Cara Dillon, one of Ireland’s most celebrated folk artists, has announced details of her first online streamed concert, ‘Live at Cooper Hall’, which will be broadcast globally on Facebook and YouTube on Thursday 13th August at 8pm BST, 2020 and will be free to watch. Following the online broadcast, the concert will be available to download.
Filmed in the intimate surroundings of Cooper Hall, a local performance space near Cara’s home in Frome, Somerset, the concert is intended as a gift to her fans, especially all of those who have missed out on the opportunity to see her perform due to the cancellation of tour dates since the COVID-19 crisis began, and she has tried to bring some of the magic of a live show to this online concert.
Cara will perform a selection of her most loved songs from across her catalogue with pared-back, acoustic arrangements. She will be accompanied by her musical partner and husband Sam Lakeman on acoustic guitar and the venue’s exquisite Steinway grand piano. The themes of emigration and longing for home, which run through many of her songs, are more relevant than ever during these extraordinary times in which people are undergoing long periods of separation from family and friends.
I caught up with Cara and Sam Lakeman to talk about the concert as well as the challenges faced by both them and others during the COVID-19 crisis.
Hi Cara/Sam, can we maybe start at the deep end by talking about the lockdown and crisis, its broader impact on the music scene, and the folk scene in particular? We’re still not out of the weeds, and there is a serious concern regarding the long term impact on the live music scene – from the venues to all those who work within the gigging economy. Can you give us your take and how you see things now? What are your concerns, and what do you think needs to happen to help restore what we had, if that’s even possible?
Cara: Well… where on earth do I begin? To be honest, I was cancelling concerts before a lot of other artists and being Type 1 Diabetic meant that I knew I’d be in the high risk category and I chose to shield very early on. In fact, Sam and I took our three children out of school almost two weeks before the Government closed them and we went into isolation. It meant that for the first couple of months I wasn’t even thinking about lost work or the impact of lockdown on the wider industry… I was just focused on staying safe, keeping in touch with my family in Ireland and the joys of homeschooling.
Sam: Coronavirus has undoubtedly had a profound effect on the entire music scene. It’s been indiscriminate and wholesale. All aspects of the industry now face unprecedented issues, and the main one for the majority of Folk and Acoustic artists seems to be the fact that they often walk a fine line between feast or famine. It’s very concerning for those who don’t have the ability to support themselves through additional online teaching work or have the welcome trickle of cd and streaming income to fall back on.
Cara: Sadly, I worry that some artists won’t be able to weather this storm, and may not be able to continue as full-time musicians. That would be such a great loss for the folk scene. Also, let’s not forget all the talented crew members who work behind the scenes doing sound and lights, the roadies, set designers and other venue staff and all the booking agents… in many ways they’re even worse off than the artists.
As for venues; I don’t know what’ll happen. Until there’s been a good deal of real-world testing with social distancing we won’t have any idea what can or cannot be done. Then there’s the issue with whether or not people will even want to return to venues while the virus is still “out there” so to speak.
Sam: The biggest issue I can see is with small and medium theatres and Arts centres. Without serious financial support I think many will face closure or at the very least will have to narrow the spectrum of their programming in order to maximise revenue through these difficult times. That will mean them taking fewer risks with emerging artists and speciality music theatre. We’ll see a broad wholesale culling of the arts with only the venues and institutions deemed most ‘prestigious’ or ‘important’ being saved with many being left to suffer or even slip beneath the waves.
Cara: However, I’m ever hopeful that when venues and festivals do return to staging gigs (fingers crossed) there’ll be a renewed appreciation for what we’ve all missed. Music is a balm for the soul in so many ways and I think for many people that’s been highlighted during this depressing and unsettling time.
Looking at the arrangements you’ve put into this online concert, what becomes immediately apparent is the importance you place on home and those around you who have been impacted by recent events. The venue you’ve chosen is Cooper Hall, close to where you live in Frome, Somerset. You’ve used local crew and suppliers who would have course been impacted by the lockdown. Can you tell us more about the venue and those involved?
Cara: Cooper Hall is a beautiful, private venue owned and run by Morag McLaren. It’s a charitable foundation which Morag uses to provide educational and performance opportunities for creative projects. We’re extremely lucky to have it on our doorstep and we recorded much of “Wanderer” and “Upon A Winter’s Night” there a few years ago because it has a stunning Steinway grand piano. Morag didn’t hesitate to offer the space for us to use knowing that all our live work had vanished in an instant. That is what initially led us to think about staging a concert and not just filming ourselves at home in our own studio.
