Lauren Snatched Cameron is the owner and event producer of Snatched Events. A Jamaican native and an alum of Suffolk University Sawyer Business School, she started producing events in 2008 and has since taken the Boston Nightlife Industry by storm, an industry, we will observe, that tends to be completely dominated by men.
Recently she launched a new virtual event series called Satherdayz which promotes diversity and inclusion along with providing a platform for the Womxn/Womxn identifying DJs, Creators, Artists, Performers, Industry Leaders and Community Members in a male-dominated industry.
She joins Joey Phoenix on the podcast to talk about this new event, how to produce events during quarantine, and some of the challenges she’s faced being a Black queer womxn in the entertainment business.
Mentioned in this Podcast
SatHERDayz Virtual Summer Series w/DJ GallisTee July 11th
Series 2 is here with a new All-Star Line-Up! Thanks to those that supported our first one as it was a blast sharing our works with you!
Our mission is to continue promoting diversity and inclusion along with providing a platform for the Womxn/Womxn identifying DJs, Creators, Artists, Performers, Industry Leaders and Community Members in a male dominated Industry.
We find it important to fill our souls with some positivity and good vibrations during this nationwide unrest and though the goal is not to ignore the immediate societal matters at hand we would like to provide a virtual escape.
We want to stress that we stand in solidarity with the #BlackLivesMatter and the #BlackTransLives Matter movements and will continue to work alongside the organizers and activists to ensure all protests and rallies conclude peacefully. For resources and updates during these unfortunate times, please check out our friends over on Instagram @bostonblacklivesmatter.
About The Chaos Within
Hosted by Joey Phoenix, The Chaos Within is a podcast celebrating the weird, the wild, and the creative – featuring makers, doers, artists, and oddballs exploring the unknown and tapping into their creative energy.
The Chaos Within is produced by Creative Collective and is available on Apple Podcasts and Spotify.
The Logo was designed by Anton Presents, the intro music is by Paul Senn (psenn@thetau.io) using the Theta-U Creative Circuit System, and the outro music by Chris Wilson Sound using one of Joey’s maternal Grandmother’s haunted music boxes.
#BlackLivesMatter
#BlackTransLivesMatter
- New England Today’s Guide to New England’s Black Businesses
- Black Lives Matter Boston
- Black Visions
- The Okra Project
- Black Trans Travel Fund
- Emergency Release Fund
- The Marsha P. Johnson Institute
- Justice in June
Audio Transcript
Joey Phoenix 0:03
The Chaos Within is part of Creative Collective presents is a podcast celebrating the weird, the wild and the creative featuring makers, doers, artists and oddballs, exploring the unknown and tapping into their creative energy. The intro music is by Paul set, and the outro music is by Chris Wilson sound. In the beginning, there was chaos. I’m your host, Joey Phoenix.
Joey Phoenix 0:30
Lauren Snatched Cameron is the owner and event producer of Snatched Entertainment, a Jamaican native and an alum of Suffolk University so your business school she started producing events in 2008 and has since taken the Boston nightlife industry by storm an industry will observe that tends to be completely dominated by men. Recently, she launched a new virtual event series called Saturdays, which promotes diversity and inclusion along with providing a platform for the women and women identifying DJs creators, artists, performers, industry leaders and community members in a male dominated industry. Today, she joins me on the podcast to talk about this new event, how to produce events during quarantine. And some of the challenges she’s facing a black woman in the entertainment business. Welcome, Lauren.
Lauren Snatched Cameron 1:10
Hi, thanks for having me. Super excited to be here.
Joey Phoenix 1:14
Thank you so much for being here. And I yeah, I love I love the work that you’re doing. And I really think this is an important step to be taking to focus on, you know, centering events around womxn, and I’m gonna let the spelling of that is womxn with an X. Because inclusivity is an important part of that. But I would love to hear about your journey and how you got into like the entertainment business.
