Industry Insights: Self-managing a live show w/ Marla Kether
Join Marla Kether to explore the essential steps that go into preparing for a festival slot without a dedicated team.
Date and time
Location
Online
Refund Policy
About this event
- Event lasts 1 hour 30 minutes
Gender diversity champions, Saffron and the events company, Team Love are delighted to present a new three-part series of online workshops designed to demystify pathways into the festival scene for artists, DJs and aspiring industry professionals.
The programme for the series will celebrate the interweaving ties between Saffron and Team Love, whose longstanding partnership has seen graduates of Saffron programmes secure gigs and work placements at several of Team Love’s events. Sessions will be hosted by Saffron community members who have also been part of Team Love’s lineups or operations, including Love International booker, Ellie Stokes, DJ Danielle, and award-winning artist Marla Kether. View our full line-up here.
WORKSHOP 3: SELF-MANAGING A LIVE SHOW w/ MARLA KETHER
Independent artists often wear many hats, especially when it comes to live performances. In this session, Saffron artist and producer Marla Kether will tell the story of her performance at Team Love's FORWARDS Festival, sharing all the preparation that went into making the show a success.
From costume choices and set building to band management, tech specs, social media strategy, and advancing, Marla will break down the essential steps that go into preparing for a festival slot without a dedicated team.
Through personal insights and practical advice, Marla hopes to inspire emerging artists to take charge of their own performances and maximise their festival experience. So, whether you're preparing for your first big gig or looking to refine your live show approach, come along to explore on what’s possible before bringing a manager on board.
ABOUT MARLA KETHER
Born in London to Congolese parents, Marla Kether is a bassist, producer and DJ. Exceeding 35 million Spotify streams as a session bassist for the likes of Yazmin Lacey, Oscar Jerome and Obongjayar, Marla released her highly-anticipated debut EP ‘All That We Have’ last November, preceded by four singles championed by the likes of Crack Magazine, Mary Anne Hobbs, Jamz Supernova, Shanti Celeste, Gilles Peterson and many more. It’s safe to say her musical career is as diverse as her influences: her music features a unique blend of live Latin percussion, Theo Parrish-style groove, and driving basslines and guitar riffs inspired by her West African heritage. The EP was heralded by Bandcamp Daily as some of ‘The Best Electronic Music of November 2023’, and the closing track ‘BTR2’ is one of DJ Mag’s Top Tracks of 2023.
Since launching the EP with two packed-out live shows - at Strange Brew in Bristol and NinetyOne Living Room in London - Marla has been playing shows consistently: 2024 had gigs at The Jazz Cafe, Shambala, London Jazz Festival, The Trinity Centre and Jazz Stroud to name a few. These came after a year of touring the world as Loyle Carner’s bassist – and even supporting his 2023 US tour as a DJ. She has already secured bookings for Cross The Tracks, The Royal Albert Hall’s Elgar Room, The Roundhouse and Brick Lane Jazz Festival for 2025. She’ll also be joining Little Simz on her upcoming world tour, following a stellar performance on Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage.
Marla is a graduate of Saffron’s artist development programme, having begun her journey with the non-profit as a member of their digital members community during lock-down. She released her debut EP through their in-house imprint, Saffron Records in 2023.
ACCESS
Access to these sessions is free for sustainer and soulmate members of Saffron’s online community, Saffron Members Club. Membership packages start at just £5.50 per month and provide access to regular online workshops, an online community space, video masterclasses, free music tech tools, discounts and much more. If you can’t afford a ticket but believe you would benefit from attending, please email us: [email protected].
Workshops are open to people worldwide but will be running at 7.30 pm UK time so please bear differences in time zone in mind. If you purchase a ticket but aren’t able to attend live, you will automatically be emailed a recording of the workshop(s) after the event.
We are committed to making our online events as accessible as possible. We have created a guidance document about this - Click here to view the accessibility document. Alternatively, please email us with any access requirements you may have.
GENDER POLICY
The gender imbalance in the music technology industry is well-recognised. While we are absolutely not ‘anti-men’, we see that a shorter-term solution is to provide fellowship and learning environments that are not dominated by the cisgender male perspective. Therefore, these workshops are intended for women, non-binary, trans and gender non-conforming people to attend. While we do not ban cisgender men from attending, we hope that they will respect that this event is not intended for them.
ABOUT SAFFRON
Saffron is a non-profit organisation whose mission is to advance gender equality in the music tech sector by creating safer spaces for marginalised people to learn, create and grow confidently through forward-thinking technological music creation, DJ and music industry experience.
Saffron’s work focuses on educational courses, online workshops, mentoring, a global members club and an artist development and label platform. We are building a future industry that is inclusive and diverse. Founded in Bristol UK in 2015, Saffron has grown from a one-woman operation to an initiative supporting thousands of people worldwide to find music education and community.
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ABOUT TEAM LOVE
Team Love is an independent, Bristol-based, event production company platforming innovative content and musical programming to create engaging, exciting and high quality experiences for our audiences. Social responsibility is central to their work, producing events which contribute to wider change in the local community and beyond.
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The music tech industry is currently composed of just 5% women.
Our mission is to increase that figure, advancing gender equality in the sector by creating safe spaces for women and non-binary people to learn and build confidence.