Brian Jewell (00:06.222)
Well, hey there, everybody. Welcome to Gather and Go, the podcast that helps you plan, promote, and lead better trips. I'm Brian Jewell, I am your host. I am feeling inspired today, and I am sure glad that you are joining us. Of course, as always, my promise to you is that I'm gonna do everything I can to make this investment of your time worth your while.

Now, the reason I'm feeling so inspired is because of the featured conversation I have for you today. You're gonna hear me talk to James Red K and Stephanie Taboris of Mid-America Productions. They do some really fantastic performance tours. And once you hear about it, you are going to be impressed by the kinds of performance opportunities that they are providing for their travel groups. Now, in this conversation, they are going to share.

Why getting serious might be the key to your growth? You're also going to hear them talk about how to thrive within a niche audience and how following your passion might help you find your ideal travel niche. I'm so excited to bring you this conversation. Before we get there, though, let's start with some travel news you may have missed.

Canadian cross-border travel is beginning to rebound. After a steep decline last year, Canadian travel to the US is beginning to show signs of recovery. But almost all the improvement is coming from people crossing the border by land. Canadian residents returning from the US increased 3.2% in June compared with a year earlier, according to Statistics Canada.

That follows increases of 7% in May and 1.4% in April, which was the first year-over-year increase since December 2024. However, the same has not been true of flights. Canadian cross-border air travel fell another 3.8% in June, after plunging more than 22% in June of last year.

Brian Jewell (02:19.202)
Vancouver immigration consultant Ardalan Ansari told Travel Weekly that much of the increase may be coming from day trippers who are becoming more comfortable crossing the border again after concerns about stricter U.S. immigration enforcement. Ansari said Canadians have become more accustomed to what to expect at the border, telling Travel Weekly, quote, predictability, not renewed goodwill, is what's pulling numbers back up.

Canadian tourism to the U.S. fell nearly 21% last year. Tourism Economics now forecasts 16.7 million Canadian visitors this year, which would be a 4% increase over 2025.

Brian Jewell (03:03.778)
Well, before we move on, I want to take a minute and share a little bit of news from us. You know, one of my favorite things about the tourism industry is getting to go to all kinds of events around the country and meet you and people just like you. And we have a really busy fall travel season coming up here for the team at the Group Travel Leader. So I wanted to give you a quick breakdown of some of the places we'll be so that you know where you can come find us.

Talk to us, ask us questions, share your ideas, because meeting you is really one of our favorite parts about this work. So right now, actually, the week this episode releases, I'm going to be in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for the Student and Youth Travel Association. that is taking place August 21 through 24. if you're there, please come find me. I would love to say hello. We also have a staff member.

At the Louisiana Travel Association meeting this week as well. Now, looking ahead a little bit, I'm going to be at Small Market Meetings Conference in El Paso, Texas. That is October 6th through 8th. I'm actually delivering a keynote there. It's a brand new piece of content for me. I am super excited about it. Coming up a little bit later in October.

I'm going to be at the United States Civil Rights Trail Connectivity Conference in Memphis October 26th through 28th. I'll be there with my colleague Ashley DiLucia. Always an incredible event, and I look forward to meeting some of you there as well. Then into November, we have NTA Travel Exchange. That is November 15th through 18th in Tulsa. I'll be there with Ashley and Talesa Reck. We are super excited about that one because.

We're hosting the Kentucky Nightcap event on the Monday evening, November 16th. I believe there are still tickets available, but not that many. So if you're going to be at NTA and you want to join us for a fantastic evening event, be sure to get that registration in now because spaces will sell out. And then finally, to wrap up the year, I'm going to be at the United States Tour Operators Association Annual Conference in San Francisco.

Brian Jewell (05:23.98)
That takes place November 30th through December 4th. Ashley DeLuccia will be there with me as well. Always a fantastic event and a great way to wrap up the year. And of course, we don't take much time off after the holidays comes American Bus Association Marketplace. That is in Calgary, Canada. Our whole team will be there. And then we just go on and on for 2027. regardless of which events you're coming to, we would really love for you to come by and say hello.

Hi, we love meeting you, learning from you, and learning how we can serve you better. Well, now it is just about time for us to move into our featured conversation with James Red K and Stephanie Taboris. Before we do that, let me remind you: you can find a wrap-up of everything they had to say on the show notes for this episode. Show notes are the texts that show up beneath the audio player wherever you are listening to your podcasts.

They are also on the web page for this episode. And you can get show notes for every episode we have ever done on our site at grouptraveleader.com slash podcast. Now, at the end of the interview, I'm also going to do a quick on-air wrap-up sharing my thoughts on some of the things that James and Stephanie discussed that I found especially insightful. And I hope you will stick with me through the end of that wrap-up because when that's done.

