My albums of the year (2019)

Frankly, 2020 can't come quickly enough - partly as it is bringing us a new Bombay Bicycle Club album and I am counting down each second until that is in my life. Beyond that, there are debuts from Seramic, Rhys Lewis and White Tail Falls to expect as well as new records from the likes of The Staves, Lucy Leave and The Big Moon - there's a lot to be excited about! Before all of that, however, it's time to look back on the music that I've been listening to this year with a round-up of my favourite albums of the year. I loved doing a post like this last year - when Novo Amor narrowly missed out on the top spot to the incredible Someone Out There from Rae Morris (you can catch up on last year's post here.)

As this blog is solely contributed to by me (hi!) the list is a bit of a self-indulgent reflection of the music that I've been loving this year. It's been a bit of a rollercoaster of a year, which kicked off with me being made redundant from my job at HMV back in February. I've traded music and films for a job as a bookseller now and I'm loving it, but I still miss being surrounded by music lovers every day. It has become even more important to me to have the blog to use as an outlet to ramble about the music that I love, and what follows below is five of the records that I've fallen in love with this year, with a further list of several more brilliant albums that I wanted to shout about.

1. Maggie Rogers - Heard It In A Past Life

Could there really be anybody else but Maggie Rogers in the top spot this year? Her incredible record has come to occupy a really special place in my heart. I first started listening to Maggie towards the end of 2018 when she was announced as tour support for Mumford & Sons. From then, my love for her grew with each new track that was released, and my anticipation for the record grew. The album itself arrived in January, while HMV was in administration and in the midst of a really confusing and stressful time for me. It is no exaggeration to say that it helped to ground me and bring me much needed joy through the experience of redundancy. I spent several weeks listening to the album at least once daily, finding new aspects of it to love with each listen.

I feel that it's worth noting that Heard It In A Past Life is Maggie's debut album, and as such it is even more impressive. She has recently been nominated for the Best New Artist Grammy award, the pinnacle of a whirlwind year of touring, huge TV appearances and a whole lot of dancing like nobody (or indeed, everybody) is watching. Given that I adore the album in its entirety, I struggle to pick a favourite track from it, but a stand-out track for me from the first few listens was Burning, so why not start there and then go on to check out the entire album. You can thank me later!

2. Friendly Fires - Inflorescent

Next up an in a really close second is an album that I spent a long time waiting for, worrying that it might never exist. I think even the band themselves couldn't be sure that they would make this record, but I am so incredibly glad that they did. Friendly Fires were one of my favourite bands of the early 2010s and I worried that I'd never get to see them play live when they took an extended hiatus several years ago. To my delight they returned in late 2017 and I was lucky to see their triumphant London return last April. Fast forward a year or so and the moment that I'd been waiting for... an album announcement. The wait was finally over in August, and it was more than worth it. I think that I probably annoyed some people with how much I couldn't stop talking about the album when it was released.

The record is an injection of pure joy in what is very often a pretty miserable world. Friendly Fires are back with their infectious energy, catchy hooks, incredible live shows and an album to fix all of our problems. Or possibly just to get us dancing - but that's a start. Again, I really adore the full record but my favourite track would probably have to be Silhouettes. A certified bop.

3. Bear's Den - So that you might hear me

Having been a big fan of Bear's Den for a few years, one of the coolest perks of running this little blog came earlier this year when I received a link to listen to their album and review it six weeks ahead of release. It arrived in my inbox while I was searching for a new job and feeling a little lost, and the album felt like something that I could keep to myself before it was released out into the world - it really came to mean a lot. I recall describing my review at the time as being like a love letter to the band. It sounds a little cliché to say that an album tangible helped you through a situation but it really did. I've been lucky to see the band live a few times this year in various settings (headlining a stage at Citadel Festival and the O2 Shepherds Bush Empire to name a couple) - it's been a Bear's Den kind of year and I'm very happy about that.

In their third studio album, we find the band enjoying the confidence that the success of previous records Islands and Red Earth & Pouring Rain brought, combining the acoustic and electric elements of both to explore new ground sonically. The record explores themes of intimacy and connection. with the band describing it as being about "trying to communicate with someone honestly [...] an attempt to reveal the honest and difficult challenge of communicating with anyone that you really care about." It is a gorgeous example of Davie's skills as a songwriter, bringing to life his story and those of others. A favourite track of mine is the opener Hiding Bottles, written about his relationship with a close family member with an alcohol addiction. From my first listen, the lyric "well I'm keeping it together but you don't know the half of it. It's starting to show, no I'm not on top of this" has really resonated with me.

4. Christof van der Ven - You Were The Place

In a way, Christof manages to make his way onto this list twice - he's a touring member of Bear's Den, creating some gorgeous solo music in the spare time that allows him. Having released his gorgeous debut album at the start of last year, he's the only artist to have been on both the 2018 and 2019 lists, and deservedly so. I really really love this album - and was lucky to have an early listen of this one too. With the album in 2018, an EP release at the start of this year and a busy tour schedule with BD I'm impressed at the rate at which he got this album out into the world - I feel lazy just thinking about all of that. Written in response to the end of a brief but intense fling, this is an incredibly personal, yet relatable, record from Christof. As you might expect it is sad in places, while being full of optimism and hope in others. Production from bandmate Marcus Hamblett is superb too - the finished record is raw and intimate and really deserving of a spot on the list.

