CMA Songwriters Event at the O2 Indigo : London, 2018
On the 8th March 2018 I went to the CMA Songwriters' Event at the O2 Indigo, in London, and it was a really big deal for me – it’s been five years in the making! Being able to say I finally did it, well it's a pretty amazing feeling. With ME (or any chronic illness/disability, I guess) there are certain things that you tell yourself you just can’t do. Going to a concert – going to a concert as part of this event – was one of those things for me. For five years my family have had to go to C2C without me, because I’ve just not been well enough. It started becoming an emblem, to me, of all the things I couldn't do. However, when ticket sales were announced this year for the CMA Songwriters' Event my health had improved such that I finally felt confident/brave enough to buy a ticket (and it takes bravery to face that possibility for disappointment, especially with five years worth of disappointment behind you).
 | |
| Brett James; Nicolle Galyon; Kip Moore; Natalie Hemby & Luke Combs. Photo by G. Bailey. |
The CMA Songwriters' Event is part of the C2C (Country to Country) festival - a three day event that takes place in London, Glasgow and Dublin. The songwriters' event has five country songwriters (who’ve also written for people like Bon Jovi, Kelly Clarkson, Labrinth and Camila Cabello) perform songs they wrote, talking about the writing process and inspiration behind the songs. You don't know until a few weeks before the gig who the artists will be, so you have to buy the tickets and hope for the best! (We did pretty well with our line up, I think).
1: The gig was
the Thursday before the main festival, so the O2 wouldn’t be particularly busy;
2: It was
acoustic and at The O2 Indigo, a relatively small stage (capacity 2,350);
3: I had a sneaky
suspicion one of my favourite country artists from the past few years would be
playing. If I was right (I was), I’d be really, really annoyed if my family saw him without me. What can I say,
jealousy’s a good motivator!
 |
| Photo by G. Bailey. |
Disabled seating had sold out by the time we booked our tickets and
the only seats available were in the top tier, which seemed a little like falling at the
first hurdle. However, a quick call to the O2 revealed I could leave my wheelchair in
the cloakroom, right next to the lifts, and then just walk down about ten steps to
my seat. And so started the careful planning, the weeks of discussing different
coping tactics and LOTS of pacing.
We decided to eat a large meal at lunch and packed sandwiches to have
when we arrived so as to avoid eating in a restaurant (my biggest nemesis). We also
decided to drive - my family previously found it to be a nice, easy run -
rather than dealing with the bustle of trains. This didn't go quite to
plan: traffic turned an hour and a quarter in the car into two and a half
hours! However, it was all motorways so for an awful drive it wasn't that bad and luckily we’d left in plenty
of time! Those sandwiches also came in pretty handy at that point. We arrived at seven,
just as the doors opened. As the queue was pretty enormous we got a drink and
small dessert at Pizza Express (the quietest, least blindingly lit and least
stuffy of the restaurants) before going in.
 | |
| At Pizza Express. I promise I was more excited than I look here - showing excitement takes energy! Photo by J. Bailey. |
And then: the concert. I love country music, it’s been my
musical home for the past 8-10 years (well… one of my homes - my brother and
uncle made sure I had a strong appreciation for rock) and this, plus my love of
the writing process, meant it was an ideal event. I was armed with sunglasses
and earplugs – thank goodness! I wouldn’t have made it through two songs without
these. Concerts are seriously loud! I can't imagine being at the full festival
event – this was definitely my capacity and I'm glad I waited until I reached my
current ability to go. Had I pushed myself two years ago I'd have needed to
leave after a couple of songs. There were some moments throughout when I thought I might need to leave, but I am a determined person and it would have taken a lot to get me out of that seat once I was there.
