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Our good friend, Mikey Reed, returns to The Lady J Podcast for a special Christmas episode! ✨ Anywhere that Christmas is celebrated, gigging musicians are called on to provide a live festive soundtrack to those events. For hardcore Christmas fans such as ourselves, it's a pleasure to get to play all our favourites throughout the month. Mikey's enthusiasm for Christmas is palpable: he loves the traditions, the food and - of course - the music. Today he chats with me about what makes holiday gigs different, which are his favourite Christmas songs to play, what he considers to be the "official" Christmas season, and what he does – despite the madness of the season - to preserve the magic of Christmas for himself and his family. ✨ Live performance veteran Lady J is having conversations with music industry professionals about what makes and sustains a career as a musician. If you're looking to: get your first gig get better gigs make your gigs more fulfilling and financially rewarding Get practical advice from people who believe live music matters. ✨ Follow Mikey: Mikey's Instagram: @bassman.dxb BIG Mouth Band's YouTube: @bigmouthdubai Follow Lady J: ladyjmusic.com Lady J's Instagram: @ladyjmusic Lady J's Substack: @ladyjmusic Lady J's YouTube: @ladyjmusicdubai

My dear friend and exemplary performer, Carrie Gibson, has been one of my inspirations since we met in 2009 in Shenzhen, China. ✨ Over the fifteen plus years that we’ve been friends, Carrie continues to challenge and inspire me. She is a singer, a songwriter, a storyteller, and a coach, but she is most quintessentially, a performer. She has a lifetime of stage experience, and is an absolute treasury of guidance and advice on how to make every performance come alive, how to set audiences on fire, and how to keep doing the thing night after night, without losing your spark. Just as she did on the night I met her, Carrie continues to share her wisdom with an open heart. This conversation will challenge your definition of “diva”, and will prove how the world is a better place when we lift each other up. Carrie Gibson is, indeed, the real deal. ✨ Live performance veteran Lady J is having conversations with music industry professionals about what makes and sustains a career as a musician. If you're looking to: get your first gig get better gigs make your gigs more fulfilling and financially rewarding Get practical advice from people who believe live music matters. ✨ Follow Carrie: Carrie's Instagram: @carriesista NuvoSoul's Instagram: @nuvosoul_band Follow Lady J: ladyjmusic.com Lady J's Instagram: @ladyjmusic Lady J's Substack: @ladyjmusic Lady J's YouTube: @ladyjmusicdubai

Romario is a sound engineer, bass player, father of two, and - as I learned sitting down with him for this chat - a consummate storyteller. It was such a pleasure to reminisce about the good old days working together in The Music Room, to find a sympathetic ear for my AV-tech-sound rants, and to hear highlights of some of his most memorable gigs doing sound for legends like Sepultura and Andrea Bocelli. ✨ Romario grew up in Dubai and remembers when Sheikh Zayed Road truly was a two-lane road, not the 5-a-side super thoroughfare it is today, when half of the neighbourhoods that exist today were nothing but sand dunes, and when the local music scene looked completely unlike it does now. His description of shows ‘back in the day’ completely blew my mind. He talks about how music (and vitamin D) helped him overcome a period of burnout, the differences in being a sound engineer in studio vs in live venues, how mentorship is interconnected with his vision of entrepreneurship, and how he’s evolved his business to be able to be more hands-on with his kids. In his own words, Romario says that being behind the mixing desk is the closest you can get to being on stage. His passion for live sound and his determination to make artists sound their best onstage is truly an inspiration. ✨ Live performance veteran Lady J is having conversations with music industry professionals about what makes and sustains a career as a musician. If you're looking to: get your first gig get better gigs make your gigs more fulfilling and financially rewarding Get practical advice from people who believe live music matters. ✨ Follow Lady J: ladyjmusic.com Lady J's Instagram: @ladyjmusic Lady J's Substack: @ladyjmusic Lady J's YouTube: @ladyjmusicdubai Follow Romario: Romario's Instagram: @romariofernando Amplitude's Instagram: @amplitude_ae Fat Randall's Instagram: @fatrandall

It’s a friendly takeover! Aston Wylie hosts a very special episode of The Lady J Podcast, interviewing Felix, my husband-slash-guitarist-slash-business partner, and me about our career together over the last two decades. ✨ Felix and I have been together since 2006, running a business and performing more than 2700 shows worldwide, and also, now, being very full-time parents to two small humans. In this behind-the-scenes episode, we talk about how we got started gigging overseas, our experience travelling in the pre-GPS/pre-Google translate era, and all the times choosing a band name turned out to be trickier than we thought. We talk about the generous offer that prompted us to write Noise Rises (our album of original music), the beauty in community we discovered live streaming during COVID, the best places we’ve played in Dubai, and what’s next for our career. Across different countries, and through many permutations of the band, the one constant we have had is each other. Find out how we got here and where we’re headed... because we’re still going there together. ✨ Live performance veteran Lady J is having conversations with music industry professionals about what makes and sustains a career as a musician. If you're looking to: get your first gig get better gigs make your gigs more fulfilling and financially rewarding Get practical advice from people who believe live music matters. ✨ Follow Lady J: ladyjmusic.com Lady J's Instagram: @ladyjmusic Lady J's Substack: @ladyjmusic Lady J's YouTube: @ladyjmusicdubai Follow Felix: Felix's website Felix's Instagram: @frechettefelix Follow Aston: Aston's Instagram: @aston_wylie Aston's YouTube : @Aston3422  

