Artist Review - Emma Blackery

Hey guys!

It's been a little while since I've done a review, so I thought I'd write a little one for you all today :)

I've been fan of Emma Blackery for a little while now, but only recently have I started to get into her music.

Emma, 21, is also a 'YouTuber'. Since started her channel in May 2012, she has gained over 350, 000 subscribers, and almost 100, 000 Twitter followers - that's a lot of people interested in what she's doing!

I began watching her (I know it sounds creepy, but honest, it's not) in around August 2012, and I actually only just found out whilst writing this that her YouTube channel began only 4 months earlier! I thought she'd been doing it a long time, because I found myself wanting to watch more and more of her videos as she was that entertaining! Personally (and I know it sounds like I'm going to blow Emma's trumpet here, #noinnuendo) I think Emma is very funny. She's not like Grace Helbig / Mamrie Hart / Hannah Hart - they are naturally funny and PUNny people, like Emma, but Emma is hilarious in a whole different way. I don't mean that I laugh at her 'fails' or regrets in life (she's made many videos about these), but she's so sassy and.. well, she's herself, and she'll make you laugh.

Emma is very open with her audience, which makes you connect with her. Her openness has never hidden the fact that music is her passion, and this is such a good thing, as it means people have started listening to her music because they like IT, not just because they're fans of her vlogs.

Recently, in the July of this year, Emma released her EP called 'Distance'. I knew before this that she wrote songs and was a good singer, as I'd seen a few videos, but the release of this EP made me like her music ability even more.

The EP consists of 4 songs, which yes, could be seen as not that many, but for an artist writing, recording and producing songs takes time, so you have to bear that in mind. Emma's style and genre of music could be hard to pinpoint. Judging from what she's told us via YouTube/Twitter, she has many influences in music, one of which being Placebo, whom she got to interview this month. Watch the interview here:

 

However, for Emma's own music, I would say there was a Rock-Punk vibe, with a bit of pop thrown in there. After all, 'pop' just means popular, and that's what I can see her music being.

My favourite song of hers at the moment is 'Go The Distance'. I really like the lyrics, as they can relate to anyone, and the song itself is just really catchy. It's the kind of song you find yourself singing in the shower, or at least I do (I'm not sorry if you got any visuals from that, you're the one who's thinking about it!).

With the help of Luke Cutforth (LukeIsNotSexy), Emma shot a music video for the track and uploaded it to her channel. I'm very particular with what I like and don't like for music videos, but as I whole I really enjoyed her video. I know she didn't have a big team and lots of money behind it (we can't all be Katy Perry with tigers and selfie-taking monkeys), so considering that it was really good! For me, there were a few moments I didn't like, but that is just my opinion, and Emma knows that not everyone agrees with everyone else. Nethertheless I did like it, especially the shots with the water fountain, as I thought they especially suited the 'cute' element to the song.
If you want to hear the song and see what I'm writing about, watch here! :

Overall I feel Emma has come a long way as an artist - it's a big thing to release your own EP into the world for everyone to hear! And not only that, she played a gig at the Half Moon in Putney, a place where the likes of U2, The Who and The Rolling Stones have played, so in terms of gig-location development, she's really on the up! She performed with a live band, not just her acoustic guitar this time, and if you want to see what went down, watch this:

Despite the fact she doesn't have a huge array of officially released tracks out at the moment, I'm really getting into her music, and I don't think it'll be long until she's releasing more stuff!

Emma is always up to something, whether it be writing/recording music, making a video, playing a gig, going to a YouTube gathering, and I think for someone so young, that is a relatively big achievement.

I think I would be right in saying that she knows what she wants to do with her life, which is great, and I am very happy to support her and to continue to be a loyal subscriber; I hope from what you've read/seen you might consider doing the same!

Emma Blackery's new EP? I'd give it 4.5/5. The songs are slick, the vocals are great, and the EP suits the image Emma has made for herself. When you buy music, you also buy into the artist, so with Emma also being a YouTuber it allows us guys to get more involved with her life AND enjoy her music- and I don't think £2.99 is too much for that, do you? ;)

SUBSCRIBE AND WATCH EMMA HERE (on YouTube, no creepy)
FOLLOW EMMA HERE (on Twitter, no stalky)
BUY EMMA HERE (her music, she ain't no prostitute)
EMMA'S TUMBLR
EMMA'S FACEBOOK
EMMA'S BLOG/WEBSITE

Have a good life, take a listen, take a look.

