Olivver the Kid x Halsey

In nearly every post that I write, I say that the concert that I saw was from my favorite artist. Well here I go again with saying that on March 26th, I will be seeing a few of my favorite artists. Halsey is going on her first headline tour The American Youth tour, with special guests Young Rising Sons, and Olivver the Kid. Not to mention, every date is sold out. To say that I am excited is quite the understatement.

OLIVVER THE KID

I have been following Bryan Sammis, Olivver, through his journey since day one. He used to be the drummer in one of my absolute favorite bands, The Neighbourhood, until he decided to go solo in the start of 2014. I remember being so surprised that he was leaving and questioning so much about what the band would do from then on out. The Neighbourhood is still doing great things, but I am just as happy that Bryan made a decision to go his separate way and create such great music that he does. He has already gone on such a journey and it is amazing to watch him grow as an artist. In April of 2014, he relased Purge. In the video for Purge, you see a discussion by different characters played by Sammis, all of them seem to say things that he sees in himself, all negative. Playing himself, he gets up and leave the room and goes through a total transformation, cutting off his hair and shaving his beard. He could be possibly becoming himself, or getting rid of all those old labels. It is a bold video, making him open and letting the world know his flaws. He is a raw artist, letting people know him as he was or is.

In October, he released his first solo EP, Freak. According to iTunes, it has 5/5 stars and I think it is well deserving of those 5 stars. My favorite song off of Freak would have to be Not Going Home. It talks about loving and accepting something or someone you don't know and don't understand, and doing all of these things and experiencing all of these things and never going back to what you know. All of the songs off of the EP are so intimate and I love every story he tells. That is what I love about artists, when they tell a story so well you cant stop listening to it. Bryan also has his B-Sides, honestly I don't know if this is like an unreleased EP or what, but its great for what it is. My favorite song off of B-Sides is for sure Revvival. You really have to listen to his music to find your own opinion. But listening to his smooth, soft voice never gets old.

HALSEY

I have so much anticipation built up for this concert it is unreal. I cannot wait to hear Ashley's (Halsey) raw vocals on stage. She is something different in the music industry and that is what I love about her. She speaks about those things that is not "normal" for women to sing about and she tells stories about what she has gone through in such an effortless way.

Her debut EP, Room 93, was released in October. Just like Olivver's, her EP has a 5/5  stars. To pick a favorite song is almost impossible, and my favorite song changes according to the day. Today my favorite song would have to be Is There Somewhere. She talks about not wanting to fall in love, but she did. The way she writes is something beautiful to me. Talking about how her love begins and where it ends, all of what she wants in a relationship and how those things hang over her.

The way she interacts with her fans is also such a different kind of fan-artist relationship. She treats them like friends and humans- which is what we are. For her tour, her VIP was only $25 for a small intimate meet and greet where you just get to chill with her and take pictures and of course you get some special merch. That is what I love about her, her love for the people who got her where she is, she doesn't hold back and she stands up for what she believes in. Whether she has blue hair, pink hair, brown hair or grey hair, she is who she is and you can't change her bold and daring personality. I'm so glad I found an artist like her, and her fans love her for way more than just music.

Her debut album with Capitol Records should hopefully be coming out in the near future, and I hope its soon because I'll probably die if I have to wait much longer. I can't wait to hear her stories and her words and of course, that wonderful voice that gets me every time.

