Welcome back to You Had to Be There, the podcast where we deep dive into the world of the music industry. I’m your host, Julia Gomberg.

This week, I had the pleasure of speaking with Nashville-based soul artist Jonathan Plevyak. With vocals and a style that feel pulled straight from a vintage jukebox, Jonathan blends classic soul influences with timeless themes of love, belonging, and self-discovery. We talked about his evolving sound, the nostalgia woven throughout his music, and his upcoming releases, including his newest single, “Turn Me On.”

Be sure to check out the curated playlist Jonathan made to accompany this episode below, along with his socials and where you can find his music.

Thanks so much for listening, and I’ll catch you next time.

Jonathan’s Playlist

Jonathan’s IG

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Welcome to You Had to Be There, the podcast where we deep dive into the world of the music industry. I’m your host, Julia Gomberg. I’m so excited to share my interview with Jo, the frontwoman of the band JVK. They describe their sound as “pushing the boundaries of the rock genre through their empowering, retro glam-rock/dark-pop sound”, and their new album release, Pop Culture Affair, proves that to be true. It’s a super fun record that feels both nostalgic and futuristic, and it was so fun getting to talk to Jo about her songwriting process, what it’s like getting on stage, and all of the incredible things in store for JVK this year.

Thanks so much for listening, and be sure to check out JVK’s album Pop Culture Affair out now, everywhere. Jo has also curated a playlist alongside the episode, which you can find in the show notes. Catch you next time.

Stream Pop Culture Affair

Jo’s Playlist

JVK’s Instagram

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Welcome back to You Had to Be There! While I'm frolicking in Coachella Valley this coming weekend, I'm happy to kick off this week's episode featuring Nashville-based singer-songwriter, Caroline Romano. Caroline started writing emotionally driven songs at just 13 years old, even performing at a college bar open mic with her parents’ support. Since then, she’s grown into a versatile artist who moves seamlessly between misty-eyed ballads and fiery alt-rock anthems.

If you’re drawn to the cinematic storytelling of artists like Gracie Abrams or Holly Humberstone, her new EP, It Took Me Falling, captures that same feeling: the vulnerability, the intensity, and those fleeting butterfly moments of meeting someone new.

Make sure to check out Caroline’s EP, which is out now everywhere, along with the playlist she curated to go with our conversation. Thanks so much for listening and I’ll catch you next time.

Stream It Took Me Falling

Caroline’s Playlist

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Imagine your favorite music festival just dropped its lineup. You pull up the poster, scanning the names, planning your weekend. Now imagine that same lineup, filtered by gender. Suddenly, whole sections start to disappear. Headliners shrink. Entire days feel emptier than they should.

That’s not hypothetical; it’s the reality Book More Women is working to change.

This week, I spoke with Abbey Carbonneau, the founder and executive director of Book More Women, an organization that holds music festivals accountable and drives real progress toward gender-balanced lineups.

Book More Women is in the final stretch of their crowdfunding campaign, raising funds to move from tracking the issues to actually building solutions through festival partnerships, data-driven research, and new initiatives that create real accountability across the industry.

You can learn more about Book More Women and learn how to support the incredible work they do, and check out Abbey’s curated playlist below.

Support Book More Women

Book More Women IG

Abbey's Playlist

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Outro music:

Welcome back to another episode of You Had to Be There! This week, I’m so thrilled to share my interview with rising British soul musician, MT Jones. His sound pulls inspiration from the warmth of 60s and 70s classics with the texture of modern R&B and jazz. MT's sound is grounded in timeless songwriting, live instrumentation, and a voice that carries both vulnerability and power. We talk about how his career started, who inspires him, and what he’s learned along the way. His debut album, Joy, will be released March 20, and you won’t want to miss it.

In addition to his own music, be sure to check out MT’s curated playlist alongside this episode, as well as all of his music links, which you can find below. Thank you so much for listening, and I’ll catch you next time.

Presave Joy

MT Jones’ IG

MT Jones’ Playlist

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Welcome to the season 3 finale of You Had to Be There! This week, I’m joined by Warner Bailey, who helped build one of the most honest, funny, and unexpectedly powerful platforms in entertainment.

Warner is the co-founder of Assistant Vs. Agents, the meme account turned media brand that spotlights the real experiences of assistants across the industry. We talk about the philosophy of “working your way up,” what actually makes a great assistant, and how humor can serve as both a coping mechanism and a catalyst for change.

Be sure to check out all of the incredible work AvA has been up to by following them at the links in the episode show notes, along with Warner’s curated playlist for this episode. Thanks so much for listening, and I’ll catch you next time for the start of season 4 of You Had to Be There.

Assistants vs. Agents Website

Warner's Playlist

You Had to Be There IG

(Outro music: Sunday - Sea Lemon)

Welcome back to You Had to Be There! This week, I’m excited to welcome Alec Ellin, Co-Founder and CEO of Laylo.

Laylo is a CRM, or Customer Relationship Management drop platform, used by leading artists, promoters, and event teams, including Ariana Grande, John Summit, Sombr, and many more. Since 2021, Laylo has driven over $1 billion in sales across tickets, merch, and content, and launched ticketing partnerships, with more than 200,000 drops last year alone.

We talked about how Laylo got its start, where the company stands today, and the path ahead as it helps artists and live events grow their audiences and build momentum around every drop.

You can find Laylo in the episode show notes, along with a playlist Alec curated for this episode. And next time your favorite artist texts you about their tour, it might just be coming from Laylo. Thanks so much for listening; I’ll catch you next time.

Laylo

Laylo on Linkedin

Alec’s Playlist

Episode outro: Nervous Tics by Maribou State

Welcome to You Had to Be There, the podcast where we deep dive into the world of the music industry. I’m your host, Julia Gomberg. I’m so excited to introduce my guest this week, Erin Singleton, the founder of Softside.

Softside connects music artists & creative communities via officially licensed, fan-designed merchandise partnerships. Erin has created a legit digital home for fan-designed merch, with simplified licensing, artist approvals, and structured revenue sharing that actually supports the creative communities behind it. We also get into their recent merch drop with Geese, designed by fans, who you might recognize from their major breakout year and their performance as last week’s SNL musical guest...!

You can check out Softside in the episode show notes, along with Erin’s playlist she curated alongside this episode. Thanks so much for listening, and be sure to stay tuned for new episodes and announcements coming soon.

Softside Merch Website

Softside Merch IG

Erin’s Playlist