Interview: Abbie McCarthy - The Good Karma Club

On Friday 31st January, I attended The Good Karma Club at The Lower Third in London and I was lucky enough to schedule a short Interview with the host herself, radio presenter and DJ Abbie McCarthy, and ask her a few questions about the event as well as her take on grassroots music. 

For those who don’t know, The Good Karma Club is a concert put on by McCarthy as a way to encourage people to find their new favourite artist. Previous acts include big names such as Sam Fender, The Academic, Tommy Lefroy, The Snuts and Thomas Headon, to name just a few! The show is held in small grassroots venues, and, with the frequency of the events, there’s bound to be something for everybody. 

I got to sit down and chat to Abbie backstage before the show and ask her a few questions about her inspiration for the night, how she chooses the line-up and her general take on grassroots venues in live music. 

What inspired you to start the Good Karma Club?

I thought there weren’t enough nights that were supporting upcoming talent and for music of all genres and I think sometimes if you see something isn’t happening, the best way to solve that problem is to build it yourself. We started at the Islington, which is a pub in London, just in a side room with free entry because we’ve always tried to make the night free or cheap tickets, so its accessible to everyone. Its hugely grown since then, and we now move it around London in different venues and I love it because it’s provided a platform for emerging artists, but also there’s a real sense of community. There’s a real sense of community in the crowds as well, even from that very first night. There are sometimes some familiar faces from that night and we’re in our ninth year of doing it which is pretty wild. 

I saw a gap for it then created it and its one of my absolute favourite things I do.

I get to put on acts that I really believe in, I craft my ultimate dream line-up and get to enjoy it with everyone in the audience…it’s the best, it’s one of my highlights of the year trying to put on as many of these things as you can. 

So it’s a bit like your own personal concert, you get to pick your own line-up and then do it?

Yeah it’s like assembling my own line-up and I’m quite lucky that the artists often say yes!

How do you choose artists for the events? 

That’s a really good question […] so its artists that I really believe in and want to put in front of an audience. Artists I either have discovered through playing them on the radio, whether that’s through my BBC introducing show, maybe I’ve gone to see them live myself, I’ve been recommended them by another artist or friend, but I’m always looking online for amazing stuff, I’m looking through playlists…. We get a lot of artists that submit through the Instagram page to play the night and I found a few gems from there. 

We normally start with the headliners, and we assemble a couple of amazing supports that really suit the show musically and then go from there. There’s no, kind of, strict rules, its music of all genres, the main thing for me is its just music that I really believe in, and I know are going to put on one hell of a show.

How important would you say that events like this are for up-and-coming musicians?

I think they’re really important. I think playing shows like this and playing independent venues are where artists really get to cut their teeth, hone their craft and really become the artists they want to be. Shows like this are really important just for practice, for gaining new fans, making sure you feel confident on stage. These shows are just a springboard then, to hopefully put your name out there in front of lots of people, you’ve made fans at this night and then using that as a springboard to go on and do some other stuff whether that’s playing festivals or doing a support slot for another big artist.

Previous guests from the Good Karma Club, I believe, include names like The Academic, The Snuts, Mae Muller, are there any previous acts you’ve been particularly impressed by their success?

They’re some of our absolute favourites that have played. It’s hard to have favourites, but it’s amazing to look back on some of the line-ups that we’ve had. My friend actually found an old poster the other day and it’s a show that I put on in with Sam Fender in a warehouse flat in East London. It was Sam Fender and Hak Baker and Sam Fender, for me, is one of the most essential British artists who has had such an incredible rise and his music connects with so many people, so that’s a really really special one. One of our last shows before the dreaded pandemic, we definitely went out with a bang, was with Olivia Dean. She’s such an incredible live performer and when we had her on, I’d already followed her for probably a couple of years, it’s so amazing to see somebody like her really getting her flowers now. She’s just an absolutely phenomenal talent, so that’s a big standout. 

We’ve also had people like Thomas Headon, I remember when he was on, the crowd were queueing right around the corner, that was amazing. Cian Decrot was great, he’s got such an incredible voice... Tom Grennan literally just announced his tour and he’s doing arenas and he played in a Cathedral for us at a festival that we did in Kent where I’m from, so that was really special because that was our first festival stage.

There’s been loads of artists who’ve gone on to do amazing things and we’re just really happy to always be a tiny little part of their story. 

How important would you say that grassroots venues such as “The Lower Third” are for the industry?

SO SO IMPORTANT, and I cannot stress this enough. There are so many independent venues closing down at the moment and it actually breaks my heart because these places are so so important! They are the lifeblood of music because, like I was saying earlier, artists need these venues, they’re like incubators, it’s a way for them to really work at their talent. Also, these shows become special moments that people look back on, everyone remembers seeing their favourite artists, don’t they, but how cool to be like “I saw them in a room of like, 100, 200 people”. 

So these nights are not only really important for artists, but also for music fans, for people to have these experiences and I know everything’s so expensive at the moment and it’s really tough but I would just encourage everyone in any way they can to support their favourite independent venues and go and see artists because we really need to all lock in to keep them alive. 

