Chase Bell and Lira
Photo credit: @CINEMATXART
The “Do Me” Live Experience brought Los Angeles singer-songwriter Chase Bell and internationally acclaimed South African artist Lira together in Hollywood, California, for an evening focused on music, collaboration, and connection at the iconic East West Studios.
Presented by InnerCircle.usa (Event company) and sponsored by Music Industry Community (MIC), the October 9 event at East West Studios (Studio A) brought together artists, entrepreneurs, music professionals, creatives, and members of the broader entertainment community for an evening that extended beyond a traditional concert.
Rather than serving solely as a live performance, the event created a space where people from different areas of the music and entertainment industries could meet, exchange ideas, and build relationships. For MIC, the gathering offered an opportunity to bring its community-focused mission from its digital platform into a live setting at an iconic space where artists such as Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra, and Ariana Grande also held performances.
From “Do Me” to a Live Experience
At the center of the evening was the collaboration between Chase Bell and Lira, following the release of their independent track, “Do Me.” Their appearance gave the audience a chance to experience the collaboration live while highlighting the international connections that continue to shape Bell’s music career.
Chase Bell is a Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter whose work moves across Pop, R&B, and AfroPop. His career has taken him across Europe, the United States, Asia, and Africa, where he has developed an independent music career centered on live performance and cross-cultural collaboration.
In 2023, Grammy-nominated artist Aloe Blacc released “Chasing Your Dream” with Bell, leading to live performances at entrepreneurial events including XPRIZE and Abundance 360.
Bell also performed in front of more than 50,000 people with Grammy-nominated Ugandan artist Eddy Kenzo at the Eddy Kenzo Festival in 2022. The performance helped introduce Bell to a growing East African audience, and the two artists have since released multiple collaborations, including “Your Sky Has No Limit (Remix),” “Twist” in 2025, and “Motivation” in 2026.
His collaboration with Lira added another international dimension to his work and brought these two artists with different musical backgrounds together. Chase Bell and Lira embarked on a sold-out tour of South Africa; now they perform in Los Angeles to solidify their international collaboration.
Lira, born Lerato Moipone Molapo in Daveyton, Johannesburg, is a multi-platinum South African artist whose music draws from soul, funk, jazz, and African music. A multiple South African Music Award winner, Lira has performed on some of the world’s most prominent stages, including the FIFA World Cup opening ceremony in South Africa and President Barack Obama’s 2013 inaugural ball.
Her journey back to the stage has also made her return to music particularly significant.
In 2022, Lira suffered a stroke while traveling in Germany and was subsequently diagnosed with aphasia. The condition affected her ability to speak, read, and write, leading to an extensive period of speech therapy and rehabilitation.
Her return to performing has included appearances at Starlight Classics, Constitution Hill, and the DSTV Delicious Festival, making her participation in the Hollywood event another step in her return to live performance.
Together, Chase Bell and Lira gave the “Do Me” collaboration a live setting while contributing to an evening built around music, relationships, and the exchange of ideas across the entertainment community.
MIC Brings the Music Industry Into One Community
Ashley Holt, Lira, Chase Bell, Christy DiNapoli, Rhonda Swan
Photo credit: Top of The Line PR
Music Industry Community (MIC) was created to address a challenge faced by artists and music professionals: the need to manage increasingly complex careers across multiple disconnected platforms.
Launched by West Village Entertainment, the Nashville company is helmed by Christy DiNapoli alongside Brian Haunhorst and Ashley Holt.
MIC brings together community, collaboration tools, booking resources, streaming and audience analytics, and other career-focused tools into a single platform designed for artists, musicians, producers, creators, and industry professionals.
The platform was built by music industry professionals with experience across media, live entertainment, technology, artist development, production, and Fortune 500 operations.
“This isn’t just another social platform,” the MIC team has said. “MIC was built specifically for the music community, combining the tools artists and industry professionals need all in one platform.”
Rather than replacing the creative process, MIC is designed to support the business and professional infrastructure surrounding it. Its tools are intended to help users build relationships, discover opportunities, collaborate, understand their audiences, and manage aspects of their careers from one ecosystem.
The Hollywood event provided a real-world example of that philosophy, bringing together people who work across different parts of the industry and creating opportunities for conversations and connections outside the traditional concert format.
Christy DiNapoli’s Vision for Collaboration
Chase Bell, Ashley Holt, Lira, Christy DiNapoli
Photo credit: Top of The Line PR
DiNapoli has worked with companies including Warner Bros. and Big Machine Records and is a three-time Grammy nominee and CMA Producer of the Year. He has also received 22 BMI, ASCAP, and SESAC awards and has served on the boards of organizations including the Academy of Country Music and Orchestra Nashville.
His experience across different sides of the music business informs MIC’s approach to building a more connected industry.
“Our approach with MIC is to lead with purpose and build with people,” DiNapoli said. “When you truly understand the people you serve and identify with their mission, you can create opportunities for them to be seen, heard, connected, and supported.”
He added that collaboration can create greater opportunities across the music community by combining platforms, resources, and relationships.
Those ideas were visible throughout the Hollywood gathering, where live music and professional networking shared the same space. The event gave artists, entrepreneurs, creatives, and industry professionals an opportunity to connect beyond their individual roles and projects.
From Digital Platform to MIC LIVE
The “Do Me” Live Experience also marked an example of how MIC is extending its community into live programming through MIC LIVE, an in-person event series designed around community, education, networking, and access to the music industry.
The initiative reflects MIC’s belief that technology alone cannot replace the value of meeting people face-to-face.
For independent artists, opportunities often emerge through relationships: a conversation with another musician, an introduction to a producer, a connection with a venue, or a meeting with someone who can help move a project forward.
The October 9 gathering demonstrated how those connections can take place in a physical environment, complementing the relationships and resources available through MIC’s digital platform.
By combining its online ecosystem with live experiences, MIC is creating additional opportunities for artists and industry professionals to meet, collaborate, and develop relationships in person.