5. Lucy Rose - No Words Left

After a little thought about who finished up my top five albums of the year my thoughts kept on returning to Lucy Rose and her fourth studio album. It is, in a word, sublime. In direct comparison to her previous records, this one is incredibly stripped back (centring around vocals, guitar, piano and strings) and is as a result stark and vulnerable. At the time of release Lucy wrote online that "these songs have allowed me to get to know myself in a way I haven't before and I'm sure after you listen to it you'll end up knowing me better as well." It is a record which explores issues of anxiety, isolation and uncertainty without sugarcoating anything, it is exactly the kind of record that I needed to hear this year. While I really connect with a number of lyrics across the record, my favourite track is perhaps The Confines Of This World, in which Lucy delivers the lines "I really don't mean to bring you down, But I need someone to talk to." 



Well done for making it this far - that's my top five albums of the year. I genuinely adore each of them, and will enjoy listening to them on repeat for years to come, I hope. It's been a bit of an up and down year for me and these albums have really helped to bring some light into my life when I've needed it. But I'm not finished there... there's been plenty more (in fact, more than I'd realised) that I have loved this year, so here is a bit more of a list (in release order) of albums that I really recommend you check out. You'll love them too, I hope!

Busted - Half Way There
Stella Donnelly - Beware of the Dogs
Foals - Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost (Part 1)
Jack Savoretti - Singing to Strangers
Fil Bo Riva - Beautiful Sadness
Pêtr Aleksänder - Closer, Still 
SOAK - Grim Town
Hailaker - Hailaker
Vampire Weekend - Father of the Bride
Benedict Benjamin - Truant
Matthew and the Atlas - Morning Dancer
CHILDCARE - Wabi-Sabi  
Charlie Cunningham - Permanent Way
Bastille - Doom Days 
Two Door Cinema Club - False Alarm
The Black Keys - "Let's Rock"
Grace Lightman - Silver Eater
The Teskey Brothers - Run Home Slow 
Marika Hackman - Any Human Friend
Bon Iver - i,i 
Liz Lawrence - Pity Party
Geowulf - My Resignation 
Half Moon Run - A Blemish in the Great Light
Leif Vollebekk - New Ways
Marcus Hamblett - Detritus

WATCH: Jack Savoretti - 'Love Is On The Line'

The fact that it is finally May brings a really exciting concert for me, as I'll be heading to London at the end of the month to catch Jack Savoretti (who happens to be one of my favourite musicians) headline actual Wembley Arena (!!!) The show is the last in a string of UK dates this month, in support of his recent record Singing To Strangers. The record went Silver and charted at number one in its first week of release back in March.

Jack has recently shared a video for current single Love Is On The Line, directed and produced by Emiliano Bechi Gabrielli, and featuring footage from his recent Italian tour. Talking of the track, Jack explains that "the idea was to write over string parts rather than the other way round - melodically, strings can give you the courage to go somewhere vocally you might not otherwise go. They give it gravitas." 

Follow Jack Savoretti - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

LISTEN: Jack Savoretti - 'Singing to Strangers'

If you've been following this blog for a while you'll probably be aware that I'm quite the fan of Jack Savoretti. His music has meant the world to me for years and I am really excited to see the love that his new record Singing to Strangers is receiving. It's looking like the album could reach number one this Friday which is hugely deserved but also slightly mind-blowing. I've been listening to Jack since 2012, from the release of After The Storm, and it's been a total joy to see his music flourishing in the past few years with the release of Written In Scars (2015) and Sleep No More (2016).

The new record features Jack's superb live band: Pedro Vito and Sam Lewis on guitar, Sam Davies on bass, Jesper Lind on drums and Nikolai Torp on keys. It was recorded last Summer and produced by Cam Blackwood, who produced Jack's previous record and has worked with the likes of George Ezra, Lewis Capaldi and Tom Walker. If all of that doesn't sound enticing and exciting enough... the band had the insane privilege of recording the album in Rome at the studio of legendary film composer Ennio Morricone.

His studio is in the "basement of this huge church" Jack explains, endowing the recording process with a cinematic atmosphere which is captured in opening track and lead single Candlelight, which many listeners have noted could easily lend itself to the opening credits of a movie. Following in the steps of break-out track Catapult (2015) the record features soaring string sections, creating a really powerful soundscape throughout. Tie that in with Jack's raw and raspy vocals and lyrics that are simultaneously heartfelt and heartbreaking and you've got something really magnificent. Not to mention that the record features co-writes with Bob Dylan (Touchy Situation) and Kylie Minogue (Music's Too Sad Without You). I'm really enjoying the record in its entirety at the moment, but a stand out for me is certainly Love Is On The Line.

Another personal favourite is the stripped back interlude on the album, the title track, which provides an extremely vulnerable moment where Jack repeats "all I can do is try my very best to entertain you. All eyes on me again, but I don't believe there's anything to see." Discussing the meaning behind the title, Jack explains "that's my job: I sing to strangers. That's what I've spent most of my life doing. Singing to friends and family and fans; they're already onside, so you can, to some extent sing anything. Strangers need convincing, touching, connection." With a potential number one album incoming (everything is crossed!) I'd say you're doing a pretty good job of that, Jack!

If you'd like to catch Jack live, he's heading out on tour across Europe and the UK very soon, culminating in a show at Wembley. (Actual Wembley Arena.) I am very excited for that one - Jack's biggest headline show to date and my first time seeing him in over two years! Check out the full list of shows and ticket info here and grab your copy of the record here.

