by Tanya Lutman
photos by Shyn Midili
Hollis Wong-Wear is becoming known throughout Seattle as a woman with the Midas touch. All of the projects she touches are incredibly successful, and the list is endless. At last count she was actively working as a singer, songwriter, musician, poet, artist manager, video producer, mentor, tour manager, and actress. Even just listing that is making me exhausted. It reminds me of those “Hey Mon” skits that were on In Living Color, and makes me feel like I should be getting more work done. Which is to say, Hollis is amazingly inspiring to those around her.
Weaved throughout her work is a consistent theme of helping artists realize their dreams. Her management work with the Blue Scholars has seen them get record-breaking Kickstarter campaign numbers and find unique and creative ways to engage their community. Hollis has co-written songs with Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, introduced them to Mary Lambert (who sings on “Same Love”), sings the hook herself on “White Walls,” and co-produced the videos for “Wings” and “Thrift Shop” – the latter of which has over 180 million YouTube views. (more)