Pride's Got Talent Featured Artist - Doremi Fly

Artist Name: Doremi Fly

How long you have been performing?
We have always been performing, started of doing small gigs here and there wedding birthdays party's etc but since late 2012 we have been performing at bigger events and we LOVE it.

Why do you like to perform?
We love to entertain, create good vibes and we love connecting through music. There's a message in every single song we do, so sharing it with people means a lot to us. We love the feeling of people enjoying the songs we create and when the crowd bounces to our upbeat tune's its a feeling you cant even put in words...

Who is the person you would most like to perform on stage with?
Wow we've got a long list of people we would like to perform with:

Careya: Great artists like Will I AM, Calvin Harris, Tinnie Tempah, Beyonce, Jessie J, Swedish House Mafia I could go on and on... any one of them would be a great highlight in our career.

Jamina: I would love to perform with artists like Rihanna, Coldplay, and many more.

What is the best highlight so far in your career?
I would say the single release in France with YouTube star Keenan Cahill and DJ Oriska. The single shot up to number 1 on iTunes and gave us great opportunities with NRJ radio, TV appearances and Shows.

Another great experience was the Liverpool Pride how 2014 in front of 6000+ people on the main waterfront stage alongside X Factor star Lilly Allen.

Also very important to us is our current anti Bullying campaign, with 12 year old talented Ben Nezbit who was badly bullied, we took him on board and did a song and a video on YouTube called 'No Giving Up' which is also out on iTunes.

We are currently working on our Official release.

Which women inspire you?
Oprah Winfrey, Dame Kelly Holmes, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Beyonce, Maya Angelou

What is Your #FreedomTo statement?
#FreedomTo be whoever you want to be


You can find out more about Doremi Fly using the following social media links:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/doremiflyMUSIC
Soundcloud : https://soundcloud.com/doremi-fly
Twitter: http://www.twitter.com/doremifly
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/doremifly
Instagram (Careya): http://www.instagram.com/careyadoremi
Instagram (Jamina): http://instagram.com/jaminadrmfly

Pride's Got Talent Featured Artist - Elena Ramona

Artist Name: Elena Ramona 

How long have you been performing? Why do you like to perform? I have been performing seriously for about a year now and I enjoy it very much. The best thing about performing live is seeing the audience connect with me and the messages In my songs.

Who is the person you would most like to be on stage with?
I would love to perform on stage with Beyonce Knowles I love her flair, I reckon she would be great to work with too.

What is the highlight of your career so far?
The highlight of my career so far has been getting the hard copies of my Debut EP in the post. I couldn't believe how cool they looked and it was great seeing the first CD ever with my name on it.

Which women inspire you?
There are a lot of women who inspire me old and new, but the woman who has inspired me the most from day one has been my mum, she is always there for me and has supported me through everything I do. If I grow up to be half the woman she is I will be ok.
 
What is your #FreedomTo statement?
#FreedomTo live your dreams  



Find out more about Elena Ramona
 
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Elena-Ramona/323928237668916

Twitter: https://twitter.com/elenaramona90

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M8smsMbqXxo

Instagram : http://instagram.com/elenaramona1990

Flirt69 - BBQ, DJs, dancing & flirting

Venue: Handlebar/Blush Bar, 8 Cazenove Street, Stoke Newington, N16

When: Sunday 6 July, 3pm onwards

Tickets: £8 including food. Call 07586565403/0207 9239202 / 07956398133  

If one weekend of partying isn't enough, or if you need a hair of the dog recovery from Pride, then make your way to the former Blush Bar in Stokey to get loud on the dance floor with the added bonus of a BBQ thrown in.

In Blush's little known garden area, a BBQ will be grilling fish, prawns, ribs and a vegetarian option with salad on the side.

Flirt69 is Promoting and introduces this new Sunday women-only Event (with men welcome as guests) located in the Heart of Stokey.