 Olivver the Kid's Freak EP- https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/freak-ep/id930254245
Olivver's B-Sides- http://olivverthekid.com/
Halsey's Room 93 EP- https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/room-93-ep/id930637389

Sam Smith Nashville

Sam Smith came back to Nashville better than ever, hitting up the Grand Olde Opry and stood on the infamous circle. I was lucky to stand in the crowd and witness this amazing man hit every note with ease. Opening with my personal favorite, Life Support, the crowd was in awe but they were singing along with every word. There were people of every age and race and the crowd absolutely adored him. The entire show was an inside look of his process of writing, and how much it utterly sucked to literally be, in the lonely hour. He prides himself on the fact he writes all of his music and how much he has progressed as an artist, hoping that his old and dishonest music never gets to see the light of day.
Behind him stood a full band, three backup singers and a cellist and they assisted in the beauty of the music. Smith seemed extremely thankful for every member of the band and never forgot to lot the crowd know of his gratitude. During the show, it was hard to not realize how much gratitude Sam has for his fans, as he continued to thank everyone for their support and for getting his album to number two in the United States. He was humorous, throwing in a joke here and there about how his album was just a sad album and he hopes to God the next one won't be as painful to write. I am sure that as a song writer, to write such an emotionally powerful album, you have to go through lots of heartache to come out with something as well done as he did.
I must admit, that I shed a few tears during the show, just in awe of the effortless talent. Closing out the show with his most famous hit, Stay With Me, fans cheered louder than ever and it was extremely bittersweet. To me, the greatest moment is when the artist steps on stage and the worst is when they step off. This seemed to prove true when Sam left, it was over so quickly and the audience almost seemed heartbroken. Maybe if I think about the pain I felt when he left the stage, I could write half the album Sam Smith did. Now we must wait for another masterpiece from the man himself, and sit through many, lonely hours.

Where We Are Tour Nashville - 8/19/14

Tuesday, August 19th

The fans had been waiting since October for this day to finally arrive and 50,000 girls, boys, moms and dads had filled LP Field in Downtown Nashville. I was lucky enough to be one girl in the crowd, nonetheless on  the floor. It was a high energy show and tons and tons of screaming. The jumbo-trons would show videos of the opening act, 5 Seconds of Summer, and of One Direction and everyone would scream at the top of their lungs. No doubt about it, you could hear the music and screams from downtown.

5 Seconds of Summer is a huge reason why I was so excited for the show. The Australian pop-punk band have been opening up for One Direction on their European tour and their North American tour. Their energy on stage is obvious and so is their passion. Ashton Irwin (drummer), enters first and fires up the crowd by banging on his drums and stepping back as the other boys enter. Luke, Calum and Michael run onto the stage and at this point I've completely lost it. They open with a guitar riff and a "Whats up Nashville?" They continue on to play ten songs and even changing their normal setlist by adding in the song Disconnected, because Michael decided he wanted to sing it that night. Unfortunately singing Disconnected, meant they had to cut out the song Good Girls, to 5SOS's surprise, as they were told by the people controlling the show they had time to only sing one more song. They closed their set with their breakout hit She Looks So Perfect and they did not forget to add in the synchronized jumps. 5 Seconds of Summer know how to interact with a crowd, and keep them listening. There are a lot of skeptical people about this band because the may not really be "punk" or they may be stealing One Directions fame, but they disregard those people in the crowd. As the boys mention multiple times in the show, that they are so thankful for everything the fans have done for them and where they have gotten them, and they even acknowledge the people in the stadium not paying attention to them. You can tell they are so passionate about what they are doing and that they love to play in front of 50,000 people every night.

After the long wait, the Where We Are tour opening video begins to play and everyone goes wild. I am pretty sure that even the dad in front of me let out one yell. The One Direction boys run out and spread out across the stage and down the catwalk. Niall even has his guitar as he struts down the stage. The visuals on the screen are very unique and then there are fireworks, and no one knows where to look. The stage? The Fireworks? The screen? Too bad we don't have more than two eyes. Listening to the boys sing, never gets old. They are always doing something to change the song up and Liam sure did that, he would hit higher notes than the recorded version and singing in different accents. They sang a whopping total of 23 songs including four songs as an encore. You can tell these are grateful when they thank everyone for all they've done in the past four years. Niall introduces the song Don't Forget Where You Belong and talks about that no matter where they go in the world, nothing matters more than home and that they are still the same lads they were when they auditioned for the X Factor.

