Meet Gee Willie & Herb: The Promotion Giants Behind Here We Go Entertainment

#NOLAZINE - When the conversation turns to New Orleans nightlife, celebrity parties and major event weekends, Greg Johnson, better known as Gee Willie, and Herbert Baudy, known as Herb, have spent years building a name behind the scenes.

Together, the two entrepreneurs launched Here We Go Entertainment in 2006, turning their vision for high-level entertainment into a brand that would become associated with some of New Orleans' biggest party weekends and celebrity-driven events.

Building Here We Go Entertainment

New Orleans has always been a city that knows how to celebrate. But throwing a successful event in the city requires much more than booking a venue and making a flyer. Promoters have to understand their audience, build relationships, market consistently and—most importantly—create events people want to attend year after year.

Gee Willie and Herb built Here We Go Entertainment around that formula.

Starting in 2006, the partners began establishing themselves in the city's competitive nightlife and entertainment scene. Over the years, their events have been associated with major weekends when thousands of visitors descend on New Orleans.

Their longevity is particularly impressive in an industry where promoters, clubs and entertainment companies can disappear almost as quickly as they arrive.

From Local Parties to Celebrity Events

As Here We Go Entertainment grew, so did the level of talent connected to its events.

According to Gee Willie and Herb, their parties have featured or been hosted by major celebrities including Drake, Kevin Hart and Michael B. Jordan, among many other stars who have visited New Orleans.

That kind of celebrity access isn't built overnight. It comes from relationships, reputation and repeatedly proving that you can bring people together.

Public event listings also document Here We Go Entertainment's continuing presence in New Orleans. During Bayou Classic Weekend in 2022, Here We Go Entertainment, Big Stan Productions and Gee Willie were billed as presenters of official celebrity events at Metropolitan Nightclub, with promotional listings identifying both @GeeWillie and @HerbHWG. Nola Chic

Nearly Two Decades in the Business

What started in 2006 has grown into a run spanning approximately 20 years.

Think about how much nightlife has changed during that period.

The promotion business went from printed flyers, street teams and text-message blasts to Instagram, online ticketing, influencers and digital marketing. Music changed. Clubs changed. Social media transformed how events were promoted.

Yet Gee Willie, Herb and Here We Go Entertainment continued evolving.

Their story is an example of why relationships and reputation matter so much in entertainment. A promoter might be able to pack a building once because of hype, but maintaining a name for decades requires something different: consistency.

Helping Shape New Orleans Nightlife

Here We Go Entertainment's story is also part of the larger history of Black entrepreneurship in New Orleans entertainment.

Promoters often operate behind the scenes, but they play a major role in a city's culture. They connect venues with entertainers, DJs, celebrities, sponsors and audiences. When thousands of visitors arrive for major weekends such as Bayou Classic, Essence Festival weekend, Mardi Gras and other events, promoters help create the nightlife experiences surrounding those occasions.

Gee Willie and Herb turned that role into a business.

They weren't simply throwing parties—they were building relationships, developing a recognizable entertainment brand and creating experiences that kept people coming back.

The Business Behind the Party

There's an important business lesson behind the success.

The celebrity might bring attention to the flyer, but the promoter has to build the infrastructure that makes the event happen.

Behind every successful major party are negotiations, marketing, venue relationships, talent relationships, security, ticket sales, staffing and countless other details the average person attending the event may never see.

For Gee Willie and Herb, mastering that side of entertainment helped turn Here We Go Entertainment from an idea started in 2006 into a longstanding name in New Orleans promotions.

Nearly two decades later, their journey demonstrates something every entrepreneur can learn from:

Build relationships. Protect your reputation. Stay consistent. And understand that longevity is one of the strongest forms of success.

From New Orleans nightlife to celebrity-hosted events featuring some of entertainment's biggest names, Gee Willie and Herb have built a legacy that deserves recognition—not just as promoters, but as New Orleans entertainment entrepreneurs.

NOLAZINE: THE BUSINESS BEHIND THE ENTERTAINMENT