I'm gonna ask the question, are you wasting your time at tourism events? That's gonna be the topic of today's hot minute. You won't want to miss that. We'll be right back with James Redke and Stephanie Taboris.

Brian Jewell (07:16.654)
All right, everybody. My guests today are the leaders of Mid-America Productions and Mid-America International, companies that combine decades of musical expertise with immersive performance travel to help musicians perform in some of the world's most iconic venues. James Red K is the organization's CEO, and Stephanie Taboris, daughter of late founder Peter Toboris, serves as his senior advisor. James and Stephanie, welcome to the podcast.

James Redcay (07:44.398)
Brian, thank you for having us.

Stephanie Tiboris (07:46.134)
We are very excited to be here.

Brian Jewell (07:48.328)
I am so excited to have you here. Ever since I learned about what you do, I thought this is a story we have to tell because you guys really do take people to perform in some of the most exciting venues in the world. I want to get to that in a minute. But first of all, tell me, tell our listeners how you each found your way into the intersection of music and travel. Because it travel's not a place where many musicians end up. Music's not a place that many travel experts end up. So you guys live in this beautiful intersection.

Stephanie, let's start with because I know some of this goes back to your family history, right?

Stephanie Tiboris (08:21.55)
Yes. So you know, we I always say I am Mid America's longest running employee. It is a 43-year-old company and I am 43 years old. So it is safe to say that I do not know a life without Mid America Productions. so it is a great honor for me to be here. And, you know, something that is very unique about our organization is really that marriage that my late father.

Brian Jewell (08:32.398)
All right.

Stephanie Tiboris (08:49.834)
was able to facilitate between being an extraordinary musician, but also offering this incredible performance opportunity to musicians from all over the country and the world. And in recent years we've expanded to Midam International, which allows us to perform in incredible venues in London and Paris and Sweden and Reykjavik. And so

You know, it it we have a I have a long history with Mid America Productions, a very wonderful and warm history. And like I said, it is truly my honor to be here, carrying on my father's tremendous legacy and sharing this great responsibility that we have of of this travel experience. And sometimes it's people's first ever trip, sometimes their first flight international, their first stamp and their passport. So it's truly an honor for us to be a part of that. Yeah.

Brian Jewell (09:43.726)
That's beautiful. James, you came to this from the music side, right?

James Redcay (09:48.546)
that's right. and Brian again, thanks for thanks for having us both. you know, I grew up as a classical pianist. and really for most of my young life, I that was the trajectory that I was on, really. I I thought, you know, I'm going to be sort of a conservatory trained classical concert pianist, you know, traveling the world and and having that kind of life. And you know,

Later on in my teens, I developed a great love of composition and theory. and that dictated where I basically how my studies went at New York University in New York City, where I went for music theory and composition studies and piano performance. but it's interesting, my career took quite a circuitous route in that I ended up spending actually a number of years of my life living overseas in Asia.

where I not only taught music and you know worked with students in a variety of different disciplines, but ended up again in in just sort of a network building circuitous route managing arts and entertainment programs and building them with large organizations. And so you know I developed a love of what I a phrase that I coined while I was there facilitating other people's success, which is a phrase I use a lot at Mid America.

but a phrase really that revolved around seeing other people prosper and be able to achieve their dreams and their visions. and so, you know, I I found that managing and building teams and and building organizations was something that was very rewarding to me personally. And you know, coming back to the United States, getting to meet Steph's father, Peter, and work with him day in and day out, really for about 10 years of my life.

you know, that was a just a great marriage between the the musical world and of course our professional business world that we're in.

Brian Jewell (11:55.052)
Yeah, yeah, that's excellent. So I I think a lot of people are listening and saying, okay, I know what these guys do. They do performance tours. They take they take bands or choirs and, you know, like dozens of other tour companies take bands and choirs and you maybe they do the Orlando circuit or they do the, you know, Myrtle Beach Circuit or Washington DC circuit. That's not really what you guys focus on. So Steph, give us a look at what makes your performance

tours and experiences different from what a lot of people are probably picturing in their minds.

Stephanie Tiboris (12:27.768)
So you know, the the main thing that sets I think what we do apart from, you know, the hundreds of other companies that do what we do is our focus is always the music. And we take the responsibility of bringing amateur musicians on the stage of Carnegie Hall and around the world very, very seriously. Wow. And I think that, you know, things like

We hire a professional orchestra that performs with our groups. and the the actual experience that we provide, while it is, you know, a vacation in a sense, you know, people see Broadway shows and we do tours and we, you know, the focus is always the music. And we take that responsibility when you're singing in the most famous concert halls in the world, and we're giving this incredible opportunity.

We take it very seriously. It's not just come you know, not to say that we are an elitist organization. We very much want people to feel welcome, but there is a a very serious undertone of what we do. Would you agree, James?