Sam: Yep, as soon as we made that decision it was clear that this could become something that might play a small part in helping other people. Rather than us just cobbling together a shoot with a couple of iPhones with me recording it on my laptop, we chose to pull in the amazing talents and services of some local people.
I know you’re keen to make this feel as close to a live event as possible and you’ve gone to great lengths to try and achieve that. Dom Monks is your audio engineer, and you’ve also got filmmakers Simon Whitehead and Brendan Lines onboard along with a local lighting supplier AML Group. Are these all people you’ve worked with before and what is it you hope to achieve that’s maybe different to what you’ve done before?
Cara: We knew that staging a production of this size would be costly but we also hoped it would provide the focus and sense of occasion that would result in a better performance. Even having a just a crew of 5 people in the hall meant we were performing to ‘people’… the lights, cameras and recording environment only added to the sense of ‘live performance’ and it really, really helped put us into that mindset. Obviously, there’s no getting away from the awkward silences after each song finishes… that’s just plain weird and there’s no substitute for a round of applause no matter what anyone says, but from the moment Sam played the first notes on the piano or plucked a string I could close my eyes and I was in the moment.
Sam: It was great to use local people to Frome (apart from Brendan who’s all the way from distant Bristol). We’ve known Dom for many years as we occasionally borrow each others studio equipment (although we’ve never worked together before) and Simon has filmed a couple of videos for us in the past. It was the first time we’d used the local AV rental company AML Group, they were so happy to get a call from someone wanting to book a job after months of cancelled bookings. We were all interested in how it was going to work with social distancing and hygiene considerations. Dom was more rehearsed in the process as he’d already recorded Laura Marling’s Union Chapel lockdown concerts and also Nick Cave’s solo broadcast from Alexander Palace, but the rest of us had barely left our houses. It was surprisingly straightforward because there were only 7 of us on site at any one time and there was plenty of space to operate within.
I think there is a clear message, just from the effort you’ve poured into this, that we need to stay positive and keep supporting the arts through this, which could be for some time. What message have you for others, both audience and musicians?
Cara: Positivity and community is so important in weathering this storm. I know that the resources needed for staging something like this are likely beyond many performers but we decided we didn’t want to put a paywall in front of this concert so that everyone could enjoy it. We know that our live income has vanished and that makes up the majority of our total income, and to make things worse we fell into a gap which has meant we’ve received no financial help from the UK government and we’ve had to look at how we can supplement our income in the medium to long term. I’ve launched a new website with a new online shop which we’ve never really had before. Merchandise was something that people badgered us for and we never got around to doing it… well, now we’ve had to.
Sam: Yes, I think that if fans of speciality music want to see it survive and thrive then they’re going to have to support their favourite artists in other ways; and artists themselves are going to have to adapt to the new normal and build in more resilience to the way they work. We will inevitably see a decline in the hand to mouth musician lifestyle that much of the folk scene is built on. I’m really sad about that as it’s such a humbling and character building experience to travel and perform for the sheer love of the music.
Finishing on a lighter note, I know many parents, myself included, have found the lockdown to be a new set of challenges as well as new and rewarding experiences. Can you share with us some of your own?
Cara: Aside from my very real concerns about the virus itself and the potential impact on loved ones, this has been the longest period of time I have not worked since I was 18 years old. It’s been refreshing and a blessing to spend so much time at home with Sam and our three children. We’ve been inventive with themed nights and mini festivals in our house… we’ve been to Mexico, India, the Middle East, we’ve built Bedouin tents on the patio and turned the front room into a Michelin Starred restaurant where we dressed up in gowns and tuxedos. We’re not wise… but it’s been great craic!!
The novelty of homeschooling wore off quickly but has really helped to give our boys a taste self-governance (eventually). The weekly clap for the NHS helped us highlight to them how important community is and the part we can all play in helping others and protecting those we love. We’ve also never had so much contact with our neighbours and we’ve been religious in using all the food we have in the house and leaving as little waste as possible. Sam started a veg patch and we’ve finally been able to enjoy the fruits of his labours. All in all, we’ve been very lucky to have navigated this crisis so far without any great distress.
Cara’s concert “Live at Cooper Hall” premieres on Youtube and Facebook at 8 pm BST on Thursday 13th August. All details about the concert and her brand new online shop can be found at www.caradillon.co.uk