At this social event you will meet and mingle with other friendly, respectful, mature, fun women. Flirt69 is a great place to chill, chat, dance and enjoy some mouth watering, sizzling summer food - all for £8.

Why not get together on Sunday afternoons, unwinding from a fab weekend or ramp up from an unsatisfying weekend with a Flirty BBQ complete with Live Rotational DJ music and dance acts.

And for the food conscious, don't worry, there will be plenty to choose from and a tasty variety of fish, meat and vegetarian.

The music is set to get your feet tapping, with a Rotation of DJs piling on the instant floor filling tunes including Club Classics, Old Skool, Garage and a range of new beats to wow the ears.

DJ-D69 will introduce massive traditional Afro-Beats and heart pulsating South African house beats & Kwaito guaranteed to keep you moving, get you talking and make you feel glad & pleased that you came.

Bar Titania: Pride with Live music and DJs til 3am

Bar Titania is offering free entry and awesome live sets from some of our favourites this weekend... Get your after Pride on here (late license until 3am as well!)

LBQ women show their support for women’s visibility at Pride in London

With the second Pride parade and festival delivered by Pride in London just around the corner– expectations are high and the organisers are keen to make a mark and improve on last year’s successful event.

In addition to their strong social media campaign #Freedomto, Pride In London realised that women’s visibility needed to be addressed, and so created a new campaign specifically aimed at increasing the visibility and participation of women at Pride called #ProudWomenUK which launched in May 2014.

Pride in London have been working with Elysion Events to run a quiz (which took place in May/June), the official women’s after party on the parade day at Adam Street Social, and later in the year a formal fundraising dinner.

Planet London wanted to show full support of increasing women’s visibility and through working in partnership with local event organisers on the LBQ social scene, so undertook a complimentary campaign to reach even more women and to also raise a bit of money at the same time.

Whilst ProudWomen’s main objective was to raise £5,000 through a three well organised high quality events, #ProudPlanet was created with an aim to reach as many women as possible and to work with the existing network of event organisers to spread the word and encourage women to participate in Pride in London this year.

ProudPlanet worked with 6 event organisers to run special Pride fundraising events.

Naomi Bennett-Hall said “We were delighted with how many event organisers got on board very quickly and either dedicated an existing event or created a whole new event to support the issues of women’s visibility at Pride in London. It was also fantastic to see so many women from the community attend these events and share our vision. The range of events were beyond our expectations given we only had 6 weeks. We are so proud at how the event organisers got on board, and how we rallied around in the community and put our hands in our pockets.”

• FindHrr hosted a Friday night club night at Labels. The event was free entry with donations at the door and raffle tickets were sold on the night.

 

• She Soho let #ProudPlanet take over their monthly quiz which saw a so many quiz teams that there wasn’t a spare square inch of floor space at the venue. The entry fee from everyone was donated, raffle tickets & answer hints were sold. Members of Pride’s volunteer group were also present to promote volunteering with Pride in London.

• Promoter and DJ at She, Amy B said “It is so wonderful seeing a dedicated team raising worthwhile awareness and visibility for women. Having run the women’s stage last year I know how important it is and it has been fantastic working with the ProudPlanet campaign. With a host of fantastic events they were able to get the word out to women from all walks of life. And besides…I wouldn’t have been able to do the quiz without them. I hope it’s the first year of many.”

• Labels ran a free live music night featuring an impressive line-up that included Miri and Jade Ellis. The venue was pretty much at capacity and an amazing night was had by all. Donations were encouraged and raffle tickets sold on the night.

Bar Manager at Labels, Tara said “Labels and our members were so proud to be given the opportunity to contribute to the ProudPlanet campaign to raise women’s presence in Pride 2014”

• DownGirls donated money from the door as well as collecting money on the night. Several of their exciting line up of live acts donated their fee to the cause. Members of Pride’s volunteer group were also present to promote volunteering with Pride in London.

• BridgeGirlsLate invited us along to their monthly night in Clapham where we sold raffle tickets on the night. 