I'll see you next time, bye for now!!

x x x x

Travel Log - Italy, August 2013 (#Itantics)

I'd planned and started writing a big long blog called 'Uncertain Things'. That was going to be what I posted today, but what I'd written wasn't that great; it was off the top of my head, plus it really reflected some of my feelings of the day, and I decided in the end it wasn't best to write about those just yet. I thought I was maybe being a bit hasty, and once you've written something you can't take it back! (<-- don't pretend you didn't listen during those internet safety lessons!).

Instead,  I'm going to do a blog post on my recent trip to Italy!

I know some of you might be a bit bored by this, but I'm hoping my friends reading this will enjoy it, and it could give some of you ideas on where to go on holiday!

Enjoy!

Travel Log - Italy, August 2013

On the 6th of August 2013, me and five friends made our way to Birmingham airport. We were going to visit our Italian friend Arianna (from here on in to be referred to as 'Bari'), and we were sosososososo excited! Bari had lived in our town for approximately a year to study at our school, and we were all so sad when she went back to Italy. We hadn't seen her for 2 months- we were having withdrawal symptoms!

After having breakfast at the airport (we felt like adults) and then playing on the Mickey Mouse game stations (we're children inside), we got on the plane.

We flew with Ryanair (cue mini-rant, but I won't go on too much, if you want to know more about the negatives of Ryanair, ask my friend Abbie). They are cheap yes, but jeez they let you know it! Massive queues, plastic seats, hand-luggage limits; and they're always trying to charge you for something. Plus, unless you pay extra (see, ALWAYS charging you), there are no reserved seats.
So when you finally get through security and you're on the plane, everyone turns into vultures, desperate to get the seats they want. The six of us got split up, but even after the stress we got to sit in threes.

Here are me, Izzy and Anna, clearly having fun before take-off:

We touched down safely in Bergamo Airport, Italy (thanks Ryanair!) and Arianna met us at the airport.

It was hot and humid the minute we got off the plane, and on the way to the mountains we stopped for some lunch and the views were absolutely amazing:

Our lunchtime view.

The 'fatties' first group

 photo in Italy.

After sampling some traditional Italian bread and ham, we continued on to the mountains.

Seven big twists and a lot of little windy roads later (my absolute nightmare) we reached Bari's mountain house.

Us girls were given the top floor to share, and the views from our balcony were breath-taking. You felt like you were on top of the world. And, although we were all squished together in one room (not overly nice in the sticky heat), it didn't matter, because we were in such a beautiful place.

 

Despite only spending a few days in the mountains of the Alps, we did many things including visiting a ghost town and going to Switzerland for the day!

'Arianna's neighbours'

Dinner time at the Lavezinni household!

A tour around the ghost town
("Rubbish tour guide!")

A day out in Switzerland!

'Girls in a cave.'

After our time in the mountains, it was time to go back to reality, so we left the mountains and made our way towards Como.

A long drive in the rain later, we arrived at Bari's everyday house, and this is where would spend the rest of our trip.
Again, we were all in one room, but despite the slight sleeping issue (Anna took one for the team and slept on sofa cushions almost every night!) we had fun and got to spend as much time as possible with Bari.

"Work that thing."

Whilst in Bari's town on the outskirts of Como, we tried to do as much as possible, to make the most of our time in this part of the world. It was strange, as everything that was 'amazing' or 'cool' to us was just normal life to Bari, and I don't know whether it made us all appreciate everything more, but it certainly meant that for me.

One of the first things we did was go and hang out in a 'Sports Bar'. In England you'd expect that to be a small  smoke-filled room filled with TV screens, pool tables and old men drinking, but in this town it was very different. We sat outside in the sunshine with our drinks and just talked, not something you can always do in a bar at home.

Chubbs, Baz and Anna.

"Lets leave them
 a present."

And next on the agenda was a trip to Milan!

We went via the train.

We were all so excited, as Milan was a place that we all wanted to visit, and it's safe to say it didn't disappoint us!


In an amazing designer shopping
centre in the centre of Milan.

Surrounded by shops the entire time, Milan certainly IS the fashion capital of Italy, if not the world. Even if you can't afford to go on a shopping spree (God knows we couldn't, plus we had no room to spare in our suitcases!) it is still a massive city full of lots of exciting things to explore.