In this episode, Chris Santillán, musical director, pianist, and educator, proves how far a formal musical education can take you, if you “know your why”. ✨ Chris has spent his career telling stories through music, on tour and at sea, and he walks us through some of the highlights of his career as MD. He tells us why he studied to be an ER doctor (and what caused him to change career paths), whether or not “the show must go on” is just something old fogies believe, and how he feels about being part of the bourgeoning music scene in the UAE and educating its next generation of performers. If you’re considering a career in musical theatre, or looking to study performing arts in UAE, you need to hear what Chris has to say. ✨ Live performance veteran Lady J is having conversations with music industry professionals about what makes and sustains a career as a musician. If you're looking to: get your first gig get better gigs make your gigs more fulfilling and financially rewarding Get practical advice from people who believe live music matters. ✨ Follow Chris: chrissantillan.com Chris's Instagram: @chrissantillan Follow the Sharjah Performing Arts Academy: spaa.ae SPAA's Instagram: @sharjah_paa Follow Lady J: ladyjmusic.com Lady J's Instagram: @ladyjmusic Lady J's Substack: @ladyjmusic Lady J's YouTube: @ladyjmusicdubai

In this episode, Timo Higgs, DJ and producer, percussionist, music curator, lyricist, poet, and event organizer, shares how challenging life can be as an entrepreneur in a creative field, when you’re working from home… with a toddler. ✨ Timo’s been working in the music industry for twenty-five years, but since becoming a father two years ago has experienced a seismic shift in how he works. We talk about what it takes to operate in the entertainment business when your children are little, whether or not it’s possible to truly be off the clock when you work for yourself and work from home, how he feels when he’s asked to prove his DJ’ing skills, and what date is acceptable to start playing Christmas music. (Spoiler: we have very different opinions on that one.) If you're juggling booking yourself for gigs, while performing, while staying active on social media, while feeling like it’s all too much - all with a baby on your hip - you are not alone. We're in it, too. ✨ Live performance veteran Lady J is having conversations with music industry professionals about what makes and sustains a career as a musician. If you're looking to: get your first gig get better gigs make your gigs more fulfilling and financially rewarding Get practical advice from people who believe live music matters. ✨ Follow Timo: Timo's Instagram: @timohiggs Timo's YouTube : @timohiggs Follow Lady J: Lady J's Instagram: @ladyjmusic Lady J's Substack: @ladyjmusic Lady J's YouTube: @ladyjmusicdubai

In this episode, Aston Wylie, singer-guitarist, songwriter, and fellow parent-of-a-small-child shares his conviction that original music belongs everywhere, including at cover gigs. ✨ Aston talks about his journey writing and playing his own music, when being a solo performer becomes a juggling act, how an injury led him to discover an unexpected perk of working with karaoke tracks, and the best part of being a musician parent. Throughout this conversation, his dedication to making original music - while gigging in the cover-heavy music scene in Dubai - is inspirational. This episode will definitely have you dusting off your originals and playing them at your next gig ...just like we did. ✨ Live performance veteran Lady J is having conversations with music industry professionals about what makes and sustains a career as a musician. If you're looking to: get your first gig get better gigs make your gigs more fulfilling and financially rewarding Get practical advice from people who believe live music matters. ✨ Follow Aston: Aston's Instagram: @aston_wylie Aston's YouTube : @Aston3422 Follow Lady J: Lady J's Instagram: @ladyjmusic Lady J's Substack: @ladyjmusic Lady J's YouTube: @ladyjmusicdubai

In this episode, Joe Bashorun, multi-instrumentalist and musical 'ultra-marathoner', draws on four decades of experience to show us how he continues to evolve and find joy at every gig. ✨ Joe talks about the changes he's seen in the music industry over the course of his career, what makes Dubai such a special place for live music, how he defines a 'music scene', and the real danger when musicians undercharge. His attitude towards audiences, the music industry, and to the craft of music are proof that it is possible to gig as much and for as long as you want: Joe's four decades in and still got lots more to offer. Get inspired by someone who shows that hard work and the right attitude will keep you gigging for decades. ✨ Live performance veteran Lady J is having conversations with music industry professionals about what makes and sustains a career as a musician. If you're looking to: get your first gig get better gigs make your gigs more fulfilling and financially rewarding Get practical advice from people who believe live music matters. ✨ Follow Joe: NuvoSoul on Instagram: @nuvosoul_band Follow Lady J: Lady J's Instagram: @ladyjmusic Lady J's Substack: @ladyjmusic Lady J's YouTube: @ladyjmusicdubai

In this episode, Lady J sits down with Mikey Reed, full-time gigging bassist-singer and notoriously busy guy, to find out how he gets himself so much work. ✨ Mikey tells us what it takes to be a good band member: sharing how he prepares for rehearsals, what he delivers during a gig, and what to do when you disagree with your boss. He reflects on the year he spent working in EvolveR for Lady J, and what lessons he has carried forward as a band member, band leader, and convert to the wonders of Google Drive. Listen in and learn how to become a musician who gets booked. ✨ Live performance veteran Lady J is having conversations with music industry professionals about what makes and sustains a career as a musician. If you're looking to: get your first gig get better gigs make your gigs more fulfilling and financially rewarding Get practical advice from people who believe live music matters. ✨ Follow Mikey: Mikey's Instagram: @bassman.dxb Mikey's Instagram: @bigmouth.music Josette on Instagram: @josettedubai Follow Lady J: Lady J's Instagram: @ladyjmusic Lady J's Substack: @ladyjmusic Lady J's YouTube: @ladyjmusicdubai

Lady J is a singer with two decades of experience live onstage leading cover and function bands. A resident of Dubai since 2015, she's having conversations with music industry professionals about what makes and sustains a career as a musician. Whether you're hoping to get your first gig, looking to get more gigs, or looking to make your gigging more fulfilling and financially rewarding, get insights and practical advice from people who believe live music matters. Follow Lady J: Lady J's Instagram: @ladyjmusic Lady J's Substack: @ladyjmusic Lady J's YouTube: @ladyjmusicdubai