Too Good To Be True10/7/2024 Have you ever received an offer that seemed plausible but also a little too good to be true?
Last week I opened Instagram to a message from a women's coach in central Florida. She found me online and wanted to book me to play live music during her women's luxury retreat this fall. "Is this something you'd be interested in?" she asked. After doing a bit of my own research on her and her business, I responded: "Sure! I'd need to move a few things around though since I'm based in Baton Rouge. Could you give me a bit more detail about what you're looking for?" Her response: "Omg! I thought you were in Orlando! lol" This isn't the first time someone has thought I was FROM or IN Orlando, BUT, on the flip side, I must be doing something right if I'm popping up in Google searches! AND my music really would have been perfect for her type of event, so now I can keep my eyes open for future opportunities like it closer to home! In the meantime, please keep all those in central Florida in your thoughts and prayers as they prepare for Hurricane Milton this week. And if a "too good to be true" opportunity shows up at your door in the near future, I hope you look for a way to turn it into a gift, too. With gratitude, Ashley
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Got Plans This Sunday?9/13/2024 I'm excited to announce a last-minute gig has popped up for THIS Sunday, Sept. 15, from 11am to 3pm at The Village At Willow Grove Arts Market (off Perkins Road) in Baton Rouge! If you have some free time, come on out and say hi/enjoy the music while you shop. This is my first solo jazz gig since maternity leave, and I'd love to see you--it's been so long! Speaking of performances, check out my rendition of Norah Jones' jazz/pop hit, "Don't Know Why," which I recorded recently for RockClass101.com. I look forward to seeing you out in the world again! With gratitude, Ashley One Enchanted Evening8/22/2024 A few people have asked me when I'm planning to do another show :) Honestly, it's gonna be a little while since I'm still "officially" on maternity leave and learning how to keep our tiny human fed and happy. Babies are adorable AND, of course, come with a steep learning curve. BUT, I am looking forward to coming out of hibernation Sunday, October 13th to see a fabulous show called "Some Enchanted Evening," at the Manship Theater at Shaw Center for the Arts in Baton Rouge! If you like the Great American Songbook, you’ll love this show. I’ve been following band leader Benny Benack III for a while now and am always pleasantly surprised by both his jazz trumpet-playing and his silky smooth crooner vocals. How exciting that he and his crew are making a rare appearance right here in the Red Stick. Tickets are available now here. I hope to see you there! With gratitude, Ashley  Upside Down8/9/2024 Baby O must have heard me complaining about how uncomfortable I was toward the end of pregnancy because he decided to show up a couple weeks early on July 17th! My birth experience was a bit of a dream (surprisingly quick and drama-free--I drove myself to the hospital and had him just 7 hours later without needing to be induced). So far all he does is eat, sleep, poop, and make a whole lot of strange newborn noises (maybe he'll have a musical ear after all), but he has certainly turned our world upside down (day is currently night and night is day... :/). Even so, he already has our hearts. While I'm still on maternity leave, I've started cantoring again once a week or so for an hour at a time--like "trial runs" as I figure out how to be both a musician AND a mom. When your babe expects to be fed every 2-3 hours, this can be a surprising challenge, but we're learning. Thank you so much for all your support and well wishes! With gratitude, Ashley  One More Time...7/16/2024  Thursday evening I drove to New Orleans for my last jazz gig before maternity leave. This one was special because it was celebrating Bastille Day 2024 (the French national holiday, which occurs each year on July 14th) with the Consulate General of France in Louisiana. What a privilege to be a part of the Louisiana French community and to get to sing/play our history and unique connection to the Francophone world through music. Thank you to Adam Bock--a very talented, New Orleans-based guitarist and instructor at Loyola University--for joining me for this performance. With gratitude, Ashley P.S. While I'm in the last few weeks of preparation to bring a human baby into the world, I have also been nurturing a "musical baby." Be the first to PRE-SAVE my newest single, "Be My Baby," which will be released on your favorite streaming platforms Thursday, July 25th! PRE-SAVE IT NOW!  Start What You Want to Finish7/2/2024 In order to finish something later, you have to start it now! This time last year I made a conscious effort to practice my leadership skills as President of GSU Toastmasters Baton Rouge. I'm proud to say that my term was a successful one and just wrapped up on June 30th! In that time, as a club we achieved the President’s Distinguished Award for the 20th year in a row (so needless to say this group is a well-oiled machine). My main duties were keeping the course steady and the positive energy flowing along with a stellar team of fellow officers who truly pulled most of the weight as we celebrated and overcame challenges by working together. Here are a few words of wisdom I kept in mind throughout the year that may help you on your own leadership/confidence/life journey:
