Upward & Onward
Productions
UPWARD & ONWARD PRODUCTIONS
The One Way Ticket Band
“Join The One Way Ticket Band on a universal music ride, ranging from Soul, Jazz, Blues, and R&B. Taking you from the 1930s into the 2000s.”
Mike Hammond
Director of The One Way Ticket Band
Master Vocalist, Singer Extraordinaire, ANOMALY are some of the names that are used to define MIKE HAMMOND. A native New Yorker, born and raised in Hollis, the heart & soul of Jamaica Queens. Mike has recorded with artist such as Incognito & 50cent and has worked with and or shared the stage with the likes of Josh Groban, Elton John, Billy Joel, Stevie Wonder, Diana Ross & Gladys Knight just to name a few also traveled the world performing for presidents of other countries as well as the royal family of Morocco. He has also performed as supporting vocals on TV’s America’s Got Talent Season 9. PBS concert specials and a host of other TV syndicated programs.
When an event needs the right size and genre of band to fit the specific occasion; whether if it’s downsizing to acoustic with a singer, track or upsizing to rhythm plus horns or a full big band orchestra experience, The One Way Ticket is able to suit what’s needed. The band has built and upheld a reputation to be able to blend the old with the new and provide an original flair yet alternate version to a recognizable cover tune. They are comprised of some of the best full-time, experienced entertainment professionals of the highest caliber ranging from Broadway, Vegas and cruise ships. The One Way Ticket provides a varied selection of musical genres – Jazz, Swing, Standard, Big Band, Motown, Soul, R&B, Disco, Club Music, Classic Rock, Blues, Contemporary, Ballroom, Classic, and more.
“It’s rare to find that one connection musically where you can link mind, talent and spirit to express yourself through music and song with another. The One Way Ticket personifies this rarity. You feel the vibe of the Cotton Club, Birdland Jazz, the Copacabana experience, street corner doo wop and pop alleys and converge at a crossroads of soulful sounds that get you up on your feet.”
Jardé Pierre
Band Leader
The One Way Ticket, founded in 1999 in Amsterdam, is a soul rock band that started off as a Hair tribute band with members of the 20thanniversary musical, Hair– European tour. The band grew to higher heights at the end of the Hair tour. After doing about 6 months of three different residencies in Amsterdam, they toured through Holland a little over a year. Three months of a residency in Lebanon was also completed, along with a tour in the UK, Germany and Belgium. In 2003, the band relocated to New York and worked freelance with a few NY-based corporate entertainment companies. For the next few years, they toured the Northeast, Florida, Georgia and Los Angeles. Afterwards, The One Way Ticket did weekly sit downs at the Kama Sutra lounge in NY Times Square along with a few showcases at places such as the Time Lounge NYC, Denizen Lounge NYC, Triad NYC, and Lauri Beechman NYC to name a few.
The band did a Taste of the Cruise Ship Guest Entertainment Circuit (tours through the Caribbean, Mediterranean, North Sea and Canada). In 2016, they joined the Star International Band on the Norwegian Getaway’s “Getaway In Concert Farewell Show” which was comprised of four bands – The One Way Ticket to bands from the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, America and Poland. Afterwards, they joined the team of Upward and Onward Productions in 2017 as their company’s entertainment corporate and club date band where “success is only an arms length away…”