We Need To Talk About... Red Velvet.

Photo Credit.

Another K-pop fashion post. Told you I was in love.

Formed by SM Entertainment, Red Velvet create catchy music, with awesome dance routines, and on top of that, fresh-off-the-runway outfits.
If you read my BlackPink post, you'll know I'm not super into the girl groups in K-pop -the boys are more my thing- but Red Velvet might just be my favourite female's in the k-pop industry.

As they've just started releasing new music, I thought now was the perfect time to write about how incredible their styles are.

We Need to Talk About... BlackPink.

Photo Credit.

Kpop is something that exploded into my life in the latter half of 2017. 

Thanks to a new friend at work, groups such as BTS, Red Velvet, Seventeen and EXO, have pretty much taken over me.

Although, majority of the girl groups aren't really my cup of tea -I prefer the boy bands within kpop- I can't help but obsess over their style.

Now the Asian fashion sense has been something I've been in love with for a while. Japanese and Korean fashion in particular has always caught my eye.

At the forefront, we have BlackPink. These 4 girls have it all. Talent, looks, confidence and style. Their outfits effortlessly ooze perfection. Whether it's on stage or at an airport, they always look on point. 

Top 10 Albums Of 2017.

Sigh, there was a lot of good music released this year.

From comebacks to debuts, 2017 was start to finish a great soundtrack.

These are my top ten albums of 2017.

No particular order of course.

Reading & Leeds 2017 | My Recommendations.

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It's almost bank holiday weekend, which means its almost time for the UK's favourite (probably) music festival. 

Reading and Leeds is one of the UK's biggest festivals and happens yearly over the course of the August bank holiday weekend. 

The thing I love the most about R&L, is the fact that it doesn't just stick to one particular genre. It doesn't matter if you're into rock, rap or EDM -there's something there for everyone.

If you're heading to either of the festival sites this weekend, these are the artists I think you should check out.

Boardmasters 2017 | My Recommendations.

Set in the beautiful surroundings of Fistral Beach and Watergate Bay, Boardmasters is the one of the few festivals that combines live music with surfing, skateboarding, BMX, and some of the best after parties. There's a surf village (basically a little shopping area where you can get great deals on vans as well as other fun stuff) and signings from pro surfers and skateboarders.

This year the #RoxyFitness movement is coming to Watergate Bay for morning yoga sessions, (more info here) and the World Surf League returns for short and longboarders froth on Fistral Beach.

Unfortunately, I'm not going to be there. So I'll be spending the week living vicariously through my brother whilst he works and has the best time there.

With over 40,000 people heading to Cornwall for the festival this week, 2017 is set to be Boardmasters biggest year yet.

I've posted my music recommendations below!

Warped Tour 2017 | My Recommendations.

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The ultimate punk rock summer camp is back!
Warped Tour is just about to start it's 22nd year of tornado-ing around North America and with it comes lots of incredible bands and musicians.
This year features "harder" bands than the typical pop punk ones that have dominated the last couple of years. Don't worry though, there's still your fair share of pop punk to listen to!

So if you're going to the tour, here's some recommendations from me to you. Enjoy yourself and think of me good ol' Blightly!

Coachella 2017 | My Recommendations.

Festival season is fast approaching! Kick starting the summer with a bang, comes Coachella, the Californian festival spread over two weekends. Since 1999, the Palm Springs desert has played host to some iconic line ups, including, Beck, The Chemical Brothers, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Rage Against The Machine and the Yeah, Yeah, Yeahs, to name a few.

Although I've never been, I find myself often daydreaming of dancing under the Californian sun whilst The Cure play in the background. The festival usually has something for everyone. So if you're fortunate enough to attend, here's some recommendations to check out...

Around The World And Back.

You all know how obsessed I am with State Champs.
If you don't go here and you'll soon realise.

Last night kick started their UK tour with Northbound and As It Is.
When I got to the venue, Northbound had just started their set. These guys are from South Florida and this is their first in the UK. I've never listened to their music before but they put on a really good set. If you like Can't Swim, State Champs or Homesafe, I'm sure you'll like these guys.