There was also a MASSIVE park, filled with live music and lots of places to buy Italian ice cream - mmm!

We had the next two days to spend in Como itself, a beautiful place home to Lake Como, and Tom Cruise!
We didn't meet Tom, but out of the number of gorgeous houses there was, we probably saw his house!

Our first day in Como had consisted of shopping, wandering and sampling yummy street food (deep fried mozzarella balls, seriously DELICIOUS, try them!), but our second day was a bit different. We took the bus into Como again, ready in our swimming gear, and went out on pedalos on Lake Como!

 

Charlotte, me, Abbie and
 Bari on a pedalo boat.

Sunshine, good music and awesome friends, and being on the water, was definitely the best way to spend our last day in the centre of Como. Pedalling around a small part of Lake Como was so much fun, if you ever go to Como I'd really recommend it - it wasn't expensive either!

After being on the boats and using up a lot of our energy, we got some ice cream and looked out over the view of the lake. Then we decided to walk around part of the lake, and have a little paddle in it. It was a lovely way to see more of it, and we got to see a 'Grand House' which was beautiful, but it was safe to say we were pretty tired after that!

Having a paddle in Lake Como!




All of us by Lake Como.
(L-R Izzy, Anna, Shiv, Caitlin, Abbie,
Charlotte, Arianna)

We only had one day left in Italy! And after the busy week we'd been having, and the late nights staying up and chatting (what do you expect with us all sharing a room?!) we decided our last day had to be relaxing. We sat in Arianna's garden (a 360 degrees garden, as it went all the way around her house) and chilled out. Arianna found a hammock in her cellar, and her friend Laura came round to speak English with us.



 

Abbie, Shiv and Charlotte chilling out in the garden.

 

But, after a scrummy lunch (Arianna's mum had cooked us some AMAZING food during her stay, hats off to Mummy Baz) Laura had to go and we had to pack :(

 

We'd had such a great time with Arianna, and seen some amazing things and eaten delicious food. But personally, I don't think it mattered a whole lot what we did - it was just nice to see our friend again, 'cause it bloody well sucks sometimes that she has to live so far away.

 

Anna saying goodbye to Mone (Martley).

It was fair to say this is how we
 all felt by the end of the week!

Our last night came about too quickly, but we weren't going to spend it sad and stuck inside! Arianna's neighbours had been so kind to us when we arrived, baking us yummy cakes and always being happy to speak to us and say hello, and they had a young daughter called Camilla, so on our last night we took her out for ice cream.

It was a popular place, people everywhere inside and out of the parlour. It had a certain buzz, and you knew you were going to be eating something special. I think I had cookies and cream and chocolate ice cream (yeah yeah yeah "how was it that great if you can remember what you had?" IT JUST WAS OKAY?) and it was SCRUM-MY.

Then, after walking through the dodgy part of town in the dark (it was dodgy, a pimp lived over the road on Arianna's street) and nearly getting run over by multiple cars, we got home and said goodbye to Camilla. We needed to be up at 4am the next morning, and someone had the (not so) bright idea of pulling an all-nighter. At first it was okay, but then one by one we drifted off.. and slept through our alarms!
I'd never gotten ready faster in my life! We were all terrified of missing our plane, but we needn't have worried, as we got there in plenty of time (and I even got to have a cheeky sleep in the car, aaaaaah).

Our flight home was good, even though we didn't get to sit with each other again, and we landed safely back in Birmingham, England.

On the last night we talked about the food we wanted to eat when we got home- Anna had been craving pasta bake, and I was desperate for macaroni cheese. A bit ironic that the food we wanted the most consisted of pasta, and we'd just spent an entire week in Italy! But greeting my mum at the airport, I asked her if we could have it that night and.. I did. Hell yeah. And it was amazing.
(Just realised I went on a total food tangent there, got lost in the moment, sorry).

It was so strange to back, and to not share a bathroom and bedroom with my best friends. And I think I speak for everyone when I say we wish we could've brought Arianna back with us.

Thank you for having us Arianna, you're an awesome friend, and you are welcome back here any time. In fact, come back asap please!

