Tag: music

Dr. Dana: Bridging Medicine and Music with a Voice That Heals

In a city known for dreamers and doers, few stories stand out quite like that of Dr. Dana. By day, she is a respected breast radiologist, dedicated to caring for patients and advocating for cancer awareness. By night, she transforms into a soulful singer-songwriter, creating music that blends folk, jazz, rock, and soul into something deeply cinematic and undeniably moving.

For Dana, these two worlds aren’t as far apart as they may seem. “Being a physician and musician feels like two sides of the same coin. Both are about healing,” she says. “In medicine, I care for people’s bodies. In music, I reach their hearts.”

A Journey Rooted in Resilience

Dana’s relationship with music began early, singing alongside her grandmother, a Palestinian refugee whose soulful voice left a lasting imprint. That foundation carried her through piano lessons, guitar practice, and the start of songwriting in her teenage years.

But when medical school demanded her full focus, music became a quiet passion in the background. It wasn’t until 2020, while working at Tampa’s renowned Moffitt Cancer Center, that Dana rediscovered her love of performing. Joining The ReMissions, a band made up of healthcare professionals, reignited her passion. From that point on, music was no longer optional. It was a calling.

“Finding music again after years of focusing solely on medicine was like reclaiming a piece of my spirit,” she reflects. “It’s brought joy and balance back to my life.”

Music With Purpose

Her upcoming EP, The Space Between, highlights Dana’s ability to weave her personal experiences and medical advocacy into songs that resonate far beyond her own story. Tracks like “Not Alone,” “Stage 4 Needs More,” “The Cure,” and “End the Confusion” capture themes of resilience, urgency, and human connection.

With “Stage 4 Needs More,” Dana channels her experiences in oncology to spotlight the critical need for more research and treatments for advanced cancer patients. “I sing to give voice to those who need more—more effective treatments and more hope,” she says.

Unlike many rising artists, Dana’s songs are written not for fleeting trends but for lasting impact. “My songs are an invitation to feel everything—the raw, the real, the beautiful—and to find something bigger that binds us all together.”

Building a Platform Beyond the Exam Room

Dana has already performed at local festivals and community events, as well as national stages, including delivering the national anthem at major league baseball games. Each performance reinforces her commitment to blending artistry with advocacy, showing audiences that music can heal in ways medicine alone cannot.

Her vision goes beyond the stage. Dana is positioning her music for film and television placements, recognizing that her cinematic style lends itself naturally to storytelling on screen. “My music is written for those moments where you just need to feel,” she says.

Why She Stands Out

In today’s music industry, where image often overshadows message, Dr. Dana offers a refreshing reminder that authenticity matters. She doesn’t shy away from sharing her dual identity as physician and artist. Instead, she embraces it fully, using her unique perspective to shape both her medical career and her artistry.

“Being a musician has taught me to be fearless in showing my true self,” Dana says. “That vulnerability makes me a better doctor, artist, and advocate.”

It’s a story that resonates in Los Angeles, a city where reinvention and passion are celebrated. Dr. Dana isn’t just another artist hoping to make it big. She is a professional already at the top of one demanding field who chose not to ignore her creative calling. That balance between two worlds makes her a standout voice in both.

What’s Next

As she prepares to release The Space Between, Dr. Dana is looking ahead to more performances, broader collaborations, and an expanding audience. Her message is clear: healing doesn’t stop at the hospital doors. With her music, she hopes to bring comfort, courage, and connection to listeners everywhere.

To learn more about her journey and music, visit DrDanaRocks.com. You can also follow her on Instagram, stream her songs on Spotify, or watch her latest performances on YouTube.

Written in partnership with Tom White

August 22, 2025
Spotify’s ‘Now Playing’ Event Incentivizes Top Creators

Image credit: Pexels

Some of the world’s top creators descended on Spotify’s Los Angeles campus earlier today for Now Playing, where the streaming giant unveiled a series of new offerings aimed at helping creators monetize their video podcasts on Spotify better and deepen their relationships with audiences.

Spotify has long been thought of as a place for streaming audio, with songs and podcasts serving as the streaming company’s bread and butter over the past decade-plus. Now, however, the company is also turning its sights to more visually based entertainment options, with accompanying music videos and video podcasts. The Now Playing event was rooted in highlighting these new offerings and getting some of the world’s foremost audio-rooted talents onboard with these more visual-heavy elements.