• The Glass Bar hosted a delightful Cream Tease (cream tea with burlesque and erotic entertainment) and donated a portion of the entry fee from the event. In addition we were able to speak about Pride at the event and promote the aims of Pride in London around women’s participation.

Katie Bennett-Hall of Planet London said

“Planet London is delighted to announce that we have raised over £420 (and counting) for Pride in London to support women’s events at Pride in London.

“Planet London are also looking forward to the parade itself on Saturday 28 June. In response to Pride’s announcement that they want to increase the visibility and participation of women at Pride, we have undertaken to create a large group of women from within the community – as we firmly believe that the best way to be visible is to turn up on mass. We have a tricycle, sound system and funky limited edition t-shirts and are inviting all women and allies to join us if they want to be visible and take part in the parade. Marching is completely free, and for anyone who doesn’t have a Planet London t-shirt, we ask you to wear hot pink, black or white to keep in with the theme of the group.”




If you want to march with Planet London, all the information is online here: http://bit.ly/2014Proud

Pride's Got Talent finalists to perform on Pride in London Stage & Winner announced

Pride in London has announced the finalists of their first annual Pride's Got Talent competition.

Entertainers and performing artists of every kind were judged by an expert panel on Sunday 15th June. The judges chose one overall winner and eleven runners-up from hundreds who applied. The winner, Dorian Reland, is to perform in Trafalgar Square at Pride in London on 28th June.

Dorian Reland, a singer, was the overall winner of the first ever Pride’s Got Talent contest for Pride in London. Over four hundred performers applied for the chance to appear on the stage in Trafalgar Square and the judges, supported by Pride in London’s stage producer Ian Massa-Harris, whittled that down to just one overall winner and eleven runners-up.

The winner, Dorian Reland sings powerful songs that reflect contemporary LGBT+ themes. He’s sure to go down a storm in Trafalgar Square, feeding off the incredible energy of the Pride crowd. You can find Dorian Reland online here: Dorian on YouTube.com

We were delighted to see a number of women in the list of finalists. A few notable ones were:

Sophie DeBattista
Sophie is a 20 year old singer songwriter originally from Malta, now based in London.

She is now working with top producers and her tunes are starting to receive some attention in the UK and Europe.

Sophie says: “Music is my life. I love writing, playing & performing my original material. Style is based on pop, but love giving it my own twist, to create a unique sound. Sincerely hope you like what I do, would love to welcome you on board my journey!! xoxo”


Doremi Fly
Out with the old in with the new , DRM FLY aka (Doremi Fly) are a very creative Girl Band Duo. The band consists of Careya (singer/songwriter/pianist/model/actor) and Jamina (singer/model/actor), these girls are very ambitious and multi talented. The duo have continued to rise after their #1 Single in the French and Itunes Charts titled “Tonight” Featuring DJ Oriska and Keenan Cahill early in 2013.

They have overcome great obstacles and have stuck to their guns as far as being driven to succeed in the music business. Their motto is to Entertain the masses and set trends for the new age pop music era, with a huge catalogue of music their work ethic is above standard and their live performances are ones to remember.

 

Elena Ramona
Elena Ramona is a 24 year old singer song writer based in Guildford Surrey. She grew up on the Greek island of Skiathos, with her English mother, Greek father and brother. Music, singing and song writing have always been her passion.

Her debut single “Rise” was inspired by the love and support her family have given her. The music for ‘Rise’ was co-written and recorded by her good friend Martyn Corbet who has been a major influence on her work.




Jes Stretton
Rising soulful/pop//R&B artist Jes Stretton, 23, from Wigan, has been working hard in the studio ready for her brand new EP 'Surrender' which was released on the 18th May!

Since November 2012, Jes has been performing all over Europe with her music.

The latest in her long line of achievements is performing at last years Liverpool Pride in front of 65,000 people. Jes is currently doing gigs & festivals all the north-west, trying to raise her profile and get her music heard!