Spending a week in Italy with my friends was a great way to spend part of my summer holiday. People always get the impression that a 'girls holiday' have to be about partying, drinking, and doing mad things, but it doesn't. There is such a thing as a 'girls holiday' where you just spend time with those friends that you love, and have fun without the drinking and mad partying. I'm not saying there weren't 'crazy' moments, things went on on the top of that mountain.. but I'm not going to divulge any of that ;)

I had a great time, and I love you Arianna! <3

I know this was quite a personal blog, something more for me and my friends to enjoy as they're probably the only ones going to be interested (!), but if you did enjoy it then that's a bonus :)

I've been lucky enough to go travelling quite a lot in my life, and I intend to do much more, so keep on the look out for more Travel Logs.

Lots of love, until the next time,

x x x x

Paloma Faith Live at Westonbirt Aboretum - Review

A good friend of mine once told me to not apologise for not writing a blog, or making a video, and to just do it.
Of course, someone else also told me not listen to other people and to do what I want- but I think I'm going to ignore the latter for the purposes of today's blog.

A few weeks ago, I went to see Paloma Faith.

I'd known of her since her first single/album, but I wasn't a 'fan'. Don't get me wrong- I LOVED a few of her songs, but I never desired the wish to see her in concert, or to physically buy her album. I guess I just wasn't into her that much when I was thirteen.

It's strange to think that 'Do You Want the Truth or Something Beautiful?', her debut album, was released four years ago. So much has changed for Paloma since then. She's been in films, on TV, released another album and has toured the country many times. But she's still the same. Sure, her style or songs may have developed or changed slightly, but she is still as wacky and wonderful as she's ever been.

The biggest change for me though, has been in myself. I've grown up, and her songs really speak to me now. Not only do I enjoy them, but I fall in love with them.

It was her second album that really did it for me. She released 'Fall to Grace' in May 2012, and I loved every single song. I longed to be able to sing them as well as her - I still do. I wanted to buy the album. I'd find the songs any way I could, and listen over and over.

Now was finally the time for me to see her live.

My sister had already seen her in November 2012 in Birmingham on her 'Fall to Grace' tour, and she'd raved and raved about how good everything was - the overall show, the staging, her outfits, Paloma's chatty nature with the crowd. It sounded great. To tell the truth, I'd wanted to go to this show. However none of my friends wanted to go, and my sister didn't really want me tagging along, so I didn't buy a ticket.

Feeling like I'd missed out the last time, I was so excited when the chance came up for me to see her in June 2013.

Paloma was doing a tour of outside venues, including Westonbirt Arboretum which is very near to where two of my auntie's live. My mum wanted to see her, and so did my three aunts and cousin, so it was decided - we bought the tickets, and before we knew it the date of the show had rolled around already.

It being summer and all, we expected the sun to come out, and at first it did make an appearance. Armed with our fold-out chairs, picnic rugs and food, we headed to the venue. It was a beautiful place, full of trees and surrounded by gorgeous countryside. The landscape could have been one from a painting. 
We got there quite early- early enough to hear sound check. Paloma sounded great from the snippets we heard, and it was a sufficient teaser for the main show to follow later.

Unfortunately, the moment Paloma came on stage, the rain stared to tip it down. It poured and poured, but it didn't dampen our spirits (as cheesy as that may sound). Her support act Marques Toliver was lively and upbeat, and had got the crowd as excited as he could considering there were grey clouds that loomed above us the entire time he was on. The inevitability of rain was on everyone's minds, yet when Paloma came on, the screams were loud enough so you couldn't hear the rain.

Paloma was nice, chatty and funny - just as my sister said she was. Her outfit was amazing - a pink and orange creation. What could have easily been a disastrous outfit just worked for her. It was.. it was her. A reflection of her personality.

 

 

The back-up singers wore black and white sixties numbers, and the stage, with the piano, mirrors and retro decorations, all gave the show a Paloma Faith feel - and I'm sure everyone could sense it.

Paloma performed extremely well. She even sang in the rain (with an umbrella) for us. She wanted to connect with us all; we were bracing the weather for her, so she wanted to put on an even greater show for us.

Songs such as '30 Minute Love Affair' and 'Just Be' were particularly intimate, and she even performed one song on top of the piano. I could go on and on about how extraordinary her voice is, but she was just as good live as she is as a recorded artist. I'd even go as far as to say that she was better.

When she performed live, you could really see and feel the emotion, and that makes a song sound real.

I really, really enjoyed seeing Paloma Faith live in concert, and I'd give her 10/10. Everything about it was phenomenal (except the rain), and I'd really suggest you go and listen to her, because you won't regret it.

