Online
Industry Insights: Self-managing a Live Show w/ Marla Kether
27th May 2025
7.30 pm GMT
£8.30 or free for sustainer and soulmate Saffron members
Saffron and 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.
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, DJ 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 outfit choices and staging 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.
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 as a member of our digital members community during lock-down. She released her debut EP through our 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 are unable to afford a ticket but believe you would benefit from attending these workshops, please email us on members@saffronmusic.co.uk.
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 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.
https://www.teamlove.org/ – Instagram – LinkedIn
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