You Had to Be There

Welcome to You Had to Be There , the podcast where we take a deep dive into the world of the music industry. I'm your host, Julia Gomberg. This week, I had the pleasure of speaking with Nashville-based singer-songwriter Bre Kennedy. Bre kicked off 2026 with the release of The Alchemist , an introspective and beautifully crafted album centered on collaboration, self-love, and personal growth. Throu...

This week, I'm honored to be joined by all four members of one of my favorite bands of the past decade, Temples. The English rock band blends influences from the '60s and '70s with a modern psychedelic sound that's made them a standout act in today's music landscape. Ahead of the release of their fifth studio album, BLISS , out June 26, we took a trip down memory lane to discuss the band's origins...

Welcome to You Had to Be There, the podcast where we deep dive into the world of the music industry. I’m your host, Julia Gomberg. This week, I’m thrilled to welcome Evan Cartwright, drummer of the post-punk band Cola from Montreal. We chat about the band’s new release, Cost of Living Adjustment , out now, and Evan takes us behind the scenes of how the band’s separate musical lives came together t...

Welcome back to You Had to Be There , the podcast where we deep dive into the world of the music industry. I’m your host, Julia Gomberg. This week, I had the pleasure of speaking with Nashville-based soul artist Jonathan Plevyak. With vocals and a style that feel pulled straight from a vintage jukebox, Jonathan blends classic soul influences with timeless themes of love, belonging, and self-discov...

Welcome to You Had to Be There , the podcast where we deep dive into the world of the music industry. I’m your host, Julia Gomberg. I’m so excited to share my interview with Jo, the frontwoman of the band JVK. They describe their sound as “pushing the boundaries of the rock genre through their empowering, retro glam-rock/dark-pop sound”, and their new album release, Pop Culture Affair , proves tha...

Welcome back to You Had to Be There! While I'm frolicking in Coachella Valley this coming weekend, I'm happy to kick off this week's episode featuring Nashville-based singer-songwriter, Caroline Romano. Caroline started writing emotionally driven songs at just 13 years old, even performing at a college bar open mic with her parents’ support. Since then, she’s grown into a versatile artist who move...

Imagine your favorite music festival just dropped its lineup. You pull up the poster, scanning the names, planning your weekend. Now imagine that same lineup, filtered by gender. Suddenly, whole sections start to disappear. Headliners shrink. Entire days feel emptier than they should. That’s not hypothetical; it’s the reality Book More Women is working to change. This week, I spoke with Abbey Carb...

Welcome back to another episode of You Had to Be There ! This week, I’m so thrilled to share my interview with rising British soul musician, MT Jones. His sound pulls inspiration from the warmth of 60s and 70s classics with the texture of modern R&B and jazz. MT's sound is grounded in timeless songwriting, live instrumentation, and a voice that carries both vulnerability and power. We talk abo...

Welcome to the season 3 finale of You Had to Be There! This week, I’m joined by Warner Bailey, who helped build one of the most honest, funny, and unexpectedly powerful platforms in entertainment. Warner is the co-founder of Assistant Vs. Agents, the meme account turned media brand that spotlights the real experiences of assistants across the industry. We talk about the philosophy of “working your...

Welcome back to You Had to Be There ! This week, I’m excited to welcome Alec Ellin, Co-Founder and CEO of Laylo. Laylo is a CRM, or Customer Relationship Management drop platform, used by leading artists, promoters, and event teams, including Ariana Grande, John Summit, Sombr, and many more. Since 2021, Laylo has driven over $1 billion in sales across tickets, merch, and content, and launched tick...

Welcome to You Had to Be There , the podcast where we deep dive into the world of the music industry. I’m your host, Julia Gomberg. I’m so excited to introduce my guest this week, Erin Singleton, the founder of Softside. Softside connects music artists & creative communities via officially licensed, fan-designed merchandise partnerships. Erin has created a legit digital home for fan-designed m...

Welcome to You Had to Be There , the podcast where we deep dive into the world of the music industry. I’m your host, Julia Gomberg. This week, I’m fangirling a bit because I got to speak with the iconic, blue-haired, and effortlessly cool Charlotte Sands. Charlotte is a pop punk artist who blends upbeat melodies with honest, self-reflective lyrics. Her upcoming album, Satellite, really encapsulate...

