Melissa Gonzalez (aka “Melly Starz”)

Bitter Jester Music Festival Judge

Originally from Chicago, Melly Starz has established herself as a powerhouse journalist on the Miami and Chicago hip hop scenes. The journey to this point has been full of detours, but every experience has led to her being amongst the top music review websites.

“It astonishes me how the bands get better and better every year at Bitter Jester Music Festival. It shocks me every year how young these bands are and how honed into their craft they are. They are all beyond impressive.”

- Melly Starz

Melly Starz’s resume encompasses traditional education and life experiences. Armed with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Arts and a Masters of Science in entertainment Business the foundation for a career in media was set. During her undergraduate studies, Melly learned various skills with a predominant focus on television production.

For her internship she decided to do something out of the box and work as a News Producer for Al Rojo Vivo at Telemundo Networks. Her role involved researching and crafting stories. This involved interviewing Hispanic guests, pitching stories, logging tapes, show rundown and control room procedures during live shows.

In tandem with pursuing higher education through a Masters degree, Melly Starz began the journey into Music in Mellsville. The premise was always about music but the structure has adapted to the ever changing industry. In her post graduate studies she delved into the business side of the entertainment industry which is a necessary tool when creating a media career.

To garner real world experience Melly Starz joined the Thinking Cap Entertainment team. The opportunity led to connecting with various local artists in Broward and Miami Dade. Aside from interviewing these artists, Melly also worked on directing and editing music videos, voice over work and voice drops, and event planning.

Her next venture kept her in Florida as a Brand Ambassador. Her daily tasks involved modeling promotional products and social media management. This is where she also began to dabble in copywriting. This led to her pursuing freelance writing when her Brand Ambassador job came to an end. This was a pivotal moment in her professional writing career.

After freelancing for sometime, Melly joined a Broward based digital marketing company as a content manager and editor. She managed a team of legal writers. After some company restructuring she stayed on as a legal writer for a period. She continues to do copywriting for companies nationwide. This affords her the flexibility to focus on building Melly Starz Media.

Getting back to creativity… 

Melly has an extensive resume but her creativity has always been calling. In recent years you may have seen her bringing back interviews on The HeatMix Life, a mixshow she co-founded with DJ LX in Miami. She no longer works on the shows but does support by providing a space for them on the website.

She was also one of the first sponsors of The Journey Project Podcast hosted by Josiah The Prince out of Wisconsin. He interviews various people in the industry and discusses their journey. But everything changed for Melly in 2023…

She was close to hanging up her hat and leaving the industry completely. Then the Chicago music scene changed her path entirely. This is the year where she began to do event reviews, music reviews, and album reviews including one for Bitter Jester.

Melly Starz is excited to join the Bitter Jester judges panel for the first time and getting to experience the festival in person.