In 2021, Amazon Music launched City Sessions – a series of performances broadcasting unique performances directly into the homes of live music fans. Piloted in the States, the programme has featured performances from the likes of Kings of Leon, through to Glass Animals and Nelly Furtado. Given the success of the venture, Amazon has expanded City Session’s remit to the UK, Europe and LATAM. Ahead of Ella Henderson’s episode, Amazon Music’s Head of Production and Creative Mish Mayer caught up with TPi to share the guiding principles and evolution of the programme.
“The impetus of the City Sessions is to have arena to stadium level acts perform in a more intimate setting, providing fans with a unique experience,” outlined Mayer. During each City Session, artists perform in front of a small audience while being simultaneously filmed and streamed on the Amazon Music UK Twitch Channel and Amazon Prime Video platforms.
Pre-recorded interviews are also broadcast with the artist, providing the musicians with the chance to explain more about the creative decision behind their performances. “Musicians often change their delivery with stripped back arrangements to create some really unique moments,” explained Mayer, referencing Bastille’s latest City Sessions episode which saw the band re-working some of their back catalogue with a candle lit ‘in-the-round’ performance.
For the UK rendition of City Sessions, Amazon Music found an ideal home and collaborator in Manchester’s Aviva Studios. “The unique aspect of Aviva Studios is the location – it’s a muti-space venue that’s provided us with a lot of options of where we can shoot performances. The facility also has a good supply of lighting, rigging and audio equipment that we were able to tap into for these shoots.”
For Ella Henderson’s City Sessions, the artist wanted to bring audiences into her ‘living room’ so the crew created a ‘homely’ feel on stage, complete with lamps and soft lighting. “We brought in Art Director, Sophie Barrott to help create the look of the show,” explained Mayer. “Bringing in local creatives and crew is something that we always try to achieve with City Sessions.”
Although Amazon Music does encourage the involvement of the artist’s creative team to help to create a unique performance, Mayer emphasised that the point of these sessions was to create a one-off special show that was unlike anything else an artist may a produced previously. “For example, Bastille had expressed that they always wanted to do a candle lit show in an industrial space, which we were able to achieve with the space at Aviva Studios,” she enthused.
When it came to capturing the show, Amazon’s team utilised high-end equipment, often deploying a mixture of six to eight remote or manually operated cameras. For the Ella Henderson show, alongside this extensive camera package was camera jib to create sweeping shots. “We also brought in programmable lighting to alter the colour of the upstage curtain, creating a different look throughout the shoot.” Each performance is shot in 4K and simultaneously streamed. “We’ve had amazing responses from those watching,” reflected Mayer. “Watching music performances at home can feel like quite a passive experience but what we’ve noticed, particularly on the streams, is that groups of fans are coming together to enjoy and participate in the performance.”
Mayer and wider Amazon team believes that City Sessions can contribute to the live music ecosystem. “As opposed to creating the fear of missing out because you’re not in the room with the artist, instead we try to create a unique experience for viewers,” Mayer said.
“We often find that people that see the show in person also watch the stream later to see a different perspective. The intimacy created with the filming adds a whole new dimension. It’s about putting the fan first and delivering a show that they really want to see.”
With such a unique performance opportunity, it’s hard to think why more artists won’t want to explore this option in the future – be it as an underplay style performance in the lead up to a new campaign. Franz Ferdinand will perform a City Sessions at the Aviva Studios in January and Amazon Music recently streamed a Tom Grennan performance live from London’s Rivoli Ballroom while also hosting sets in Spain, Italy and Germany. It’s increasingly likely that we will be seeing a lot more of the platform.
Words: Stew Hume
Photos: Amazon Music
