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| Electric Haze is one of the venues drawing music lovers to Worcester. |
WORCESTER - As a city at the almost literal center of Massachusetts, Worcester became an entertainment center in the late 1800's as touring shows, bands and orchestras would travel from Boston to Springfield or vice versa with a stop over in Worcester. The 1920's saw the rise of a
bustling music and jazz scene in the city, exporting such famous people as pianist/composer Cole Porter, jazz drummer Frank Capp, and pianist/composer Jaki Bayrd. As the manufacturing industry attracted African Americans from the south, Worcester became a stopping point for blues, soul and R&B performers touring the northern leg of the Chitlin Circuit.
The opening of the Worcester Centrum in the 1980's made Worcester a stopping point for major concerts and tours, as promoters found the city more welcoming than arenas in Boston. Being in reachable proximity from Boston, Providence and Springfield, the venue steadily drew audiences from all three areas. With Worcester as a home to several live music venues of various sizes, and a homegrown audience of multi-genre music enthusiasts, it is of little surprise that Worcester has a growing reputation as a "Showcase" city; where music industry executives and concert promoters frequently come to scope out new talent.
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| TM Lewis, Event Planner and A&R Consultant |
TM Lewis explains how she got her start as an A&R Consultant. "After a few years of promoting shows and events in Worcester, I came to know a lot of the folks from the industry," explains TM Lewis, "I would sometimes give them leads on up and coming talent in the area and pretty soon I developed a reputation for having a good ear for talent." Pretty soon, labels began contracting me to scope out a lead or a show that came to town." This brought her to the attention of the UMG distributed hip-hop label, Up North Records, where Ms. Lewis became an A&R Director and eventually the Booking Agent for the label's roster of artists.
TM Lewis & Associates are proud to be based in Worcester, where they are helping to re-invigorate the soul music scene in the city, catering to the grown & sexy crowd. Ms. Lewis is particularly interested in creating a platform for New England based artists and companies to reach the larger regional and national markets.
With a growing number of independent artists and record labels looking to expand their markets and looking to Worcester and a location to develop their sound and establish a fanbase; for the music industry and music fans alike, TM Lewis & Associates is the company to watch.
TM Lewis & Associates wants to congratulate Liberation Multimedia (LM3) recording artists The GroovaLottos on receiving 4 Grammy nominations for their album, "Ask Yo' Mama". The award ceremonies are happening on January 28th in New York City.
With live soul music in short supply and original soul bands being otherwise non-existent in the Boston area, the Dedham Square Coffeehouse (565 High St., Dedham) provides a much needed oasis for lovers of soul, funk and blues music. Part concert and part dance party, The GroovaLottos kept the room festive for three sets, with a selection of original tunes, including songs from their Grammy nominated album, "Ask Yo' Mama" as well as original versions of known favorites by artists ranging from James Brown to Iggy Pop.
