INTERVIEW
ARLO PARKS: PROGRESSION IN LOCKDOWN Despite her live schedule coming to an abrupt end in March 2020, singer-songwriter Arlo Parks has had a phenomenal year, garnering critical praise as well as seeing an increase in venue size for her 2021/2022 touring schedule. TPi speaks to some of the technical team that have been with the artist every step of the way.
While looking at a musician’s global approach to the pandemic halting live events, artists seem to exist in one of two camps. Either they hunkered down to write a new album or they threw themselves into livestreaming and other virtual platforms to keep their fans engaged. No matter which camp artists found themselves in, the commonality between the two is that 2020 and 2021 was all about preservation rather than a major increase in fanbase or overall popularity. However, there have been a few standout examples of musicians who have embraced the situation and, utilising both virtual, streamed and recorded live performances, have seen a significant increase in their popularity. One such artist is British singer-songwriter, Arlo Parks. The artist was on tour in the UK working her way round the circuit of 500-capacity venues when live events came to an end. However, since then, she and her wider management team have continued to work, throwing their collective attention on high-level TV spots such as Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, as well as an exclusive Amazon Prime Performance. Due to her growing popularity, she’s now set to headline the 2,000-capacity Shepherd’s Bush Empire for two nights at the end of the year
– both of which have already sold out and, at the time of writing, is currently nominated for three BRIT Awards. Keen to chat to some of the team behind the artist, TPi Editor, Stew Hume jumped on a video call with Tour Manager, Adam Williams; Musical Director and Drummer, James Fernandez; and Audio Engineer, Chris Parker, to talk about this extraordinary success story. “My team and I at Riverjuke tour management have worked with Arlo throughout lockdown,” stated Williams, who was brought on at the beginning of 2020 to take on the TM role – which resulted in only working 10 live shows with Parks before the UK’s first lockdown came into effect. “Despite this, and the fact that her schedule in 2020 was originally very ‘live orientated’, her popularity has grown so much in the past year to the point she’s now able to sell out Shepherd’s Bush – all without doing a single inperson event.” Williams was quick to praise the work of the artist’s wider management team and their DIY approach and adaptability as the key to her success during this time. “Ali Raymond and Sarah Rodriguez from BEATNIK have been fantastic throughout the pandemic. They have been really involved 38