 |
| Brett James; Nicolle Galyon; Kip Moore; Natalie Hemby & Luke Combs. Photo by G. Bailey. |
 |
| Brett James; Nicolle Galyon; Kip Moore & Natalie Hemby. Photo by G. Bailey. |
I’m writing this listening to the playlist we made of the
night, and finding it quite emotional. It may have taken a LOT of metaphorical spoons but it was worth it. I think I'm possibly even enjoying the event more
retrospectively than whilst it was happening. During it I was having to focus on getting through the night
and processing the lights and sounds, but now I can just remember how amazing it was to finally be there – does that make sense? As it’s turned from experience to memory
I can just look back and go: I did that. I finally managed it. There was a time I’d
never have thought that possible. I wouldn’t have imagined being able to one
day see Kip Moore perform That Was Us live or see someone who wrote songs
for Bon Jovi perform (Bon Jovi is the best band that have ever existed and you
cannot persuade me otherwise).
There were still limits, the biggest being that I couldn’t
stay at the end to meet the artists. I desperately wanted to (you don’t get
that chance often) but the speakers were blaring music and my ability to cope
was long gone by then – I needed my bed!
 |
| Kip Moore. Photo by G. Bailey. |
 |
| After the Gig. Photo by G. Bailey. |
***Obviously this
event is only on once a year so consider this post more as a comment on the
venue and any acoustic/quieter concert. If you’re planning to go to The Indigo
(or see a movie at the O2 cinema, anything like that) I’d recommend checking
whether there’s any concert that night in the main arena. If there's a big event
on I imagine it gets harder to deal with.
Accessibility (1 = not very good; 5 = brilliant!):
Wheelchair 5/5:
The O2 is fully wheelchair accessible and, if you are wheelchair bound and so can't do what I did, there are wheelchair tickets - just make sure you get them early! Because I was in my wheelchair they also let us skip the queue which was very helpful in the energy-conserving department.
Sensory Input 1/5:
It's a concert - do I really need to explain this? Loud. Flashy lights. Lots of people. The fact that everything else was so easily accessible luckily meant that I could put all of my energy into dealing with this. Were the concert any bigger (bigger venue, non-acoustic) it would have been impossible, so finding the right kind of gig is key.
Food & Facilities 3/5:
There are lots of eating options at the O2 so you're probably not going to go hungry. However, a lot of them were very harshly lit and/or stuffy. They were all pretty empty the night we were there as there was no arena concert but when there is they are all absolutely full.
Travel 4/5:
There is an Underground station at North Greenwich, just outside the O2 so trains get you really close, there is also a car park very near the main entrance - aim for this one, not the main one.
Overall 3.25/5:
Visit length was four hours, with a journey time of two-and-a-half hours there, and one hour back.
Wheelchair 5/5:
The O2 is fully wheelchair accessible and, if you are wheelchair bound and so can't do what I did, there are wheelchair tickets - just make sure you get them early! Because I was in my wheelchair they also let us skip the queue which was very helpful in the energy-conserving department.
Sensory Input 1/5:
It's a concert - do I really need to explain this? Loud. Flashy lights. Lots of people. The fact that everything else was so easily accessible luckily meant that I could put all of my energy into dealing with this. Were the concert any bigger (bigger venue, non-acoustic) it would have been impossible, so finding the right kind of gig is key.
Food & Facilities 3/5:
There are lots of eating options at the O2 so you're probably not going to go hungry. However, a lot of them were very harshly lit and/or stuffy. They were all pretty empty the night we were there as there was no arena concert but when there is they are all absolutely full.
Travel 4/5:
There is an Underground station at North Greenwich, just outside the O2 so trains get you really close, there is also a car park very near the main entrance - aim for this one, not the main one.
Overall 3.25/5:
Visit length was four hours, with a journey time of two-and-a-half hours there, and one hour back.
*I currently have moderate ME, meaning I use a wheelchair pushed by someone else, and a walking stick. Please take into account your own physical capabilities when planning a trip, if you need to start small then start small. Look into what you can see nearby for when you're ready. Although, when at my best, I may be able to post every 1-2 weeks, that does not mean I am well enough to travel that frequently! Many of my posts come from a backlog of trips taken over the past few years.
