Conversations with Mary “MJ” Jones

Today we’d like to introduce you to Mary “MJ” Jones.

Hi Mary, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My passions have always been Music, Events/Experiences, and Restaurants. To see my career evolve and marrying all of those passions together is quite literally a dream come true.

I currently am the Director of Entertainment at Virgin Hotels Nashville and Virgin Hotels Chicago.

Growing up in Chicago, I was heavily involved in the Chicago Children’s Choir and Lyric Opera, most of my days in high school and junior high were spent memorizing everything from Italian Operas to Mongolian folk music.

During my summer right before college, I started working in restaurants and really fell in love with the constant motion of service and started seeing the opportunities that were available in that industry. Through the next four years at school, I worked at restaurants while earning my degree in Music/Business. By my junior and senior years, I was curating music festivals to raise money for local charities and hosting on-campus events and shows at local bars.

After graduating, I kept working at restaurants/bars in Chicago but slowly started piecing in doing some light booking and events/experiences for guests as a passion project. I moved to Nashville two years ago to continue my career with Virgin Hotels as the GM of The Pool Club and took over booking entertainment during the pandemic.

We opened the hotel in July 2020 and really just wanted to strive to create Virgin Experiences safely and just kept trying to evolve with the times. Working heavily with our director of Marketing and our Life of the Party, we were really able to do some amazing safe events for the community and hotel guests.

Fast forward to 2022 and I have now segued into solely entertainment for both Chicago and Nashville. Everything from booking Dj’s/Live music, creating pop-up bars, holiday events/experiences, etc. is currently my job role. It has been an insanely wild ride and crazy to think about all the stops along the way.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
“Nothing worth having comes easy.”

There’s definitely been struggles, learning curves, setbacks, budget cuts, cancellations, pandemics, artists that no show, parties that just don’t work out, and the list go on. The biggest struggle I’ve had is to learn to only focus on the pieces of the never-ending puzzle that I control and to try and control anything else is a waste of time and energy.

Staying positive and consistently motivating myself to get through the obstacles is what’s most important. Also motivating the people around you is imperative to be successful, everyone needs to be on the same page and working towards the same goals. It takes a team to make anything successful no one can do anything by themself. Having supportive teammates is crucial.

When something doesn’t work, identifying why is huge and learning from it to make sure that either next time we get it right or we walk away from it. If everything went perfect 100% of the time how boring would this life be? Part of the rush of this industry is the constant movement and solution-finding.

It is incredibly satisfying to get through the setbacks and end on the positive notes.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m proud of all of the work that we have done in the community to support music education (Give a Note) and the LGBTQ+ community (LGBTQ Chamber of Commerce).

We consistently partner with organizations to create local events that give space for all to feel welcome and also help raise funds for these groups that are constantly doing the work to help the community and do good. Giving back to the community that supports us is a huge priority.

I’m looking forward to doing more.

Are there any books, apps, podcasts, or blogs that help you do your best?
Highly recommend the book “You are Awesome” by Neil Pasricha, it helped me learn how to shift my focus into a more positive mindset. Also, Kitchen Confidential by Anthony Bourdain has a special place in my heart.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @mjonesin91