I’m a patron for the Music Venue Trust* and they do so much incredible work about saving independent venues, so they always have great campaigns as well if people are looking for other ways to support independent venues. They’re so important and they’re just the absolute best, they have such an amazing atmosphere to them a lot of the time, don’t they?

*For those who don’t know, Music Venue Trust are a UK based charity who work to “protect, secure and improve Grassroots Music Venues”. They aim to gain recognition in the essential roles that Grassroots venues play for not only artist development but the music industries as a whole as well as local communities. They do some amazing work with the intention of preserving local venues. If you would like more information, be sure to check out their website at musicvenuetrust.com and keep up with them on Instagram @musicvenuetrust

So you started as Islington, and now you’ve ended up here, how do you choose which venue to use?

We’ve done quite a few different venues around London now, so the way we do it is we kind of tailor it to the artist. So I think sometimes if it’s a singer songwriter, you might want a different setting. We had Paris Paloma as part of our series last year and they did St Pancras Old Church, it was absolutely amazing, their voice totally filled the room, that really suited her music. Sometimes if you’ve got a band,you might want to bring them to a different venue where the sound system’s that bit louder. If I put on, (for example) “The best names in electronic music”, you might want it to have a bit more of a club feel so you go to a venue that’s got different lighting or production, so, yeah, we try and tailor the night to whoever we put on and just move it around accordingly. Also, it’s quite fun then because we get to experience different venues, different atmospheres, different energies, and it always keeps the night new and exciting.

When would you say an artist is out of that “up and coming” stage? Does it ever end or is it a consistent climb?

That’s a really good question, and I feel like there’s been a lot of conversation online about this recently. I don’t know if you saw the Grammys nominations, the best artist category, on average, they’ve taken ten years to be deemed a new artist, and I think that’s just because artists are taking longer and longer to break now because there’s so much music out there, and it’s trying to cut above that noise. I think there used to be a tendency that things were new and exciting and hyped for a certain amount of time but, for me, it’s not really about that, it’s just about supporting artists and we will have them on at any stage through the night. Even with BBC introducing, there’s some artists that I’ve been playing for a decade that I will still support and find different ways to elevate their career. I just think music is always changing and you get a certain amount of opportunities as an emerging artist and then I think sometimes there’s a bit of a gap until you’re a much bigger artist and you’re releasing albums, selling out arenas, doing festivals…and I think there’s a really important window in the middle where artists still need help and support. So, for me, if I love an artist, I’ll just absolutely back them throughout their career, there’s not a cut off point for me.  

Would you say that the pandemic had an impact on newer artists and their ability to engage with fans?

Yes, I think it did, I think we all missed live music so much, didn’t we? It’s just not the same finding artists online, but for artists that’s what they had to do, they all had to take to TikTok to share and promote their music. In some ways that’s been such a blessing because it’s not about who’s got a big record label behind them or who’s got a big manager, its just about the song and the artist and there are loads of new artists that have found a whole new fan base on TikTok or online and they’ve been able to bring them through when everything opened back up again to shows and shows have had a different energy about them I think. I think everyone appreciates them that little bit more. 

But I think it was really hard for people because musicians obviously love to collaborate, and connect with fans, all of that was taken away from them and it became a much more insular experience. So yeah, a very weird time but I’m just glad that everything is back to its best, I think.

What would you say to anybody looking to start performing at events like these? How do they catch your attention?

They can always apply to play the event via our Instagram, so we just ask everyone to send a song and if they have a link to live footage as well for us to check out, that’s always great. The best way to get my attention, I would say, is to just go out and smash it. You know, go out and play your local venue... maybe you try and sell that out first, put out really good, amazing music that people can’t ignore, and then we’ll be like “please come and play our night”.

I think sometimes people wait for people like myself to notice them, but I think if you just go out and build your own thing, that’s going to get you noticed by fans.  I think sometimes people focus too much on the industry side of things but it’s really about great songs, a fan base, and putting on live shows and building those connections. So yeah, just go out and do it and then hopefully everyone will be talking about you, and I can’t escape your name and I’ll be like “please come and play my night”. 

I also take new music submissions through DMs; I say I’m always looking for new music, people can always reach out and get in touch on my socials but there’s so much good stuff out there and I’m always excited for what’s next. 

If you’re in or around London, I would definitely recommend checking out the next Good Karma Club night as you just may find your new favourite artist. It’s such an incredible way to promote new talent and support smaller artists and venues alike. 

I would like to thank Abbie again for taking the time to chat with me and giving us an industry insight into grassroots music! It is so, so important to support your local venues, so if you have a free night why not go and check out a local gig?! You may just find your next favourite band, and even be early to see the next big thing (let’s be honest…we all wish we knew some of our favourite artists before they were famous)

If you weren’t already familiar with Abbie and her work and would like to keep up with her, you can find her on Instagram @abbiejmccarthy. I would definitely recommend giving her a follow, especially if you’re UK based and looking to get into the industry, she hosts and supports some incredible projects! (The Good Karma Club isn’t her only event!)