My First Festival: Solihull Summer Festival

For a couple of years, I have been wanting to go to a festival. The question is which festival would be the best to go to as my first? V Festival? Glastonbury? Thankfully, the answer came in the form of the Solihull Summer Festival.

I decided to go to this one as it is small and easy to get to from where I live. Also, the line up wasn't too bad. It had well known bands, Toploader, The Noisettes,  Andy Bennett, from Ocean Colour Scene and The Pigeon Detectives, as well as new bands: Chasing Deer, an indie band from Solihull, and 2 Weeks Notice, a group who do covers of Indie Rock bands.

So...what did I think? Well, considering it was my first festival I thought it was good. In fact, it helped me discover new music, in the form of Chasing Deer. The songs were quite good and they had a certain indie rock band feel, which is always a plus in my book! They even did a great cover of Mumford and Sons' I Will Wait. I just hope that in the future they become successful because they deserve it.

Another highlight for me was 2 Weeks Notice, who did covers of popular indie bands. Their covers included Coldplay's Yellow and The Killers' All These Things I have Done. However, the most popular cover was Oasis' Champagne Supernova, which got everyone singing. In fact, the act was so popular that the DJ hosting the festival got booed when he said that the next act had to come on stage. It also led to one guy yelling at 2 Weeks Notice to come back and sing Supersonic...and no in case you're wondering, unfortunately that guy did not get his wish.

In terms of the festival in general, I thought it was really good. It is definitely the best in terms of going to your first festival, if you are unsure what to expect. It is a nice family friendly festival as well. It is also very accessible, which for me is very important, as part of the set up is it has a wheelchair viewing platform for the main stage, providing a fantastic view. The only problem was that the viewing platform just so happened to be directly in the sun that day but I didn't mind because I would rather the weather be sunny instead of rainy for my first festival!

So...overall if you are wanting to go to a festival then I definitely recommend this one as your first. It is also extremely child friendly. The best part is it is not too expensive and any money from the event, such as ticket sales, goes to local Birmingham charity, Help Harry Help Others.

Now, to decide my next festival, as I have definitely caught the festival bug!

Em x

Taylor Swift is Back!

Taylor Swift is one of the most followed people on social media so it was inevitable that she was going to cause quite a stir when she deleted all her social media posts. Of course, the big question was, "Is Taylor about to suddenly release a new album?"

A day later, and a further couple of days, Taylor posted mysterious videos of a snake. Many thought that the number 25 was seen on the snake and, to some extent they were right for that to mean something. On the 23rd August, Taylor finally revealed that her new album, Reputation was going to be released and on the 25th August, she revealed her new song, Look What You Made Me Do.

Of course, the album title is an immediate eye-catcher. What is Taylor trying to tell us? Is she alluding to the awkward reputation she has developed for herself, thanks to her now infamous feuds with Kanye West, Kim Kardashian and Katy Perry? Also, the title of the lead single of her new album is almost letting Taylor tell these people "You've hurt me so I'm going to respond to this through my music."

Then of course, there is the album artwork. It features a black and white image of Ms Swift, including writing, in the style of a newspaper, again possibly focusing on all the attention she got from the press.

However, the biggest clue that Taylor Swift has given that her new music is going to be about all the negative things relating to her is her new video for Look What You Made Me Do. It includes multiple versions of Taylor dressed in outfits from her videos, such as You Belong with Me and Shake It off, mocking each other, including one of them crying, and her, dressed in that MTV VMAs incident dress saying "I would very much like to be excluded from this narrative, relating to the latest Taylor Swift vs Kanye West saga,  references to her ill fated romance with Tom Hiddleston and her dressed in an outfit strangely like Katy Perry.


