WAMCon Los Angeles 2025

WAMCon is back for another year of immersive experiences featuring top leaders in the industry – including award-winning music producers, recording engineers, songwriters, beatmakers, and record executives involved in making the music you love the most! 🎧

This year’s workshops and discussions focus on live sound and cover topics like recording techniques, mixing, mastering, vocal production, songwriting, beatmaking, the music business, music licensing, and more. ⁣💡✨

WAMCon 2025 will be held on Sunday, October 26th, at the world-famous Village Studios in Los Angeles, CA.

🗓 Date: October 26th, 2025
📍 Location: Village Studios

Speakers:

• • K.Flay – Grammy-nominated Artist (Evanescence, Fitz and the Tantrums, Walk the Moon, Imagine Dragons, etc.)
  • Maureen Droney – Vice President of the Producers & Engineers Wing at the Recording Academy/GRAMMY Awards
  • Leslie Ann Jones – Grammy award-winning Engineer (Skywalker Sound)
  • Rayna Zemel – Playback Engineer (Dua Lipa, Lana Del Rey) and Senior Sound Designer (Mattel)
  • Dr. Leslie Gaston-Bird – Audio Engineer, Educator and Dolby Atmos Expert
  • Eva Reistad – Grammy Award-Winning Engineer/Producer (Bad Boys: Ride or Die, Dune Part 2, Alien Romulus and Naked Gun)
  • Jen Watman – Audio Engineer, Creative Producer & Musician (SSL, Redbull, Spotify)
  • Trovarsi – LA-based Music Composer/Producer, Live Electronic Music Artist, Educator, and streaming YouTube Host (Focusrite, Novation)
  • Amanda Davis – Live Sound Engineer (Janelle Monae, Tegan & Sara)
  • Suzy Shinn – GRAMMY-nominated Music Producer, Songwriter, and Recording Engineer (Dua Lipa, Alicia Keys, Weezer, Panic! At the Disco, etc.)
  • Joanna Fang – Emmy Award-Winning Foley Artist (Sony Interactive)
  • Anna Arboles – Touring FOH and Monitor Engineer (Brittany Howard, the Alabama Shakes, Julien Baker, Empress Of, JP Saxe)
  • Lynne Earls – Music Producer, Songwriter and Sound Engineer (LeAnn Rimes, kd Lang)
  • Claudia Pinel Iatalese – Producer and Audio Engineer at Village Studio
  • Sarah Register – Grammy-nominated Mastering Engineer (Ariana Grande, Sia, The Shins, Lee “Scratch Perry)

Keynotes:

Amplified: The Epic Career of Leslie Ann Jones, In Conversation with Maureen Droney

The Artist & Producer Relationship with K.Flay and Suzy Shinn

Agenda:

Speaker Bios: 

K.Flay |  GRAMMY-nominated Artist (Evanescence, Fitz and the Tantrums, Walk the Moon, Imagine Dragons, etc.)

Based in LA and originally from Illinois, multi-platinum artist K.Flay, born Kristine Flaherty, started rapping and writing songs on a lark while attending Stanford University, and soon began releasing her self-produced mixtapes. In 2017 she released her major label debut album Every Where Is Some Where, earning two GRAMMY Award nominations for the album’s iconic smash single “Blood in the Cut” and sending her to arenas around the world with her kinetic live set. As a songwriter, musician, and producer, she’s lent her talents to numerous collaborations, working with Fitz and the Tantrums, Bishop Briggs, Tom Morello, Louis the Child, Kaskade, Walk the Moon, Imagine Dragons, grandson, The Regrettes, Two Feet, MisterWives, and more. Whether working on her own music or with others, K.Flay’s output remains rooted in her undeniable lyrical skills, an element she attributes to her innate love of language and its infinite possibilities. This spring she announced her fifth studio album MONO – which was released on September 15th. The LP is her first for Giant Music and is her first since going suddenly and completely deaf in her right ear at the end of last summer. Although K.Flay’s hearing loss deeply informed her songwriting on MONO, the album marks the start of a new era for the artist who explores an entire spectrum of existential questions and complex matters of the heart and mind on the LP. Additionally, K.Flay wrote an original song “T-Rex” for Neflix’s groundbreaking new animated film Nimona which was released last summer. A relentlessly boundary-pushing artist with more than 1 BILLION streams and 100K+ tickets sold, K.Flay continues to commit herself to constant growth by holding herself to higher and more rigorous standards in every aspect of her artistry.