FIND PALOMA FAITH -

FACEBOOK
TWITTER
INSTAGRAM
WEBSITE
YOUTUBE

I saw Paloma Faith on her forest concert tour, as part of Forest Live of the Forestry Commission, where every venue is outside! Unfortunately, this tour is over, but she is performing in Bath and at V Festival - buy tickets here!

Thanks for reading! Please any comments about what you might like me to write in the future.

Bye for now!!

x x x x

MADEON - REVIEW

Hey guys!

Bit of a different review today, but I'm hoping you'll like it!

As a response to my last review, a guy I [kind of] know called Joe Joiner (@JoeJoinerr on Twitter) suggested I review something I wasn't particularly familiar with.

I liked this idea, so I asked him for suggestions.

And this is why I'm reviewing 'Madeon' for you today.



"Strike a pose"

I'd never heard of Madeon, much to Joe's horror, but I listened to some of his songs on YouTube and read up on him, and now I'm much more knowledgeable about him than I was before.

Basically, if someone asked me who he was I could tell them, but that's about it.

Yet, I think that's enough to base a review on for all of you to read.. I hope it's enough anyway.

Madeon is a 19-year old electro house/pop music producer from France, and in this country, he is something of a marvel, to both professional and novice music producers alike. He started composing music at the age of 11, so you could say he was a bit of a kid genius. Either way, he now makes a career out of doing what he loves, and I have to say, he's pretty good at it.

Although electro pop/house music is not my music of choice, since listening to Madeon and other similar music mixes, I've started to like it a bit more. I've never been a fan of club music - it's alright in the moment, but to me it's just noise. Yet, listening to some of Madeon's tracks and seeing some videos, you can really see how much work goes into producing each one. It is not an easy task, and I began to appreciate that kind of music.

The first song I listened to was 'The City' but if, like me, you had never heard of Madeon, then I don't think this is the best song to start with. Go a bit further back, and maybe start with his YouTube video 'Pop Culture'. It was this song that got me interested.

'Pop Culture' - Madeon

 

It's been almost 2 years since Madeon posted his video 'Pop Culture' on YouTube, and in that time it has had over 19 MILLION views. That's a lot of views for a song a 17 year old boy made in his bedroom.

It is a mash-up of 39 songs, covering many different genres including pop, house and club music, and Madeon puts his own twist on all of them, whilst mixing them together at the same time.

The video itself is only 3:26 long, yet it is, in it's own way, a masterpiece. Watching the video you can see it took a lot of time and effort for him to make it. God knows how many takes it took to get it perfect, but it shows he has skill.

Then I listened to a few more songs including 'Finale'. 'Finale' sounded familiar to me, I think it might have been used on TV or something, so you might recognise it too, but it's definitely worth checking out. Completely different to 'Pop Culture' in the fact that it is all his own work, not just a remix of other people's songs. It features vocals from Nicholas Pertricca from Walk The Moon, and it's brilliant.

 'Finale' - Madeon

'The City' was even more different to 'Pop Culture' and 'Finale'. There were more vocals used, and the computerised elements of the song didn't have as much focus. Some would say this is a bad thing, but I disagree. Despite all his songs having, essentially, the same electronic features, he manages to make every one sound completely different. This shows he's versatile, and will propel him to where he wants to go within the music industry.
Also, 'The City' (which was released in the October of last year) had a proper music video, which was very creative in itself. The colours used in the video and the feel of the song match perfectly, and despite not being overly convinced about it at first, I grew to really like it.

'The City' - Madeon

 

All in all, Madeon has gained himself another fan, and I hope you guys will check out his music. It might be different from what you're used to, but just do it! Get out your comfort zone every once in a while, you might find you quite like it!

Madeon also really likes The Beatles as far as I can tell from photos and Twitter, so I think we can trust him when it comes to music..

Here is where you can find Madeon:

Subscribe to his YouTube channel!
Follow him on Twitter!
Like him on Facebook!

Thank you Joe Joiner, for telling me about him; my horizons have most certainly been broadened.

Until next time!

x x x x


(P.S - I'm going to see Paloma Faith LIVE at Westonbirt Arboretum tomorrow, so expect a blog about that next week :) I'm very excited!! Bye for now!!)

They're saving rock 'n' roll and they're doing it well - ALBUM REVIEW

Hey guys!

