Front and Center Entertainment, LLC is a fast-growing entertainment media and production company that produces the critically acclaimed television music series, Front and Center, and television interview series Speakeasy. The company creates content for television and digital distribution and recently expanded beyond those mediums partnering with ABC Radio and Skyview Networks to introduce two new radio programs exclusively for country and rock formats, Front and Center Sessions and Speakeasy Sessions, based on the successful television shows.
Since 2012 Front and Center has featured an eclectic mix to top GRAMMY, Country Music Association, American Music and Academy of Country Music Award winners, Rock & Roll Hall of Famers, and multi-Platinum acts. Musical artists have included Miranda Lambert, Carlos Santana, Keith Urban, Shawn Mendes, Train, Darius Rucker, Hozier, Steven Tyler, Lady Antebellum, lovelytheband, as well as Carly Pearce, Sheryl Crow, Dustin Lynch, Rob Thomas, The Head and the Heart, Goo Goo Dolls, Dierks Bentley, Counting Crows, Jack Johnson and many more.
Speakeasy, which began airing in January 2015, features an iconic talent chatting intimately with an interviewer of his or her choice. Each hour-long episode gives audiences revealing insights into the lives and careers of some of the music industry’s most revered figures. Episodes have featured Sting having a personal chat with Shaggy, John Mellencamp speaking with Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner, Lenny Kravitz having a candid discussion with Sean Lennon, Carlos Santana being interviewed by Harry Belafonte, R.E.M.’s Michael Stipe and Mike Mills talking with Washington Post reporter and PBS moderator Robert Costa, musician, producer and co-founder of CHIC Nile Rodgers sitting down with Valerie Simpson, Pink Floyd’s Roger Waters talking with television journalist Bill Weir, Rush’s Geddy Lee conversing with Pulitzer Prize-winning American author Michael Chabon, and many more.
On the surface an unlikely pairing, their 2018 collaboration 44/876 (named for the area codes of their native UK and Jamaica) inspired a friendship that here fuels a hilarious – and profound – conversation based on questions submitted by fans.
The Def Leppard front man opens up to Rolling Stone editor/author Fricke (Animal Instinct: The Def Leppard Story) about the band’s trajectory– from the teen hijinks of the band first conceived out of boredom as “Deaf Leopard”.
Four-time Grammy ® Award winner Kravitz, a collaborator and mentor for Lennon since they played at a John Lennon tribute concert in the Eighties, gets comfortable in conversation through their shared experiences of music, childhood with celebrity parents, and an appreciation of the power of positivity in creativity.
DON MAGGI
Don Maggi, a 30-year entertainment industry veteran, is the Founder and President of iMaggination, Inc. Maggi has worked in many facets of the music business and has lent his skills to companies such as: Metropolitan Entertainment, Atlantic, Geffen and Interscope Records, McGhee Entertainment, Left Bank Management, MusicMaker, Pepsi and Samsung, among others. Throughout his career, Maggi has been part of marketing strategies for many of the world’s most successful and influential artists as well as offering his unique expertise to some of the world’s biggest brands. Maggi has worked alongside the likes of U2, Genesis, Aerosmith, Guns and Rose, Faith Hill, Tim McGraw, The Who, Alicia Keys and more.
Further, Maggi has spearheaded campaigns associated with Soundstage, a music program that aired on PBS. Artists included Robert Plant, Dave Mathews Band, KT Tunstall, All American Rejects, Death Cab for Cutie, BB King, Seal, Faith Hill and more. He also produced “The Lost Highway Concert featuring Bon Jovi” on A&E and was the executive producer of the 3D movie released by Sony Pictures in April 2010, “Kenny Chesney Summer in 3D”.
Don Maggi is currently the Managing Partner and Executive Producer of Front and Center. Now going into its 10th season, Maggi has created a series that has over 20 hours of programming a year featuring talent such as Hozier, Steven Tyler, Keith Urban, The Avett Brothers, Miranda Lambert, The Counting Crows, Train, Cyndi Lauper and many more.