Follow Jack Savoretti - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

ALBUM NEWS: Jack Savoretti - 'Singing To Strangers'

Incredibly excited about this one! I've been a big fan of Jack Savoretti since hearing his third studio album Before The Storm back in 2012, and have loved watching his career blossom. In recent years, he's released two brilliant records, Written In Scars and Sleep No More, given several brilliant TV performances, supported the likes of James and John Legend on tour and played his own incredible live shows, touring the UK and further afield with his wonderful live band. His passion for music is infectious, and makes being a fan of his genuinely rewarding.

Exciting news - he's just announced that his sixth studio record Singing To Strangers is due for release on 22nd March. Talking about the title of the record, Jack explains "that's my job: I sing to strangers. That's what I've spent most of my life doing. Singing to friends and family and fans; they're already onside, so you can, to some extent sing anything. Strangers need convincing, touching, connection." 

Produced by Cam Blackwood (George Ezra, London Grammar) and recorded in Ennio Morricone's studio in Rome this Summer, the record features Jack's live band, who he is taking on tour in April across Europe before heading back to the UK for a few shows. The tour culminates in a HUGE show at SSE Wembley Arena, which I absolutely can not wait for. I couldn't be prouder of the trajectory he's taking. Earlier this year, Jack featured on a duet alongside none other than pop legend Kylie Minogue. Music's Too Sad Without You is the closing track of her latest record - a live version from Venice features on Jack's upcoming record, check that out below! Grab tour tickets and pre-order Singing To Strangers in various formats, as well as signed copies, through Jack's website here.

Follow Jack Savoretti - Facebook | Twitter | Instagram.

LISTEN: Jack Savoretti releases 'Whiskey Tango'

As if the last few weeks hadn't already been brilliant enough for new tunes, Jack Savoretti dropped entirely new tune Whiskey Tango last week and it's a total earworm - BBC Radio 2 must agree as it's just been added to the A List! Following the success of latest record Sleep No More, it's getting a re-release on the 8th September with a 'Live and Acoustic' CD headed up by this tune, alongside live versions of old tracks like Soldier's Eyes and Breaking The Rules and acoustic versions of tracks from the record including the singles I'm Yours and When We Were Lovers. Knowing just how beautiful Jack is both live and acoustic, I've got pretty high hopes for the release and I can't wait to get along to another show of his to catch this new track being played live!

Jack heads out on tour with John Legend in arenas around Europe over the next couple of months - tickets and dates here! Pre-order the Sleep No More special edition here before release on 8th September!

WATCH: Jack Savoretti releases video for 'We Are Bound'

Feels crazy to be writing this but I'm totally finished with university! After a day of rewriting in the library on Wednesday I managed to submit my final assignment a couple of days early so having a bit of a chill while the rest of my flat panic with essays and exams still looming. I'm hoping that my new found spare time will translate into some more regular posts on here and where better to start than the new music video from my favourite chap Jack Savoretti. 

I've spent the past week feeling immensely proud of Jack after his performance at Cheltenham Jazz Festival last Thursday was played out live in BBC Radio 2. A massive achievement and pretty poignant as the station have played quite a key role in the huge success that Jack is currently having (mostly down to his bucket loads of talent of course!) You can listen back to the full performance on the iPlayer here and see what all the fuss is about!

LIVE: Jack Savoretti at Royal Festival Hall (29/3/17)

On Wednesday evening I caught the last night of Jack Savoretti's current tour, where he and his incredible band played to the impressive and fairly enormous Royal Festival Hall - it was my ninth time seeing Jack live and I honestly don't think I'll ever tire of watching him perform.

The day was a combined post-dissertation treat for myself and Mother's Day present for my mum, and after a bit of shopping, a trip to the Sky Garden and some Mexican food we headed down to the venue early for a meet and greet. Not cheap, but totally worth it for the wonderful memories we created seeing some of the soundcheck, getting some signed stuff and meeting with Jack after for a little chat and a photo (at which point his tour manager exclaimed "I know her!!".... oops, stalker alert!) Jack and his music mean the world to me and there's so much I'd like to tell him and thank him for if I ever get the chance, but for now a hug will have to do! 

Tour support Joseph J. Jones kicked off proceedings.... I don't know much about him but do know that he is a Communion Music artist which is always a great sign! His tracks filled the room really well and his voice was seriously impressive and kind of gravelly in keeping with the rest of the show! Check out his track Stay below...

The room quickly filled up and Jack and his band took to the stage, playing us a bunch of tracks from the latest record Sleep No More, kicking off with the title track and the new single, We Are Bound, and a few tracks later it was a total dream to hear Sweet Hurt again. Towards the middle of the set the band left Jack to play Tight Rope by himself, after which he was joined by Nikolaj Torp on harmonica/keys for the utterly stunning Soldier's Eyes and Breaking The Rules - a sequence which had me in floods of tears.

Picking up the pace the band played tracks such as The Other Side Of Love (another of my favourites), Back Where I Belong, Not Worthy and after roaring applause, the Written In Scars/Knock Knock encore, with Joseph J. Jones returning to sing on Knock Knock to bring the UK tour to a close. I was once again blown away by the emotions that the performance made me feel, and the passion, talent and energy that the guys bring to each show, they're getting better and better every time. After a well earned rest they're heading to a bunch of festivals this summer, starting with Cheltenham Jazz Festival in April before taking in the likes of Isle Of Wight, Pinkpop, Cornbury, and V Festival - all Jack's upcoming tour dates are on his website here! 