James Redcay (13:41.142)
Yeah, you know, and I would think, Brian, just adding to that, you know, we are, we like to say we're, you know, we're a company of musicians and and four musicians. You know, everyone in the company, except for a few folks in finance, are all classical musicians by trade and and education. Many of us have been teachers for many years, and so we know what it means and what it takes to be here. And we like to see

you know, folks have an opportunity that they cannot have in other either at home, very easily, certainly, and or or, you know, in other certain circumstances. I mean, being in New York and performing at Carnegie Hall, also to a full public audience. and these aren't just folks that are attached in some way, shape, or form to the ensembles. These are members of the public from

you know, one of the biggest cities in the world, one of the arts capitals of the world. They're coming to see them perform. And they're doing big works. You know, they're not doing small three and four minute octavas by and large, although some some do, but the vast majority are doing 30, 40 minute you know, masterworks with a 50, 60 piece professional orchestra that would just be extremely usually very cost prohibitive to do at home and very difficult to put together. So

You know, the whole is greater than the sum of the parts. but all the parts, you know, coming together. just for an example, a few weeks ago we did a Durafly Requiem at Carnegie Hall that we realized that the company had not produced one in 19 years. Wow. and you know, we had over 200 singers that were part of it. The singers came extremely well prepared. the orchestra,

Obviously, that's a difficult thing for the orchestra to do, but the orchestra loved doing it because it is so difficult, of course. and it was just a fantastic performance. You know, that does not happen every day. and while I wish it happened everywhere around the country every day, it's just it's difficult to make happen. So those kind of experiences are things that the company really excels in producing and offering for folks.

Brian Jewell (15:56.342)
Yeah, that's legendary. I mean, Carnegie Hall, you know, in itself, that's a legendary name in music. So the opportunity for a a a young and serious musician to get to perform there has to be just thrilling. And it's gotta be thrilling for you to watch that. You know, I mean, how many times have you been in there and I'm sure it still just means the world to you, right?

James Redcay (16:15.798)
I can I can count over a hundred and forty concerts that I've been a part of through the through the company and been at the hall for. and well, you know, this is really truly a testament to to Peter and what he accomplished. But I can tell you, Brian, I've been with the company eleven years and this used to happen to me once every year or two, but it now happens to me about once every month or two.

I I get someone who calls me and says, I was a student back in 1993 and I sang John Rudder's Requiem with John Rudder. And now I'm a teacher, and now I want my students to have that opportunity. or they direct a community choir or church choir, you know, you name it. But that's that's an incredible legacy to be a part of.

Brian Jewell (16:57.72)
Yeah, for sure. So Stephanie, your dad was a musician and and started the company. And you told me before that much of its early success came from really decades-long relationships that he had in New York and in other places. tell us a little bit of that story, how you guys were able to leverage that and how you continue to leverage the relationships that you have as musicians that, you know, non-musicians may just not be able to.

Tap into the way you guys do.

Stephanie Tiboris (17:29.186)
You know, it really started with I, you know, remember being very, very little and one of the favorite games I used to play with my father is I would ask him a specific city and he would tell me the area code. And he could say, you know, I could say Wichita, Kansas, or I could say, you know, Beaumont, Montana, and he would know because he sat at a folding table in the house I grew up in and dialed and dialed and dialed from a landline. Wow. And was relentless in his pursuit.

Of sharing this, he brought a group of people when he was a college professor in Louisiana, where I was born, to perform at Carnegie Hall and kind of looked around and said, Well, why couldn't I do this? And so that's where it really started. And he moved his young family to New York and he sat at a card table and just relentlessly dialed and dialed and made these relationships. I mean, I'm sure it was incredibly scary and intimidating. And we like to say,

You know, it's not often that you can say that your father invented an entire industry. Right. And everybody that does what we do at Carnegie Hall is a child of ours. You know, someone that we're it or even at this point, a grandchild, you know, because we have now people from so it is it is an incredible testament to his initial idea that people are now replicating what we do, not quite to the the level that we do it, which is okay. but

You know, it really was in the beginning his relentless pursuit of sharing this gift of and you know, I grew up from before I can remember running through the halls of Carnegie Hall when he would have rehearsals and I knew all the stage hands and grew up with many of them. And my brother and I would play hide and seek. And, you know, so many we would so many memories of that hall. And it still strikes me when I walk in there and I

I am very used to being there, but when I see the faces of the people that walk on stage for the first time, I mean I have chills every time because it really is just a magical experience and it's such a gift that people are trusting us with that honor. Yeah. You know, we take it very, very seriously.