So...what do I think of the new song? Well, of course we do have to take into consideration the fact music artists do like to change their sound sometimes. However, after the success of songs such as Shake it Off, Bad Blood and Blank Space, and thinking about how good they were, I was disappointed. Considering that she had taken almost a year off (apart from releasing I Don't Wanna Live Forever with Zayn), I feel she could have made more of an effort. Having said that, the lyrics are really clever, with my particular favourites being "another day, another drama, drama/ but not for me, not for me, all I think about is karma," and "I trust nobody, nobody trusts me." So yes the song isn't that great but I can't wait to see what lyrics her other songs are going to contain. Regarding Taylor Swift's full on comeback...Bring it on!

Em x

Music is not Just a Hobby...It's a Therapy

Hello everyone!

Of course as someone who loves music, and writing about it, I review concerts, festivals, etc but I thought that you guys might like to read a post that is deeply personal. The thing is music to me is not just a hobby...it has been a therapy.

Getting ready to watch one of the best live bands around...Coldplay

I have always loved music. Whether it be singing along to my Dad's (sometimes questionable) choice in music to developing my own taste in music, my parents could always hear me singing. In fact...I'm surprised that I haven'e been told to stop! I also loved going to concerts, with my first concert being Steps (don't judge me...I was 7).

In 2007, what I thought was going to be simple routine spinal surgery to treat scoliosis became a nightmare...I became paralysed from the waist down.

You may be thinking...what has this got to do with music?! Well..here we go...

Like I said before, I have always loved music but it was after my spinal injury that music became even more important to me, particularly as I ended up remaining in hospital for a year. Music kept me entertained...but there was something wrong...I stopped singing.

Over time, I became better, health wise. At Christmas 2007,  I was allowed to come home and during this time, I watched Take That: Live at the O2 for New Year's Eve. In March 2008, I got out of intensive care and moved onto a ward, so I was able to go out a bit more. However I was still in hospital but I still had my trusted music beside me. Those days, I preferred to listen to Take That and Girls Aloud and other pop artists.  But I still wasn't singing.

However, over time, I came out of my shell. It was around the time that I went to see Girls Aloud, with my Mum. As always, I got the CD linked to the concert, in this case Tangled, to get to know the songs. Okay...I still wasn't singing a lot but I was getting there. I would sing the odd song and I enjoyed the music.

One of my favourite pictures from Take That's III tour.

I think I finally started being more like my old self when I was allowed back to school.  It gave me a sense of normality for a start. My favourite bit of the school day would be, apart from seeing my friends and learning new things, listening to the radio in the morning. That meant new songs to listen and sing along to. It definitely made those car journeys more fun!

Looking back on my life now, music has shown that just because I have suffered this paralysis doesn't mean I shouldn't enjoy my life. Since then, I have continued to go to concerts, with the now added bonus of (mainly) good disabled seats and of course, any moment of the day, I would have music on, whether it be via the radio or from my own selection of music. In fact, I believe that our lives would be boring without music. After all, the role of music is to help us create memories. For me, it has been a sad but also happy memory, due to helping me feel better about my injury.

You often hear people on the radio saying "Oh this song brings back so many memories for me!" You also often see people contacting their favourite celebrity on social media, saying "Your music helped me through tough times." Next time you think "Really? In what way?" just remember my story and also the fact that someone else out there may also be using music as an important therapy tool.

Em x

Breaking News! Siri can sing!

Okay...so we all know that the iPhone is brilliant (I may be a bit biased...I'm an iPhone user myself) and that it has an even more brilliant feature...sorry...assistant...called Siri. Siri can look up things on the internet for you, can tell you what song is playing and even put events into your calendar. Well...guess what...Siri has a special talent! He/She (depends on what voice you have chosen) can now sing!

Well...Siri can't exactly sing everything yet there is one song that it can get its best vocals ready for. So...which is it? Justin Bieber? Taylor Swift? One Direction? Maybe Spice Girls? (because let's be honest...who doesn't want to sing along to the Spice Girls...)

Well, here are a few clues...