Adam All
Of course we all know Adam All!

Drag King Adam All is the creation of Jen Powell. Jen first performed in drag 12 years ago and since Adam's initial inception has gone on to perform across the UK and now runs a monthly Cabaret Drag King Night in Soho. An advocate of drag and avid suppporter of the emerging Drag King scene, Jen strongly believes in encouraging new Kings and promoting existing talent. 


Naomi Young

London based singer, songwriter, drummer, guitarist. Currently singing & songwriting with lead guitarist Senad Veliu. Also known for her work in Dance, dubstep group NYRO-B featuring DJ Albstep, bringing a new sound combining R&B, D&B, Dubstep and Psy Music.

Orlaith Rose Comer
Orlaith is a singer/song-writer from Northern Ireland.

She has been on Britain's Got Talent, and made it to the top 180 out of 40,000 contestants!









A bit about the Judges
The judges of course, as experts in their fields had a few words to say about the event and the talent they got to enjoy. Here's what the judges said:

Gary Butler, Chief Executive, Multi Media Entertainments Group said:

"Pride's Got Talent is an excellent way for people from your communities to showcase their talent. It gives them the chance to bring their work to a bigger stage - quite literally. I feel proud to have been part of Pride's Got Talent for London Pride at the start of its journey.”

Dr J, Photographer, performer and DJ with Bar Wotever said:

"It's been fascinating to see the range of talent on London's eclectic performance scene. As well as the winners, there were some people I would love to see come down to Bar Wotever to hone their skills."

Sean Jeffrey, JAM artist management and West End musician said:

"We've seen so many different types of performer that Simon Cowell would be jealous. I've been excited that we've seen some who show potential to develop great careers in their field."

Ian Massa Harris, Pride in London Stages Producer said:

“We promised that we would be a Pride of and for the community and Pride’s Got Talent is a fantastic way for new acts from across the LGBT+ community to raise their profile. The winner and runners up will be performing in front of the demanding and influential London LGBT+ audience in Trafalgar Square and Dean Street. We look forward to developing Pride’s Got Talent further next year.”

Nearly 400 applicants were whittled down to a final 100 that were reviewed by the judges.


The boring bits:
GOT TALENT® used with the kind permission of FremantleMedia

Buzz cut season at Barberette

On May the 11th Barberette is gave customers and friends the opportunity to have their own G. I. Jane moment – all for a good cause... A sponsored head-shaving event all in aid of Moorfields Eye Hospital!

The talented barber has had a personal brush with eyesight problems when her partner Sam suddenly lost sight in one eye last summer. She has chosen to raise funds for Moorfields Eye Hospital as they provided fantastic support over this difficult time and ensured that Sam received the best possible care.

 

The goal was to raise as much money as we can over the next few weeks- with an official target of £300.

Barberette welcomed involvement in this fantastic event- whether it was being brave enough to step forwards and shave a head (all genders welcome), sponsoring through the Virgin Money page, or turning up on the day to provide support / food and drink and turning it into a party.

 

But the drastic cut also marks a new stage for Barberette. She says "I’d reached the point where I just couldn’t keep up with client demand so that’s why I’ve employed Enric. It’s great that we can offer double the appointments and a wide range of styles".

Under the radar of the Dalston scene, Barberette has been steadily building up a client base offering a distinctive hair styles from sharp and tidy to quiffs, flat tops, sculpted and decorative clipper work – as well as as well as traditional cut throat razor shave.

Barberette is about supporting other creative people. The regular exhibitions in the shop are part of that. If you haven’t already, check out the artwork from Camberwell Arts College graduate Charlotte Lucy Whitehead now on show. I’m also really pleased to be teaming up with Hackney-born author of The Girl with the Treasure Chest V A Fearon, for this Fundraiser.

Barberette says "We received amazing support so far, thank you so much and the total raised to day incl. Gift Aid: is £754.14"