Taylor Swift: Red Tour

If there is one thing you will have gathered whilst reading my blog, it will probably be that I love Taylor Swift. Like a whole lot. And I was lucky enough to get to go and see her last weekend. It was amazing. For those of you whose feelings towards her may be swayed slightly, she is not only a great singer/songwriter and performer, but came across as a genuinely lovely person. The production around the show was on a huge scale. It really was a show in every sense of the word. We were also very lucky to score great seats, which meant some great pictures. A guest appearance of Ed Sheeran and supporting band The Vamps were nice additions too. The atmosphere in the room was static. LED signs with cute swift puns littered the place and when the lights went up, you could see that everyone was dressed head to toe in red. Of course. The vibe was friendly and buzzing which really added a lot to the experience. If any of you get the chance to go to a Taylor Swift concert or any concert at the O2, I would highly recommend it. Now to bombard you with endless photographs.

xo

Haim

 First of all, sorry for the lack of posts. I am excuse-less. But I promise to make a habit of posting regularly in 2014. The other night me and my good friends Alice and Mara queued in the cold (after having stuffed our faces at a lovely little tapas bar) to see our favourite sister trio band. Haim. If you have been reading my blog for a while now, then you'll know how much I love Haim. I have mentioned them before in glowing words, so as not to repeat and embarrass myself I will let you drool over them here.

Este Haim's 'Baseface' was a show in itself.

xo

Christmas tunes

Christmas music is one of my favourite things about this time of year. I love listening to Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra whilst wrapping presents and eating (all the) mince pies. I always get excited for modern twists on old christmas songs too. I have been discovering a lot of them lately, and wanted to share my absolute favourites with you.

 My favourite Christmas albums include:

Michael Buble- Christmas                     Loreena Mckenneitt- Midwinter night's dream

Mindy Gledhill: Winter Moon                      Bing Crosby: Merry Christmas  

 

I had to share with you my favourite Christmas music video too. The ever tacky festive 'All I want for Christmas is you'.

xo

Gabrielle Aplin

So, last Friday night was spent standing beside Mara and Shona in a shivering queue outside the Picturehouse venue in Edinburgh. Back in March (when the sun still shone) we had all bought tickets to go and see the lovely Gabrielle Aplin here (after hearing Human and Keep Pushing Me, I was hooked). It's safe to say I was excited. Once inside and de-frosted, we were welcomed with the dreamy vocals of Jack Savoretti, who if you were like me and hadn't heard him before are seriously missing out. Think Paolo Nutini meets Bob Dylan, with the looks of a Dolce and Gabbana model. I know, right?

 ***

 Gabrielle herself was amazing and completely exceeded my expectations. In the age of auto-tune it is rare to find an artist who sounds better live than they do recorded. This was definitely true of her. Angel-voiced singer, no more, that girl can belt out a tune. We were all pleasantly surprised with a great cover of 'Wrecking Ball' which she most definitely did justice. And were lucky enough to meet her afterwards. Down to earth doesn't even cover it. She was so kind and I kind of wanted to ask her if we could be best friends, but decided against it when I saw the size of the security guards...

xo

Currently on my playlist...

This appears to be the year of gigs for me. I have been lucky enough to get the opportunity to see Haim, Gabrielle Aplin and Miss Taylor Swift *squeals*. So my playlist as of late has been quite packed with music from those lovely three. However I have been enjoying some new artists I stumbled across on spotify, other blogs and funnily enough watching s/s catwalks. So here is my playlist:

1. Kodaline - Love like this

2. Haim - Better off

3. Misty Miller - Happy Together

4. Oho - 9th pawn

5. The Civil Wars - The one that got away

6. Nina Nesbitt - Way in the world

7. Rachel Platten - 1,000 ships

8. Mike Dignam - Young

xo

What I Love: Haim

It doesn't get much cooler than these three. Trust me.

Photo from here

Photo from here

Photo from here

I remember a few months back (when my obsession for Haim was still new and fresh and nowhere near the level it is at now) Alice, Mara and I parked ourselves proudly in front of our computer screens waiting for Haim's tickets to go on sale. Only to find out they were sold out and the site was malfunctioning. Depression is an understatement. Needless to say next time we will be seated and ready days in advance.

                                                                                          ***

There's something about these three. Their unique sounding vocals and arrangement aside, I think it has to do with their lack of caring what others think. They are self acclaimed 'wierdos' and naturally don't fit in with the 'Carly-Rae-Jepsen Cool' image. They are forever themselves and of course, that is why they are so loved. I haven't even started to awe over their fashion sense yet. Probably just as well as I may have to dedicate a whole other post to that topic... 

Photo from here

Photo from here

Photo from here

To be in a sister band like Haim please.

xo

Good Morning Lovely

I am not a morning person. I tend to resemble a sloth coming out from a six month hibernation or Gollum emerging from a cave. However I do cherish my mornings, they mark the beginning of a new day. My mornings are usually spent lounging around and putting off actually getting ready. I like to do this lounging around to music. Enter my morning playlist. Equipped with a series of hand picked tunes intended to wake me up and put me in a good mood. Giving that I have to wake up at such an ungodly hour, I like to keep it simple. These tracks all have a similar mellow sound to them. Anything too loud would send me crawling back to that warm, comfy bed of mine. So without further ado, here are the songs featured on my 'Good morning lovely' playlist:

 Fleet Foxes- Mykonos

Photo from here

This song had me hooked upon my first hearing. It's quirky, almost completely unidentifiable lyrics make for easy listening, perfect for mornings. Listen to Fleet Foxes here.

Katie Herzig- Jack and Jill

Photo from here

The unique vocals teamed with minimal instrumentals are what makes this song so utterly morning worthy. I first heard this song on the beauty that is Pretty Little Liars and have listened to it over a hundred times since. Listen to Katie here.

She & Him- Never Wanted Your Love

Photo from here

My love for this song might be mainly due to the fact that I have the biggest girl crush on miss Zooey Deschanel and all the fantastic work she does. But crushes aside, this is a genuinely uplifting song and a great way to start the day. Listen to She & Him here.

Alex Goot- Lightning

Photo from here

 This is easily the most feel good song around for me at the moment. It is guaranteed to put a smile on my face no matter what. Alex Goot's dreamy vocals and sweet lyrics send exited shivers down my spine every time. A MUST HEAR. Listen to Alex Goot here.

Ingrid Michaelson- You and I

Photo from here

Ingrid's delicate voice is just perfect for morning listing. This is possibly one of the sweetest songs I have ever heard. It is just so optimistic and feel good, making me want to sing and dance with joy every time. Listen to Ingrid here.

Radical Face- Welcome Home

Photo from here

I'm starting to find it almost annoying, how often I find myself listening to this musical jem. The clever build up to the chorus excites me still. The only down side to this track is that it's hard to listen to without images of the new Canon camera dancing around your head. But if you can put up with that you'll love it, I promise. Listen to Radical Face here.

Noah and the Whale- Now Is Exactly The Time

Photo from here

If I get to the end of my playlist before I'm running late and embark on my dash out the door, hair a mess, coffee thermos in hand combo, I will end my morning with this. I love Noah and the Whale. They have an effortlessly cool sound to them and seem like genuinely nice, laid back people. Listen to them here.