The show was nonstop screaming and jumping and energy. There was not a time when the crowd was not involved. Harry asked the whole stadium to quiet down and that's exactly what everyone did and then he asked for everyone to scream, and did this two or three times. There is nothing these fans won't do for One Direction and that is proven, from all the way to fans from Costa Rica and South Dakota travelling to Nashville, nothing stops them. Little Things is a slower song with a meaning saying that "You'll never love yourself half as much as I love you / And you'll never treat yourself right, darling but I want you to." This song is what the fans love the most about the concert, the intimate parts where everything is quiet and the stadium is lit up by the lights of phones. Liam asked everyone to sing the last chorus, and it was the largest choir I have ever seen. None of the boys sang, just the crowd and it was amazing.

Everything about this concert was amazing and it is almost hard to put into words. Walking out was especially hard for people, having to say goodbye to their favorite bands. Tears were definitely flowing from girls all over. I can say that I was one of them. This was a concert that I will never forget and one that I will constantly relive in my head.

Michael Clifford, Calum Hood, Luke Hemmings, Ashton Irwin

Michael Clifford, Calum Hood, Luke Hemmings

Michael Clifford, Calum Hood, Luke Hemmings

Calum Hood and Ashton Irwin

Luke Hemmings

Calum Hood and Luke Hemmings

Calum Hood and Luke Hemmings

Luke Hemmings

Luke Hemmings

Michael Clifford

Michael Clifford

Michael Clifford

One Direction

Louis Tomlinson 

Niall Horan 

Zayn Malik

Liam Payne and Zayn Malik

Harry Styles

Liam Payne

Zayn Malik

Harry Styles

Harry Styles

Liam Payne

Niall Horan

All of these pictures were taken by me. 

T H E 1 9 7 5 - G R I M E Y S

May 15, 2014 will go down as one of the very best days of my life. I got to meet myy favorite band and see an acoustic set by them. The 1975 blew me away. 

Grimey's is a record shop in Nashville and they were holding an acoustic show and signing with The 1975. There was no way I was going to pass this up. It was free, as long as you bought the album or vinyl, so you would recieve a wristband. The writstband granted access to the signing, while anyone could go to tthe acoustic sett. I dont think anyone understood how excitting this night would be fforr me. Im not sure i even knew how excited I was.

Thursday was the day, the holy day, I was finally seeing my favorite band live. The show started at 6, and in The 1975 fashion, they were a little late. The show started around 6:25 and ended around 6:40. They sang three of their most well known songs, starting off with Sex, then Chocolate and finishing off with Girls. Matty and Adam were the only two on the small stage, while Ross stood off to the side and George was inside. It was an amazing experience being able to see Matty and Adam performing in such an intimate venue and hear them raw and unplugged. There were a lot more people there than I expected, even more than Matty expected as he announced to the crowd. The crowd was mostly filled with girls from around the ages of 13 to 25, but there were as some older men and women. 

I'm not going to lie, I cried the whole night. I was in shock and in awe. I cried when they got on the sttage, I cried when they got off. I even shed a tear when Matty messed the lyrics to Girls, when he said, "That's not right, it's a late night. Ive been on tour for like, so long. If you know the words you can sing along. How does it go?" His stage presence is something amazing to be honest, even when they are performing acousticall. It isnt something a lot of fans get to witness,so I was extremely happy  I got to go.

The night only got better from there. The people with the wristbands now got to wait in line to mmeet the band. I was an emotional wreck and I wasnt sure how I was going to handle the whole situation. When it was finally time to go through and meet the four guys i was shaking and nervous. When the security opened the door to go inside and I could see them, I lost it. I started tearing up and I couldnt believe I was going to experience this. Finally I got up to Matty and he said hello and I replied and I literally couldn't breathe. He was signing my record when he looked up at me and asked, "Are you alright love?" and I stood still in shock that he noticed Imwas crying. I have never experiened somethnig where i was at a loss of words so badly. I replied to him with "Yes, you guys are my favorite band and I have just been waiting for this day." He smiled and took my hand and told me it was nice to meet me. Then I got to George and he took my hand and squeezed it and he said said hello nice to meet you. When I got to Adam and Ross, I was totally out of it. I just told them that I hoped they did well at their show that night and that i loved them. It was an emotional night for sure. Then I remembered they signed my record case and I will cherish those signatures until the day I die.

