COMMUNITY SPOTLIGHT: ALREWAS VILLAGE HALL

This year, Alrewas Live & Local came of age, celebrating 21 successful years. Promoter Richard Evans tells us what it’s been like… Back in 1998, the group, originally named Alrewas Arts, was founded by a villager with a vision, the late Wendy Jones. Wendy’s dream was to introduce more community art and culture to the […]

Artist Spotlight: Ma Bessie and The Pigfoot Band

The ‘Empress of Blues’, Bessie Smith is given the royal treatment in this dedication to prohibition era blues and jazz by Ma Bessie and the Pigfoot Band on their first rural tour with Live & Local … Julia’s rich vocals combined with a group of musicians that look as well as sound the part. Ma […]

Live & Local Brand Rationalisation

From the start of the new Autumn 2019 season, Live & Local is phasing out the ‘Shindig’, ‘Centre Stage’, ‘Village Ventures’ and ‘Lincolnshire Rural & Community Touring’ brands and is renaming all its county networks Live & Local (followed by the county name) e.g. Live & Local Nottinghamshire, Live & Local Worcestershire. This will ensure […]

Artist Spotlight: Worry Dolls

As Live & Local’s AW 2019/20 season begins we are introducing or re-introducing you to our roster of artists. Before they begin their shows in October, we had a chat with one of our new artists Worry Dolls to find out what to expect this year. Warm, heartfelt harmonies. Worry Dolls. Sums them up. The […]

Edinburgh Fringe 2019

Edinburgh Fringe has been and gone for another year. The Fringe has always been a great way for us at Live & local to see new shows and hear about companies perfect for rural touring. We sent Mollie Davidson, Marketing Assistant extraordinaire to Scotland’s capital to see what the Fringe had to offer… The dance this […]

New Season AW19/20 – Fresh Faces

October is fast approaching and that can only mean one thing: the start of your new Live & Local season. Alongside stunning new acts, a selection of familiar faces will also be returning to the stage. We’ve selected a few newbies who are touring with Live & Local this year– read on and learn about […]

New Season AW19/20 – Familiar Faces

October is fast approaching and that can only mean one thing: the start of your new Live & Local season. Alongside stunning new acts, a selection of familiar faces will also be returning to the stage. We’ve selected a few of these familiar – and fantastic – acts so read on and see whether you […]

NRTF CONFERENCE 2019

The team at Live & Local had a wonderful time at the NRTF (National Rural Touring Forum) ‘HiVis: Value, Impact and Success of Rural Touring’ conference in Bangor. This is an annual conference where schemes, promoters and artists meet for talks and showcases of work. Read below for some of the things they learnt and […]

John Laidlaw, Executive Director of Live & Local, awarded MBE

In very exciting news for the friends and extended family of Live & Local, our Executive Director John Laidlaw has been appointed a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE) in the Queen’s Birthday 2019 Honours List for services to the Arts. We’re as pleased as punch that John has been recognised […]

Community Spotlight: Swayfield Village Hall

Here at Live & Local, we are grateful for the passion and dedication our promoters put into staging music, theatre and dance. Swayfield Village Hall told us just how they do it… Swayfield’s Ministry of Fun (MoF) was set up in 2010 in order to put on entertainment in Swayfield Village Hall and bring together […]