The second support was As It Is. These guys grew up not too far from me, so I love seeing how far they've come. As It Is are one of the biggest pop punk names in England right now and their set really showed why. Filled with energy, they got the whole venue jumping.

Last, and no where near least, State Champs. You're probably all bored of hearing how amazing I think these New Yorkers are, but honestly, I have no other words.

I've been apart of the alternative music scene for over a decade now, but it's a place I've truly come to love.

These types of shows are always filled with love, acceptance and good vibes, not just from the bands but the fans also.

There's a positive energy I don't feel when I'm at other concerts. I feel safe and happy and any anxiety has evaporated.

Much love.

♥

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Listening to: The Maine- Black Butterflies and Deja Vu.

Despite The Weather, It Gets Better.

If you've been following this blog for a while, you'll know I'm a pretty big fan of With Confidence. This week kick started their first UK headline tour. I'm very proud of them.

For starters we had Manchester lads, Milestones. I've heard of these guys before but never actually listened to them. They put on such a great set that as soon as they had finished I headed straight for the merch table to buy their CD. I met Matt and Mark afterwards who were absolute sweethearts.

Next was Virginia pop punkers, Broadside. I had only listened to a couple of their songs but again, their set sold me and I off I went to buy their CD. Again they hung out afterwards and were all lovely!

The last support act was Canada's Safe To Say. these guys I had actually listened to. (Thanks Paige!) With gloomy alternative music -reminiscent of the 90's- Safe to say are quite different from the rest of the line up. Go and check them out -these guys are going places.

Finally, With Confidence came on and the wait was 100% worth it! They are incredible live!
I met them afterwards (sorry the pictures are so bad -it was dark and wet!) and they were so lovely. And I even got them to do something for a future tattoo.

Honestly, please go and see any of these bands if you get the chance because they were all incredible!

Much love.

♥

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Listening to: The Maine- Misery (Live)

Ones To Watch 2017 | Part 2

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Alice Chater started songwriting at just 14. Now age 21, she her songs are reminiscent of 90's Gwen Stefani with a modern day edge. Her 5 song EP, WonderLAND, was released in 2015, with influences of Christina Aguilera, Mariah Carey and Etta James. 

She describes her music as being Sassy, bold and emotive, so it's a good thing her seriously insane voice is not shy to belting out a powerful song.

Remember the name Alice Chater. I think you'll be hearing a lot of her this year.

For Fans Of: Christina Aguilera, Lady GaGa, Gwen Stefani, Katy Perry

Personal Favourites: No Title, Crash, I Don't Do That.

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A few months back, I was recommended Black Foxxes by a local record store that I frequent at.

The three piece hail in from Exeter, and released their debut album last summer. A mix of haunting lyrics and unfiltered guitars, they create a beautiful blend of rock music that's contemporary yet utterly unique. Emotional outpouring from the start, Black Foxxes are raw and gimmick free, basically what the rock world needs right now.

If their debut album is anything to go by, Black Foxxes could be well on their way to world-wide success.

For Fans Of: Boston Manor, Lonely The Brave, Tigercub, The Xcerts.

Personal Favourites: I'm Not Well, Maple Summer, River.

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An online friend recommended Knocked Loose to me towards the end of 2016. The Kentucky natives released their debut album last year, showing off their unique take on hardcore. I don't listen to the huge amount of hardcore -I usually stick to pop punk/ punk- so please don't judge me for saying KL are hardcore. This is about as heavy as I get.

 There's insane breakdowns, catchy riffs and a disturbed depth to the lyrics. There is a real raw, urgency in lead singer, Bryan's voice. Over the past couple of months, I've listened to Knocked Loose a lot, and this album has not got stale in the slightest.

For Fans Of: Hundredth, Code Orange, Rotting Out, Counterparts.

Personal Favourites: The Rain, My Heroes, No Thanks.

I hope you all enjoyed my recommendations for 2017.
Make sure to check out part one here!
Who are your ones to watch for 2017?

♥

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Listening to: Simple Minds- Don't You (Forget About Me)

Ones To Watch 2017 | Part 1

Happy New Year Everyone!