LIVE: Jack Savoretti at Hoxton Hall for War Child (21/2/17)

If you know anything about me, you'll know I'm a pretty big fan of Jack Savoretti, so I was chuffed to win some tickets in the prize draw to his intimate show for War Child earlier this week. The last time I saw him playing at his last (and biggest) London headline show to date was to a five-thousand strong crowd at Hammersmith Apollo (read my post about it here), so the couple of hundred capacity Hoxton Hall made quite a change!

Texting during a gig?! Ah... Jack and Nikolaj are texting SAFE to 70444 to donate £3 to War Child (you should too!)

With the semester speeding by and my time at university drawing to a close, I'm starting to think about where my career after I graduate might take me. It's still pretty crazy to be able to say that I work in live music with Tigmus and special shows like last night (and most of Jack's gigs, to be honest) totally affirm my love of live music. If I ever end up working in management, touring with bands or anything like that, if I get to work with musicians who are half as talented and as hard-working as Jack then I'll be incredibly lucky.

Back to Tuesday... opening up the night, the supremely talented Gizmo Varillas took to the stage with just his guitar, a contrast to his full band set opening up for Jack at his Somerset House show in Summer. What he lacked in a backing band he made up for in charm and some pretty amusing chatter in between tracks, including the really exciting story that I've been seeing online over the last week or so (Wales Online), that Yoko Ono had given him permission to sample John Lennon's voice on No War, a track from his recently released debut record, El Dorado - check out the music video below!

The crowd suitably warmed up, a couple of people from War Child spoke a little about the charity (find out about the work they do here) before welcoming Jack and his keys player, Nikolaj Torp, to the stage. A couple of tracks into the set Jack warned us "we've never done this before.... well we do this every night as some of you might know, for many years, but we've never played any of these songs just me and the incredible Nikolaj Torp", encouraging us to talk amongst ourselves if they needed to figure out what key to play in. The night was full of lots of interaction with the crowd, and there was a really great atmosphere, a sense that we were all there to support this wonderful charity.

The pair played a beautiful set predominantly filled with tracks from the latest record, Sleep No More, including the singles When We Were Lovers, I'm Yours and Only You, which I filmed and you can watch below! Mixed in with those were a few of my favourite tracks... The Other Side Of Love, Sweet Hurt and Breaking The Rules (I was chuffed to bits to hear this version after seeing this video of a stunning performance on the recent German tour - seriously, if you're new to Jack's music, the vocals on this video are insane). It was a really great mixture of old and new tracks, and they finished up with the wonderful mash-up of Written In Scars and Knock Knock (video of that from Hammersmith here).

Despite it taking me three hours to get back to my flat after the show, it was a total blessing to be part of such a special evening, and even better that I got to share the evening with my mum who is also a big fan of Jack's - it seems all of our get togethers whilst I'm at uni over the last year have been to see Jack live, and neither of us are complaining. The next show is London's Royal Festival Hall (where I saw Poetry Live with school, so I'm intrigued to see a gig there)... it's sold out, as are a lot of dates on the tour, but all the info and remaining tickets are here!

WATCH: Jack Savoretti 'Only You' on The Graham Norton Show

It may be a new year but I haven't quite changed the record and I'll be rambling on about how brilliant Jack Savoretti is for a while yet. Why not see for yourself (if you didn't catch it when it aired a couple of weeks ago) and watch his performance from the Graham Norton Show just before Christmas. He was on the show earlier in the year and performed a relatively new track at the time, Catapult, and the performance did just that and was certainly one of the factors which helped to propel him into another level of fame, leading to more touring, a re-release of the record and lots more adoring fans. It's pretty exciting that they asked him back, and the video below sees him performing Only You from the recent record Sleep No More with his incredible band!

If you like what you hear, here's another recently released video of Jack and his band playing the track at their Eventim Apollo show back in November. The more I think about it, the more I'm pretty certain the show was my favourite of the year (quite a claim..) and the video gives you just a flavour of what it was like to be part of Jack's biggest headline show yet! They kicked off the encore with this song, with the lights coming up and Jack appearing at the back of the stage on the piano - a lovely surprise! 

If you'd like to see Jack live, he and his band are touring the UK again in March, tickets and all the info here.

LIVE: Jack Savoretti's 'Sleep No More' tour 2016

Jack Savoretti's new record Sleep No More has been out for two weeks tomorrow, and I couldn't be prouder than it reached their highest chart spot yet last week, number six! I posted recently about Jack's performance at HMV Oxford St, but I've since seen him three more times so figured it was time for another post! Last Monday Jack was on the panel for The Wright Stuff and performed a solo acoustic version of When We Were Lovers. I saw a tweet about his appearance on the show a week before and got a space in the audience... they only have about twenty people in so it's pretty intimate and was a very early wake up, but really cool to see Jack in that environment and interesting to hear him chatting about the topics of the day! 

