Celebrations and private affairs of all kinds were forced to a halt last year as the world faced the COVID-19 pandemic. Now that the vaccine rollout is kicking in and the warmer weather is upon us, it’s time to consider rescheduling that postponed event, throwing a birthday party for your kids, celebrating graduation, or planing a socially distant gathering.

Read more about hosting events and celebrating safely in 2021 from Lakeside Productions as featured in Westchester NY Moms here.

Snub: verb meaning rebuff, ignore or spurn disdainfully.

The 63rd Grammys are right around the corner and this year is going to be the biggest one yet (according the 4,389 promos currently running on CBS). Music’s biggest night has a common theme: the glitz, the glamour, the snubs.

This year was no exception. The very second the nominations were virtually announced, the snub debate started. The Weeknd had the single biggest song and album on the planet in 2020. That earned him exactly zero nominations causing him to tweet “The Grammys remain corrupt. You owe me, my fans and the industry transparency...”.

The Weeknd has won three Grammys in the past, however there are plenty of HUGE artists that have zero. So, as we ramp up to this year’s awards, we figured we’d take a look at the ten biggest artists’ who were rebuffed, ignored and spurned disdainfully.

Inspired by music icons James Taylor, Bob Dylan and Paul Simon, American singer-songwriter and pop-pianist BRENDAN JAMES has checked off some major career milestones over the past 2 decades. In this interview he sits down to speak with us about the art of story-telling, the balance between being a devoted parent and touring artist, the pros and cons to being signed to a major label, his journey around the world (pre-covid), and much more.

Lakeside Entertainment Group is proud to support the Ryan Seacrest Foundation and has had the opportunity to see the positive impact of their work first-hand over the past ten years. This week we had the privilege to speak with Meredith Seacrest Leach, the Ryan Seacrest Foundation Executive Director & COO and driving force behind the conception and development of the foundation since its inception in 2009. In her current role, Meredith manages and cultivates relationships with key partners and donors in entertainment, healthcare, education and technology, while strategizing financial campaigns and programs to help continuously advance the organization.

HARIZ is an LA based singer, songwriter and instrumentalist. Pronounced “huh-reez”, the 23 year old touts clever lyricism, uplifting energy and dynamic delivery which has led to millions of streams and a deep connection with his passionate fan base.

We sat down with HARIZ and asked him 10 high quality questions! We got his advice for breaking into the industry, the impact of COVID on the music biz and the first time he heard himself on the radio!

Check out HARIZ wherever you get your music!

Eric Tyler has spent his career programming major radio stations and entertaining millions of listeners across the country on stations including B96 Chicago, KBKS Seattle, and WNKS Charlotte to name a few. He is one of the most highly respected radio personalities, programmers, and content creators in the business and we are lucky now to have him as part of the Lakeside Family. In this piece you’ll find out how Eric went from being on-air full time to on the road full time, and living in a van with his wife and dog down by the river!

Let us introduce you to Young Borra, an insanely talented independent artist from NYC. He gives us the run down on his family’s musical background, his start in the music biz and the current state of affairs in the music industry.

He also runs “Artists Anonymous”, a networking group of independent music artists. They Zoom meet weekly to exchange ideas and share thoughts in a time when the whole music industry has been flipped upside down due to COVID. He shares his thoughts on the struggle of independent artists pre-pandemic and how those challenges have changed in 2020.

Lakeside Entertainment Group's founder, Dan Pearson, is the featured guest this week on Lennon Cihak's podcast, When Life Hands You Lennon's, tune in to hear Pearson’s perspective on radio promotion campaigns, social media, live streaming, and more during these trying times.

https://bit.ly/2YVqzeY

Even if you don’t know Dangerous Hippies, you know Dangerous Hippies! Cody Hanson and Marshal Dutton are 2/5th of the multi-platinum group Hinder. The duo have written and produced dozens of rock, alt, country and indie projects. Now, they have a new project that was conceived in their basement in 2011: Dangerous Hippies.

Danny Cocke is an LA based composer, artist, sound designer and maker of all things music. You’ve heard his work on video games, movies and much more! His list of credits are impressive: Ubisoft’s Rainbow Six Siege, Tencent’s ARK Survival Evolved, ALIEN Harvest, Shadow, The Prototype, and Ridley Scott’s Martian “Ares Startalk” short film.

Danny's life and career are both interesting and inspirational. He talks openly about his cancer diagnosis, beating the disease, helping other cancer patients and what it all meant to his music career. He also discusses the challenges of doing what he does during a global pandemic and what’s next for him as slowly get back to normal.