• It is one of the biggest selling songs of all time.
• The band's frontman was one of the most iconic frontmen of all time.
• It has been released twice, first in 1975 and then in 1991.
• It was named Radio X's best British song ever in 2017

The answer?

Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen!

Yep...really.

So...how do we get Siri to sing? All you have to do is say "I see a little Silhouetto of a man," and then just sit back and relax whilst Siri serenades you (albeit robotically) with Bohemian Rhapsody.

Enjoy!

Em x

Glastonbury 2017 Review

Between 23rd - 25th June, many musical artists came to entertain the masses of music fans at the most famous musical event of the year: Glastonbury festival. As always, the line up was as varied as ever, particularly with the rise in popularity of grime artists, such as Stormzy and Wiley, and of course, there was the buzz about the three headliners: Radiohead, Foo Fighters and Ed Sheeran. In addition, there was the question that gets asked every year: Who is doing a secret set?

The head honchos...any good?

So...the main buzz I think was the headliners. Two legendary bands who were used to the big crowds that come with performing at Glastonbury and a man where the biggest stage he had played so far had been Wembley stadium: yep, Foo Fighters, Radiohead and Ed Sheeran.

Radiohead

Hmmm...how to sum up Radiohead. I thought I would try them for the purpose of this blog but...they're boring. Apologies to Radiohead fans who are probably cursing me now. However, I did know some of their songs so that is something. They started off the set with a song I had never heard (I later found out it was Daydreaming from their recent album A Moonshaped Pool), and continued by performing old fan favourites, including Fake Plastic Trees, Street Spirit and No Surprises. Lyrics from No Surprises, "Bring down the government/ they don't speak for us," were met with big cheers, considering the general election had happened a couple of weeks before. It was finished with Thom Yorke stating "Bye Theresa May. Shut the door on your way out." The biggest surprise came in the form of Creep, which Radiohead themselves admitted that they weren't a big fan of, hence the lack of plays it has on their setlists. The thing I was impressed with was the stunning light show that accompanied the tunes, putting on quite the spectacle, both for those watching it live at Worthy Farm, and for those, like me, watching it on TV.

Foo Fighters

Again...I'm not a massive fan of Foo Fighters but if you compare them to Radiohead...they are a much better headliner. They brought the energy that is expected with a Foo Fighters show, along with hit after hit, including My Hero, The Pretender and Best of You.  They also brought out new material, in the form of Run, ahead of the release of their new album Concrete and Gold in September. Furthermore, the drummer, Taylor Hawkins, also sang Another one Bites the Dust and Under Pressure, with the latter sending Dave Grohl back to his Nirvana days, as he took the role as drummer, while Hawkins sang. For fans, I believe it was worth the two year wait, baring in mind they had to cancel in 2015, after Dave Grohl broke his leg.

Ed Sheeran

I have to be honest...this was the headliner I was looking forward to the most. I was a bit dubious about Ed headlining Glastonbury, considering that his biggest headlining gig before this was Wembley Stadium. Ok...he has played Glastonbury before but not as a headliner. However, he proved he could do it. Armed with a guitar and a loop pedal, he played everything, from irish ditties, such as Galway Girl and Nancy Mulligan, and beautiful ballads, such as the smash hit Thinking Out Loud, to the one that started it all, The A Team. Yes...there was the odd criticism on social media, such as those saying he was boring and thinking he was miming instead of using a loop pedal, but Ed proved them wrong.

Secret sets

It wasn't only the headliners that created a lot of buzz around Worthy Farm...it was also the question that is always asked every year...Who are the secret acts? Well...this year it was Elbow, who were roped in to celebrate 10 years of the Park Stage, and The Killers, whose set was on the John Peel Stage. The latter was particularly met with welcoming arms, considering that they are back, 5 years after the last album release, Battle Born (Yes...they did have a greatest hits collection release in 2013 but in terms of new releases it is 5 years). Putting on a set, which included favourites When You Were Young and Human, they also performed The Man, taken from their upcoming album, Wonderful Wonderful. Of course, no set would be complete without Mr Brightside. No wonder the tent got so full that organisers had to eventually stop people from heading over.

