Welcome to the Sugary Scoop, my free weekly newsletter where we help you see and experience the magic of NYC that I love so much through curated events, experiences, artists, and community stories.

Let’s get to this week’s Scoop!

No Events This Week!

Now that the HILLARI show has concluded, I’ve had a chance to really sit down with DK and take stock on what is the most sensible way to proceed forward with NYC Community Week.

The mutual decision we arrived at is that we will postpone it until Spring 2026 which is when our target season was to launch NYC community week in proper fashion. 

The hope had been to have a soft launch in mid October, but with all the unanticipated developments that have occurred recently most notably regarding my health, maintaining that mid-October goal just became an untenable vision and I think we all understood that once we had a moment to properly assess where we were at.

Trust me, it is a frustrating thing on my end as well and I wanted to get this thing going sooner rather than later but as you all know, I don’t like doing anything half-baked so the choice has been made to delay rather than to force the issue and so I hope I have all of your understanding as we reach tool and refocus with a more manageable timeline.

Also, you may have noticed in the last newsletter the Sweet and Salty section has gone away.  We have done away with that section mainly because it was always meant to be a placeholder for the podcast that we have been working on, and since that is still a focus both and I agree that we should devote our energy towards actually launching the podcast versus maintaining a placeholder that was going to ultimately be repurposed anyway.

So I hope that you all enjoyed that section and are excited for what will come in place of that as soon as we resume our planning and recording for our initial podcast launch.

Lots of changes, so bear with us as we revise our vision and adapt to our recent setbacks due to my health and chart a new path forward.

THE SUGARY EFFECT

The Anatomy of a Sold Out Show.

5000+ personalized texts, over 300+  calls and countless in person pitches.

That’s what it took to personally sell out a 700 cap show for a brand new artist.

This happened over the course of 2 months, amidst everything else that was going on, through hospitalization, dealing with my parents, planning other events, the newsletter, unnecessary (and necessary) drama and much more.

In many ways I still can’t believe I pulled it off but then again in many ways I can, because this isn’t my first rodeo, though you know what they say…you’re only as good as your last hit…

It had been years since I had self produced an event of this magnitude and inevitably self doubt crept into the equation.

But it was different in the sense that I knew exactly what to do, I just needed to have the focus and discipline to do it.

So here’s how I did it:

PERSONALIZED TEXTS (5000+).

Because I’ve always maintained a classic way of connecting and fundamentally rejected outright the popular reliance on social media and the  “add me on IG” or “add me on LinkedIn” culture, I had a higher than average chance of catching attention because I’m not slipping into anyone’s DM’s, I’m directly texting folks which just hits different.

For this event, I made an estimation about how many people I’d need to reconnect with to have a chance at earning buy-in.  I’d reach out to everyone I personally connected with in 2024 and 2025 which totaled approximately 3,500 folks thus far.

~700 or so additional texts to folks who had associated me with good taste and careful curation over the years.

~500 texts were to follow up with people that pre-purchased tickets. 

~400 texts came from the business of the concert itself.

Every day I had a target in mind of getting through a couple months worth of contacts no matter what.

People often ask, why not just send a mass text and be done with it?  Well I don’t know how to explain it other than to say human intuition is an incredible thing…most people can sense that it’s really you texting them versus “press send to however many people in one huge mass text and call it a day”.

PHONE CALLS (300+)

For my closer circle of friends, a simple text would not do.  I needed them to hear my voice and to feel my passion.  So, I assembled a sample size list and persevered through all the missed calls, straight to voicemails, busy moments, and incompatible timings just so they could hear me out and understand this was no ordinary event and that I was summoning them all because this was going to be special.

IN-PERSON CONVERSATIONS (♾️)

Once I committed to producing the show, I made it a point to make sure that I mentioned the concert everywhere I went.  Every event I went to and every person I met I guarantee at some point I mentioned the Hillari show.  I talked about it so many times it became a mantra of sorts and almost a script.  I never wasted an opportunity to tell folks about this event.

AFTERMATH

Still after all that effort, the most remarkable thing wasn’t the stats.

It was the response from my greater community.

In the microcosm of this event I re-discovered the grandeur of fellowship. 

The response was as swift as it was moving.  Friends and acquaintances rallied to support in both dollars and attendance, other communities collaborated on promoting the show, and the notion of faith and favors extended far beyond normal bounds.