Top Talent in Attendance

Among the guests who heard from Spotify leaders and mingled with their partnerships and product team members were Drew Afualo, Emma Chamberlain, Bailey Sarian, Haliey Welch, Jay Shetty, Chris Williamson, Josh Richards, Colin Rosenblum and Samir Chaudry, Zach Justice and Jared Bailey, Don Lemon, Anna Sitar, Rhett McLaughlin and Link Neal, and Andrew Huberman.

Following a keynote from Spotify CEO and founder Daniel Ek and Co-President Gustav Söderström, creators were invited to attend panels that explored their business opportunities on Spotify.

The creators of The Good Children, Joe Hegyes and Andrew Muscarella, explained how they found their format, what drives them to innovate, and how to cut through the noise. “We launched right before video podcasts had not only become the norm but the necessity,” they recalled. “We noticed that a lot of podcasts were cutting down video for TikTok clips to get more followers and information out about the podcast.”

Additionally, those in attendance heard how creators from Higher Learning and NewlyWeds have taken cultural moments and fandoms and built them into successful video podcasts.

Pivot to Video

“Video is more immersive,” stressed Higher Learning’s Van Lathan. “When you can see it, you get a much better sense of somebody’s emotions and personality. It forms a stronger bond with your audience.”

Furthermore, Spotify monetization experts Geoff Chow and Matt Huang walked the audience of content creators through some helpful tips and insights on how to build a business as a creator on the platform.

“We see some shows that are primarily an audio show dipping their toes into video with special episodes,” said Matt. “This program is going to help them monetize all of those different types of content as they’re experimenting and figuring out what works for them.”

Also, Spotify’s Chief Public Affairs Officer, Dustee Jenkins, got deep with creator Drew Afualo, pop star Meghan Trainor, and Spotify’s Sulinna Ong on the intersecting worlds of music, podcasts, and audiobooks.

“On Spotify, my podcasts, my audiobook, and my music are all in one place,” said Meghan. “It’s one place, one app where fans can find everything and learn more if they didn’t know I did all that. It’s the best.”

Closing it Out

“I truly believe that artists and creators are the ones that change and drive culture,” added Sulinna. “We give you the tools to affect it, but you are the ones who change it.”

Throughout the afternoon, Spotify also introduced creators to their homes via guided office tours showcasing the 360-degree aspect of Spotify’s support for video production, from the podcast studios to the listening rooms to the seamless recording rooms and edit bays, all available to podcasters and video creators on Spotify.

To close things out, Spotify brought out global pop sensation Halsey, who proceeded to bring the house down with a special performance of her hits, including “Without Me,” “Lucky,” and “You Should Be Sad.”

November 22, 2024
LA’s Indie Music Venues Are Struggling to Stay Afloat

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LA’s small indie music venues are proud to provide the people of LA with independent artists who are yet to be discovered. They often support underground and niche genres people haven’t heard of before.

These small venues are essential places for up-and-coming bands to play for an audience. Without such locations, these bands often wouldn’t get discovered otherwise. Many of these independently-owned music venues are struggling to stay afloat against competition from corporate-owned venues.

The Mission of Independent Venues

The owner of Zebulon, Jef Soubiran, says his place “gives access to some people who never listen [to] some free jazz or some avant-garde or some experimental, some minimal, some punk rock,” he said. They can experience a kind of music they wouldn’t have heard anywhere else.

These small spaces give a stage to bands that are lesser-known, experimental, or that don’t conform to the norms of music. Non-mainstream musicians need a place to be staged, too, and indie venues are the place for them to get their foot in the industry’s door.

Challenges Faced By Indie Venues

As inflation rises and rent prices go up, independently owned venues are struggling to stay open. They are also in competition with major music conglomerates that own venues in the area. AEG runs El Rey, the Shrine, and The Roxy. Live Nation runs The Echo, the Hollywood Palladium, and The Wiltern.

It’s not easy to stay open when these larger venues have a significant source of income for marketing and constant traffic to even their smaller music hubs.

Financial Strategies Indie Venues Are Adopting

Independently-run music venues are taking up two major financial strategies to stay open. The first is a focus on ticket sales. The Lodge Room in Highland Park heavily relies on entry tickets at the door. “We’re not making that much money at the bar,” says the owner, Dalton Gerlach. “We have to survive on ticket sales, so it’s really just a volume thing for us,” he says. In the case of the Lodge Room, the number of people they can get to attend is more important than anything else.

The other strategy is a focus on bar sales, as seen by Gold Diggers in East Hollywood. “The door is a break-even for us. We’re making money off the bar. We want to sell drinks, and that’s what it comes down to,” says the owner, Dave Neupert. However, even with bar sales, the venues are struggling as younger generations are buying fewer drinks.

