Cara Dillon - Live at Cooper Hall

Creating Live at Cooper Hall was about capturing the magic of a concert in a moment when live music had all but stopped. We worked closely with Cara Dillon and producer Sam Lakeman from the earliest idea, shaping a one-take performance that felt authentic, intimate, and elevated beyond the typical lockdown stream. Alongside crafting the concert’s visual style we launched a new website and merchandise line, and designed the album artwork.

 
Beautifully set and staged, the music an exquisite patchwork of different hues
— ★★★★★ The Arts Desk
 

In June and August 2020, during the quiet of lockdown, Cara Dillon invited her audience into two intimate recorded-as-live online concerts from Cooper Hall. From the very start, we worked closely with Cara and her producer Sam Lakeman to shape the concept. Cara wanted to give her fans something special — a performance with depth and atmosphere, elevated far above the lo-fi, ‘living room’ videos so common at the time. We set out to recreate the feeling of an intimate concert, captured in a single take, just as it would unfold on stage. The absence of applause between songs became unexpectedly powerful, heightening the sense of closeness and offering a new perspective on experiencing Cara in concert.

We oversaw the entire visual and creative presentation — from the launch of a brand-new website and bespoke merchandise line, to collaborating with Cara, Sam and director of photography Simon Whitehead on the concert’s look and feel. We discussed how to shape the musical and emotional arc of the performance, ensuring the visuals complemented the storytelling in the set. The album cover, later released to commemorate the concerts, features one of Simon’s photographs from the event, which we edited and styled to evoke the timeless elegance of classic singer-songwriter albums by great female artists of the past.

Behind the scenes

CD Design

Cara Dillon - Live at Cooper Hall

Black is the Colour (live at Cooper Hall)