Week in Review - 11 May 2015

I'm baaaaaccccckkkkk! Did you miss me? It's been over a month since my last update so I've got loads to report so ... here we go!

On 11 April Supremely, Diana Ross made an appearance at a Charity Event in Southsea for their Motown Night to raise money for several children's charities. Then I was off on the final cruise of the Seabourn Legend with the hubs. While Neal was preparing to perform his two shows on board, I spent the week sipping Champagne, taking lovely walks in exotic places and eating way too much food. The highlight of the trip was the evening excursion to the Amphitheater in Ephesus where Seabourn had arranged a lovely classical music concert under the stars with the ancient ruins of the amphitheater as the backdrop! The evening was surreal. I had to pinch myself to make sure I wasn't dreaming.

Note to self, do not go on a luxury cruise where there is food and drink in abundance before you have to wear a form fitting gown and a fringe mini-dress! LOL! On 24 April, less than a week after getting back from the cruise, I was at The Cliffhanger Cafe in Poole debuting my double Tribute Show, Diana Ross vs. Tina Turner, and I just managed to squeeze into my costumes for the show! That was the first of several of these shows I've got booked throughout the year. I absolutely loved performing both shows in the same night, but I didn't take into account how hard it would be. I was deliciously exhausted afterward. Thankfully, I was headed to The Anthem of the Seas for their inaugural cruise the next day!

Neal did his show the night we joined the ship, so we ended up having a bit of a holiday the remaining days we were on board. We were in awe of this obnoxiously large ship! We were only on for four days and I got lost on that ship everyday. It was definitely not the same cruising experience I had on the Seabourn ship with its 6 decks compared to the Anthem's 16 decks.  I definitely prefer the smaller ships, but am thrilled to have sailed on The Anthem, because I did get to go roller skating and Neal went skydiving ... on the ship!

On Sunday, 10 May, Glo's Music for the Soul debuted on ExpressFM. This show has been in the works since late last year, and finally, the first show aired. This will be a weekly show airing on Sunday nights at 10pm. Once my web page is setup on the ExpressFM website, I will let you know.

Please check out the guest blog post by GME artist Marlene Hill! 

Welcome to the 60's
by Marlene Hill

April was an exciting month for me as I again had the chance of treading the boards to play the role of Motormouth Maybelle at the Grand Opera House, Belfast in St. Agnes' Choral Society's production of "HAIRSPRAY". For those who are unfamiliar with this high spirited musical, it is set in 1962 Baltimore. Tracy Turnblad is a big girl with big hair and an even bigger dream: to dance her way onto national TV, and into the heart of teen idol Link Larkin.(Read More)

I am so proud of all Marlene's accomplishments so far this year, and there are more great things ahead for this talented performer.

That's it for this edition! Have a great week and please tune in to my radio show on Sunday!

Week In Review - 25 April 2014

The afterglow from my holiday in Spain has officially faded now that I've reached the end of my first week back to work. It's been a good week though starting with a fantastic rehearsal and songwriting session on Tuesday with my original Soul band, Mayfield. We are in the process of building our own studio and have already begun writing songs for our second album. Our current release, Tempo of Your Soul, is doing quite well around the UK and we are now on the radar of the UK's very vibrant Soul scene and booking some fantastic events for the Summer. Next week I'll be announcing our next show which is at a very prestigious festival! Stay tuned ...

By the end of this year my intention is to have my Supremely, Diana Ross Tribute Show on the cruise ship circuit. On Wednesday, I met with the arranger who is preparing the 10-piece orchestra charts that I will use when performing on ships! The arrangements sound fantastic and I'm looking forward to performing the show with an orchestra. I am in the early planning stages of putting together a Showcase for the tribute show so watch this space for more details. 

I am just a week away from the start of Foodies Festival season and I am so thrilled to be working with Media Publishing Company again to provide entertainment for five of their events. Brighton is next weekend and the entertainment lineup is fantastic. Some favourites from last year's events will be returning, along with acts from the Brighton area and across the UK. I even managed to book Elvis and Amy Winehouse to make an appearance! Don't believe me? Guess you'll have to come to the event to see for yourself! You can get tickets in advance through the Foodies Festival website, or at the event. If you do come along, stop by the Entertainment Stage and say hello!

On Friday I performed at the Mayor of Havant's charity dinner giving the audience quite a shock when I appeared in full Diana Ross glory. Halfway through the tribute set, half of the attendees had joined me on the dance floor. When I returned to do my second set of party music, we all danced the night away! The event was held at the lovely Newtown House on Hayling Island and the staff were a delight to work with, even providing me with a hotel room to prepare for the show! What a great night!

On Saturday I'm back on Hayling performing at The Piranha Bar for a Save The Children charity event. I performed at this event last year and was delighted to be asked back! I'll be performing my Jazz & Blues set followed by a very eclectic party set tht will start with Beyonce's 'XO' and finish with 'Happy' by Pharrell Williams! I'm really looking forward to this!

Well, that's it for this week. Have a fabulous weekend ...