Alex Cumming is a familiar face here at Live to Your Living Room, but this Autumn will see him moving into a new role as our Booking Manager. We caught up with him to find out more about his new role…
You’ve been working with us for a long time, but this is a new role for you – how does it feel to be taking this step?
I am super excited about being more actively involved with Live To Your Living Room. Of course, it’s a little daunting to be taking on such an important role, but the community around this organisation (staff, volunteers, audience and artists) are so supportive that I know it will be wonderful.
What are your plans and hopes for the role going forwards?
I am really looking forward to continuing and growing LTYLR’s mission for accessibility and diversity, as well as introducing our community to new amazing artists. This coming season of LTYLR gigs will also be including more hybrid gigs. and I can’t wait to help grow this new model and make these gigs as interactive and inclusive as possible in both the online and in-person worlds.
Here at Live to Your Living Room, we’re focused on making gigs accessible for everyone, including opening up gigs internationally. What has this meant to you personally over the last couple of years?
Being someone with chronic pain, fatigue and being immunocompromised, LTYLR has enabled me to continue working and being connected to the folk community during the pandemic and during bad flares where I would not normally be able to leave the house and work. Knowing how amazing this has been for my own mental well-being and health means that I know first hand how important accessibility to the arts is, and how important it is for LTYLR to continue to thrive and evolve.
Your career is quite varied – tell us a bit about what else you do!
I am a singer, accordionist, pianist and ceilidh/contra dance caller. As well as performing solo, you can find me playing with various US and UK based bands including a duo with Nicola Beazley, US-based Celtic trio, Bellwether and until recently the a Capella group, The Teacups.
Outside of performing, I am Music Director for Revels North, a community arts and theater organisation in Vermont/New Hampshire and a session musician, which has included work for theatre, film, TV, games, audio books, albums and more.
How would you describe your own taste in music?
I first got excited about folk music when I was 11, once I discovered morris dancing by accident, so my heart still lies on good old English dance tunes. I then discovered Waterson:Carthy, and that got me absorbed in the world of folk song and harmony singing.
Today, my taste is pretty varied, and since living in America I have really fallen in love with the wide variety of music that falls under folk music here such as singer-songwriter, bluegrass, country and old time. Outside of folk, I am a big fan of pop (Taylor Swift being a fave), big band swing, early classical, orchestral metal and film scores.
Imagine you’re on Desert Island Discs. You can choose eight tracks to listen to, a book and a luxury – what would you pick?
Oooofff, this is a hard one! The luxury is easy, my accordion! No question about it! I think the book would have to be ‘Taskmaster, 220 Extraordinary Tasks for Ordinary People’ – this would easily keep me occupied with things to do and also give me a giggle. Now to the hardest one, eight tracks in no particular order.
- Barleycorn by Tim Van Eyken
- Rambling Sailor by Bellowhead
- Follow The Heron by Karine Polwart
- Ballina Whalers by Faustus
- Echoes by Nicola Beazley
- Bonnets of Blue by English Acoustic Collective
- Lady Night by Eloise & Co
- Both Sides The Tweed by Unusual Suspects
- (I just couldn’t do 8, sorry) Princess Royal by Morris On
Finally, as one of our MCs, you should really expect this question – if you had to have a tail, what kind of tail would you choose?
Trout.
(No explanation as to why…!)
We’re looking forward to seeing Alex at lots of gigs in our new season – find out more about what’s coming up here!