Brian Jewell (19:44.79)
Absolutely. So recently you guys have expanded beyond obviously Carnegie Hall, beyond North America. You're doing performances in some of the the great halls of Europe. James, how have you guys managed to secure those spots and then secure the orchestras and, you know, bring in all the people that you need to bring in to make this kind of experience happen?

James Redcay (20:05.004)
Well, I you know, that's a that's a good question. I mean, I think in it always boils down to the relationships that are cultivated over many, many, many years. some some newer than others, you know, but the company now is building programs across eight European capitals, which is truly fantastic. A a couple of years ago that was two and three every year, and and now we're looking at

You know, building eight, we're we're hopefully expanding to about 10, including Canada, which would be really wonderful by 2028. and looking to be on multiple continents by what I hope to be 2030. but those in every place, it's kind of funny. Peter used to tell us all the time what he was looking for was he was looking for the Peter Toboris in Paris and the Peter Toboras in Vienna and the Peter Toboris in you know Athens, you know.

But he, you know, you need folks on the ground in two areas. You need folks that are travel agents who obviously know the lay of the land and know hotels and cultural tours and all of that. but then you need, even more importantly, you need the musical context. you know, and it's very funny. I was just having a conversation an hour ago about the person who in so many ways

Is the reason why we do the per the concerts in Paris that we do, a man by the name of Francis Bardot, who started arguably the greatest, if not one of the greatest youth choirs in Paris, a large longtime Parisian, and was a dear friend of Peter's, but who, because of his many years of work in Paris, were was able to see us do concerts in places like La Madeleine, which is the National Church of France.

it actually was Foray's church, Saint Saint's church, Guno's church. and we actually just our international team came back a few weeks ago from doing an incredible performance of Foray's Requiem along with Lord Sin Zuckseterna in La Medellin. you know, the orchestra that we use obviously comes from those connections, you know, and these are all incredibly professional players that we work with. you know, in we're very excited.

James Redcay (22:31.05)
about next year doing the company's first ever tour to Barcelona in Spain. and as part of that, we actually are doing a concert in the Palau de la Música, one of the greatest concert halls in the world. one of the few concert halls that was ever built for a resident choir, the Orfeo Catalan.

Now, you know, in talking about doing Barcelona with John Rutter, who was a longtime collaborator, longtime friend to Peter and a longtime friend to Mid America, John and I were talking about this hall. And of course, he was able to connect me with the artistic director of the hall, which led to meetings and then in-person meetings in Spain, and to help secure the company a concert there in June of twenty twenty seven.

Now reciprocally, I have asked John to conduct that concert. So we are we are building it as we speak every day and it will include some Spanish premieres of John's music. and you know, it's going to be just another another one for the history books, I think. But you know, those relationships are just key because you can't you can't go there and do it on your own just knocking on the door and entering in. You have to have folks that help you and collaborate with you and and work with you.

Stephanie Tiboris (23:52.076)
Yeah. I think a big part of it too was my father's international conducting career. So he traveled a tremendous amount. You know, he had a home in Europe, home in Greece. So he was just like here, sitting at a trade table and dialing in Europe, building this foundation of relationships that now we are able to use. And and a lot of, you know, I I'm stepping into this, you know, when my father passed away, I I stepped into the company. I hadn't worked

with them, I on and off throughout the years, but now much more closely. And seeing, you know, developing a new residency and seeing the work that the team puts in. You know, I've traveled to some of these places and we're doing, you know, meeting with people and checking out rehearsal spaces and hotels. And, you know, it's it's not because of the ser as I keep saying, the seriousness of this responsibility, you know, we really put a lot of time and work into making sure the

Travel experience goes as smoothly as possible. Yeah.

Brian Jewell (24:55.212)
So you guys are in this really interesting position where you have a a fairly specific audience. I mean, it's not every high school band or choir in the country that's gonna do the work of you know prepping difficult pieces before they go and and all these things are involved. So many operators would say, Well, I want to appeal to as many people as possible. You guys have kind of said, We know who we serve. It's a a very specific group and still

It's growing. So how how has that specific focus allowed you to grow and scale the way you're growing?

James Redcay (25:30.038)
Well, I will say, I mean, we would, you know, I think Brian, any teacher would would naturally want to be able to spread as as much opportunity and opportunity that that errs folks and and gives them an education along the way. And I mean I should back up by saying, you know, I I always tell people this is the truth. I whenever I play a concert myself, I try to come at it from the most perfectionist sort of

you know, perspective as a as a pianist. that's how you're trained to operate and that's just that's how you operate. But what we do is, you know, it's so much more than that. and, you know, you're bringing together choirs from, you know, so one performance at Carnegie How call at Carnegie Hall could have choirs that hail from Texas, Mississippi, Missouri, Georgia, Florida, and Alaska, you know. And we've had choirs from all 50 states.

