Cast your mind back a few years and you may remember a live music event that took place in a rustic barn just off the A30 in Cheriton Bishop, if you were a BIG fan of the event, you may remember its humble beginnings in a barber shop in Exeter’s city centre. After a brief hiatus (okay, it’s probably been 3 years), Sarah Lacey, the brains behind the event has decided to stoke the fire once again and has managed to form a close working relationship with an organic farm in the village of Ide, just on the outskirts of Exeter where, on a monthly basis, live music events will be hosted for your listening and viewing pleasure.

I caught up with Sarah recently to chat about the reasoning behind the third coming of the event and what we can expect going forwards….

Hi Sarah, I remember when The Loft Live Sessions took place in a barber shop in the heart of Exeter, they then moved to Cheriton Bishop and they’re now starting up again in Ide, just outside of Exeter, is this chapter 3 of the great Loft Live Session novel?

Yes it is, only this season we are celebrating the return of live music after a year of not having any, with an upbeat festival feel in a much bigger venue. The sessions will be held on a weekend so that everybody can let their hair down and party in a barn!

What was the driver behind getting it all started up again?

My friend and I were looking at some of the old Loft Sessions videos, I realised how much I miss organising the shows and watching it all come together. He suggested I do them again. I guess now seems the perfect time as people are craving live music more than ever. It's a little scary as the capacity is greater and some people may not have heard of some of the acts, but rest assured they are all ones to watch, catch them now! I'm so glad I finally plucked up the courage to do this!

Exeter is very much a ‘student’ city, what kind of clientele do you want to attract to The Loft Live Sessions?

We usually attract people of all ages, it depends on the line up on offer, but it really is open to all, from 14 plus, there is no real age bracket for the shows, one of our biggest fans is in her 80s!

What kind of ‘vibe’ are you looking to capture this time around at The Loft Live Sessions?

Well, the vibe this season will be different to the original shows as these are not 'sit down and listen' gigs. You can expect a high energy headline act with some cracking support. There will be a lot of dancing and equally as much drinking! All our headliners are at agent level, some well known, some up and coming. We only book outstanding acts, all of which are on the mainstream festival circuit. The shows are hosted by the legendary Adam ‘in the hat’ Moran, people love him! We also have a surprise host lined up, he's been a champion of live music in Devon for many years.... we will announce who it is soon!

You used to record shows and make them available via YouTube after the show, will you be doing this again?

Yes of course, we believe it's a great way to promote the artists and the shows in general, they will be uploaded to our website, Facebook page and Instagram TV soon after the event has taken place.

Will each event be priced the same or will the cost vary based on the acts performing?

Ticket prices vary depending on the cost of the acts. It costs a lot of money to put on a show like this, but we always try to ensure tickets are accessible to all. 

How often will the sessions be taking place?

At the moment, once a month, usually on the last weekend of every month. We are hoping to relaunch the ‘sit down and listen’, intimate style gigs in October for a more cosy weeknight affair. These will be held in a different venue, yet to be confirmed. Maybe one day we will host weekly shows across the South West...

Will they be taking place throughout the year or are you looking to just cover the summer season?

The upbeat festival feel shows will be taking place throughout the summer months and we hope to relaunch the ‘sit down and listen’ gigs from October for the winter months.

Tell me a bit about the venue where you’ll be hosting the sessions….

We are really lucky to be working with West Town Farm in Ide, It's a beautiful working organic farm, and so close to the city centre! All our gigs are held in rustic old buildings, this one's a big old open sided barn, it's just lovely and we can't thank the West Town Farm folk enough for having us. This season's shows are predominantly standing however we will be creating a VIP area with seating and of course the events will be accessible to everyone. West Town Farm is providing the food and a lovely bar, camping will be available for all gigs, but tents only as camper vans cause too much damage to the land. Camping enquiries will be dealt with separately by West Town Farm.

It sounds like it would be a perfect place to host a mini-festival sometime in the summer, has this thought crossed your mind?

Yes it has, if the shows go well we may well run a little festival in a few years.

The first session is taking place on Saturday 26th June and features three incredible acts, please tell me a bit more about each of them….

Headlining the first show we have Wille and the Bandits, With their fresh approach to blues rock music, they have been carving a place for themselves in Europe’s music scene for years, developing a reputation as one of the best live acts around and capturing the imagination and interest of music lovers right across the globe. The band were listed in the 'Top Ten Must See Bands' at Glastonbury 2014 by BBC Radio 1.

Supporting ‘The Bandits’, who better than 'Land Of The Giants' front man Andy Quick and Alex Hart? Alex is currently working with Jethro Tull’s Martin Barre and folk sensation, Seth Lakeman. Alex has toured extensively with Martin and Seth around the USA .

With such a rich source of talent here in the South West, will you be tapping into it for acts or are you looking to attract acts into the area from farther afield?

We will always support the local music scene here in the South West but we’ll also be bringing in national and international touring acts.

What about support acts? 

Support acts are always high quality, some are local but some are from further afield, a lot of my friends are established local musicians so it's lovely to be able to give them gigs too. you can apply to be a Loft Sessions support act via our website.

Can you tell me about any other bands or acts that you have confirmed for future sessions?

Ah, alas I cannot, which is annoying because we have some absolute corkers lined up! Keep your eyes on our website for regular updates!

I think everyone has missed live music over the last year, what can people expect from a Loft Live Session show?

If you love festivals you will LOVE this season's Loft Sessions! I can honestly say there is nothing quite like the Loft Sessions in the South West, they are quirky, high quality shows presented by captivating hosts, combined with a fantastic venue, we are sticklers for great sound, good vibes and exceptional music. The shows sell out VERY quickly, the Wille and The Bandits show in June is looking to sell out within the next two weeks.

You obviously have a great team behind you, take a moment to introduce the key players.... (please tell me that Adam ‘In the Hat’ Moran will be making an appearance!)

Hahaha! Yes Adam will be around, it wouldn't be The Loft Sessions without him, but as Adam is also a gigging musician he can be busy on a weekend, so we have a co-host for when Adam isn't around, you will all know him but I can't announce his name yet!

Adam ‘In the Hat’ Moran (Host)

We would be lost without Adam, we met Adam when we all worked at Mama Stones many moons ago, he's one of Devon's biggest champions for live music, a massive personality and the perfect host. We have struggled to find anyone that can captivate the audience the way Adam can.

Marc Tallack (Sound)

We have Marc Tallack on sound, we also met when we both worked at Mama Stones back in 2010. Marc has worked with Joss Stone, Beverley Knight and many others, he's still the best sound engineer I know. 

Tina Gregory (Events Manager)

Tina  is our Events Manager, not only is she one of my best pals, we have worked on many music events together including artists such as Maverick Sabre, Toploader, 5ive and The Hoosiers. Tina is great with people, she looks after the bands and customers so well, her organisation skills are far better than mine! 

Neil Salter (Photography)

Neil  (Beach Cams Man) is our  designated photographer, he's a great friend of ours and he knows exactly now to capture the atmosphere of a show.

Finally, where can people keep up to date with everything that they need to know about The Loft Live Sessions? 

All info is available on our website www.loftlivesessions.com but do feel free to comment and get involved on our Facebook and Instagram sites.

We’d like to thank Sarah Lacey for sparing the time to talk to us about The Loft Live Sessions and we wish her all the very best of luck for the debut show in June and every show thereafter, we’ll be getting involved by hosting interviews with the headline acts ahead of the shows, keep your eyes on the musomuso.com socials for more information.

Interview by Steve Muscutt