Other highlights

Ok...let me get this out the way...this is the year that politics practically dominated Glastonbury. To be fair...Glastonbury did occur a couple of weeks after a general election. I bet if anyone was there, you would have heard "Oh Jeremy Corbyn," sung to the music of White Stripes' Seven Nation Army, at least once over the weekend. In fact, even Thom Yorke briefly led the crowd into this chant during Radiohead's headline set. To top it all off, Jeremy Corbyn himself turned up to introduce Run the Jewels.

Other highlights include Liam Gallagher, who performed classic Oasis songs, Rock and Roll Star and Morning Glory, among others, as well as his new single Wall of Glass. However, the emotional moment was when he dedicated Don't Look Back in Anger to the victims of the recent terror attacks, as well as the Grenfell Tower fire and literally let everyone sing it back to him. Watching thousands of people singing this song was amazing as a television viewer. I'm sure it was even more amazing for people actually there. Just in case anyone was wondering...Noel did not make an appearance.

I also managed to catch Emeli Sande's set. All I can say is what a voice. She put on an energetic set, playing hit after hit, from Heaven to Read All About It. She also included newish songs, Highs and Lows, and Hurts, off her latest album, Long Live the Angels. I reckon she could be headlining in a couple of years.

Oh...and of course, I couldn't have a highlights section without mentioning my favourite band on the lineup...Blossoms. I am so happy that they got upgraded to the Pyramid Stage as it meant that more people got to see how talented they are.  Performing well known songs among fans, Charlemagne and Blown Rose, they proved that it was worth it to put them on a Pyramid Stage slot. They also performed new song, This Moment, their collaboration with Chase and Status. I maybe biased but I reckon that when the time comes, they would be a great headliner.

So there you go...my highlights of Glastonbury 2017. Unfortunately, the festival is not on next year, due to it being a fallow year for the farm, but it will be back in 2019...hopefully bigger and better.

Bring it on!

Em
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One Love Manchester: the Perfect Tribute

On 4th June, Manchester and the world came together to pay tribute to the 22 victims who were killed in the terror attack at the Manchester Arena. Ariana Grande, whose concert these fans attended,  decided to put on a concert to raise money for the victims' families. And what a concert it was!

In the space of a couple of days, Ariana managed to organise a spectacular show with some big names: Coldplay, Robbie Williams, Take That and Miley Cyrus to name a few, including Ariana herself. The most noteworthy thing is that Take That kindly agreed to perform at this show, despite having a show in Birmingham scheduled for that evening (they were first on the setlist so they could attend both shows).

I think the thing that stood out for me was how appropriate the song choices were for a concert like this. Coldplay chose Fix You, Take That chose Giants and Rule the World, Black Eyed Peas sang Where is the Love?, Robbie Williams sang Angels and Little Mix chose Wings (which includes the lyrics "We won't let nobody bring us down"). Ariana Grande sung her well known hits, revealing that the mother of one of the victims stated that they "would not want anyone to cry, they would rather everyone had the chance to hear the hits."

The song choices were not the only things that were perfect; the tributes were beautiful too. For example, Robbie Williams sang his hit Strong but changed the lyrics to "Manchester we're strong," and "We're still singing our songs." Other tributes included an important speech from Pharrell and Coldplay covering Don't Look Back in Anger, which has become an anthem of unity among Manchester. Ariana Grande performed her hit One Last Time, along with a beautiful cover of Somewhere Over the Rainbow, with them both being released (or in One Last Time's case, re-released) as charity singles, to raise money for the Manchester fund. However, I liked Katy Perry's tribute, which I didn't notice until after she had performed; her dress was decorated with pictures of the 22 victims of the tragedy. Beautiful.