Over the years. and you know, I I remember 11 years ago when I started with the company and thinking to myself, how exactly does this work? You know, I mean, and and in all truth and in all fairness, what's the quality? You know, how can this work? How can this work? And the reality is, you know, whether they're performing in Barcelona or in Paris or in Vienna or in Salzburg, we actually just did the company's first ever concerts in the Salzburg Cathedral.

A few weeks ago. I mean, then you're about twenty feet from where Mozart played the organ for services. So it's amazing. A little intimidating. Yeah. but you know, in all of these places and in especially in Carnegie Hall, I can actually tell you I have never seen a performance that we've done, 140 concerts, that's probably about 500 programs, that I didn't think deserved to be there. And there's something about these spaces that allows

everyone, no matter where they're coming from and at whatever skill level they're coming from, to have a transformative educational, artistic experience. so, you know, we do we we try to be very careful about also how we prefer to be inclusive as opposed to be exclusive. and we would rather see folks have opportunities for their students and for their choristers

James Redcay (27:57.478)
because we know that that's how we keep getting those calls from folks 20 years later telling us they're coming back. and having that opportunity be exponential you know, as we go. So you know, I think we try very hard to do that as much as as we can. Yeah.

Stephanie Tiboris (28:19.502)
I think another part of that is that the core foundation of what we do has not changed. You know, we know what we do, we do it very well. And we, it's not to say that there isn't room for growth and opportunity. We are expanding in Europe, but we're keeping the foundation of what we do the same, the same thing that my dad developed 43 years ago. You know, an incredible music opportunity, professionalism.

travel. we don't try to reinvent the wheel. We know what we're good at and we stick to it. And I think that is a big part of why we have stayed true to our roots, but also been able to grow, in particular in the last few years.

Brian Jewell (29:08.078)
Yeah. So I I want to dig into that a little bit because I know a lot of tour operators who have a different specialty, you know, than you. They they have all kinds of specialties who are in positions where they say, I'd like to grow. I see growth potential in the market. it's not there's not a demand problem for me growing. My problem is I don't know if I could grow and preserve the quality of my product. I don't know if I could scale and deliver the same experience at 5x or 10x the size I am now.

that my customers depend on me for currently. So how have you guys approached that? How have you preserved the quality and the intimacy and you know the musical excellence while still trying to serve as many people as possible and grow to as many places as possible?

James Redcay (29:53.698)
Well, that's a very good question. You know, I think that one of the things we've been trying to do very much over the last two years is really invest in our team. you know, we have a phenomenal team of people who make up Mid America Productions and our international wing. And we have invested in them to be able to give them the time, the resources, the training that they need and the skill building that they need.

To be able to see us grow. you know, one of the things we pride ourselves in the last two years is our turnover rate, which has basically been zero. We haven't had anybody leave the company in two years. and you know, it just means that folks are able to continue to build their skills, their sets of knowledge, and apply that in what we try to do is have as efficient and effective policies and procedures as possible.

You know, so at this point in time in the year, interestingly enough, now that we've just finished our season, you know, we're going through a series of meetings and internal reviews to figure out, you know, when it comes to Carnegie, and all of our operations that get us to that point. And obviously there's just a whole a whole slew of things that take us from cut inception to folks hitting the stage, you know, how can we do that easier, better, in a more

kind of user friendly, client friendly experience for all the ensembles. so I think it really comes down to the team. I will say we in the last two years, we've brought on, I would say, one full time person and made a couple folks from part-time to full time, but we've been able to have our biggest Carnegie season in 18 years, which included four more concerts than the year before it. Wow. It was 21 concerts in the hall this year.

and we did well the same number of international programs year on year. but next year that number is looking to double. So you know, those are good problems. We know that we have to build out the team a little bit, but we have a dedicated team that is there for that purpose. So, you know, I think by and large, we're not at a point where we think, well, we think a couple extra folks and a couple extra hands on deck would be helpful.

James Redcay (32:17.352)
but we're still able to preserve the quality of what we do because of the team that we have.

Stephanie Tiboris (32:23.874)
Yeah, that's And a big part of it, you know, is my father was a big risk taker. And he would he was fearless when it came to trying. And it's, you know, James and I are are more measured. We have a dip, but no one will ever be him. And acknowledge the first thing to do is acknowledge that and and admire his fear fearlessness. I mean, he would do anything, he would try anything. And I think that entrepreneurship is what inspires us.

To try, but also have the ability, if there's a residency that isn't working, to say that's okay, that this is not the year for it, or you know, we're gonna try again next year, or there's just not the interest. You know, the fearlessness of just let's let's try, you know, we can do this is really what has carried us through, you know, and having a team that believes in James and I and believes in each other. And genuinely, you know, I go on these residencies and

And there is a real genuine, you know, this everybody real you know, it's a very intimate thing. People are staying in the same hotel. It's twelve hour days with eight hours of rehearsals and four hours of touring. And and the team that we have has really, you know, we are all in this together. It really is, and I think that carries us through a lot of these weekends too.