To kick start this year off, I'm doing my annual round up of who you need to keep an eye on!

None of these photos are mine but they have been edited by me.

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Starting things off, we've got Chris Bourne. I''ve known about this guy for years now. I'm a fan of his brothers work (see here) and I was a fan of his old bands, Hollywood Ending and The Bourne Insanity. On top of that he's helped write songs for 5 Seconds Of Summer. 2016 saw him releasing his own music, an infectious, retro pop punk vibe, perfect for dreaming about the 80's (even if you weren't alive then)

This year will see him headlining his own UK tour, and hopefully more music. Let's just say I'm excited to see more from Chris.

For Fans Of: Busted, Mcfly, R5, The Summer Set, We The Kings, Wheatus.

Personal Favourites: MFT80s, She Drives Me Crazy, Young Love Relapse

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Moon Coven are a recent find for me. About a month ago, I was looking up a completely different band when I stumbled upon this psychedelic rock band from Sweden.

Their music is sludgy and grungy, but not to be confused with "just another stoner rock band". The five piece released their second full length in 2016, which was filled to the brim of aggressive guitar solos and dynamic and confident lyrics, sure to leave you dazed.

I can't hep but wonder why there hasn't been more talk about Moon Coven. Don't throw them to one side, do yourself a favour and take them in.

For Fans Of: Smashing Pumpkins, Nirvana, Wasted Theory.

Personal Favourites: Storm, Conspiracy, White Sun.

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Someone I know through youtube introduced me to this one. Tor Miller is a New Yorker who is unabashedly confident. His music consists of 70's throwbacks and tributes to his hometown. 

The latest in a string of male solo artists, Miller has his odd quirk that sets him apart from the rest. He is refreshing, confident and his energy is anything but subtle. His song are catchy and inspiring yet intense with a dash of soaring choruses.

Inspired by Jazz, Soul and the icons from a time before his, Miller's debut album showcases his distinct and extensive vocal range, proving this may be a singer who becomes timeless.

For Fans Of: Amy Winehouse, Ed Sheeran, Jeff Buckley, Sam Smith.

Personal Favourites: Always, Hold The Phone, Midnight, Baby Blue.

Come back Wednesday for the last three!!

Much Love.

♥

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Listening to: Tor Miller- Carter & Cash.

Top 10 Albums Of 2016.

This year has been a little, well, shit.

There's not really a good way of putting that. 

From political arguments to way, way too many deaths, 2016 has been tough for all of us.

On a good note though, there have been some absolute stonkers on the music scene.

Legends returned while newbies marked their name, these are my top ten favourite albums of 2016.

No particular order of course.

I'll Make It To The Moon If I Have To Crawl.

Now, there are a select few bands that are on my bucket list to see: The Rolling Stones, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Foo Fighters and Nirvana. Al though that last one is definitly not going to happen.

Monday finally marked the night that I saw the Red Hot Chili Peppers live.

My friend and I have been big fans of them for quite a few years now, so when they announced a UK tour for December, we jumped on the ticket websites. After, a long, stressful ticket-buying venture (I'm not even kidding, never spent so long trying to get tickets!) we finally managed to snag some.

We went up with her mum who is also a big fan of theirs, and had the best time ever.

Our seats were quite far back but they were dead centre, so we had a really great view. 

Babymetal were supporting and, well, they were an experience...

RHCP were incredible live! They have so much energy and sound exactly like the recordings. 

Absolutely perfect night and I'm so happy to finally cross these guys off my bucket list. 

If you ever get the chance to see RHCP live -do it! 

Much love.

♥

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Listening to: The Smashing Pumpkins- Luna.

"A Good Thing Never Ends"

So.... I went to Exhibitionism again.
My brother wanted to go and I figured it was amazing the first time around, so why not go again.
I came out feeling just as inspired and in awe as before.
If you want to read more about Exhibitionism read my first blog post here.

After the exhibition, we went to Bill Wyman's restaurant, Sticky Fingers. The food incredible and I highly recommend going there if your in the Kensington area. Then we went for a walk around Notting Hill, Kensington Gardens (where I dragged my brother to see the Peter Pan statue again) and then down Oxford Street, before getting the train home.