The tour for the new record kicked off the day after the show, and I was reading some great comments about the show online, and really looking forward to his London show (last night). I pondered over it for a while and decided I'd like to go to the Southampton show on Sunday (6th) too, only it sold out. After my weekend of Dawes shows somebody got in touch with tickets to sell on Sunday afternoon, so I dropped everything, booked hotel and trains and headed down South. I'm pretty sure I was the only person in the audience for The Wright Stuff who knew who Jack was before the show, so it made a massive difference to be in the sold out 1700+ cap O2 Guildhall, packed out with Jack's fans! There were a few "oh no, they didn't play...." moments, but with five albums to pick from for the setlist, and playing every single track from the new record, that's to be expected! It was a treat to hear the entire new record live... I'm not sure I've ever seen a band touring a new record and not leaving out a couple of the slower tracks, for instance. The setlist had been meticulously planned, starting off with a run of five or six new tracks to ease us into the evening, opening with the album's title track Sleep No More (cue some pretty impressive whistling from Jack)  and playing Helpless, one of the highlights of the new record for me (video from the night here!) The band left the stage and Jack performed a couple of tracks alone, kicking off with Tight Rope, another of my favourite tracks from the new record. 

They got into a few of the hits - Home, Back Where I Belong and Catapult before heading off stage. Returning for an encore, Jack played alone on keys for the intro of Only You, a really beautiful addition to the track, before they finished up with massive hit Written In Scars, the title track of 2015's stunning album. Suddenly, I heard the first hints of third album track Knock Knock, a welcome surprise as the set was so heavily fourth/fifth album weighted! I met some lovely fans outside the venue after while we waited around to speak to Jack, and after a hug and a few moments of conversation he rushed off to the tourbus. Totally worth the last minute travel (on delayed trains!) and every single penny, I'll never tire of seeing Jack live.....

....which is lucky, as I saw him last night, playing his biggest headline show to date at London's Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith. The show fell on my mum's birthday and I got the tickets as a present, so after a lovely day out in London we queued for a couple of hours and got to the front. A few minutes later and the place was rammed, and while the set was the same as Southampton's, I feel like I got into the show a lot more... the band seemed to be putting as much in (and at both shows, you could see how happy they all were, and how amazed that so many people had turned up) but there's something about the atmosphere at big London shows. Everybody is up for a good time and I knew the new tracks that little bit better, and sang to my heart's content. They were filming the show and kept turning the camera to face the audience, so that probably egged me on a little bit too! I'm so proud of the guys for playing to such a massive crowd, and the big hits went down amazingly but a highlight for me was again the solo section of the set, including Dreamers, the first track from Jack's debut record. Watch below and you'll hopefully get the gist. Beautiful - and a perfect moment to look around at just how many people were there and feel immensely proud of Jack up on stage, putting everything into it, and putting his heart on his sleeve for us all to see.

All in all I've had a pretty cracking time seeing Jack over the last couple of weeks... the tour is still going and while Manchester is sold out, they've still got Nottingham, Glasgow and Newcastle shows coming up too - tickets and dates here. I hugely recommend putting your confidence in Jack to deliver a superb evening, and if those shows aren't close to you, check out the new record and keep an eye out for the next tour! 

LIVE: Jack Savoretti at HMV Oxford St (25/10/16)

Last February, after being a fan of his music since 2012, I finally got to see Jack Savoretti perform live at a HMV instore celebrating the release of his album Written In Scars, where I also got to meet him. The album has since done incredibly well and blown him into a level of superstardom, and so it was great to go back to where I first caught him live last night, at an intimate show debuting tracks from his new album, Sleep No More. It's been streaming exclusively on Apple Music for a few days now before its official release this Friday, and after many, many listens, it's blowing me away time after time.

A standout track on the album is I'm Yours, a slow burner which I recorded last night and you can watch below... other highlights for me are the album's first single, When We Were Lovers, the totally funky Helpless and the stripped back Tight Rope (which for me, takes us back to a track like his recent release Catapult), but the more I listen, the more I'm struggling to focus in on a favourite track. It's not just a bias towards Jack as one of my favourite artists talking, I really do think the record is exquisite, relatively faultless. There isn't a single track I'm not enjoying, and it's a brilliant showcase of his vocal range and songwriting skills, and the very talented group of people he's got around him.

Last night was only my third time meeting Jack, with the last time being just over a year ago at his Oxford O2 Academy show, but he greeted me like an old friend, a totally genuine display of affection and gratitude towards his fans, making the music only more beautiful! Jack recognised me from previous shows, but it was the first time he put two and two together with who I am on Twitter - hence a wonderful and pretty hilarious moment of realisation... "YOU'RE SuperMegan?! I never put the two together!!" As I'm used to always having my eyes closed in photos with musicians/actors (if you're my Facebook friend you'll probably have seen my post mocking how often this happens) I looked at my photos taken by the security guy with a little apprehension, to find they were totally fine and he'd took a bunch of us chatting. Really special photos to keep the memories alive! 

I can't wait to catch Jack live again with my mum in London at one of his biggest shows yet on 9th November as part of his UK tour... all dates and tickets here. I'm going to the show with my mum and it falls on her birthday so should be a really special evening! Currently fighting back the temptation to buy a ticket to see him in Southampton a few nights earlier as well... we'll see!

LISTEN: Jack Savoretti - 'Cry Me A River' (plus HMV gig announcement!)