Brian Jewell (33:46.956)
Yeah, for sure. So, Stephanie, you had a front row seat as your dad took something he was passionate about and turned it into this business. we have people listening who are passionate about all kinds of things, you know, cuisine and history and photography. What would you tell them, having seen it, having lived it, what would you tell them if they're thinking, Could I turn this passion into a travel experience business? What encouragement would you give them?

Stephanie Tiboris (34:14.666)
The thing that echoes in my mind that my father would say to me all the time was, figure out what you love to do and figure out how to make money doing it. You know, that is, and he truly embodied that. He he was, you know, I the famous story about him that he would always tell everybody was he was not the best conductor in the world. He was not the best travel agent in the world, but he was the best conducting travel agent in the world. So like

He just sort of carved and I do appreciate that he was very unique and his entrepreneurship was, you know, incredible and and it wasn't without its, you know, the other thing is like his his ability to withstand, you know, we had 9-11, COVID, you know, there this was not a storybook romance. I mean, there was tremendous difficulties in in in his, you know, pursuit of this incredible organization.

But his ability to sort of push through and keep the core mission intact is why we are all here today. And it will all I can say is, you know, it is not it is not without its hardships and its difficulties. It's about, you know, kind of seeing those things through and hanging on and hoping for the best.

Brian Jewell (35:36.019)
Yeah. James, anything to add? Advice for for people with passions who might want to turn it into something more?

James Redcay (35:43.486)
No, I you know, I I think Steph said it pretty well. I just would say I you know

Brian Jewell (35:49.752)
Yeah.

James Redcay (35:50.52)
Someone is really passionate about something and loves it very much and is very knowledgeable about it, you know, and and spends years of their lives learning about something and and working on something, you know, the rest of it, the business side of it is pretty easy by comparison. You know, it's numbers, it's it's balancing accounting, it's working on some relationships with folks. But if you're coming at it for the right reasons, because you want to share that with people.

I think that's, you know, that's always an achievable dream. You know, it might take some time, but I think it's a very achievable dream with with the right values and the right motivations. You know, I mean, something you were just saying earlier, Brian, kind of stuck in my mind about, you know, how do you handle the growth or, you know, how can you know, how can you even grow, grow the tent even bigger? I mean, the point is is that there's such there is such a market for travel and for this kind of musical artistic travel.

And you know, now more than ever, we really just try to be guided by the old golden rule. You know, as musicians, we try to treat musicians the way we would want to be treated. And I think, you know, that kind of flows down from Steph and myself. The entire team kind of shares that that value and that vision. And I think we're seeing that pay off in just the number of concerts that we're doing and the number of programs we're building, because in the end, we're just trying to help folks that are like us.

achieve the things they want to achieve. It's not really about us deciding what someone should perform. It's about us helping people perform the things they want to perform and the things they want to achieve.

Brian Jewell (37:28.396)
Yeah. I love that. Well, if somebody listening is interested in what you do and wants to learn more or maybe reach out and connect, what are the best ways for them to do that?

James Redcay (37:39.438)
Well, I would say probably the easiest thing to do is to visit our website, which is www.midamerica hyphen music dot com. and then there's ways to obviously get in touch with us. both Steph and I actually are on the website as well. So feel free to shoot us an email and say hi. and then there's also a contact form for more information too.

Stephanie Tiboris (38:01.122)
Yeah. We would be remiss to not the tell the the best story, which my father always told, which was a long, long time ago New York T the New York Times said, you know, the in the age old question of how do you get to Carnegie Hall, it's now called Peter Toboris. So we're here and we're ready and we're very excited, you know, for your audience to hear what we do. And, you know, it's a really wonderful experience and we'd be honored.

for everyone to get to experience it with us.

Brian Jewell (38:31.756)
Yeah, absolutely. We'll put your your website in the show notes so people can find you easily. Now, before I let you go, we have some questions we ask everybody. They're just for fun. So no pressure. Just you can answer off the top of your head and we'll we'll take turns on it. So when you book travel, Stephanie, do you book a window seat or an aisle seat? No. Yeah? You have a reason?

Stephanie Tiboris (38:53.614)
I need to be able to get up. Really unencumbered.

Brian Jewell (38:57.88)
I feel ya. What about you, James? actually the exact

James Redcay (39:01.003)
The exact same answer for that. Yeah. Which usually

Stephanie Tiboris (39:03.746)
But the other two.

Brian Jewell (39:04.999)
I yeah, that and it could be something about being getting into that middle age where being able to get up becomes really important.