Maureen Droney | Vice President of the Producers & Engineers Wing at the Recording Academy/GRAMMY Awards

Maureen Droney is the Vice President of the Recording Academy (GRAMMY Awards) Producers & Engineers Wing. A former recording engineer herself, Maureen has worked on GRAMMY winning recordings for artists including Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston, and Santana—as well as well as on numerous other projects, including two Billboard Number One Dance songs.

She has a degree in Broadcast Communication Arts from California State University, San Francisco, and has taught seminars on the theory and practice of recording for companies including ABC and CBS Television. She has also worked in both artist and studio management, was the longtime Los Angeles editor for Mix magazine, and has published three books related to recording. Her most recent, co-written with its subject, is Al Schmitt on the Record: The Magic Behind the Music, chronicling the life and career of the most awarded recording engineer in history.

Leslie Ann Jones | GRAMMY award-winning Producer and Engineer (Skywalker Sound)

Leslie Ann Jones grew up immersed in the Los Angeles area TV and music scene.  Her father performed with his band, Spike Jones and his City Slickers, with her mother Helen Grayco lending her singing talents.  Leslie was given a Sears Silvertone electric guitar at age 14 and has continued making music since.  She is a multiple Grammy Award-winning recording engineer who has recorded albums for everyone from Rosemary Clooney to Kronos Quartet.

Joining Skywalker Sound in 1997 as the Director of Music Recording and Scoring, Leslie records orchestral scores, mixes film and video elements and records and produces music albums.  Leslie also serves on numerous advisory boards including G.A.,N.G, the Game Audio Network Guild’s Board of Directors.

Eva Reistad | GRAMMY Award-Winning Engineer & Producer (Naked Gun, Planet Earth, Alien, Dune)

Eva Reistad is a Grammy-winning audio engineer recognized for her range of work across all genres of music (An Adoption Story), film (Naked Gun, Planet Earth, Alien, Dune), and live sound (Hans Zimmer). Eva has engineered for acclaimed artists and engineers on projects that push creative and technical boundaries, earning a reputation for her unique sound, thoughtful collaboration, and attentive ear. Beyond the studio, she is a passionate advocate for inclusion and mentorship in the audio industry, regularly speaking on panels about the industry, career growth, and the evolving role of women in sound. Whether behind the console or in front of an audience, Eva brings an authentic, inspiring voice to the craft of engineering and the art of listening.

Joanna Fang | Emmy Award-winning Foley artist and Sound Editor (Death Stranding 2, God of War Ragnarök, Helldivers 2 and Ghost of Yōtei)

Joanna Fang MPSE is an Emmy award winning Foley artist and sound editor.  An alumni of New York University Tisch School of the Arts, Joanna developed a passion for Foley while studying Film and TV production.  Graduating with several made for TV horror films under her belt, she started an apprenticeship with lead Foley artist Leslie Bloome at New York’s Alchemy Post Sound and worked there for 7 years.  In 2021, she joined Sony Interactive Entertainment’s Creative Arts Studios Sound Team as their senior Foley artist co-leading the development of their interactive Foley studio with senior Foley mixer Blake Collins. 

