Meet Kendall Adams and Lamont Leak of The Live Playlist

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kendall Adams and Lamont Leak.

Kendall and Lamont, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
Lamont: Upon graduating from college, I started working in artist management Atlanta. I started doing independent showcases, named Indie Stage, to make connections but then I realized I had a talent at producing live shows. I wanted to expand my career, so after two years, I headed to L.A. To learn the ins and out of producing, I did various PA jobs at the tv and movies studios all across Hollywood. After working my ass off, I landed at management positions for MTV’s Wonderland & BET’s Next Big Thing (Coming July 9th. plug) as well as eventually becoming a talent producer for NBC’s The Voice. The Live Playlist was born when I had the vision to produce a Kanye West-themed show during all the scrutiny he was going through in 2016. I knew I could tap into the countless connections I built over the years to put on an amazing show and from that night, The Live Playlist grew to become a platform for independent artists across the nation.

Kendall: Back in 2013, I was sitting in Downtown Cleveland looking at everyone being unhappy going to work and I started to fear I would be the same if I followed the traditional path I was on. Soon after that, I started doing management for two artists, Twenty8 & Jay Kicks, because it was different. During that journey, I was learning and doing anything I had to get noticed such as video directing, photography, designing matching shirts, you name it. I realized I loved the hustle and creativity of marketing and I knew I wanted to continue to do that. We took a trip to LA to shoot a music video and I loved the city and the seed of moving here was planted in my head. In 2016, I was reading a note my aunt who recently passed to herself about regrets and I knew I had to take a risk. I later was on Craigslist looking for places to live in LA, when saw a listing to stay on a couch and it was posted by Lamont. We connected on a lot of similarities and soon I was staying with Lamont and his roommates who eventually all became family to me. Lamont came to me about this Kanye West idea and I was sold on the first pitch. The rest is history.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc. – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
Lamont: MONEY! Every Live Playlist show is a production. It’s a large overhead each night with having 1 (sometimes 2) DJs, a full band and having top ten talent in LA for every show. Not to mention the cost of rehearsals, venues, and promotion. We’ve had talks about sponsorships but it can be hard to find a partner that understands the vision and that doesn’t want to turn it into a shell of itself.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into The Live Playlist story. Tell us more about the business.
Lamont: The Live Playlist is a place for creatives and the partygoing audience to come together. We are known for our carefully curated live shows featuring some of the best talent LA has to offer, ranging from vocalists, visual artists, and more. Our “I Miss The Old Kanye” show kicked it off and we have been running ever since. I have a strong passion for independent music so we really wanted to build a platform for artists to connect to new audiences because it’s a challenge for new acts to be discovered and to get people to see shows with featuring headliners they never heard of.

Kendall: I’ll say what we have been most proud of is our ability to build a solid following across the nation. A lot of our growth is attributed to word of mouth and our fan base. Every event feels like a family get-together and that sense of community has really given our events that unique feel. That feeling when someone reminds you of something that happened at one our events is so great because its dope to be able to leave an impression like that on someone.

Has luck played a meaningful role in your life and business?
Kendall: Luck has a big role in our life. When doing such large productions, it is so many possible things that can go wrong. An artist can be M.I.A., our event can be rained out, Game 7 of the World Series. All these things can be the difference between an amazing show with a packed house or being thousands of dollars in the hole. When dealing with business or just life in general, a lot of things are outside our control so it takes some luck for things to play out the way we hope.