Hybrid and Nonprofit Venues

On the other hand, Permanent Records, an independent venue and record store combined, gives all of the ticket sales to the artist. The owner, Lance Barresi, says, “We only take revenue from our shows from the sales we do at the bar and whatever sales we do in the record store. Generally speaking, 60% of our revenue comes from bar sales, 40% from record sales.”

Places like Flow Sanctuary, which operate without a bar or any alcohol, rely solely on donations to stay afloat. “We’re hoping we can do fundraisers and other things that other nonprofits do,” says the owner, “Magick” Mike Milane.

Rewards Beyond Financial Gains

Although money is vital for staying open, the owners of indie venues find it inherently rewarding to run a place where new artists can get discovered. Jef Soubiran of Zebulon is exposing people to music they’ve never heard before and finds that very rewarding. “You need to have the love of what you do,” he adds.

Gerlach from the Lodge Room says, “The financial reward of it is not really quite there,” but instead, “the social and relational reward of it is there. . . Just being at shows and the community, and there’s so many intangible things around what I get to do that [are] really special.”

Losing indie venues in LA would be losing a piece of the heart of music. Without experimenters and avant-garde artists, LA music risks becoming too homogenous and lackluster. “It’s nice to have [a] different flavor,” says Soubiran.

Preserving these diverse scenes is what maintains LA’s vibrant and eclectic music culture.

November 20, 2024
Los Angeles to Celebrate Make Music Day

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Almost nothing else can bring the world together in the same significant way as music can. Breaking cultural boundaries and translating across seas, the magic of music resides with its ability to build connections and let others feel seen and heard. Celebrating the power of music and bringing artists together, the Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with LA Commons and Make Music LA, is celebrating Make Music Day this Friday, June 21.

Being live streamed globally, LA’s Make Music Day celebration is a part of the Paris 2024 Cultural Olympiad, an event that runs through the end of summer 2024 and combines art and sport (or “muscles and mind” as Pierre de Coubertin put it). This popular celebration aims for inclusiveness, with Paris 2024 encouraging everyone, including, artists, troupes, non-profits, communities, sports clubs, and more, to get involved with the cultural program.

Founded in 1982 as Fête de la Musique, this musical celebration is celebrated in more than 1,000 cities in 120 different countries, becoming an international phenomenon since its birth. Its wide recognition is the reason why the Paris 2024 Cultural Olympias has named Make Music Day one of its key days of action leading up to the games.

As part of the Paris 2024 Cultural Olympiad, LA’s Make Music Day will be a part of the global “rhythmic relay” called “Pulsations,” which means “heartbeat” in French. “Pulsations” is under the creative direction of French-Lebanese trumpeter Ibrahim Maalouf. Uniting 24 countries with a shared rhythmic heartbeat, “Pulsations” started in New Zealand, traveling throughout Asia, Africa, America, and Europe, offering a 100% livestream that invites everyone to join the celebration.

The LA celebration will be held on People Street in Leimert Park Village Plaza in front of the historic Vision Theater. “Pulsations LA” will feature artists recognized as “Cultural Treasures” by the Cultural Treasures of South L.A., a community-based resource for anyone looking to learn more about the culturally rich life of South Los Angeles. The resource provides a database, interactive map, and multimedia story bank of cultural treasures, featuring people, places, organizations, and events that help keep the multicultural community vibrant and diverse.

LA’s Make Music Day will feature musical performances from Kinnara Taiko, Fernando Pullum Community Arts Center Jazz Ensemble featuring vocalist Dwight Trible, tap dance by the Nicholas Dance Studio, poetry by “artivist” S. Pearl Sharp, and a family-friendly drum workshop by Project Knucklehead.

Los Angeles City Councilwoman Heather Hutt, 10th District, expressed, “We are honored and thrilled to have our Make Music Day Celebrations in Leimert Park, and partake in an amazing experience of global artistry and unity. For decades, South Los Angeles has been a vibrant center of expression with a rich cultural history. This celebration will be a testament to this legacy, inspiring our city for years to come.”

Los Angeles is set to pick up the rhythm from Mexico and pass it along to Canada, inviting musicians of all ages, cultures, genres, and skill levels to create a free public outdoor concert to share their musical heartbeats with family, friends, neighbors, and strangers.

For information on how to participate in Make Music Los Angeles, visit makemusicla.org, and a complete global livestream schedule can be found at makemusicday.org/pulsations.

June 20, 2024