Welcome back to You Had to Be There! I’m so excited to end the year with a special episode featuring one of my all-time favorite bands, Twen. I’m joined by Jane and Ian to talk about their DIY approach in everything they do, from writing songs to touring across the country, and what it’s taken to find real success on their own terms. Be sure to check out the playlist Jane and Ian curated below, al...

Welcome back! I’m so excited to introduce Erica Campbell as this week’s guest. Erica is a seasoned music editor and writer, and most recently the former Music Editor of PAPER. She has a way of seeing artists before the rest of the world catches on, and today we get to tap into that perspective: the culture she’s observing, the shifts she’s excited about, and the moments that remind her why this wo...

Welcome to You Had to Be There , the podcast that dives deep into the world of the music industry. I’m your host, Julia Gomberg. This week, I had the pleasure of chatting with Alany Rodriguez , festival and conference programmer for SXSW’s music initiatives. In her role, Alany helps bring to life everything from Keynote & Featured Speakers, artist demo listening sessions, and music conference...

Welcome back to You Had to Be There , the podcast where we dive deep into the world of the music industry. I’m your host, Julia Gomberg. This week, I’m thrilled to be joined by Kristin Robinson. Kristin is a Senior Correspondent at Billboard and the host of On the Record , Billboard’s new podcast that unpacks the biggest stories at the crossroads of music, business, and technology. Over the course...

Welcome to another episode of You Had to Be There , the podcast where we deep dive into the world of the music industry. I'm your host, Julia Gomberg. This week, I’m excited to introduce Melanie Williamson as this week’s guest. Melanie is the founder and editor-in-chief of Music Scene Media, a digital music publication featuring all the facets of music: from artist interviews, social content, arti...

Welcome to another episode of You Had to Be There , the podcast where we deep dive into the world of the music industry. I'm your host, Julia Gomberg. This week, I’m so excited to introduce Sofia Gillani as my special guest. Sofia is a West London-based artist who has devoted herself to her music through writing, producing, self-promotion and directing music videos– all independently. Her single ‘...

Welcome to You Had to Be There , the podcast where we deep dive into the behind-the-scenes of the music industry. I’m your host, Julia Gomberg. This week, I was lucky enough to get to sit down with Abby Jones, staff editor and writer for Stereogum . Her writing has also been featured in Pitchfork, Billboard, Consequence, NPR Music, SPIN, and more. We got to discuss the impressive trajectory of her...

Welcome to You Had to Be There , the podcast where we deep dive into the world of the music industry. I'm your host, Julia Gomberg. After a short summer hiatus, I’m super excited to be back and introduce my latest guest, Erica D’Aurora! Erica is the powerhouse behind Gioia Communications, a PR agency for artists. The name gioia—Italian for “joy”—perfectly captures the passion for music she has car...

Welcome to another episode of You Had to Be There , the podcast where we deep dive into the world of the music industry. I'm your host, Julia Gomberg. I'm so thrilled to introduce Katie Garcia as this week’s guest. Katie is the Co-Founder of Bayonet Records , an independent music label that she founded with her husband, Dustin Payseur, who also happens to front one of my favorite bands of all time...

Welcome to another episode of You Had to Be There , the podcast where we deep dive into the world of the music industry. I'm your host, Julia Gomberg. This week, I'm thrilled to have Leah Lu, Senior Social Media Manager at Rolling Stone. Leah is a social media master, having honed her skills since her early Tumblr years, and now spearheading social media for Rolling Stone . We talk about her close...

Welcome to back to You Had to Be There , the podcast where we deep dive into the world of the music industry. I'm your host, Julia Gomberg. This week, I'm joined by Jack Cash, frontman of the alt/goth rock band Vesper Rose. Jack is an impressively seasoned musician with a creative edge for musical themes of punk, goth, horror, and metal. He considers himself to be fairly negative, but I found his...

I’m very excited to introduce this week’s guest, London-based artist, Dirt Flirt. Her music has been described as 'dirty alt-pop'—a genre she’s making entirely her own. We discuss Dirt Flirt’s impressive musical background, including playing guitar for Bimini while opening for MUNA on their UK tour…no big deal. Lately, she’s already surpassed 70,000 streams for her catchy pop hook, Boyfriend, on S...

Welcome to another episode of You Had to Be There, the podcast where we deep dive into the world of the music industry. I'm your host, Julia Gomberg. This week, I'm joined by pop singer-songwriter Jenna May. Jenna is such a brilliant songwriter and artist, and each of her songs act as a new page in her personal sonic journal. It was really inspiring to learn about her songs' themes and where she d...