Throughout her career, Joanna has cultivated a body of work spanning independent cinema, documentary film, installation art, prestige television, and triple A video games.  She focuses on supporting unique storytellers through novel and empathy driven applications of performed sound. She has crashed a bus for This American Life’s Ira Glass, walked in the heels of matchmakers with director Celine Song, and fought her way through Hundreds of Beavers.  Her Foley is playable on some of PlayStation’s newest titles including Death Stranding 2, God of War Ragnarök, Helldivers 2 and Ghost of Yōtei. 

 In 2016, the Television Academy recognized Joanna as the first openly transgender woman of color to win a Primetime Emmy for her Foley work on A&E’s Cartel Land. When she isn’t performing Foley, she volunteers her time as the President of PlayStation’s LGBTQIA employee group Pride @ PlayStation.

Amanda Davis | Live Sound Engineer (Janelle Monae, Tegan & Sara)

Amanda Davis, Memphis-born audio engineer, educator, and musician uses her skills to empower others globally. As a Roosevelt University and SAE Institute graduate, she became SAE’s first female Lab Supervisor and Music Theory instructor. In 2013, Davis’ touring career began when Janelle Monáe chose her as her Front of House Engineer. Davis has mixed artists such as Prince, Stevie Wonder, Jon Batiste, Olivia Rodrigo, Tank and the Bangas, and Ella Mai. She has mixed in renowned venues like The White House, Radio City Music Hall, Hollywood Bowl, The Grammys, Glastonbury Fest, Montreux Jazz Festival, and Sydney Opera House. Davis created “Linecheck, Women in Live Production,” a mentoring program, and currently teaches a Live Mixing course at Berklee Online.

Suzy Shinn | GRAMMY-nominated Music Producer, Songwriter, and Recording Engineer (Dua Lipa, Alicia Keys, Weezer, Panic! At the Disco, etc.)

Suzy Shinn is a multi GRAMMY nominated music producer, songwriter, and recording engineer based out of Los Angeles, California. She is known for her work with Weezer, Modest Mouse, SOPHIE, Panic! At the Disco, Fall Out Boy, Alicia Keys, and Dua Lipa.
Originally from Wichita, Kansas, Suzy’s lifelong obsession with music began when she picked up a guitar at age seven and started writing and recording her own songs only a few years thereafter. At seventeen, Suzy moved to Boston, Massachusetts and attended Berklee College of Music until she dropped out and moved to L.A. two years later.
With an extensive discography that continues to expand and evolve across pop, rock, and every genre in-between, Suzy has become one of the most in-demand record producers in the industry today. Her Silverlake studio has turned into a creative hub where artists come from all over the world to innovate and collaborate.

Rayna Zemel  | Playback Engineer (Dua Lipa, Lana Del Rey) and Senior Sound Designer (Mattel)

Rayna Zemel is an award-winning film producer, live show designer, and playback engineer, currently serving as Senior Sound Designer at Mattel.

From 2015 to 2022, she toured internationally with a lineup of A-list artists including Dua Lipa, Lana Del Rey, The Lonely Island, Logic, and Troye Sivan. She also performed as both guitarist and music director for Juno Award-winning artist Kiesza.

During the COVID-19 shutdown, she shifted her focus to documentary photography and activism. As a member of the National Press Photographers Association, she documented more than 250 protests across the Los Angeles area. Her work and music were featured in the short film We Can’t Breathe—an eight-minute piece that earned over fifteen awards, including Best Music Video at the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival, the Cleveland International Film Festival, and the Cordillera International Film Festival. She has also contributed content to outlets such as The New York Times, Center for Media and Democracy, and LA Taco.

Now permanently based in Los Angeles, she leads sound design efforts at Mattel, composing original music for iconic brands like Hot Wheels, Fisher-Price, UNO, and Pictionary Air. She also heads sound development for the entire Jurassic World toy line—her work is featured in toy aisles of major retailers around the globe.