Stephanie Tiboris (39:11.692)
Yeah, I can't crawl over people like I used to.

Brian Jewell (39:14.934)
I feel that. Yeah. So James, we'll start with you on this next one. What is one thing in your carry on that you wouldn't travel without?

James Redcay (39:23.18)
I would I mean, I would always say a good book. I usually have a good book with me just to get me I don't watch so many movies on planes for some reason anymore. I usually just find myself reading.

Brian Jewell (39:34.818)
Yeah, yeah, I'm with you more and more. What about you, Stephanie?

Stephanie Tiboris (39:37.71)
I always have my headphones. I'm a big podcaster. Love to listen to my podcasts and yeah, headphones and hydration spray.

Brian Jewell (39:45.654)
Yeah. Ooh, that's a good one. I don't even know what a hydration spray is.

Stephanie Tiboris (39:49.366)
Well, you you sh you should next time you travel, it it really just refreshes you and after after a long flight. Sometimes we you know, James and I will do these, you know, travel where we're hitting the ground and we're going to meet people as soon as we land. So I need to look like I don't you know, not the walking dead for the hydration spray. Okay.

Brian Jewell (40:10.508)
I will have to look this up for sure. All right. So it let's see. If you had a week with nothing else to do and a free airline pass, Stephanie, where would you go?

Stephanie Tiboris (40:23.278)
Goodness. I I think I have always wanted to go to Africa. So, you know, do a safari in Africa would be my place. Yeah.

Brian Jewell (40:37.838)
Good pick for sure. James, what about you?

James Redcay (40:40.3)
You know, I think I would go a little more local. Actually, one of the places that I love going very, very much have been there a number of times is Puerto Rico. And I think I would just, you know, rent a convertible and drive around the island and enjoy enjoy a week of you know, peace and quiet and a few mojitos.

Brian Jewell (40:58.712)
Turn off the cell phone and just about, right? Yeah. Yeah. Love that. All right. Well, our last question is what is one thing you have seen or done on the road that you wish you could go back and experience with someone you love? James, does anything come to mind?

James Redcay (41:14.944)
that's a very difficult one. I would need to think about that, Steph.

Stephanie Tiboris (41:21.58)
You know, I was really we and I luckily I think I'm actually gonna be able to do this is I we read we're doing a residency in Dublin in 2027. And I hadn't I had gone in college with some girlfriends and hadn't been back since. And there's something very magical about Ireland. And the minute we landed, I felt a kinship to the country and I'm not a lick of Irish, not a single sliver. but

really felt like it was a very special and spiritual place and felt a real connection there. So I'm hoping that my husband and children can join me there in June of twenty twenty seven if everybody can survive the flight. You know, we have a seven never know. Yes. But yes, I I would love for them to to see the magic that I felt there. It was really really truly magical.

Brian Jewell (42:12.578)
Yeah, absolutely. James, any thoughts?

James Redcay (42:15.532)
Well, I mean, I would just say as as Steph was speaking, you know, I I have two young sons myself, w one and three. almost two and three. And so I do I look forward all the time, especially when I'm at Carnegie and certainly in places in Europe, I look forward to them being able to join me as they get older on all of this. It's just really fantastic.

Brian Jewell (42:35.458)
You have so much to look forward to and we will forgive a little lapse in your thought processes here and there, because you've got very young kids and you're in the you are in the hard days, my friend, but they're they're beautiful days for sure. All right. Well, this has been excellent. James, Stephanie, thanks so much for joining me today.

Stephanie Tiboris (42:52.354)
You for having us. It was our pleasure.

James Redcay (42:54.35)
Thank you, Brian.

Brian Jewell (43:01.998)
Well, I sure hope you enjoyed that conversation with James and Stephanie as much as I did. I hope you found it really insightful and encouraging. I love the passion and the focus they bring to their concerts and their trips. And I think there is a lot in there that the rest of us can take away, even if you're not serving musicians, not playing in Carnegie Hall, not taking big groups to Europe. So let's hit some of

Those highlights. When we were talking about the power of getting serious, Stephanie said, our focus is always the music. And we take the responsibility of bringing amateur musicians on the stage of Carnegie Hall and around the world very, very seriously. Now, I love this approach. And I think it would be easy for you to say, well, you know, they're doing this very serious thing. Carnegie Hall is a serious venue. the performers they're working with have been training their whole lives.

I get that, but I think there is something deeper here. what I want to draw your attention to is the power of being serious about your work, because you don't have to be performing in the world's greatest concert venues to be doing serious work. I believe people's travel dreams deserve to be taken really seriously. And when they trust you with those dreams, those dreams are just as meaningful to them.

As the dream of playing in Carnegie Hall may be to a lifelong musician. And so you need to treat it with the same level of seriousness. You need to give it your all. You need to take any reasonable step you can to ensure that you fulfill those dreams in a meaningful way. Now, when we talked about how Mid America Productions has managed to thrive with such a niche audience, Stephanie said.

