About us
Our mission
Shared live cultural experiences bring people together, forge connections, improve well-being and help us cope and thrive. But for many fans and artists with access needs, in-person arts and culture events aren’t an option. From Disabled and Neurodivergent people through to caregivers and those living rurally or abroad, a huge number of people are excluded from the arts – simply because their access needs aren’t served.
Live to your Living Room is here to change that.
Our story
Live to your Living Room is an online platform for music and events that was originally founded by a team of experts in arts and accessibility as a rapid response to venues closing during lockdown. We hosted and curated a varied programme of top-quality, online gigs with professionally mixed sound to rival in-person events for intimacy and atmosphere. These events helped our growing community of fans and artists to connect, enjoy shared experiences and feel less lonely. Through this, we revealed the surprising extent of the long-term accessibility issue in the arts, and an opportunity to engage a significant, underserved audience.
We found we were attracting huge numbers of fans and artists who had previously been excluded from venues because of their access needs. They were thrilled that Live to your Living Room meant they could finally take part in shared live experiences, and feel welcomed into a community of like-minded people. So, we used what we learned and built to deliver an ongoing programme of world-class, online events that open up the arts to everyone on a long-term basis, strengthening the entire ecosystem for all.
Live to your Living Room is more than just streaming; it’s a community, and a movement. Through our events, we’re bringing a powerful sense of belonging, connection and well-being to a growing audience who no longer feel excluded from the arts. At the same time, we’re helping artists find and connect meaningfully with new audiences and discover new revenue streams, encouraging them to offer an online date on every tour and making it easier for artists with access needs to reach fans. Grassroots venues draw on our expertise to offer hybrid events that build capacity and offer a live experience to more people.
If we are to achieve true equity of access in arts and culture, then professionally run, online gigs have a pivotal role to play. We strongly believe in democratising the arts, and that means reimagining how live music and events accessibility can and should work for fans, artists, venues, and the industry as a whole. We’re proud to be pioneering this conversation, and leading the change that’s needed to open the arts up to everyone.
We’re building a thriving community of audiences, artists and venues, where everyone is welcome and equal.
Our values
We stand for belonging. Live to your Living Room is far more than just livestreaming; it connects you with a community of like-minded people where you can make friends, enjoy shared and meaningful experiences, and feel safe and welcome.
We stand for inclusivity. We’re committed to making live music and the arts open and accessible to all. No matter your reason for being unable or unwilling to attend a show in person, we’ll bring the experience to you.
We stand for quality: We’re laser-focused on quality of experience. As a team of experts across entertainment, tech and accessibility, we book top-class talent and run everything professionally with excellent sound and user experience to make it the best it can be.
We stand for progress: We champion the importance and benefits of making live music and arts accessible to a much wider audience, and share our knowledge and experience so that others are empowered to do the same.
Our people
Cat McGill grew up on the folk scene and has been running folk events for two decades. Cat specialises in access and inclusion, curating many inclusive folk projects, and the UK’s first Makaton-friendly festival. In 2021, Cat was recognised for her pioneering work with live online events during the global pandemic, and was awarded a British Empire Medal for Services to the Arts, as well as a Women in Live Music Award for Event Manager of the Year.
Pete Ord has over 10 years experience as both a recording and live engineer. Perhaps best known for his work with Haystack Records where his ear for acoustic instruments along with his creative flair has seen his productions nominated for multiple awards, with regular airplay across international radio stations (including BBC 2,3,4 and 6).
Kate Lawrence-Lunniss has worked in hospitality, finance and theatre with experience creating and running community programmes that support mental health and wellbeing. They are passionate about accessibility, diversity and inclusion in the arts and currently are part of a working group making changes in ED&I within theatre. They are also a signwriter, dog lover and a bit obsessed with landscapes (and cold-water swimming!) since relocating from the city to the coast.
Deborah Borg Brincat is Cat’s personal assistant, supporting Cat and the Live to your Living Room team with all things admin and organising. Deborah brings varied experience as music practitioner, programme manager, and musical artist, currently writing and performing with electronic duo Berne, driven by climate and social justice.
We are extremely lucky to be working with David Agnew and Sound Roots on our artists bookings. David has worked in the sector for more than 25 years as a venue director, programmer and festival organiser, and is a board member of the Association of Independent Festivals and Access Folk, as well as the chair of Wild Rumpus CIC.
Kate Ingham-Smith is our resident copywriter and digital marketing specialist, creating content for our social media platforms, website, and email newsletters. She has over 15 years of experience in digital marketing and has worked with some of the UK’s leading businesses. In her spare time she enjoys writing, cooking, playing video games, and hanging out with her grumpy German Shepherd.
Our patron
Karine Polwart has always been a fantastic supporter of the work we do. We had our first gig with her during the pandemic lockdown, and sold out Zoom with 1,000 people crammed into our virtual gig space to listen to her spellbinding music.
Since then, we’ve continued to have regular gigs with Karine, and she’s told us just how passionate she is about making live music accessible for everyone. Karine’s focus on community and accessibility is a perfect fit for Live to Your Living Room, so in 2022 we appointed her as our patron. This role will see Karine returning to our living rooms each year, as well as raising the profile of our online gigs.
You can find out more about the patronship in the Q&A with Karine over on our blog.