This month's Lates blog posts are from guest Andy Glynn, our Visitor Events Manager:
In the Lates team, we’re busy prepping for our first open-mic session at Lates with MasterCard but I had a few minutes to chat with 3 of our ten performers and ask them a few questions about this Friday’s event.
Sid Batham, Felix Fables and Meg Cavanaugh told us a bit about their experiences with open-mic nights and why they want to perform at the Museum. We’ve also included performances of them and the other artists to give you a taste of what to expect from Friday’s event.
Why do you want to perform at the Natural History Museum?
Felix Fables: For our band, busking has been a very big thing. That immediate interaction with the audience is something we love and we think Central Hall is going to be great for that same type of interaction. We think we’ll get a really good vibe going on.
Meg: It’s such an impressive venue and a great building. I had heard about the after hours events and how popular they are, and said wow, how amazing would it be to be able to perform there.
Sid: It’s a really nice, beautiful building and the event seems like it’s going to have a bit of a different atmosphere than other open-mic venues.
How important are open-mic nights to musicians in London?
Sid: Very! Opportunities like this, to get a guaranteed audience, are really great. They’re a good chance for getting your name out there.
Meg: They’re really important for the music community too. It’s a great time to meet your fellow musicians and somewhere you can practise your material.
How would you describe your style of music?
Felix Fables: Up-beat folk with double bass and four-part harmonies. We use all acoustic instruments and are kind of loud! We’d say we were an audience interactive band!
Meg: I’d describe my music as sultry folk with a bit of a funky country rock tone.
Sid: Soul, but a new soul and very stripped back. Simple, just simple songs that are both soul and pop.
What inspires you when you’re making music?
Meg: Listening to other music really inspires me, as well as life experiences. I’m interested in deep themes and don’t just look at issues of love and loss.
Sid: I get a lot of inspiration from stuff that goes on around me. Things I go through or that my friends go through. I’m also really inspired by film – I’m a big Tim Burton fan.
Felix Fables: A tricky question. I think it’s easy to get bogged down with stuff and not enjoy what you’re doing and really, the point of music is enjoyment. That’s what’s inspiring to us.
Hear Meg and the rest of our artists performing below and find out about what’s happening at the rest of Lates this month in my previous blog entry.
Find out more about our Open-mic at Lates
Also playing this Friday 29 June:
And visit Kitty Ward's website to hear her play |