Exhibitionism was an incredible and inspiring experience. It's now left London, but it will be travelling to 11 citiesaround the world. If you're a fan of the Stones, keep an eye out for when it's near you.

"Don't you think it's sometimes wise not to grow up?"
Mick Jagger.

♥

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Listening to:  Watching Gilmore Girls.

Reading & Leeds 2016 | My Recommendations.

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In the UK we two MAJOR festivals. Ok, maybe technically it's three. Glastonbury and Reading and Leeds. (Reading and Leeds kinda counts as one though.)

Every August bank holiday weekend sets the scene for the latter. Set over the course of three days the festival is two parts- Reading and Leeds, hence the name. The line up alternates between the two cities (it's not as complicated as it sounds, non-brits!) 

Since it's one of the biggest and most well known music festivals I decided to add to my festival recommendations list.

So let's go!

Boardmasters 2016 | My Recommendations.

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Every August, thousands of people descend onto the UK's surf capital to checkout Boardmasters. Five days of surf, sun, skating and music will take over Cornwall's famous beaches this weekend.

My cousin and I went a few years back, and this summer will be my brother's second time. A festival not to be missed, Boardmasters offers skateboarding, BMX and surfing competitions which are chock full of pros. 

The main music section is at Watergate Bay,and has played host to the likes of Ed Sheeran and Snoop Dog. Whilst Fistral Beach offers the comps and The Beach Sessions, intimate evening gigs right on the beach. 

The surfing comps have recently been added to the World Qualifying Series, so be sure to pay attention on that front. 

The Surf Village on Fistral Beach offers signings with the pros, a market area where you can sample local delights and competitions that you can take part in. (Don't worry they won't get you doing complicated skate tricks -I won a hula hoop competition there) As well as Surf Art, photography and film sessions. 

Add in your very own surf lesson and this is a jam packed weekend that should not be missed. 

I've posted below my recommendations music wise. 

Warped Tour 2016 | My Recommendations.

Photo Credit.

Last year I made a list of bands on Warped Tour that I thought you should check out if you were going. (Or not going -you can still check them out!)

This years line up is amazing.

So many incredible bands are playing that it was hard for me to narrow it down to just a few. If you live in America/Canada and you're going to the tour, go see these artists for me whilst I sit at home in miserable England. 

Thanks.

Please Note!

Links to where I found each original photo is underneath my edit. 

(If it is your photo just let me know and I'll change it asap!)

I'm Coming Home.

All photos are mine please don't steal/ give credit if using!

Let's take a trip back to the summer of 2002.
I was 8, almost 9 years old. A band suddenly came onto the scene. Busted.
Over the next two and a half years, my friends and I became huge fans of theirs. They were the first band/artist I really got into. They broke up January 2005. We were 11 years old and we were heartbroken. I remember literally crying over that break up.
My friends and I were a bit too young and so weren't able to go and see them live during their time together.
Fast forward ten years and McBusted formed. (2 members of Busted with Mcfly) That was incredible. It was the next best thing. But it wasn't Busted.

About six months ago, Busted announced they had got back together. All three members. A tour and a (possible) new album were on the horizon.
Unfortunately, I've lost contact with a lot of the friends from primary school, but my best friend (who I've known since I was about 4) and I screamed and immediately brought tickets.

Wednesday comes. We take the 2 hour car journey to Bournemouth, get to the venue and continue to wait in the queue for 4 hours. My mum thinks we're mad for doing that but we've waited a decade- 4 hours was nothing.
We were at the front. We had a perfect view. We sang our hearts out and danced our feet off.
Oh, and we met Chris Bourne.

This is the band that got me into music, that introduced me to some of my favourite bands and shaped me into the person I am today. Yeah, this band had a huge impact on 10 year old me.

Everything about this night was perfect. Now I'm trying to figure out whether it was real...

♥

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Listening to: Watching 500 Seconds Of Summer.

Concert Round Up.

Basically I suck at blogging. 

I've been slacking a bit on recent gigs I've been to, so I figured I would one big round up. 