The last part of the night was interesting. My friends and I were outside of the rrecord shop in the front, and we watched Matty  buy a record through the front window. I woud kill to find out what record he bought. After he bought the record, we decided we should go around back to maybe get to see them leave. We turned the corner and we say all off the guys smoking cigarettes. About five minutes later, they started coming down the back steps and Adam and Ross got into their van. George hugged one girl and took about two pictures. I was extremely upset because I wanted to take a picture with him so badly. Finally Matty came down and everyone went crazy. The girls all crowded around him and took pictures. When it was about to be my turn security said nope, they've got to go to their show. I got lucky though. I got to take a quick picture with Matty, even though there is a girl standing in my picture. I will forever cherish that picture.

The whole night was an amazing experience. I got to hear an acoustic set by my favorite band, I got to meet my favorite band, and I got my favorite bands record signed by my favorite band. I still can't believe it happened. I hope that I can get the chance to see them again.

My signed record case. 

Matty Healy and Adam Hann

Matty Healy 

Matty and Ross (no zoom) 

/ / T H E 1 9 7 5 / /

      For a while, my favorite band has been The 1975, but just recently I have discovered how much I truly do love them. Classified as indie/alternative rock band, the 1975 has rock sounds and pop sounds as well. Their music is different, but very good and every song tells a story. The band is made up of four guys, Matthew Healy (lead vocals/guitar), George Daniels (drums), Adam Hann (guitar), and Ross MacDonald (bass). They debuted their self titled album in September of  2013. The band had already release four EP's including; Facedown, IV, Music For Cars and Sex. When their album came out I was ecstatic, I had listened to all of their EP's already and I couldnt wait for a whole album. The original came out with a tracklist of sixteen songs, and the deluxe came out with thirrty-seven including remixes. I purchased the original and listen to the deluxe on Spotify. It was for sure my favorite album of 2013 and so far is still my favorite album.

My favorite song on the CD would definitely have to be Robbers. I love everything about the song, the lyrics, the music, the vocals, everything. On April 28th, the band released their  music video for the song. The 1975 is known for having videos with a meaning and they are very cinematic. This video did not fail either of those categories. Personally, it was one of the best music videos I have ever seen. Since it was released, I have watched it exactly twenty one times. Every time I re-watch the video, I find something totally new that I love about it and I notice different details  that I missed the first ten times that I watched it. Matty Healy writes this about the video as an explanation. 

I think the reason I fell in love with this band, besides their music, is the people themselves. Every member really love what theey do and they have fun with it. Matty has such an amazing mind and he puts so much thought into what he does. George is funny and is always doing something entertainging. Adam and Ross are just so talented and you can tell they all love doing what they do.

  Currently The 1975 is touring the United States and they will be in Nashville on May 15th. I don't have tickets because they sold out and Stubhub has reasonably priced tickets but I can't buy them so at the moment, I'm not going to their concert. I would kill to see them live. I have heard nothing but amazing things about their stage presence and the show they put on. Matty always has a bottle of wine and is always dancing around. The videos that I have seen show they have an amazing vibe and everyone in the crowd is into everything they are doing. On the night of the concert a local record store is doing a signing and acoustic show. I am going to try so hard to get there. I want to meet them so badly and hear them live. It would be a dream come true, I would probably cry a lot. Music makes me so happy and this band makes me very happy just by making music and being who they are. So if you get the chance you should really watch some videos with the 1975, down below will be the link to their newesy video, Robbers.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iyy3YOpxL2k&feature=kp

