Speaking of the Arts

Mike Epstein

5.0 (3)
Arts

Speaking of the Arts is a podcast for individuals and organizations who work in the arts industry. Each episode features key industry personnel including artists, agents, managers, and presenters. By offering these unique perspectives, the series provides strategies and tips for many of the challenges facing the arts community. Speaking of the Arts was founded by Mike Epstein, president of Mike Epstein & Company (www.epsteinco.com)

Mar 13

Episode 85: Lydia Liebman

Welcome to another episode of Speaking of the Arts. We have a great episode for you today. Today, we are featuring Lydia Liebman of Lydia Liebman Promotions. Lydia is a publicist specializing in the jazz genre and works with a large roster of amazing artists. If you go to www.lydialiebman.com you can see who she's working with and some of the amazing success stories she's had for her clients. In this episode, Lydia and I talk all about the world of PR. Why should an artist hire a publicist? What does the publicist do? How has the role of the publicist changed since Lydia has been doing this for over a decade now? All these questions and more are answered. I am grateful to Lydia for her time and really enjoyed speaking with her. I think you're going to learn a lot. Without further ado, please enjoy my conversation with Lydia Liebman.
09/24/2025

Episode 84: Joel Pierson - The Queen's Cartoonists

Hello everybody and welcome to another episode of speaking of the arts. I’m your host Mike Epstein and I’m excited to tell you about today’s episode. We’re featuring Joel Pierson. Joel is the founder, bandleader, and arranger for The Queen's Cartoonists, an ensemble that performs music from cartoons. Joel had this great idea to combine his passion for animated film, and live music to create a really unique experience for audiences, so he’s cultivated over 100 years worth of animation from all around the world and has largely by himself, transcribed the scores to these films and then put together a great ensemble to perform them. There are a few different versions of the show that we talk about. One is Simply called "Ages 2 to 102" which is a program that's really for all ages and it’s a lot of fun. Another version of the show is a holiday program which has a singer and animation with live music, but obviously focusing on holiday content. There is also a version of the show where they feature international cartoons and one more version of the show that features the ensemble with cartoons and with symphony. It was really fun to talk to Joel about how he came up with the idea for the ensemble and some of the things that audiences can expect during a performance. Please enjoy my conversation with Joel Pierson of The Queen’s Cartoonists.
05/28/2025

Episode 83: New Jazz Underground

Hello everyone and welcome to Speaking of the Arts. I am Mike Epstein and today's episode features Sebastian Rios of New Jazz Underground. New Jazz Underground is an American trio featuring Abdias Armenteros (Saxophonist/Composer), Sebastian Rios (Bassist/Composer), and TJ Reddick (Drummer). They have been described as “an innovative and ultra creative collective striving to establish themselves as a defining voice for the genre of Jazz and beyond”. Their music signals a merging of traditional sensibilities in Jazz with the modern influence of swing, hip-hop, house/afro-beat, and afro-cuban music. Millions have viewed their viral videos such as: “they can hate but we still swingin’”, “f**k/s**t/c**t/jazz”, “sad boy jazz”, as well as many others featuring the band's exuberant chemistry, effortless musicality, and raw ambition in sound. In this interview, I talk to Sebastian about the formation of the trio and their upcoming, debut album titled Hoodies. I encourage everyone to check this group out and catch them on the summer festival circuit where they will give debut performances at the Newport, Montreal, and Monterey Jazz Festivals among others.
08/19/2024

Episode 82: Stella Cole

Welcome to Speaking of the Arts. I am your host, Mike Epstein and I am excited to share today's episode with you. We are featuring the amazing singer, Stella Cole. Stella is getting ready to release her debut album on August 30 and I had the opportunity to speak with her earlier this year where she shared more about the recording process and creating the music. We also talked about Stella’s earliest musical influences, how she got started as a professional singer in New York, and much more. Her CD release shows are on sale now and you can see where she is performing at StellaCole.net or on her Social Media channels. Thank you for listening everyone and now, please enjoy my conversation with Stella Cole.
04/29/2024

Episode 81: Chris Mees

Welcome back to Speaking of the Arts! Today's guest is Chris Mees, founder and director of the B Natural booking agency. I've known Chris for several years now and was really looking forward to our chat. Chris is a driven, smart, successful entrepreneur who has built a respectable agency from the ground up. We were able to cover a wide range of topics in our conversation including the importance of mentors, taking risks, the challenges and opportunities associated with being an entrepreneur, and specific topics related to the agency-artist-management relationship. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I did. Thanks for listening.
11/15/2023

Episode 80: Cyrille Aimee

Episode 80: Cyrille Aimee by Mike Epstein
11/01/2023

Episode 79: James Brandon Lewis

Hello Everyone! And thank you for tuning in on this new episode of Speaking of the Arts. My name is Mackenzie and I am the Operations Manager at Epstein Fox Performances and I will be your host for today’s podcast. I am so excited to bring you guys a really special guest, critically acclaimed composer, bandleader, and most importantly Tenor Saxophonist, James Brandon Lewis. We are going to invite him into the conversation on everything music. Today’s episode we are touching on topics regarding his musical history, inspirations, Molecular Systematic Music, and of course his lovely new album, For Mahalia, With Love.
05/12/2023

Episode 78: Magos Herrera

Hello everyone and welcome to Speaking of the Arts! My name is Marie Le Claire. I’m the east coast agent at Epstein Fox Performances and your host for today! Today, I’m excited to bring you a conversation with famed singer and one of the newest artists on the EFP roster, Magos Herrera! We discuss Magos joining the roster, her journey as a Mexican artist starting over in the US, some of her various projects and of course, her beautiful new album. You will also hear clips of the songs, "Gracias A La Vida" and “Aire" from her new album also called Aire. I hope you’ll enjoy our conversation!

5

out of 5

3 Ratings

Speaking of the Arts is a podcast for individuals and organizations who work in the arts industry. Each episode features key industry personnel including artists, agents, managers, and presenters. By offering these unique perspectives, the series provides strategies and tips for many of the challenges facing the arts community. Speaking of the Arts was founded by Mike Epstein, president of Mike Epstein & Company (www.epsteinco.com)

Creator

Mike Epstein
Years Active

2015 - 2026
Episodes

85
Rating

Clean
Copyright

© All rights reserved
Show Website

Speaking of the Arts