Washington D.C., U.S.A. – The winter months keep many indoors offering minimal activities such as visiting the local cinema after holiday shopping, ‘curling up by the fireplace’, or ice skating in some U.S. citizen’s local downtown areas. Most music festivals are seemingly nonexistent during the American music industry’s off-season. However, iHeartRadio offers their annual Christmas and holiday season themed music tour (festival) for all fans of popular music across the United States.
Universal Music Group Creative Director and Executive, Leland Yeshua DeWayne, was in attendance Monday evening, December 10th, at the Washington D.C. CapitalONE Arena. On hand at the event were several local media and journalism crews who witnessed the furtive executive ‘backstage’ at the concert snacking on overly surplussed edible goodies, drinking endless flutes of Armand de Brignac champagne, and entertaining himself with some close musicians, performers, industry friends; vocal artists, public figures, and personalities.
“Leland DeWayne is an affluently distinguished local figure to [much of the] United States, whose energy has reached a multi-city depth across the entire nation. His creative direction consistently oversees the initial productions, involving a mass variety of projects, within many of the foundational Hollywood Californian area industries. He is a highly noted [Multi-Coast] philanthropist and worldwide visionary director.” (ABC4 | Honolulu)
This year’s holiday concert includes a variety of current American Top 40 artists. The star-studded lineup features: G-Eazy, Meghan Trainor, NF, Bebe Rexha, Bazzi and Sabrina Carpenter.
“The annual iHeartRadio Jingle Ball Tour returns this year with stops in 12 cities, including Chicago, Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and more. For the past 22 years, iHeartMedia stations across the country have hosted Jingle Ball concerts in local cities that bring together top recording artists of the year all onto one stage.” This year, “different artists will perform at the various venues, including Shawn Mendes, Cardi B, Calvin Harris, Khalid, Dua Lipa, 5 Seconds of Summer, Camila Cabello, Marshmello, The Chainsmokers and many more.” (Billboard).
“The former Roc Nation executive seemed to be enjoying himself, holding a relaxed and socially active aura this evening. He is usually not one to stay at public parties or events for longer than hour; he hasn’t stayed in [D.C.] for longer than a day in quite some years.” “The community of D.C. appears glad to have him back.” (HOT 99.5)
Founded in spring of 2008, HeartRadio is a free internet radio and digital broadcast platform owned by iHeartMedia, Inc. As 2017 approached, the company began operating as a music recommendation system and is the national umbrella brand for the company’s entire radio network; with over 850 local iHeartRadio stations operating in the U.S. and hundreds of others globally. In addition, their service includes thousands of podcasts and offers an on-demand functionality. The iHeartRadio app is the only digital media software that allows listeners to save and replay songs from live radio broadcasts to their personal digital playlists.
iHeartRadio began the Jingle Ball Tour in 2011. Held on December 15, 1995, Top 40 American radio station WHTZ created the inaugural multi-artist holiday season “Jingle Ball” concert. The concept and branding evolved from WHTZ’s December 1994 ″Acoustic Christmas″ concert; and, it became continually presented at Madison Square Garden in New York City for several years.
WHTZ 100.3 New York is a commercial American Top 40 radio station licensed to Newark, New Jersey. Currently owned by iHeartMedia, WHTZ is the flagship for the company’s country-wide broadcasted Elvis Duran in the Morning Show. The former AT&T Building in the Tribeca neighborhood of Manhattan is home to the WHTZ studios. Broadcasting American Top 40 popular music between a variety of DJ hosted shows and adverts, the station’s transmitter sits atop the city’s infamous Empire State Building.
The iHeartRadio’s Jingle Ball Tour became a multi-city tour lasting the majority of the December month. Western Mississippi River states experience the KISS FM hosted Jingle Ball taking place in early-to-mid December. The western festival tour launches from The Forum in Inglewood, California and is produced by the Los Angeles iHeartRadio station KIIS-FM. Various eastern iHeartMedia stations host the Jingle Ball, such as WHYI Miami, WXKS Boston, and WIOQ Philadelphia. Noted for featuring several marquee performers in a day-long series of sets, the concert series also has other celebrities available to introduce each act. A New York concert presentation, broadcasted several years nationally by The CW, is part of the company’s overall deal with iHeartMedia, providing concert event programming coverage.