the 1975

Bastille

    I really should slow down on my concerts, because every time I go, I leave saying it was the best concert I've been to. This was definitley in the tope 5 best concerts that I have been to. The fact that Bastille is my third favorite band (behind the 1975 and The Neighbourhood), it was amazing that I got to see them. The original venue of the show was moved to the War Memorial Auditorium, and I had general admission tickets. The weather was pretty bad, but it was worth waiting for the show. I got there two hours before doors opened, and I was in the first 10 people in line. It was so exciting because I knew I would be so close. When doors opened it was hard not to bolt right into the pit area. I was pressed right up against the barricade, right in front of the center mic stand. I continued to question how I got that lucky to be right in front of stage. My view is besides the point. The show was amazing. 

  The opening act was To Kill A King, a small band with what I would call an indie rock sound. I wasn't sure what to expect from them since I had never listened to their music, but they were very good. They had a soft sound with a little edge to it. They performed nine songs during their set, and even talked with the crowd a little bit. To Kill A King did back up vocals for Bastille on the single Pompeii. They returned to the stage for Pompeii with Bastille and it was amazing. They are a talented group of people.

    I can't put into words how perfect Bastille was. Dan Smith, the lead singer, has a voice that is just like what he puts on an album. His voice live sounded exactly like the record, but better. While he danced around the stage, his voice rarely fluctuated. The music itself was amazing as well. They opened with Bad Blood, and closed with Pompeii. Dan even came out into the crowd during Flaws, sadly being up against the stage, I was unable to get closer to him. The whole time, the crowd was engaged and singing along. It may have been the venue or it may have been the band but it was very intimate, I thought. It was just overall an amazing show. To finish this off, my favorite part of the night was when they played their song Overjoyed. The room was practically quiet and I yelled, "I AM OVERJOYED TO BE HERE." Dan looked down at me and laughed. I was in shock and I turned around at my friends and freaked out. I wish I could go back and see them again because it really was great. Not bad for concert number 59. 

Springsteen in Music City

   Bruce Springsteen, still going strong. On Thursday night, Springsteen himself showed Music City what he was made of. I had the amazing opportunity to go to the E Street Lounge and meet some members of the legendary E Street Band. The night only got better. I was going to the show with my mom, who has listened to Springsteen for 40 years and never had seen him live. This was also my first time seeing him as well. Our seats weren't even seats, because we were in the pit. It was the closest I had ever been for any concert in my entire life and it was amazing. There were so many people around us, and some were very unwilling to move. If I had waited 3-6 hours for a spot this close, I wouldn't want to move either. 

   There were people of all ages at the show. There were kids from ages 4 to people probably in their late 70's. These people were die-hard fans. I've only seen people go this crazy over someone for Justin Bieber and Taylor Swift. It was insane, there was a man with a sign that said he flew here all the way from Israel for this show. In front of me, was a very nice couple from Belgium. I made conversation with a man next to me before the show, and this was his thirty-third Bruce Springsteen concert. I was in awe, that's some amazing support right there. People around me were telling me how much of an amazing show this was going to be and how lucky I was to experience such a legend. I wasn't sure what to expect, I just knew it was going to be amazing. 

   Around 8:05 the E Street Band started coming out onto the stage. Finally the Boss came on and I was going crazy and so was everyone around me. He opened with "High Hopes" and there was unbelievable energy. The energy didn't slow down the entire night. I have been to plenty of shows, and I have never been to one with such amazing liveliness. I was in awe of the talent from Bruce and the E Street Band. He sang every song from the most recent albums, to where he started. I can't put in to words how amazing the entire show was. I wish I could replay it over and over. There were multiple solos, from saxophone player Jake Clemons, and solos from two amazing guitarists Nils Lofgren and Tom Morello. Springsteen closed the show alone onstage with "Thunder Road".

    It was definitley an experience I wish I could relive and one I will never forget. This was a very memorable night, that a lot of people my age can't say they have experienced. 

This is one of my favorite pictures of the night, and the best part was, NO ZOOM!