In 2017, my cover band Maggie Speaks started a new program called Celebrity Sit-In. It has been an incredible addition for corporate events, charity galas and fundraisers, high end weddings and music festivals. Celebrity singers from world famous bands join Maggie Speaks on stage to perform their top 4 – 6 hits. I have been fortunate enough to do this over 30 times in the past few years. Each time, I seem to learn something different from each of our guests, a little nugget that I can take back with me to continually refine Maggie Speaks live performance.
The first Celebrity Sit-In we ever did was at the Belasco Theater in Los Angeles for a Charity Gala. It was for the young professionals’ group within this organization so the age range of attendees was anywhere between 25 to 45 years old. The organizer of the event happened to be a good friend of mine from high school. We brainstormed ideas that would be impactful for the younger short attention span crowd, while still fitting into the events budget. As prices for celebrity talent continued to rise, it became more difficult for organizations to get the most bang for their buck. Affordable full bands did not necessarily have a robust enough catalog to hold peoples’ attention for a sixty to seventy-five-minute set. Many times, the acts have 3 to 5 songs that the general population will be familiar with, but they would need to perform 10 additional songs in order to fill out their setlist which runs the risk of losing the audiences’ attention. We felt that it would be truly impactful if a Celebrity could just come out and do their 4 biggest hits and nothing more. So Magnificent Events set out to find celebrity entertainers that were willing to sit in with Maggie Speaks for their big hits.
We landed on Mark McGrath from Sugar Ray. Sugar Ray was at the height of their powers in the mid to late 90’s. They had four top 10 hits including two #1 hits that we decided to perform together with Mark. “Fly” and “Every Morning” reached #1, “Someday” reached #2 and “When It’s Over” reached #7 on the Pop Charts and #2 on the US Adult charts. Mark also carved out a great career outside of Sugar Ray as the co-host of the television show Extra as well as the show Don’t Forget the Lyrics! He was also the most successful celebrity contestant on Rock and Roll Jeopardy. All these things made Mark the perfect choice for our first Celebrity Sit-In.
We had a long sound check and rehearsal that day and really had a chance to talk and get to know each other. I was struck by how comfortable Mark made me feel in our conversations. Although we had just met, it felt like we had known each other for years. His insight on the entertainment industry was truly profound. He pointed out a few things that I have taken to heart since our meeting. He said, “Dave, I may not be the best singer out there, but I can guarantee that I have the most fun, and that certainly projects on the audience and level of engagement I get at my performances.” We also talked about corporate events and charity galas. He imparted his philosophy in these markets by saying, “I always make sure the event producers, the sponsors and the VIPs at these events know how much I appreciate being their entertainment. I try and remain as flexible as possible and I take the time to ask them questions and engage in conversation. If I make them feel good about their entertainment booking decision, they will remember me for future events and recommend me to others.” While it sounds simple, it is the foundation of which the music industry is built. Having a great network, being trustworthy, professional, reliable and entertaining is the key to a long and successful career. Maggie Speaks loved performing with Mark McGrath from Sugar Ray and we cannot wait to do it again.