Lauren Snatched Cameron 1:38
Well, that has to do with my mother. She owned an events company in Jamaica, so I’m born and raised in Jamaica and moved to the US for soccer and tennis. I was recruited to go to boarding school, but no growing up, I was introduced at age of four going to events with my mother and it was at a time ice you know, I was like, well This amazing job. And this is fun. You know, you get to be around all these socialites and diplomats and be the center of attention when it comes to providing form of entertainment. And
Joey Phoenix 2:15
so like, what were the events of your childhood that like stuck out to you the most like what was like a moment that you remember just being like, wow, I want to do this.
Lauren Snatched Cameron 2:24
I would have to say the culture of Carnival, which is a celebration of all ethnicities and coming together as one putting aside all differences and dancing in the streets. We have this thing called J’ouvert, which is a celebration with paint and you’re in the streets dancing to music and paint being thrown on you. And it was at that moment in time. I saw events as a way of an escape for people to come to after a long day’s work and meet people socialize, have a good time. And, you know, it was just like I said, that kind of escape that people needed. And I said, I like that, you know, I like that feeling. And it was that feeling of never wanting it to end. And going home to face reality.
Joey Phoenix 3:16
Yeah. And like the ability to gather because so many people use nightlife or like going out as a way to like decompress and like recharge, be a part of something like part of their community. And this year, so many of us have just not been able to be with our communities. And I can’t imagine like being in the industry and having to, like quickly pivot to like, something that should be different than what you’ve been doing previously. And so I’d love to hear you talk about what you’re doing with SatHERdayz and how, like the moving to like a virtual online event program has been like for you.
Lauren Snatched Cameron 3:51
Ya know, it’s been hard for a lot of industry leaders, trying to find a way to I guess fall in line with the new norm. And you know, it took me a while to get on the virtual train. I just didn’t want to jump on that train just to jump on it, I kind of sat back and analyzed and thought of what it is that I wanted to do and what impact they would have on the community. And it wasn’t a necessity because there were so many things going on. And you know, it took a lot of unfortunate events happening today in society, that the discussion and just the energy on social media was just so negative and heavy and grim, that I said, You know what, it’s time to bring back sat her days, which is a concept I came up with 2018 to create a series of events that highlighted womxyn/womxn identifying individuals in the community and kind of providing a platform for them to showcase their work. And as you know, and I’m sure everyone has seen that the industry in Boston is completely hetero-cis-male dominated, our community did not have, or they still do not have the opportunities that normal industry leaders have. And I just said, You know, I need to provide a space where I can highlight these individuals and be that person to give them that stage.
So it’s been hard and it’s a it’s a learning curve. Virtual obviously virtual events are new to everyone and it’s learning the ins and outs of zoom and all these new platforms and it’s very innovative and insightful and definitely nerve wracking at times because you can do so many rehearsals or tech rehearsals beforehand, and of course, the day of things might go sideways, these things Summer series, it’s five of them. We’re now onto the second series, which will be on July 11, at 10pm. And it’s honestly just a form of bringing the community together bringing positivity and energy into people’s homes. I’m incorporating a live mixologist who will kick off the virtual series with making a drink where we allow attendees to participate, they will receive the menu. Well the recipe ahead of time for this series, we’re doing a we’re having a performer, artist singer. So it’s gonna be interesting. The first one we had in drag queen to kind of offset you know, started off well in the Basel levy. So, you know, we’re just trying to find different ways to highlight all our artists who have been affected by Corbin.
Joey Phoenix 6:55
This all sounds really really excited. I’m looking forward to to attending this event. Why, why do you think it’s so important? And why did you choose to make this a women centered event?
Lauren Snatched Cameron 7:07
Well, you know, like coming to Boston and just seeing how many males were in leading roles in the industry. And as a black woman, I didn’t see anyone that looked like me in these roles, hosting events, being the main host of the night. You know, I thought to myself, well, since this is something that is non existent, I’m going to create create a space for that, honestly, it was that exhilarating feeling of I see something that’s not here, I’m going to create it and I can’t even explain to you what that feeling is. I’m having woman woman identified individuals in a space and it’s just such a powerful feeling and seeing that we can do something thing is just like the best reward ever.