Anna Arboles | Touring FOH and Monitor Engineer

Anna is a touring Front of House and Monitor Engineer. Born and raised in Los Angeles, Anna studied guitar performance at the University of Southern California’s Thornton School of Music, where they discovered all things audio by running sound for student bands. Anna cut their teeth as a live sound engineer at LA’s iconic taste-making club, The Echo. Since then, Anna has gone on to tour domestically and internationally with Grammy-award winning artists in venues from Red Rocks to the Hollywood Bowl to Coachella and Glastonbury. Anna’s genre-spanning clients have included Brittany Howard, the Alabama Shakes, Julien Baker, Empress Of, JP Saxe, and Speedy Ortiz, among many others. When not on the road, you can find Anna at home, still creating and playing music.

Trovarsi | Music Composer/Producer, Live Electronic Artist, Educator, and Streaming YouTube Host

Trovarsi is an LA-based music composer/producer, live electronic artist, educator, and streaming YouTube host. Over the past decade, Trovarsi has released her music on a wide variety of notable electronic music labels. Her work transcends genres, cultures, and boundaries, yet also authentically and reverentially embraces many creative traditions. With a hybrid blend of modular and analog synthesizers, drum machines, and Ableton, Trovarsi embraces Afrofuturistic electronic expression while remaining firmly planted by her musical roots. Trovarsi is the curator and host of Transduction Signal on DubLab Radio, a monthly interview/performance show highlighting unique live performance artists, composers, and producers in electronic music. She is also the CEO of Piqued.fm. Piqued.fm is a cutting-edge online radio platform designed to connect listeners with a curated selection of independent music across diverse genres. With a seamless user experience and a commitment to high-quality audio, Piqued.fm offers a dynamic space for music discovery, catering to passionate listeners who crave new and innovative sounds. Additionally, Trovarsi is a co founder of the Southern California Synth Society, whose purpose is to educate and facilitate interest in electronic music through synthesizers, modular DIY builds, and community events. She also founded the international streaming festival Frequency Shift, featuring female and gender-expansive electronic artists. Whether performing in the LA underground or on global streaming platforms, Trovarsi continues to push the boundaries of electronic music.

LINKS:
Website: www.trovarsiofficiail.com
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/trovarsiofficial/
Resident Advisor: https://ra.co/dj/trovarsi
Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/trovarsiofficial
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Trovarsiofficial
Spotify:
https://open.spotify.com/artist/32xWWPZMtSp6XJX3kR6fjA?si=W3b1LHdtTfS8Mb4qexWiWA
Bandcamp: https://trovarsi.bandcamp.com/

Dr. Leslie Gaston-Bird | Audio Engineer, Educator and Dolby Atmos Expert

Dr. Leslie Gaston-Bird CAS, MPSE is currently a Senior Lecturer in Sound Recording & Music Production at City, University of London. She is the former president of the Audio-Engineering Society (AES), founder and director of Immersive and Inclusive Audio, CIC, which provides training in Avid Pro Tools and Dolby Atmos certification for underrepresented groups, aninitiative which she created as part of her PhD at the University of Surrey.

She is the author of the books Women in Audio (Routledge) and Math Fundamentals for Audio (A-R Editions). She is a Pro Tools | Dolby Professional Avid Certified Instructor and Dante Level 3 Certified audio engineer specializing in re-recording mixing and sound editing. She is a member of the Recording Academy (The Grammys®), BAFTA, Cinema Audio Society, and Motion Picture Sound Editors (MPSE). She has worked for National Public Radio (Washington, D.C.), Colorado Public Radio, the Colorado Symphony Orchestra, Post Modern Company, and was a tenured Associate Professor at the University of Colorado Denver.

Lynne Earls | Music Producer, Songwriter and Sound Engineer

Lynne Earls is an Irish-born music producer, songwriter, and sound engineer based in Los Angeles, CA, with nearly 25 years of experience making records. Her work spans a wide range of genres—including singer-songwriter, folk, Americana, soul, jazz, Brazilian, Celtic, world music, electronica, trip-hop, ambient, and cinematic styles—yet she is defined less by genre and more by the ethos she brings to the creative process and the environment she cultivates for artists.

