We recently connected with Dalila Seruntine and have shared our conversation below.

Dalila, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Earning a full time living from one’s creative career can be incredibly difficult. Have you been able to do so and if so, can you share some of the key parts of your journey and any important advice or lessons that might help creatives who haven’t been able to yet?

My Husband had been a full time drummer for years before we began dating,
I always loved singing along to the radio, and had a small hope I could actually sing in some type of public way. My husband was immersed in the New Orleans music scene so it provoked me to pursue and develop myself as a singer. I sang in front of one his best friends bassist Roy Pope, and he affirmed my gift so to speak. But I definitely had to take steps of learning, and the majority of that happened at Church but also Bourbon Street in New Orleans!

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is DALILA SERUNTINE pronounced ( DA LEE LA ) lol I was born in New Orleans, Louisiana!

I along with my husband, Tony Seruntine are embedded in the Louisiana music scene and have been for over 20 years!

We are the founders of GROOVY 7 a polished special events band that has won the hearts of our great state of Louisiana, and gotten the attention of many movers in Shakers and to that we are so grateful!

My husband is a well-known drummer and known for his feel, impeccable timing, accuracy, and level of excellency in leadership!

My grandmother was an opera singer in Nicaragua, which is where my family is from. She actually got to sing for the president back in her day, and I have a few uncles that were very musically inclined. Although once I was born, there was not much music around me within my family to the level of when my grandmother was young and actively singing.

When my husband and I began dating, it sparked the musical heritage that was already in my bloodline! Growing up, I absolutely loved the voice and loved the feeling when I would sing, although never did it publicly.

When my husband and I were dating, I sang a cappella in front of one of his best friends this bass player Roy pope and the rest is history!

My husband had been traveling the world playing music with a well known blues guitar player from New Orleans, he had been to Bordeaux, France, Canada, New York, California, Hong Kong, just to name a few!
Once we were married, he decided he wanted to settle down locally, and he joined a local cover band, but quickly realized there was more.
He literally fasted and prayed, and he heard God give him the direction to put together his own band and thus Groovy 7 was born!

Groovy 7 has had the honor to perform at the Endymion Extravaganza in the Superdome since 2013 and has opened up for recording artist Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, Steven Tyler, Rod Stewart, Flo Rida, Kiss, Pitbull, Lionel Richie, Katy Perry, Maroon 5, Luke Bryan, and many others!

The band was also picked to do a cameo in the movie Barefoot shot here in New Orleans featuring Rachel Evanwood and Scott Speedman!
This opportunity afforded the band, lots of exposure and I got to sing for two tracks that were included in the movie and we all got to play ourselves!

Our band keeps excellence to a very high level. We have some of the best musicians and creatives that New Orleans has to offer.

I would say what we perform most for- are luxury weddings, which we absolutely love, every detail must be executed to perfection, as well as taking all the guests on a journey that elevates brings joy, and truly opens the hearts so that everyone can enjoy themselves together in singing, dancing,, and sheer celebration!

All while keeping the musical excellence high and having clients at the end of the event, talk about the talent level of the band it’s really the most rewarding compliment when people say it was the best night of their lives and they could not get over the talent level of the band!

The thing that we are most proud of is the reputation that we have for our excellence and how each client is just blown away by the end of the night and instead of wanting to runoff, they want to hug us and speak with us afterwards because they just could not believe how amazing their night was!

We don’t look at what we do as just a paycheck we truly are invested in the night for our clients. We want to give our best we want to personalize it as much as we can and we want people to walk away from this experience, feeling refreshed and joyful, but also impressed!

What people may not know about us is that
Outside of the special events band my husband, and I have always been a huge part of our local faith community, we have been actively providing worship events for many local churches, and I have been personally writing Christian and positive music for years now!
And I’m hoping to release a few pieces in the near future!

I feel like the thing that sets us apart. Is that being that we are embedded in the faith community, and even though we perform secular covers, we choose songs that uplift, but also have edge; grit and showcase the talent in the band while simultaneously bringing a dance party!

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

The most rewarding thing about being an artist or creative is definitely the impact that you make- I am still amazed at the impact that gets communicated back to me or the band after a performance!

I get to see the look on their faces and the joy that’s filling the hearts of the people and they’ll come up to you so excited and say oh my gosh, that was amazing. We had a blast y’all sound amazing everything was great wow this is just what we needed – things like that!

What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?

I think the thing that drives me and my husband being that we have two older sons and a five year-old daughter, Is to be able to take the gifts that we have and channel them into something that’s going to make the world a better place and lead people on a good path.
From my vantage point We get to help people process emotion, or the music could help tear down walls, bring unity, joy, celebration, brotherhood that really is what we feel and see the most!

It truly is the mission and the goal and it lines up with our faith and it lines up with how we have raised our children and I hope they will carry on this in whatever they decide to do in life!

My hope is in accomplishing our mission, it will rub off on those around us, and they would be inspired to do that in their corner of the world with whatever they’re calling is whatever their gift is whatever their job is!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://Www.groovy7.com
• Instagram: @groovy7nola
• Facebook: Groovy 7
• Youtube: @Groovy7NOLA

Image Credits

Studio Tran
Moeller Media & Photography
Inside NorthShore
Rachel Boster
Boster Productions