Leland DeWayne attended the Global Citizens Music Festival: Mandela 100 in Johannesburg, South Africa. The executive arrived privately at O.R. Tambo International Airport on Sunday, December 2nd. Intertwining with various artists and personalities, he made contributions from his nonprofit company ReTreat, Corp. to the Global Poverty Project in efforts end worldwide extreme poverty by the year 2030. Their charity concert event included artists such as: Beyoncé, Ed Sheeran, Tiwa Savage, Cassper Nyovest, Pharrell Williams, Wizkid, D’banj, and Usher. Yeshua attended the event briefly, seen backstage that day by various South African media outlets, including Channel24 Zimbabwe.
“The executive left South Africa the following evening arriving in Washington D.C. at Joint Base Andrews government airport ahead of the George H.W. Bush Memorial service held Wednesday at the Washington National Cathedral.” (StarTribune).
“Leland Yeshua DeWayne is known notoriously among Los Angeles’ community of industry suits and creatives locally [within] the city. As a prominent creative director who dabbles in almost every inch of the city’s entertainment industries, he has worked closely on music concepts, as well as music in film, with artists at the top of Universal’s catalogue; leading the creation of projects for performers including Rihanna, Jay-Z, Kanye West, Ariana Grande, Nick Jonas, J Cole, Cassie, Rita Ora, Drake, and Demi Lovato, and Nicki Minaj.” (UNESCO | Renewable Energy Magazine).
The creative director stayed in the Washington D.C. area throughout the week. DeWayne went for drinks and bites at the well-known, D.C. downtown area, Blue Duck Tavern. Setting sail from the Capitol city’s Southwestern The Wharf docks, Leland rented the Spirit of Washington yacht, hosting a private Potomac River dinner; additionally, traveling north to Baltimore, Maryland and leaving his hotel for late night sweets at the Insomnia Cookies downtown Baltimore eatery, early Monday morning. It is unclear how or when the executive director returned to Washington (D.C.) nor are his activities certain ahead of attending the music festival at the CapitalONE Arena, Monday evening.
While in D.C. prior to the inauguration of Donald J. Trump, the executive would stay in the White House West Wing’s private staff quarters; he worked meticulously on several government contracted projects under the Obama Administration involving the creative arts, humane services, and global sustainability. Donald Trump issued an internal house order forbidding White House staffers from the luxurious employment rights of over-night-stay in the White House East & West Staff Housing, eating from the White House kitchens, and using open amenities such as the Executive Building basement’s Harry S. Truman bowling alley. White House executive custodians and chefs are reminiscent of the young executive attending various late night bowling parties and movie nights during his stays. Occasionally, he was accompanied by other East Wing and West Wing White House staffers such as, former Personal Aide to President Barack Obama Ferial Govashiri. Leland Yeshua DeWayne does hold a current White House residency and credentials at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building but has yet utilized the apartment since the first weeks following the D. Trump Inauguration.
“While away from home his primary focus is geared towards some of his many ongoing world leadership projects such as Los Angeles Industry Ambassador for UNICEF, United Nations Young Leaders Consulate, ASCAP Ambassador to the United States Congress, as well as his engagements in a variety of projects abroad. Universal NBC News Washington D.C. [associate] Shomari Stone confirmed, ‘DeWayne has been involved in many non-profit projects and works closely with a variety of government agencies in the United States and overseas promoting populous welfare through the creative arts’.” (Bloomberg)
Representatives for the executive said, “Leland DeWayne believes strongly in molding the individual creativity of the company’s artists and looks forward to guiding the evolution of music as a whole into the new age.” (Pittsburgh Post).
“[He] is also a stakeholder and partner in renewable energy technologist Elon Musk’s Tesla and SpaceX companies.” (Armani Japan).
Media ContactCompany Name: IHeartMedia, Inc.Contact Person: Media ManagerEmail: Send EmailPhone: (210) 822-2828Country: United StatesWebsite: https://www.iheartmedia.com/