Here's another review for you, as I got a lot of feedback on my last one! I even got a follow and messages from Mike Dignam himself.
Despite parts of my review causing a little misunderstanding, I think he was overall pleased with it, and I'm very happy he actually read it - so thank you Mike.

Today however, I'm reviewing a CD! Fall Out Boy's new album to be precise.

I heard a lot about the album when it first came out, on Facebook and Twitter and such, but I didn't actually start listening to it until about a month ago.

And the reason for this?

Well, I've always liked Fall Out Boy (my sister was indie before it was cool, therefore I was forced to listen to her music, thankfully FOB are actually good) but I was a little scared by this album.

1) It was everywhere. Everyone was talking about it, and it was almost becoming mainstream to like them.
Not that I don't like 'mainstream' things, sometimes I do, but I didn't want to go and listen just because everyone on Twitter was raving.

And 2) This album was the first thing FOB had released as a group since 2008, so I was a bit sceptical; had they changed? If so, was it a positive change, or had they lost themselves in the five year 'rest'?

I was about to find out.

Then the day came when I decided I should dive in and find out what the new album was like, so using my trusty friend Spotify, I listened.

And 'Save Rock 'n' Roll' by Fall Out Boy was everything I heard it was... and more.

It exceeded my expectations.

Yes, it was a slightly different sound, but it sounded AWESOME.

Of course I immediately wrote a status and/or tweet about how the good rumours were true.. oh, they were so true.

I am usually light-years behind everyone when it comes to music, this case being no exception, but I really wish I wasn't.

I think I hold myself back too much when it comes to opening up to new artists- I like to stick to what I know, and if I'm not familiar with it scares me.

I loved Fall Out Boys first album 'From Under The Cork Tree' (it is still one of my favourite, and in my opinion the best, albums I own), but even so the prospect of a new sound from one of my childhood bands scared me.

BUT FACE YOUR FEARS, BECAUSE THE ALBUM IS GREAT.

 

The first track of the album is called 'The Phoenix'. My immediate thought when the intro was playing was "This sounds like Plan B" and it does. The intro really does. But it stops there; the rest is aaaaaaall Fall Out Boy.

All. The. Way.

'Save Rock 'n' Roll' is packed with ace songs that are catchy, musically brilliant and typical of Fall Out Boy.. the old band and the newer version.

The songs will stick in your head. Seriously.

But worship that; at least it's not a Rebecca Black song stuck in there.. sorry.

But moving on...

It has songs that make you feel good. You will want to sing along. They are not screamy or shouty or depressing. They're just good.

It's great, well worth any of your time and money. So what are you waiting for?

Whether or not you've heard of FOB before, or any of their songs, you are guaranteed to like this album.

It obviously helps if you like Indie/Rock music, so I'd probably avoid it if you can only listen to Acoustic/Country & Western without your ears bleeding.. this album might not be your cup of tea.

That shouldn't stop you though. Go find it on iTunes or Spotify or YouTube.
Broaden your horizons. I wish I'd done it sooner.

I give 'Save Rock 'n' Roll' by Fall Out Boy 9.5/10.

Fall Out Boy are BACK. They are back with a BANG. And gosh, we've missed you. But thankfully, you're here to save music once again. You're like a non-magical, musical, American Harry Potter..

Thank you for saving rock 'n' roll.

Find Fall Out Boy here:

Patrick Stump – lead vocals, guitars
Pete Wentz – bass guitar, backing vocals
Joe Trohman – guitars, backing vocals
Andy Hurley – drums, percussion, backing vocals

Facebook
Twitter

Go listen to 'Save Rock 'n' Roll'! Follow the links below:

Spotify (listen to the full album for free and/or buy)
iTunes (listen to samples for free and/or buy)
YouTube

Bye for now!!

x x x x

Mike Dignam Street Gig - Review

Hey guys!

Yesterday I went to a 'street gig' in Birmingham to watch a singer-songwriter Mike Dignam.

You may have recognised his name, as I have been advertising him and his picture to the right of my blog since I started it!

I first saw Mike perform as a support act for the band Lawson in March of this year, and I absolutely fell in love with his songs right away!

He writes and plays all his own music, which normally fits into the acoustic/pop genre.

It doesn't say on his website, and I never asked him in person/via Twitter, so I don't know what other bands/artists he would compare himself to, but my friend thinks some of his songs sound a bit like Stevie Wonder.