You wait months for a Jack Savoretti show and then two come along at once... I've had my ticket to see Jack headline the massive Hammersmith Apollo on 9th November for months now, and he recently announced a set at HMV Oxford St to play tracks from his new record Sleep No More and sign copies of the album! The show should be pretty special for me as, back in February last year, its where I first saw Jack play and met him when he was launching his last album Written In Scars - who knew how successful that was going to be?! Jack was on Dermot O'Leary's BBC Radio 2 show at the weekend, performing his new single When We Were Lovers and a cover of JT's Cry Me a River as he was going to be a guest on the show - can't get enough of the cover! Listen below or click here for the full feature on the show. 

The show at HMV Oxford St is a week on Tuesday (25th) and you can secure your spot by pre-ordering a CD here. You can also catch Jack on his UK tour, kicking off at the start of November in Leeds!

LISTEN: September 2016 playlist

I moved back to Oxford this month for my third and final year of university (quite scary) and I've already been to some cracking gigs... but October is looking particularly busy (we'll get to that when it happens!) Here's my playlist for the month, a snapshot of the music I've been listening to this month, whether live or otherwise - hope you enjoy!!

1. Dawes One Of Us - the most exciting thing to happen in music for me this month was that one of my favourite bands, Dawes, released their fifth studio album. We're All Gonna Die is the follow up to last year's All Your Favourite Bands, one of my favourite records of all time so this one had a lot to live up to and I haven't been disappointed. Feels only right to kick off the playlist with the opening track of the album!

2. Jack Savoretti When We Were Lovers - my favourite artists are the gift that keeps on giving, as this month another big favourite, Jack Savoretti, announced his new record Sleep No More which is set to be released on 28th October, and released the first single from the album which is an absolute corker. Less than a month to go, very excited to hear more of the album - you can also hear a lot of it debuted live on his upcoming UK tour.

3. Slate Hearts Take Me to the Green - in a busy first week back in Oxford I went to a few gigs, one of which was the fantastic Lucy Leave hometown headline to round off their debut UK tour. These guys were supporting and they're pretty exciting, love this track.

4. Fil Bo Riva Killer Queen - I was sent Fil Bo's track Like Eye Did last month and loved it, so was glad to hear that this month he's released another. The studio version is pretty cool but I'm also digging this live version, his voice is really something special.

5. Bastille Power - another of the gigs I went to this month was finally seeing Bastille in Kingston, where they played much of their new record Wild World, a lot for the very first time which was cool to see/hear. It's been a while coming since their hugely successful debut album back in 2013 but the new record is definitely worth the wait and has just seen two weeks at the top of the charts (and it's looking like it'll be a third week tomorrow!)

6. Bon Iver Minnesota, WI - a much older track than the rest, I've been in quite a classic Bon Iver mood this month after security a ticket to one of the upcoming London shows in February. I bought this record entirely on a whim a couple of years ago because I had just bought a record player and wanted more to listen to and I adore it from start to finish. 

7. homeplanetearth Find Me - these guys are a superb local Oxford band who have just toured the UK to celebrate their debut EP (which this track is taken from) including a huge show for Tigmus upstairs at the O2 Oxford which was the day before I moved back to town, very gutted to miss it!

8. Laurel Life Worth Living - a couple of days after moving back I attended my first Oxford Sofar Sounds in 6 months (absolutely crazy that it's been so long!), one of our acts was London based singer songwriter Laurel who had the crowd absolutely mesmerised. A beautiful stripped back set in the stunning venue, an independent cinema just up the road from me.

9. Tom Speight Falling - Tom was announced as support for Bastille the day before the show so I didn't get chance to check out any of his music before the show apart from a snippet of this track which went down pretty well on the night. The hardcore Bastille fans at the front were absolutely loving this guy who seemed pretty overwhelmed by all the loving, and by the fact he was using in-ear monitors for the first time. 

10. Twin Atlantic The Chaser - I finally grabbed a copy of the new Twin Atlantic record a couple of weeks ago and it's got everything you might expect of their records, including the brilliant first single No Sleep and this recent single.

11. Lucy Leave Fighter Pilot - as mentioned above I saw these guys play in Oxford this month, where I ran the door for the show (an absolute pleasure!) I've heard of them on the scene for a while now and been really keen to catch them live so glad that I finally got the opportunity to do so! 

12. Bon Iver 33 "GOD" - until it came to choosing a playlist for this month I hadn't actually given any of the new Bon Iver record (released today but I haven't had chance to listen fully yet!) a listen, but this track, which samples a bit of Paolo Nutini is quite cool, if a bit of a departure from the other track earlier in the playlist! Looking forward to taking more of a listen to the record and most importantly hearing it live in February!

13. Dawes Roll With The Punches - this is one of my my favourite tracks from the new Dawes record, which Taylor describes as a track which deals with separation not in a personal way, but looking at the consistencies in any separation/break-up, things that everyone can relate to. My enjoyment of the track is probably more in the sound than the deep meaning, but I definitely appreciate the songwriting which as always with Dawes is pretty clever!

14. Bastille Four Walls (The Ballad of Perry Smith) - another of my favourite tracks from the new record, very much a slower tune but still really catchy. As I write this I've just received an email saying my video of Bastille from the show last week has been taken down from Youtube and I've received a copyright strike - had to sit through "copyright school", the joys..

15. The Hoosiers Weirdo (Acoustic) - my first gig this month was my last gig of the Summer, The Hoosiers headlining the O2 in Islington. Though I've seen them over 10 times it was the first time seeing them play in London and was made even cooler by interviewing Irwin and Al before the show for some research I'm doing. Sadly it was Sam's last (sort of) gig with the guys and I love this track from their third album where he takes lead vocals, particular this version on an acoustic album!