A big thank you to ALL our GSU club members for working with me to set an example of how learning things that scare you can still be fun, and best wishes to the new officer team for 2024-2025! What is one project or goal you'd like to finish by next summer that you could start working on now? In the meantime, wishing you and your family a relaxing and fun July 4th holiday! Ashley  Big Changes Ahead6/25/2024 Last week I had the pleasure of playing a luau celebration at Barclay House of Baton Rouge. It was a fun evening of tropical tunes from the Hawaiian islands and beyond! After the performance, one assisted living resident rolled up to me with her walker and said, “I visited Hawaii 40 years ago with my late husband and had a wonderful time. Thank you for helping me relive those memories tonight.” It was also lovely to see so many familiar faces for my last gig at Portobello's (Bocage) Friday night. Thank you to everyone who came out to wish Baby O and me well! I will still be cantoring at churches and for occasional funerals through the month of July but am pausing most other (more physically intensive) gigs during this time. However, if you'd like to book me for an event in Fall 2024 or later, please reach out soon for best availability! To stay in touch with the rest of our pregnancy journey, follow me on social media:
With gratitude, Ashley  One Last Evening at Portobello's6/12/2024 We got word this week that Portobello's has decided not to continue its live music as of July 2024, so my LAST NIGHT will be Friday, June 21, from 6pm to 9pm. This is, of course, disappointing news since I truly enjoyed playing there and received so many positive comments from patrons. A big THANK YOU to everyone who came out to dine, visit me, and enjoy the music! I'll be going on maternity leave soon (so the timing is strangely convenient), but I'm grateful to have been a part of this fun, local jazz effort for the last few months. If you'd like to come out one more time, June 21st may be my LAST SOLO PUBLIC PERFORMANCE in Baton Rouge before Baby O arrives! With gratitude, Ashley  I love what I do. AND, what I do scares me on a regular basis. Yes, you read that right: MY WORK SCARES ME. Because in order to do what I do, I have to consistently face my biggest fears: self-doubt and imposter syndrome. I used to struggle alone, thinking that successful professionals, creatives, and high achievers didn't second-guess themselves. I used to wait for everything to be perfect--to be able to check off ALL the required boxes before I began. Now I know that the most successful people in any field are the ones who:
My life is so different now because I strive to live into these characteristics, to BE the version of me who consistently takes small risks and makes bold actions (1% growth daily really adds up over time). Leaning INTO my struggles instead of running AWAY from them made all the difference. That's one reason why I'm so grateful for opportunities to share about the importance of mental fitness with fellow creatives, and for this incredible review from a recent speaking engagement! (Check out the full review at AshleyOrlando.com.) “[Ashley’s] dynamic speaking style and infectious enthusiasm drew us all in from the moment she took the stage. But…it was the depth of insight she brought to the table that truly blew me away. With a perfect balance of personal anecdotes, psychological research, and practical tips, Ashley provided us with invaluable tools for overcoming self-doubt and unlocking our full potential…If you ever have the opportunity to hear her speak, do yourself a favor and jump at the chance. You won’t regret it!” - Barb Braud, Sr. Art Director, Lamar Graphics Be bold. Find 1 action that can help you grow 1% today. Then take that step, and repeat daily. With gratitude, Ashley  Weathering the Storm5/27/2024  Sometimes life happens so strangely, yet coincidentally that I have to laugh.
A couple weeks ago at Toastmasters, the lights at the Bluebonnet Library started flickering just as we were starting our meeting. Then they went out entirely. Then our phones started shrieking: “Dangerous weather alert!!!” I wondered, “Should we cancel?” The security guard looked at me and said, “I wouldn’t want to be outside in this.” When the library staff started sending ALL library patrons into our meeting room to shelter in place (it was the one room in the library without windows), that made the decision clear: we’d continue as best we could using our phones as flashlights. As the first speaker for the night, the whole premise of my speech project was “Managing a Difficult Audience,” so 4 or 5 people had been pre-selected by another member to “distract me” in various ways while I spoke. But since it was pretty dark and we had so many unexpected guests in the room, I couldn’t tell who was trying to distract me ON PURPOSE and who was distracting me BY ACCIDENT. It was both challenging and exhilarating to deliver a 12-minute extemporaneous speech to an audience of shadows while handling auditory AND semi-visual distractions left and right—a very real-world scenario that I would have been absolutely terrified to tackle just a few years ago. After an hour, the major wind threat passed and the library decided to close early, so we ended our meeting early, too. But I’m very proud of our GSU Toastmasters members for stepping up to this unexpected challenge and making a bit of lemonade out of a tricky situation! As we walked out the door, one of the librarians even said, “I’m so glad I finally got to attend a meeting! I’ve wanted to for years, but I’m always at the desk on Monday nights.” This will definitely go down as one of the most memorable Toastmasters meetings I’ve ever attended. If you’ve been meaning to work on your speaking/leadership/ feedback skills or are curious to check out Toastmasters in general, guests are always welcome! Our GSU club meets weekly on Mondays from 7pm to 8:30pm at the Bluebonnet Regional Library in Baton Rouge, but you can find a full directory of Toastmasters club meeting dates, times and locations worldwide at Toastmasters.org. And we’ll ALMOST ALWAYS leave the light on for ya! With gratitude, Ashley AuthorAshley Orlando is a jazz vocalist/ukulele artist and coach who helps growth-focused leaders find their voice, grow their presence & amplify their impact. Archives
October 2024
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