He's not only toured with Lawson, but also Gabrielle Aplin, and this September/October he is headlining his own UK + N.Ireland tour - buy tickets here!

To promote his current EP ('Paint') and his upcoming EP, he has been doing 'street gigs' all over the country- in Brighton, Manchester and Birmingham for example. They were in association with HMV, which meant shoppers at the store could pick up his EP for free with any purchase. This is great promotion for both parties: HMV gets more people into the shop (potential customers), and Mike gets more people to hear his music - win win!

I went along to the Birmingham gig, which was actually held in St. Martins Church - a good thing too, as it TIPPED it down with rain outside!

But that had no effect on our moods, as he put on a great short show, playing his own songs that the fans knew, a few covers, and a new song from his upcoming EP.

Although we all really enjoyed it (approx. 80-100 people turned up), it was a little awkward being in the church, as it was still open to the public, and we didn't feel we could be as loud as we wanted (even though Mike had permission to play there).

Also, we were seated, which restricted our movement to the songs.

However, the church made his songs sound great, as the acoustics of the building were excellent!

It was much better when Mike gathered us around him at the front; he even said "I should have done this before!".
And he was right, but that didn't matter really, because we all enjoyed the show, and he managed to get members of the public to stop and listen for a while.

 

 

During the gig he would sometimes get distracted and make little mistakes or restart - but we didn't care.

I'd seen him play flawlessly before in front of a crowd of predominately Lawson fans, so I know what he is capable of. If anything didn't seem 'perfect', it was nobody's fault (if maybe a couple of distracting fans haha), and it made the concert seem more intimate - Mike didn't mind stopping and starting in front of us. It wasn't that he was uncomfortable, but maybe because he didn't have to prove himself to us. He didn't have to win us over: we were there because we loved what he did already.

After the gig he did a signing at HMV in the Bullring shopping centre.

He turned into a [non-creepy] Pied Piper, with all his fans following him to the signing.

We attracted some attention (obviously), which is what Mike wanted- more publicity! And we were happy enough to help.

The signing ran smoothly (whilst I was there, at least), and Mike's friend/tour manager/photographer/videographer Lloyd Willacy (who had been filming throughout the day) took some great shots of the fans waiting in line.

Mike was so nice when we reached him, signing our CDs, and my ukulele! Thanks Mike! :)

 

Me and my friends Abbie (@AJ_Burford) and Charlotte (@Charl_Emilyx) also got our pictures* taken with him.

 

 

 

Mike seems really down to earth, and me and my friends had a lovely chat to him at the signing. Considering he was going to be signing things for a while, and that he didn't personally know us, he was talkative - gestures like that that show you he's a nice guy.

It's always so much nicer to like an artist's music, and for them to be a good person too.

I feel like I'm at that age and stage in my life where, although I might get excited and woop/sing-along at a concert, I don't scream and 'fangirl' very much anymore.

I'm 17 now, and me and my friends noticed how silly some of the other girls were being at the signing- in fact, we were quite embarrassed to be stood near them, even though we weren't with them and didn't know them.

I'm not criticizing, as I may have been like that at one point, but now I'm old enough to really appreciate an artist and their music; I want to support their dreams and help them to achieve their aspirations of making/selling good music, rather than scream in their face.

People deal with their excitement in different ways though, and Mike handled all reactions very well at the signing; whether people asked questions, or couldn't take a picture due to uncontrollable laughter/nervous crying.

He seems to appreciate all the support he gets, whoever it's from, and that's the way it should be when you're in the music business.

I've seen him perform live twice, and I've met him twice (the first very briefly outside the Lawson gig in Birmingham), so I know I am biased when I say this, but I would really recommend his music. He's got his own style, and his songs are original - something you can't say about every artist, even the ones high up in the charts!

His music isn't just for teenage girls either; some of you guys might enjoy it too!

Here is a video of Mike's song 'Great Escape', one of my favourites of his. Take a listen, you might really like it. You never know, he could be you're future no.1 favourite artist!

Here are the links where you can find Mike:

Twitter
Facebook
Website
YouTube
Instagram
Snapchat: mikedignam


I give the Mike Dignam Street Gig in Birmingham 8.5/10 stars, which is pretty good I think!

I'm going to his headline tour in September, so I'll review that for you guys once I've been!

Thanks for reading!

Please share with your friends and to Mike if you want to :)

Bye for now!!

x x x x

(*all photos credited to Charlotte Clayton)