WATCH: Jack Savoretti - 'When We Were Lovers'

The beautiful first track from Jack Savoretti's upcoming record Sleep No More, has an equally beautiful video to accompany it which was released today. When the track When We Were Lovers was released, I had it on repeat for the day and still can't get enough of it, I'm really looking forward to hearing more of the new album which is released on October 28th. The more I listen to Jack, the more I'm blown away by his talent and super proud that he's receiving the recognition he deserves!

The new album, Sleep No More, is up for pre-order on Jack's website including signed copies of the LP and CD as well as a limited edition phonebook - you also get this first single instantly when you pre-order.

LISTEN: Jack Savoretti - 'When We Were Lovers'

When We Were Lovers, the first single from Jack Savoretti's upcoming new record was debuted on BBC Radio 2 this morning, and it was totally worth waking up early for. While a few have commented that they can't wait to hear an acoustic version (and I totally agree, as Jack's acoustic performances are always superb) I'm already incredibly fond of this version of the track. Hearing Jack talk on the radio before the track was played, it was lovely to hear that the track, and the album, are an absolute match of how he wanted them to sound - you can't hope for better than that! 

The track is the first from Jack's upcoming fifth studio album Sleep No More, which is going to be released on 28th October (very exciting news!!!) You can pre-order all sorts of signed versions of the record (or through iTunes if digital is more your thing) here, and check out Jack's updated show listings, with some European dates just announced here.

TOUR NEWS: Jack Savoretti (November 2016)

Great news to wake up to on a Monday... Jack Savoretti has announced a string of live dates in November, including the already announced huge show at London's Eventim Apollo (which it happens to be 100 days until, not like I'm counting!) If you haven't listened to Jack before I hugely recommend doing so, he's one of my favourite artists and he and his band are superb live performers. Start off with his latest record, the hugely successful Written In Scars.

Sign up to Jack's mailing list here to get access to the pre-sale on Wednesday, I assume general sale will be on Friday!

LISTEN: July 2016 playlist

Compared to the last couple of months, July has been pretty busy, with gigs from King Charles, Twin Atlantic, Jack Savoretti, Harry Pane, The Hoosiers, Bear's Den (as well as attending a TV recording and seeing a play a couple of times). The playlist reflects the music I've been listening to live at those shows, as well as some great new releases, and I've explained why I've added each track/artist below - check it out and let me know here or on Facebook if you enjoy the tracks! Spread the word... 

1. Viola Beach Swings And Waterslides - with their album released posthumously on Friday, it feels only right to start the playlist with this track. Back in February I went along to a Blossoms show on the tour where Viola Beach were due to be playing as support, and out of respect they played a live recording of their set from an earlier show of the tour. I can't wait to take a proper listen to the record once I get some time to sit and give it my full attention.

2. Bear's Den Emeralds - I'm loving Red Earth & Pouring Rain, the new record from these guys a lot, and apparently so are lots of people as it reached number 6 in the album chart on Friday (YES!). While it's difficult to pick a favourite track as the whole thing is pretty incredible, this is a stand out track for me!

3. Biffy Clyro Animal Style - these guys released their latest record Ellipsis this month, and I'm very excited to have grabbed a ticket to see them play an acoustic show for Banquet Records in October. 

4. Leo Stannard In My Blood - Leo's pretty close to announcing news of his debut album (I hope) and I was very excited to listen to the studio version of this track, released this month. I loved hearing the track when he played it live for the first time back in February.

5. Tempesst Broke Down Blues - this track was debuted online just before I saw these guys play at the Reach Out charity gig, and it went down really well with the crowd as did the rest of the set. They were really fun live, and they've got a headline London show coming up in September through Communion, tickets here.

6. Twin Atlantic Crash Land - this month I finally got to see these guys play live, in the pretty intimate Scala. While the rest of the show was loud and energetic, a highlight for me (probably as a big fan of acoustic music) was that they performed this track, accompanied by some pretty loud singing by the crowd.

7. Jack Savoretti Sweet Hurt - I was really lucky to get into Jack's sold out Somerset House show this month, and while all of his music is pretty special to me, there's something extra lovely about this non-album track. An added bonus for Bella Italia to play the track when I was grabbing some food there before heading to the show!

8. All Tvvins Darkest Ocean - these guys, a duo from Dublin, supported Twin Atlantic on their recent tour and their set was a whole lot of fun to kick the night off with. I was particularly fond of how much fun it seemed the guitarist was having (and the fact that the bassist was the lead vocalist - hooray for changing up the normal dynamic!) Their debut album IIVV is released in a couple of weeks (iTunes pre-order) and they're playing a UK tour in October (dates on their site here.)

9. The Hoosiers Up To No Good - a highlight of the month was definitely catching these guys (for the 11th time) headlining a new festival in Rescue Rooms in Nottingham where I first saw them live over 5 years ago. They play a huge London headline in September, tickets available here.

10. Geowulf Saltwater - a really lovely summer tune, this is the debut track from Geowulf, a new duo who opened up the Reach Out Charity gig this month. 

11. Tom Lowman Blue State - this pretty cynical and relevant track ("the country's going mad, perhaps it always was") is taken from Tom's debut album Tales from the Wrong Side of History (available on iTunes here.)