Here, just like when I was in the hospital, I felt once again this overwhelming sense of gratitude.  

I can’t describe what it feels like when you enter a packed house and feel the collective energy of an amazing shared experience knowing you played a decisive part in making it possible.

For the years of love I’d invested in people and the skeleton I provided for the evening, ultimately it was the community that was the heartbeat and the life blood of it all in that moment.

For one night the full measure of reciprocal love was felt under the backdrop of undeniable artistry.

As the night concluded, I took the opportunity to stand at the door and thank as many people as I possibly could.

None of this would have been possible without them and it was an immense privilege to have shared this moment.

May you all be so fortunate to experience moments like this. 

There’s simply nothing like it.

🍬 Sugary

PAST EVENTS

Sep. 10th: Hillari USA Debut Concert - Well talk about an exhilarating moment. 700 of you joined us for a truly special evening in which a young R&B phenom took to the stage and instilled a renewed faith in the incredible talent that exists in the wings of mainstream culture, ready to take their turn at the spotlight.  I believe for those that attended it was a breath of fresh air to discover and appreciate new music from a truly talented female artist with a limitless runway to grow into the star that I believe she is destined to become. What a moment and so very grateful to share it with all of you.

Are you a Sugary Member yet? Join the 175+ member community that gets you access to member-only events, special event perks, discounts and more

NOTABLE NYC EVENTS, HAND-PICKED BY SUGARY

Welcome to the inaugural edition of The Sweet List—our newly standardized events newsletter built with complete with a color-coded Trust System, clear Time & Place formatting, crystal-clean social-battery icons, concise one-line value props, bite-sized “Your People” profiles, Free 🆓/Ticketed 🎟️ markers, and curated experience icons to help you zero in on the perfect vibe.

AND DON’T SAY I DIDN’T TELL YOU ABOUT…

Less Than Half

The art world remains painfully predictable: overwhelmingly male, from the studios to the boardrooms.

Frida Kahlo once said, “I never painted dreams, I painted my own reality.”
Less Than Half is doing just that.

Founded by writer and advocate, Hall W. Rockefeller, Less Than Half is a membership organization dedicated to raising the profile of women artists by teaching women how to collect, support, and invest in their work. 

With deep roots and a family legacy in the art world that extends vast and deep, Hall is positioned to be a truly disruptive force for positive, necessary change —and she’s bringing a new generation of women along with her. 

The vision they paint is not a dream, but a new reality.

Through curated panel discussions, cocktail mixers, educational seminars (both virtual and in person), and art-specific events, Less Than Half is hard at work nurturing genuine connection, empowerment, and participation in the art world, transforming passive viewers into agents of cultural change.

There’s even room for gentlemen to serve as allies by joining their “Matronage Circle” (which I am a proud member of) and attending select events throughout the year, including quarterly programming at places like The Ned, The Met and global art fairs like Art Basel, Armory and Frieze.  

I can say with fervor that Hall W. Rockefeller and her team (including our very own Sugary community member Jillian Kelleher) will fundamentally change the fabric of the art world for the better, and I highly encourage you to support this worthy endeavor. 

Here’s the catch: On October 15th, membership pricing goes up.
So don’t say I didn’t warn you— use this Link for the Sugary Community to join now, and lock in today’s rate. 

Connect IRL. Experience Fabrik.

Get in touch with NYC’s brightest communities and make new friends.

Fabrik is a home for communities and where everyone has a place to belong. With spaces designed to feel more like your living room than your office, Fabrik’s 'third spaces' are vibrant hubs where you can come together in real life, explore interests, forge meaningful connections, and enjoy a sense of community.

Sign-up here to experience a free trial at Fabrik.

Weekly events at Fabrik HERE

Othership

Othership offers immersive sauna and ice bath experiences that help human beings feel good now. A sanctuary for social self-care to move you from city buzz to inner calm.

Dive into the largest performance saunas in North America, experience otherworldly ice bath spaces and connect in an intimate amphitheater-style tea lounge surrounding a cozy fire place for socializing.

Expect towel-waving performances, aromatherapy, guided breathwork, visualizations, and somatic release to help you shift your state and regulate your emotions, in a world that can’t be regulated.

The founders of Othership have gifted us a New York 2 for 1 Deal. Get yours while they last!