​Mitch Hampton is the host and producer of Journey of an Aesthete Podcast now entering it's sixth Season. Mitch is also a world renown journalist, writer, pianist & composer, who studied at New England Conservatory of Music with Stanley Cowell. From 1990 through the early 2000s he had a career as a pianist and composer, performing his Concerto for Jazz Piano and Orchestra with the Czech Radio Orchestra ion Prague and his Dark Dancing for Piano and Chamber Orchestra at Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center, NYC with himself as piano soloist and under the direction of Gerard Schwarz. He wrote a Double Concerto, The Four Humors, for clarinetist Richard Stoltzman  and flutist Mike Feingold that was performed in Boston and his Symphony was recorded by the London Symphony at Abbey Road Studios and a clarinet Conertino, also for Richard Stolzman, Back to Bacharach. His Jazz Taxonomies was written for the Berlin Saxophone Quartet. His String Quartet was performed in a premiere at Duke University in North Carolina as well as in Boston. For thirty years he was a journalist and reporter for Organica, a periodical associated with the natural hair and skin care company Aubrey Organics, interviewing illustrious people in that industry as well as well known authors like James Elroy and Jacque Barzun. He has composed music for two Andrew Bujalski films, Computer Chess (2013) and Support The Girls (2016). He now plays regularly in Weaverville, North Carolina in an Arts Festival as well a coffee shop and performs regular Living Room Concerts with his trio, featuring Zack Page on bass and Justin Watt on drums. In 2013 he created a solo piano style and concept and released two recordings, Hard Listening Volumes 1 and 2.

Laurie is an award winning professional film, television, and theatre writer/producer with over 16 years of professional experience creating and running shows.

Laurie is a passionate about storytelling in all forms and mediums. She writes, creates, develops compelling projects across mediums from film, television, literature, theatre and is the owner of Laurie's Story Garden.

She has collaborated with so many wonderful artists, networks, companies on so many special projects over the years, some highlights include CBS, NBC, Cartoon Network, HBO, Pele Films, Wonder Films, Silver Sound Studios, Abingdon Theatre,

Alliance Theatre, Denver Center , Virginia Shakespeare Festival, British Arts Alliance to HRH of Burma, The Dickens Museum of London,The Dickens Family Foundation, Hyde Park Holiday Festival, United Nations Poetry Day, Michelle Obama Arts Coalition, to highlight a few. Complete show list available on request.

Her current theatrical production/adaptation , Everyone’s Carol, sponsored by Macy’s, has played to sold out audiences across the globe, in London, New York, France, Iceland, transforming and inspiring the hearts and souls of audiences by presenting the original classic text and humanitarian message of Charles Dickens’ much beloved “A Christmas Carol” through a culturally diverse, re imagined lens, starring Mr.Austin Pendleton as Scrooge.

It has been staged immersively at the London Dickens House Museum, Hyde Park Rose Garden, Morgan Library and Museum, New York Society Library, Salazar France Arts, Icelandic Dickens Festival, Abingdon Theatre, Irondale Theatre to name a few.

She is currently the executive/creative producer, writer of Journey of an Aesthete Podcast featuring host, Mitch Hampton on I Heart Radio, has numerous private clients she coaches on their stories, consults on numerous shows /scripts, has ghost written for and helped produce projects across film, television, theatre, literature, and new media.

Her commissioned performance poem, “Chrysalis” is being featured in the London celebration of the United Nations’ Day of the Girl Child.

She holds multiple degrees, including an MFA in writing, show running, acting, directing and writing from the National Theater Conservatory as well as, a BA in Theatre, Communications and Performance Studies, from Kennesaw State University, with an emphasis in classical theatre, show creation, writing, adapting literature for scripts, solo performance/storytelling.

In addition to her passion for performing, developing, running and creating shows, Ms. Strickland is a worldwide leader of educational outreach and humanitarian efforts in the arts through the lens of the works of Charles Dickens called “Your Stories Matter”.

Her mission is to tell stories that help heal, uplift, unite and transform the world.

One of the most wonderful things and her favorite things about producing is that you wear many hats on projects as you help develop them as they come to life!

Laurie is the recipient of numerous arts, grants , and humanities awards for her work in film, television, and theatre.

Some highlights include: Macy’s Artist Foundation Grant, Louise Bourgeois Artist Foundation, La Muse Writers and

Artists Foundation in France, Royal Burma Society Writing Award, Gehring Foundation, Underwood Foundation, Dickens Museum and The Michelle Obama leaders in the Arts award for her writing.

Laurie has been a writer since she could hold a pen and could make shows in her front yard! She is so grateful for her start in classical theatre companies that taught her so very much and all the writers rooms and projects she apprenticed with.

Laurie's biggest honor is being mom to her fur son Chester the Story Dog!

Michael Newton was born and raised in the small Central Indiana town of Rushville.

He attended school there until moving to Muncie to attend Ball State University, and would go on to acquire a bachelor's degree in Digital Audio Production in 2014.

During college and ever since, Michael has been involved in studio recording, post production, and live sound in and around Indiana.

Most recently Michael has been recording and producing his own podcast, Michael's Mixdown, where he discusses and breaks down recorded songs, and interviews musicians and audio professionals.

He is also the audio editor and mixer of the Journey of and Aesthete podcast.

Michael has also been the live sound engineer for the Gabriel Harley Band since 2018.

In his free time, Michael enjoys video games and board games, listening to progressive rock music, and spending time with his two dogs, Skipper and Ryder.

Link to his podcast: https://anchor.fm/michaelsmixdown

Chester is our Best Boi who is a AKC registered Good Citizen and therapy dog who inspires others to tell their stories for healing. He works with his mom Laurie helping clients to feel at ease with writing and speaking.