In addition to having owned and run two studios—EMP Studios and Tibet Hill Studios—as well as her production company, EMP Music, Lynne regularly produces, engineers, and mixes at some of Los Angeles’ most renowned studios, including The Village, Capitol, Henson, EastWest, Paramount, Glenwood Place, and The Record Plant.

She has worked with a wide range of artists and projects—both independent and major-label—including k.d. lang, LeAnn Rimes, Lizz Wright, Melody Gardot, Lemar, Rumer, Ledisi, Airto Moreira, Flora Purim, Wayne Shorter, Steve Martin, Billy Idol, Shawn Colvin, Dianne Reeves, and Rickie Lee Jones. She has also collaborated with celebrated producers such as Larry Klein, Peter Asher, and Darrell Brown.

Lynne is known for her ability to bridge the old-school craft of analog recording with modern digital production, creating a seamless hybrid workflow that serves the music first. Above all, her greatest strength lies in her ability to truly “speak people”—creating a space where artists feel seen, heard, and safe to express their most authentic work.

Jen Watman | Audio Engineer, Creative Producer & Musician 

Sarah Register  | Grammy-nominated Mastering Engineer (Ariana Grande, Sia, The Shins, Lee “Scratch Perry)

Ainjel Emme | Grammy-nominated vocal producer and musical multi-hyphenate ( Charli XCX, John Legend, David Bowie, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Aly & AJ)

Vanessa Parr | LA-based recording engineer (Weezer, Elvis Costello, John Mayer, Elton John, Across the Universe, Crazy Heart, Mad Men)

Abby Posner | Genre-defying multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, and producer (Hulu, Netflix, The CW, Freeform)

Venue:

The Village Studios, housed in a historic 1920s Masonic Temple, has been at the heart of music history for decades. From legendary artists like Fleetwood Mac, The Rolling Stones, B.B. King, and Bob Dylan to current icons like Lady Gaga, Coldplay, Kesha, John Mayer, and Cage the Elephant, The Village has hosted some of the world’s most celebrated recording sessions.

The studio has also been the backdrop for some of the most memorable movie soundtracks, including The Bodyguard, Shawshank Redemption, A Star Is Born (2018), and both the animated and live-action versions of Mulan. The Village’s reputation for producing chart-topping albums and cinematic scores is matched by its ability to evolve with the changing music landscape, offering an environment where creativity thrives.

Beyond its musical achievements, The Village has been the site for unique recordings, including Jim Morrison’s poetry session in 1970. On his 27th birthday, Morrison recorded his iconic work, An American Prayer, along with other unreleased compositions. The studio’s walls have seen both artistic legends and cultural moments come to life.

As CEO Jeff Greenberg describes, “California has been a magnet for creative souls since its birth,” and The Village continues to be a beacon for artists and producers alike.

https://www.villagestudios.com

WAMCon is made possible by our sponsors:

WAMCon Sponsorship Opportunities: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1nWwFU3-Qt0Q63ADsPinORsu76VaBUFdE/view?usp=sharing  

About Women’s Audio Mission

Women’s Audio Mission is a San Francisco-based nonprofit dedicated to the advancement of women and gender-expansive people in music production and the recording arts, fields in which they are critically underrepresented. WAM uses music and media arts training, mentorship, and conferences to serve over 2,500 women, girls, and gender-expansive people annually in order to inspire them to amplify their voices and become the music producers, recording engineers and innovators of tomorrow. In a field where women are critically underrepresented (less than 5%), WAM seeks to “change the face of sound” by providing hands-on training, experience, career counseling and job placement in media technology for music, radio, film, television and the internet. WAM believes that women/gender-diverse individuals’ mastery of music technology and inclusion in the production process will expand the vision and voice of media and popular culture. For more information, visit www.womensaudiomission.org.