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Monday, 20 May
DART
Artist Interview
Artist Spotlight
We have been busy at Live & Local with the curation of a new menu for our promoters and we are currently on the road with a new roadshow going out to our many communities across the Midlands.
The Midlands is a huge geographical area, and we take shows to places right across the region. ‘From Rugby to Skegness’ may sound like a poem but it shows the sheer distances of where we and our performers travel to. To misquote a once famous Television advert “Rural Touring really does go to places other programmes cannot reach!”
Finding artists in such a huge region presents unique challenges which is why we launched our Developing Artists in Rural Touring Programme (DART), our talent development programme and it’s extremely rewarding to see how successful this scheme has become in terms of raising both awareness of rural touring to the performing sector but also of capturing the attention of artists in the region. Furthermore, we are thrilled to see many of the artists who have participated in DART progress on to our menu.
One of those artists is a group called Cantaloop. The band attended a DART day in 2023 and are now performing for us and are going down the proverbial storm with audiences.
After each show, our inboxes are stuffed with praise from promoters and audiences, so we wanted to shine a light on their inspirational journey. Recently, we caught up with the band over a virtual coffee and quizzed them on their experiences so far.
Hello Cantaloop! How is your Rural Touring journey so far?
"We were so happy with the audience's reaction to our shows. It's a real cross section of ages and generations so it's great to see them up and dancing!
They were brilliant and so many members of the audience came up after our shows to thank us for bringing something fresh and different to their area.
We ended up bringing some fun vibes, making new friends and introducing a whole new audience to what we do and we can't wait to get back and do it all again!"
Are there any differences between rural touring and your more regular shows?
"Yes, for sure. You definitely get a sense of community when you play in rural areas. From the moment we step into the venue the local promoters are on hand and can't do enough to help and make sure everything is okay. They're so friendly and that follows through to the volunteers and indeed the audiences too. It's almost as though they've invited you into their home and you have to love that.
There's a real synergy between Live & Local and the promoters which really helps everything to run smoothly and professionally and we feel we play our part in that process too. We've performed at many different venues and festivals across the UK and Europe and while there are some that are wonderful, only a few can give you that!"
In terms of your rural touring adventure, what are you hoping to achieve for the next touring round?
"Exactly the same again but this time we really want to reach more communities. One of the biggest things we have taken from this experience is just how much they need and enjoy something that can take them away from whatever troubles they may have in their day or week. That's a lovely feeling to be able to provide that and together with Live & Local we'd like to do much more of it."
Where can audiences find out more on what you do?
"They can catch us on our webpage www.cantaloop.net or any of our social media links."
Our next Dart will be in Lincolnshire, most likely in October. Please look out for dates on our website.
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