizing the entertainment for several Foodies Festival events for the 2nd year running. We are thrilled to be working with Media Company Publications again to bring together some of the best entertainers from across the UK to perform on the Foodies Entertainment Stage. 

Here are the events GME will be organizing:

Brighton Hove Lawns - 3, 4, 5 May

Marble Hill London - 24, 25, 26 May

Kenwood House London - 30, 31 May, 1 June

Clapham Common - 6, 7, 8 June

Bristol Harbourside - 11, 12, 13 July

Battersea Park London - 15, 16, 17 August

Oxford South Parks - 23, 24, 25 August

 

As you can see from this video, last year's Brighton event was a smashing success. The weather was gorgeous, the food delicious and the music was fabulous. Fingers crossed that we'll have good weather again this year! Click here to check out some pics of last year's performers at Foodies Brighton.

We are looking for cover and original artists who perform reggae, folk, jazz, blues, acoustic, swing and pop genres to book for these events.  If you are a solo performer up to 6-piece band and would like to perform at one of these festivals, please email me at gloria@gloriamillermusic.com and I will send you all of the details of participation.

To find out more about the 2014 Foodies events, please visit their website.