Joey Phoenix 8:04
Yes, this a very, very important need. And I think like, I hear you saying that, like, that space wasn’t held for you when you started this. So it’s almost like your responsibility to do that now, does that ring true?
Lauren Snatched Cameron 8:16
Um, yeah, and I and there were spaces, because I, you know, I’m not gonna say that I was the first person to do something like this, but there were spaces, they weren’t known because we didn’t have accessibility to these, you know, resources to promote spaces that probably were around or, you know, have been around. So, like I said, it’s one of those lack of resources and opportunities as women/womxn in the community to be able to have that voice and visibility for people to know that events that we’re doing are happening.
Joey Phoenix 8:53
It’s such an important tool, like I I’m non binary and like I’m sort of part of the whole Womxn with an x included spectrum of things. And one of the things that I hear a lot from says men is when these events come up, where do they fit in? The answer is like, learn to be an ally and learn to be quiet. Because for decades, these things have been about you, um, and so like, it’s really helpful. It’s really encouraging to see people like yourself, like carving out space, that should have always been there, but for whatever reason, like carving out space and holding their ground for people who are less able to do that for themselves, and I really appreciate the work you’re doing in that regard.
Lauren Snatched Cameron 9:35
Thank you know, I was alarming, you know, coming here in 2008 for college and excited to explore a new city and trying to see where there’s events that had you know, black and brown people that look like me and realizing that there weren’t many spaces and I said what is going on Boston’s supposedly a very diverse city and The industries I’m representing of that. So you know, there’s something that needed to be done. And I just had to jump on that bandwagon, you know, put that all on my shoulders and create a space because end of the day like I too, want to feel comfortable wherever I’m at. Now,
Joey Phoenix 10:19
12 years later, do you feel comfortable? Or do you feel like there’s still a long way to go for that to be?
Lauren Snatched Cameron 10:26
I do, and I don’t. I do in the sense that I’ve been around for a while and I’ve been able to create long lasting relationships with the venues and the staff. So for me going all by myself, I you know, I have a different experience than someone else who isn’t too familiar with the scene, but July, see that there is a need for improvement and change and of course, so
Joey Phoenix 10:55
what are some things that you would like to see you better Then what are some things that you’re excited about right now,
Lauren Snatched Cameron 11:03
a couple of us were talking the other day. And the sad part is seeing so many of our safe spaces closing down because of the lack of support or financial assistance from the city and the community. For me, I think it’s sad not seeing too many BIPOC owned, or queer owned establishments in Boston.
Joey Phoenix 11:46
I think like one of the big things on my mind recently is that it’s like Trans women and their experience and I feel like the world should be moving more towards inclusivity but it seems to be falling along separate lines. I’m sort of like concerned as to why that’s happening. But I mean, like with the black trans lives matter movement as well. I just there has to be space for everyone. And I don’t know why there isn’t. And I think like, making spaces that are centered could actually make it better. But is that enough? Like, what else do we need to bring out the good?
Lauren Snatched Cameron 12:22
That’s a question I ask myself every day. And I think it will just always be that looming question is how can we figure that out? And like I said, it’s, it’s a lack of having that accessibility to own our own places, and not feeling that we in order to be able to have these establishments, we have to go to the bigger corporations to help us with that. I don’t really know. It’s, it’s a hard it’s a hard it’s a hard subject and topic to really try figured out. I think it just, hopefully in due time we’ll be able to get a better answer. Yeah, I don’t know. Yeah, I think
Joey Phoenix 13:08
I think there is no way there’s a solution right now. But I think like it does begin with us like, talking about it. And it begins with like you hosting these events that are centered around WiMAX. And like, it begins with us like, yeah, I think this is the square that begins and there’s a whole lot of work to do. And I,
Lauren Snatched Cameron 13:25
I want to do what I can. It’s hard to like, I feel like you’re doing something, I’m doing something, but I might not know what you’re doing. And it’s kind of hard to know what everyone in the communities up to. Because there isn’t like that central hub, where I think we can share information. And you know, like, yeah, Facebook is great Instagrams, great, but not everyone has these platforms. And it’s like the end of the day. I don’t want to have to go sifting through Facebook events. And then my you know, I might have to go into Instagram events to find out where These spaces are and it’s sad when I do look on social media and people are asking about events that they don’t see. And it’s like, Hey, hello, hi, I’m here. We’re all here. Like we’re hosting events and it’s trying to find a way to get more visibility.
