Stillettos, pumps in the club ~ Crime Mob
In a city filled with known party promoters such as the Larry Morrows, Donell McFaddens and the Greg Johnsons, they all have one thing in common - their men. However, how often is it that we see a female event planner in this male dominated industry? We see women every day in stillettos and pumps not just in the club but in business; Morgan Walker is no different as a businesswoman herself.
New Orleans native Morgan Walker, or Ms. Morgan if you're nasty. Okay, never mind with the Janet Jackson homage. Get to know Walker a little bit more and what she had to say about making cementing her own lane below:
On her background:
I was born and raised in New Orleans East. I come from a close knit family. My mother owns a daycare center, so most of my life has revolved around being around kids and running a business. Our family values education, so my brother and I both attended and graduated from Dillard University.
On what she originally set out to do prior to promotions:
My degree is in Accounting. It's a broad field and the numbers game was the most interesting to me. Throughout school I took a variety of business classes and it piqued my interest in pursuing a more entrepreneurial path over a traditional one. I started promoting in high school. I ran a promotional team when I was younger, without even realizing that was what I was doing. In 2016 I started to realize this was a real career field and created MORG W productions. I started taking my endeavors seriously, as a business. First came the tedious paperwork and then it took off from there. Now I really love what I do.
On what she thinks of the current entertainment scene in "The Big Easy:"
New Orleans is known as a "party city" but my peers and I are working to make the nightlife uphold a certain standard. For my events, I focus on the setting. I take venues and create experiences- at a Morg W Production, things are just different!
On her favorite happenings while working in promotions:
The greatest part of the events is networking. My favorite moment of every event is walking into the event to a full room. It feels like my first event every time when I walk in to that packed crowd.
On what she believes to be a daring aspect as an events promoter:
Every career path comes with challenges but I'm young and learning along the way. When I started out, my biggest challenge was booking venues, but now that I have creditability and history of producing awesome events, venues welcome me. By participating in the biggest events the city has seen, they know I'll hold up my end of the bargain. Building that reputation has been crucial.
On how she feels being a female in this male governed environment and what sets her apart:
I love the challenge. I know I have to work 10X harder to gain that level of respect but it just pushes me to work myself to the max. I make sure to stay professional and no one can deny my knowledge of my craft. I'm here to do a job, an exceptional job and by the end, male or female, I always hold up that end of the bargain. My events are unique and special. People have started to look forward to them year after year, be it during Essence or Bayou Classic. But hey, my Ladies Night Out series has become really popular this year, so maybe there are some advantages.
On who she would love to work with and why:
Locally, I've collaborated with the top promoters in the city and some have even become mentors to me. I still love working with them. On a national scale, I'd love to work with Karen Civil on an event. I'm all about female empowerment, which she champions and that moves me.
On her current projects:
Thursday July 20 , I have my first annual BANGN in the Boot festival -Special thanks to Republic Nola, a venue I love working with! I'm super excited for this event. Headliner NBA Youngboy is coming to the city and his performances are so anticipated post incarceration. He's making a major career come back and I'm happy to be a part of bringing that to the city. We will have lots of vendors, live painting, all sorts of cool stuff planed . That's where 100% of my focus is right now.
On what people may find interesting about her:
Actually, that I really love gifs. I think it's so funny when people send me them as a reaction instead of words or emojis.
We don't hear very much news regarding female promoters, but with Walker's persistence and the ability to hold her own with no intimidation, it's only looking up for this entrepreneur. For more information, check out Walker's website for the latest events and more.