Let's go!

Tonight Alive, Our Last Night & Milk Teeth 

23/2/16 

I saw TA a year ago and I had an amazing time. They put on a fantastic show and you could tell they loved what they were doing. This time was... different.
I've barely enjoyed their new album and they played a lot of new songs this time around. I know they're really proud of the new music, however the album and their show in Portsmouth lacked for me. I wish I could tell you exactly what it is, but I can't.
Our Last Night and Milk Teeth were both amazing though.   

Derren Brown 

27/2/16 

My best friend Katie loves Derren Brown. I've watched a couple of tv programs he's been on, but know very little about him. However, when Katie suggested going to his tour, I figured, why not?!
I've never been to any magic/ illusionist show before so I thought it would be fun. And it was. There were parts that I didn't find entertaining, but the majority of it was very well done. Mr Brown is a very intelligent man.

LIGHTS & Pixel Fix

14/3/16  

I've been a fan of Lights for maybe 9 or 10 years now. But this was the first time seeing her live. The woman is unreal.                                       Pixel Fix were surporting, and they were really good. I highly recommend you listen to their music.
Anyway, back to Lights. She is incredible. There was this insane energy radiating of her. From the moment she stepped on stage till, well, I don't know really, I'm still feeling it and it's been a good month. Her music puts me in a good mood. Two girls got engaged on stage during her set and it was so beautiful, even Lights was crying.                If you're considering going to one of Lights' shows, do it. You will not be disappointed. The fact that I'm still feeling her energy over a month later should tell you all you need to know.

            

Sunset Sons & Louis Berry

4/4/16 

My brother and his friend saw Sunset Sons at a festival last year and loved them. So they got tickets to their show in Brighton a couple of weeks ago. My brother said I should go because I'd really love them. I listened to one song and booked my ticket.
Louis Berry was supporting. A cheeky lad from the depths of Liverpool. He was really good. He had a Jake Bugg kind of vibe about him but without the cockiness.
Sunset Sons have that fantastic surfer-rock-good-vibes-only feel to their music, and I'm sucker for that sort of music. So naturally I feel in love with them. Their album will be getting a lot of plays this summer.

          

Neck Deep, Creeper & WSTR

16/4/16

I won't discuss the supports too much on this one. I got to the venue towards the end of WSTR's set so I can't comment on them, and Creeper I didn't really enjoy. They were from Southampton and a lot of people knew/liked them so maybe it was just me.
Neck Deep though. Oh, Neck Deep. I have a lot of love these guys. If you want to read more about my love for them go here. But these lads have always put on an incredible show.
I was having a bad day and almost didn't go, but they cheered me up completely. They've never failed to do that so far.

Much Love.

♥

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Listening to: Blossom- How Do You Like Me Now?

"This Is The Rock 'n' Roll Life, and you had to invent it as you went along."

Yesterday my mum and I took a trip up to London to see The Rolling Stones exhibition- Exhibitionism.

It opened on Monday and it's on until September- if you get a chance to go, do it!

Held at the Saatchi Gallery on King's Road, it features rare, never-seen-before artifacts including diaries, documents, photos, audio and video footage, and even a glimpse at their living situation before they were famous.
Documenting the bands 50+ year career, the attention to detail to beautiful and impressive- believe me when I say you can almost smell the stale cigarette smoke.
There's interactive and cinematic experiences for you to fully get immersed in The Stones' life. Work from three of my faves, David Bailey, Andy Warhol and couture Alexander McQueen are also featured.

I'm only 22, so I obviously haven't witnessed a huge amount of The Stones' career, however, this was an incredibly interesting and educational trip down musical memory lane.
I have so much love for this band, and if you feel the same, or at least, the same about music in general, you will find this exhibition pretty inspiring.
You weren't allowed to take photos inside so I only these few from outside.

If you don't live in England, don't worry. the Exhibition will be travelling to 11 cities including Los Angeles, New York and Tokyo. Keep your eyes peeled.

"Everyone talks about rock these days; the problem is they forget about the roll."
Keith Richards.

♥

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Listening to:  The Rolling Stones- Drift Away.