The core foundation of what we do has not changed. We know what we do, we do it very well. We're expanding in Europe, but we're keeping the foundation of what we do the same. The same thing that my dad developed 43 years ago. We know what we're good at and we stick to it. I think this is such a powerful point. It's so easy for solopreneurs, travel entrepreneurs, especially when you're first starting out, to try all kinds of things.

Brian Jewell (45:25.838)
Throw it at the wall and see what sticks. And I'm not saying that there's not a place for listening to the market, but Stephanie's making a really good point. If you know you are good at something, like really, really good at something, your path to success probably doesn't involve branching out from that thing. Because when you step out from beyond your core competency, you're probably not going to deliver as good a product and you're going to dilute the value of your brand and expertise.

So the solution for you might be to focus on that one thing that you know you do really, really well. And the beauty is the more often you do it, the better you're going to get. And those reps take you from good to great, and then from great to world class. And if you are world class, you're going to find an audience. Finally, when I asked about how people can follow their passions into meaningful tourism careers.

James said, if someone is really passionate about something and loves it very much and is very knowledgeable about it and spends years of their lives learning about something and working on something, the business side of it is pretty easy by comparison. It's numbers, it's balancing accounting, it's working on some relationships with folks. But if you're coming at it for the right reasons, because you want to share that with people, I think that's always an achievable dream.

I would wholeheartedly echo what James is saying here. And I would also add, it's important for those of us working in tourism to not lose sight of that passion. Because the work side of the work can bog you down if you're not careful. There are rooming lists, there are contracts, there's marketing materials, there's PLs, there's everything involved in running a business. But you didn't get involved in tourism because you love spreadsheets and paperwork.

You got involved in it because you love travel and you love sharing the world's treasures with people around you. So do what it takes to stay connected to that passion. The better job you do at that, the better job you're going to do at enjoying your career and probably growing a business that other people are passionate about too. Great stuff there from James Red K and Stephanie Taboris.

Brian Jewell (47:55.98)
Well, we talked earlier in the show about the lineup of travel conferences that I'm gonna be at in the tail end of this year. You know, got me to wondering I wonder how many of you make a point of being at these events as well. And if you don't, I wonder if there's a reason for that. Those questions are the topic of today's Hot Minute.

Yeah, that's right. The hot minute is the portion of the show where I take 60 seconds to give you my unfiltered thoughts on an issue that impacts tourism every day. And today we're asking the question: Are you doing travel conferences wrong? So let's put 60 seconds on the clock and get into it. There's a lot about conferences that's less than ideal.

The venues can be lackluster, the networking events can feel forced, and the schedule can be brutal. But despite all the drags, I'm finding myself enjoying tourism conferences today more than I ever have. And the key has been to slow down. I used to come to these events with a pretty fixed agenda. I had things to get done and I did them fast. These days, though, things are more fluid.

I hurry less, I linger more, and I have more spontaneous conversations. And somehow I'm getting a lot more from my time there. If you're struggling to get excited about conference season, it could be that like me, you've been moving too quickly. There's enormous value in attending industry events. But like me, you might have to slow down to make the most of them.

Brian Jewell (49:46.914)
Well, that's the hot minute. That's how I see things anyway. Of course, as always, you are welcome to disagree with me, and we can still be friends. And hey, whether you agree or disagree, I would sure love to hear from you. You can send your thoughts, questions, or your best travel conference memories to podcast at grouptravelleader.com. I read every email that comes into that address. I really do love hearing from you. And hey, you never know. Your ideas might just be the topic of the next hot.

Minute. And while you're in the mood to give us some feedback, would you do me a big favor? Would you go to your favorite podcast playing app? And if you haven't already subscribed to the show, do it right now. While you're in there too, if you could give us a rating and leave us a review, that would be a big help. I'm so thankful to everyone who has done that so far. My thanks as well to James Red K and Stephanie Toboris for joining me today on the next episode.

We're gonna have a great conversation with Douglas Quinby of Arrival, who's gonna unpack all the latest trends and data driving the multi-day tour industry. You won't want to miss that. Until then though, remember this. At the end of the day, we're all on this trip together. So let's make it a good one. See you next time on Gather and Go.

Gather and Go is hosted and executive produced by me, Brian Schule. Our publisher is Mac Lacey. Our creative team includes Dania Simmons, Ashley Ricks, and Rachel Crick. Our sales team is Talesa Reck and Ashley DiLucia. To advertise on the podcast, call Talesa at 859-253-0455. Gather and Go is a production of the Group Travel Leader. For more information on our podcast, magazines, and events, visit us online at grouptravelleader.com.