We caught up with the brilliant and insightful The Neon Queen a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Hi! We appreciate your joining us today. Has your work ever been misunderstood or mischaracterized?
Sometimes your product doesn’t easily fit into the same category other similar products do. How do you market it so that your audience “gets it”? As a unique ABBA show, this is a challenge we have faced. There are many tribute bands out there who try to replicate the look and sound of ABBA and when The Neon Queen is described as an ABBA tribute show, they may be surprised to see the musicians are not decked out in wigs and bellbottoms on stage. Our goal is not to imitate ABBA, but to showcase their brilliant songwriting and beautiful harmonies with a modern synth-pop sound, mashing them up with songs of pop icons from the 1960s to today. It’s so much fun to see the audience’s faces light up when they hear a bit of Blondie or Madonna make its way in to an ABBA song. Our ability to connect the story of an ABBA song with other songs audience members are sure to recognize and sing along with is something that makes us unique.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
One of the most rewarding aspects of our performances is being part of the beautiful way that people connect with music. The joy we witness from the stage is immeasurable — a young girl smiling and singing along to Dancing Queen with her mom and her grandmother, a woman wiping tears during I Have a Dream, a group of friends celebrating a birthday or an anniversary laughing and dancing together to Mamma Mia, etc. … After our shows, we chat with folks who tell us stories of what ABBA’s music means to them, fond memories they associate with these songs, their excitement over a surprising mash-up. When folks leave our show, we want them to have enjoyed it so much they want to come see us again!
Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.theneonqueen.biz/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/diggin_the_neon_queen/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/diggintheneonqueen
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@theneonqueen4101/featured