Joey Phoenix 14:19
That’s why it’s so important for like, larger organizations like, you know, North Shore Pride and Boston pride to like pay attention and like help spread that information. Like I feel like to have an organization it’s kind of their responsibility, which is probably why like, they’re getting so much heat right now. Because they just aren’t listening. Like it’s your job to listen to without listening.
Lauren Snatched Cameron 14:41
But also when you have a huge corporations like that, that are very selective with the events that be the market and events that they promote. It comes back down to that divide within the community because here we are we you know, we supposed to have An organization that represents the entire community but they’re only focusing on a select few of the community members, you know, so it’s like again, it’s it’s now they’re supposed to be here to help but who’s really helping us? So I get the notes that frustration why people have asked me why is it you don’t work with these bigger corporations how, you know, sometimes we hear about your events last minute. And you know, I said, Listen, like I’m a one woman show because I’ve gone through I’ve jumped through so many hoops work with these organizations and just seeing how they operate and it just doesn’t fall in line with the work I’m doing and the direction I’m trying to go. And I would rather do my own grassroots promotions and marketing and personally reaching out to people to come to my events and I mean, it does get exhausting but it’s it’s worth it and in the day when they come out and have a good Time, you know, I always take pride in just being very personable. And I think, you know, like I said, there’s that lack of intimacy within with these larger corporations and the smaller, slash bigger promoters in the city.
Joey Phoenix 16:17
Yeah. So it creates space for more meaningful interactions and people will leave that having felt something having experienced something that’s not just like, like they’re a part of something as opposed to just being a small thing in the middle of a big ocean.
Lauren Snatched Cameron 16:29
Yeah, it’s just right now it’s very nodding and upsetting. Being on Facebook these days, and just seeing everyone fighting one another. And social media is supposed to somewhat be your escape from your everyday life. And it’s like another anxiety trigger point. It’s like, what can you do? You know, it’s like, I don’t want to be on social media now, but I kind of have to be because I have these events coming up. I want to make sure that people who are looking at A virtual escape can have access to these to my events.
Joey Phoenix 17:06
So because social media is such a depressing place these days, what what are you doing to escape and recharge right now?
Lauren Snatched Cameron 17:12
Right now? I would say lots of wine, lots of sleep and honestly just trying to come up with other things to do that I feel that the community would be appreciative all of them having discussions on the back end with other like minded event producers that are also to trying to understand these challenges that we’re facing, why we’re facing it and how we can overcome them. I think for me, that’s like my joy and of escaping drama is trying to find a solution to our problem with a team and you know, just vibing off of other people’s energy Right now and going for bike rides. Yeah.
Joey Phoenix 18:05
Well, Lauren, thank you so much for your time and for taking for talking to me about your experience.
Lauren Snatched Cameron 18:12
No, thanks for having me Joey. And I hope to see you on the next event coming up on July 11. Oh, yeah, at least will we see you? Oh, yeah, we’ll definitely have that in the show notes.
Joey Phoenix 18:28
The Chaos Within is produced by Creative Collective. Creative Collective connects creativity, community and commerce across the North Shore as a collective of creative professionals, small businesses, organizations, and they coordinate a series of events, traditional and non traditional marketing, resources, and best practices to define why creativity matters in all aspects of life.
In the beginning, there was chaos, then you make it yours.
Transcribed by https://otter.ai