Here are nine questions we threw at Danny (from more than six feet away while wearing a mask)!

Lakeside Entertainment Group Founder, Dan Pearson was a recent guest on William Patterson University's highly regarded Radio Show & Podcast Music Biz 101.

Listen to how Pearson broke into the business, what his first day at Columbia Records as an intern was like, advice for young people starting out today, and much more!

To listen to the full interview click here https://bit.ly/2Cl8rmn

21-year-old OLIVIA ROX clearly has music in her genes. Her father is famed jazz recording artist Warren Hill and her mother is Tamara Van Cleef, a former alternative rock singer. At the age of 2 Olivia was performing on stage with her father, by 4 writing her own songs and in her teen years auditioning for America’s Got Talent and American Idol. Her performances in Season 15 of American Idol saw her through to the Top 10.

Showing no signs of slowing down, Olivia is working on an acoustic album called Just A Girl And Her Guitar and plans to continue her Facebook digital series – both due out in mid-July.

As the unprecedented global pandemic COVID-19 has caused a sudden upheaval in our daily lives, the music industry has quickly united to fill the much-needed role of not only entertaining, but of becoming a source of comfort, joy, and inspiration. We all know music has the power to unite and this challenging time yields no exception.

Like many other businesses, our company quickly put together a creative action plan for our artists and clients which has been very effective in continuing to market and promote music during this time while also providing support and entertainment to fans. We’re encouraging them to focus on 3 pillars – CONNECT, CREATE & CAUSE.

If you consider yourself a true music lover and have a record player in your home the chances are you own most of these records on vinyl already. Of course, the act of collecting records is an extremely personal and the perfect vinyl list is impossible to create. However, in the spirit of curation we put together our collection of outstanding albums that all music lovers can appreciate, regardless of your preferences.

We hope you enjoy our list below of 50 albums we consider essential to own on vinyl in no particular order.

Andy Grammer is a multi-platinum selling recording artist whose career started as a busker on the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, California. He signed to S-Curve Records in April 2010 and released his debut album that same year. That self-titled record included the hit singles “Keep Your Head Up”, “Fine by Me”, and “Miss Me”. Andy’s music was an immediate sensation, as he became the first male pop star in a decade to reach the Top 10 at Adult Pop Radio with “Keep Your Head Up” and “Fine By Me,” from his self-titled debut. His second album, Magazines or Novels, featured the triple-platinum smash “Honey, I’m Good,” which was one of the best-selling songs of 2015, and the certified gold anthem “Good to be Alive (Hallelujah).”

Andy is one of the generous and kindest professionals in the music business today truly focused on making a difference in this world. Read the interview where he talks with us about the persistence it takes to go from playing on the street to selling out arenas, the power of his positive songwriting, and so much more!

It’s a new year, and new opportunity for growth, both for yourself and your business.  As entrepreneure there are many challenges we face, but all challenges and obstacles provide a learning experience. Here are 10 Tips for Success that I’ve learned along the way that will hopefully help you in 2020!

Marty Maidenberg is a marketing consultant specializing in brand management and development for a wide range of artists and musicians.

In his 25+ year career in the music industry, Marty has worked for major label record companies, self-starter indies, and as an artist manager. His experience has been honed by building multimillion-dollar artist brands, managing global marketing departments, creating game-changing digital media strategies, and by initiating non-traditional, integrated marketing campaigns. In turn, he has helped to guide and advance the careers of some of the most well-known talent in the business.

Breakout country artist RAYNE JOHNSON mixes a little soul, and a little pop, with a whole lot of down-home goodness. The Loveland, Ohio native has been taking the country world by storm with his hit single “Front Seat” which is now being played on multiple radio stations nation-wide including WNSH New York, WSOC Charlotte, WKLB Boston, WUSN Chicago, KMNB Minneapolis, KKWF Seattle, and many others.

Dino Conard is the Program Director and On-Air personality for the iHeart TOP 40 Heritage Radio Station WQEN as well as others in Birmingham and Tuscaloosa, Alabama. Dino also created, produced, and launched the first “Just Show Up Show” in Birmingham which has turned into one of iHeart’s flagship events and a favorite among music lovers throughout Alabama.

This weekend WQEN hosts another Just Show Up Show with a star studded line up including The Catching, Stephen Puth, Alec Benjamin, Echosmith, and Alessia Cara. For tickets and information visit: https://ihr.fm/2L5aNZ8