There was a surprise that was promised during this concert and that surprise was Liam Gallagher. After performing the classic Oasis song Rock and Roll Star and his new single Wall of Glass, he invited Chris Martin to join him to perform a moving rendition of Live Forever. Of course, there was hope that Noel would join him but he didn't. Now, I don't know about you but I am quite glad that there was not an Oasis reunion, as it would have detracted us away from the whole point of this concert: to pay tribute to those who lost their lives on that day.

Overall, I thought this concert was brilliantly put together by Ariana Grande and her team and it just showed that music is a wonderful tool for bringing people together with a sense of unity. It was popular among people at home; apparently an estimated 11 million watched the show and it has become the most watched show of 2017 so far. As for the funds? Over £10 million was raised for the Manchester One Love fund.

Em
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Radio 1's Big Weekend in Hull: Tributes, Tunes and comebacks galore!

This weekend just gone (27th-28th May), Radio 1 brought its annual festival to Hull, to coincide with Hull being 2017's city of culture. Spread over two days, with acts performing on three stages, the main stage, the Where it Begins stage (formerly the In New Music We Trust stage) and the BBC Introducing stage, there was bound to be someone for everyone to enjoy. so...what were the highlights?

Tunes

For many of the acts, it was a chance to perform all their tunes that the fans know and love. However, it was also a chance for these acts to preview new songs that they may not have performed live before. One example that springs to mind is Rita Ora. Not only did she perform some of her biggest hits, such as Hot Right Now, Poison and Black Widow, she also performed new songs for the first time, such as her new song, Your Song (following the premiere of the song at the Cannes Festival) and a brand new song that had never been heard before, Girls, a collaboration with Charli XCX and newcomer, Raye.

In fact, there were so many acts performing over the weekend that I bet that it would be hard for anyone to pick their favourite song that they partied to. I myself would struggle if anyone asked me what was my favourite song out of all the acts that I heard this weekend. Was it Zara Larsson with the brilliant Lush Life? Or maybe Blossoms with At Most a Kiss? Or Bastille with Send Them Off? So many choices! Also, a special shout out to Shawn Mendes, as the Big Weekend was his first ever UK festival appearance. Among the songs that he performed was his massive hit, Treat You Better:



Comebacks

This weekend saw so many comebacks from some of the biggest musical artists. Along with Rita Ora, who I've already mentioned, there were comebacks from Kasabian, who have recently released their fifth studio album, For Crying Out Loud, Royal Blood who are set to release their new album, How Did We Get So Dark? and the sultry songstress herself, who flew out to the UK especially for the Big Weekend Festival, Lana Del Rey.  All these acts performed their classic tracks as well as brand new tracks.

Of course, these guys weren't the only comebacks. The coveted headline slot went to Katy Perry who made a spectacular comeback herself. Not only did she sing her classic hits, such as Firework and California Gurls, she also had the chance to perform her new songs, Chained to the Rhythm and Bon Appetite. Welcome back Katy!



Tributes

The thing that stood out for me was the many tributes from the artists, and the festival itself o the victims of the horrific Manchester attack that happened on the Monday before the festival. Many of the acts dedicated songs to the victims and Manchester itself, such as Katy Perry, who dedicated Part of Me, Kings of Leon, who dedicated Use Somebody, and Zara Larsson, who dedicated her Clean Bandit collaboration Symphony. There was also many heartfelt speeches given, by acts such as James Arthur and Emeli Sande, with my favourite speech coming from Zara Larsson, who said this:

"Music itself, it doesn't have a religion, doesn't have a country, or an ethnicity. It's something that we do and it unites us all."

However, the ultimate tribute came in the form of a minute's silence on both days to reflect on the awful events and to remember the victims. I thought this was the perfect way to reflect and remember victims of this tragedy.

Overall, I thought the line up was great and, yes the weather was a bit questionable, but everyone had a great time. Thank you Radio 1 for putting on this fantastic festival.
Here's to next year's festival!

Em
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