12. Harry Pane Cold Light of Day - this is from Harry's Changing EP, the title track of which featured in last month's playlist as I loved the EP so much. I was really glad to catch Harry playing a short set in Shoreditch this month as part of the Coffee House Tour.

13. Gizmo Varillas Give a Little Love - Gizmo played a fun support set when I saw Jack Savoretti this month - his debut album El Dorado is out later in the year!

14. Twin Atlantic Gold Elephant: Cherry Alligator - while the other track by these guys in the playlist is from their 2012 record, this is a new track from their upcoming release GLA (a nod to their Glaswegian roots) which is out in September (pre-order on their site here and get three tracks  including this one instantly.)

15. Jack Savoretti The Proposal - while Jack's huge success over the last couple of years has coincided with the release of his latest record Written In Scars and its subsequent re-release, I'm a huge fan of his third record Before The Storm and it was great to hear tracks like this one in the Somerset House setlist! Check out a video of the track being performed at the show, filmed by Martin who I met in the queue with whom it turns out I have a few mutual friends and musical interests!

16. King Charles Love Lust - while I'd definitely have considered going along to the Reach Out charity gig if Charles hadn't been on the line-up (cake, charity, other great acts and a whole host of lovely people!), it was definitely a bonus. Playing as a stripped back 3-piece band, with a temperamental guitar and scheduled after the Euro 2016 final (meaning the set was cut short a little) the night was pretty fun and it was a pleasure to see Charles & co play as always! 

17. Tom Figgins Rain On Me - I'll stop rambling about the charity gig soon (did I mention it raised around £1650?!) but one last thing... it was great to see Tom play again, with a highlight of the night being an impromptu performance of his stunning track Crave (not on Spotify but a demo on Soundcloud) to 5 or 6 of us as he tested his guitar after it fell from his case as he tried to leave. 

18. Bear's Den Gabriel - to celebrate the release of their record, Bear's Den played a mini tour of record stores, including Rough Trade in Nottingham (read my post about the show here.) With the band finishing off their beautiful, full and fairly warm set with an unplugged performance of this track within the crowd (like this performance in The Netherlands), it feels like a nice place to finish the playlist at!

LIVE: Jack Savoretti at Somerset House (15/7/16)

The fifth trip to London in a couple of weeks, I was (very) lucky to catch Jack Savoretti play his long sold out Somerset House show on Friday evening. In such beautiful surroundings Jack and his incredibly stylish band looked totally at home as they're definitely getting used to playing to such huge crowds. In a set filled with tracks from his last two albums including the hits Catapult, Home and Written In Scars, Jack wowed the crowd and filled us all with a lot of hope and positivity in the midst of such dark times. Singing along constantly through the night, particular highlights for me were third album tracks such as The Proposal, Jack's solo performance of his cover of Nobody Cept You, an unreleased Bob Dylan track, and the lovely track Sweet Hurt (check my video of it below!) Funnily enough, the last two times I've seen Jack, I've been to Bella Italia beforehand, and both times they've played this track! The support set from Gizmo Varillas was a also a lot of fun and a great fit, check out a Sofar Sounds performance of his track Freedom For A Change here.

From first hearing Jack when his single Take Me Home (from the album Before The Storm) was released over four years ago, I've been a pretty big fan, and the success of his latest record Written In Scars fills me with so much pride and joy - so seeing Jackuge crowd was a great moment! It's also really heartwarming considering that Jack had all but given up on the industry after the release of his second album. Nights like Friday make me so appreciative that he fell back in love with music, and that the industry and music fans are giving him so much love in return. As well as being incredibly talented, he's also a really kind and deserving man!

I could easily watch Jack play live pretty regularly, and can't wait to see him play another huge London show at the Eventim Apollo on 9th November. Tickets for that show are available here, and with Jack mentioning being back in October/November, it sounded like a tour could definitely be on the cards! Particularly as Jack has since posted about the show on Instagram, saying that they'll be back on the road in October "with a new album" - the BEST news!

WATCH: Jack Savoretti - 'Catapult' for Zermatt Unplugged

To be honest, I'm so fond of Jack Savoretti and his music that I'd probably be happy watching him perform just about anywhere, but a beautiful setting does add something. This is true of this new session, filmed at Zermatt Unplugged in the snowy Swiss mountains. Jack, Pedro and John perform the track Catapult from last year's super record Written In Scars (which I'd hugely recommend taking a listen to if you haven't already...)

Jack plays a few festivals over Summer, as well as a massive headline show at Eventim Hammersmith Apollo in November - dates and tickets all here!

GIG NEWS: Jack Savoretti at Hammersmith Apollo (9th Nov)

The best kind of news is a Jack Savoretti show announcement... he continues to grow more and more popular so I'm feeling very lucky to have grabbed tickets in the pre-sale for his London Eventim Apollo show on 9th November. It's a long time to wait but will be worth it entirely, as Jack and his band are superb live, and it doubles up as a birthday present as the gig falls on my mum's birthday - perfect timing!

Source: https://www.facebook.com/Jacksavoretti

As if you need persuasion, or if you're oblivious to Jack's talent, here's a new live video from the Written In Scars tour, of the track Home, which is being released as a single in May. 

The venue has a pre-sale tomorrow from 9am through this link and general sale will be Friday at 9am. Hugely recommend grabbing a ticket and doing it quickly if you plan to - there will be a lot of demand. The Cadogan Hall show last month and his upcoming summer show at Somerset House both sold out very quickly!