Remembering you belong and feel at home in a city is so refreshing when you come to revisit it. Home is always home no matter how far you branch out, for myself home is London Town and for every music lover out there it’s the perfect place for experiencing live music/ concerts and events in all forms till your heart’s content. As wide consumers of music there is a beauty and added value in hearing music you love live and alive! The energy of the crowd at a good concert can make you enjoy the artist 10x more than in the beginning. There’s something special and more tangible about live music events, any time you have that chance go and one hit it up!
Here a few highlighted events that gave my summer that added sauce being in London town, socialising, making music friends (*the best kind*) and most of all enjoying the vibe babbyy…
The internet
Where better to start off than The Internet, the favourite alternative r&b band in the game, early this July I was blessed enough to see them at Somerset House with some amazing individuals. It was one of those days where the everything just fell into place and flowed perfectly. Being in a crowd where everyone was expressing themselves through their love of the Internet, a sense of freedom came over me, you could dance or sing along like you would when no one’s watching. The actual band Syd, Steve, Matt, Patrick and Christopher were a force to be reckoned with, knowing the Internet’s blissful chilled out jazz, hip hop, funk fusion sound, they came and performed with electric energy. With Syd’s understated vocals, Steve Lacy’s guitar solos and being there live, I witnessed the way the band members complimented each other with such ease. A moment in time to remember when I’m old and graceful.
neo soul night – the jazz cafe
Neo soul night at the Jazz Cafe, if old school music is your thing this is the best opportunity to listen to all the tracks you’ve ever heard and add some more to the playlist. Not only did they get some amazing singers to sing some iconic songs but it was a great opportunity to vibe with new people or meet that friend of a friend. It is true that time flies when you’re having fun because the goodness was over in a blink of an eye. Safe to say the jazz cafe will see me again in the future.
N8TIVE – Loud in London
Another aspect of being inspired to write about music we consume is about supporting those around you who are grafting not only to make it in the music industry, but are willing to push and shove for change. Seeing N8tive, a Southeast London upcoming rapper perform when they’re the beginning stages of their career was an honour. And there was a special type of love created, being part of a crowd where most people knew N8tive on a friendship level and vice a versa. But onto his performance it was a blast, everyone was patiently waiting for him to come on and when he did the whole crowd erupted – that’s when I got to see the true performer with such stage presence, lyricism and fire, in pursuit if following his dreams. On that note always support your friends and like-minded people, you never know how much you just might shake things up!
notting hill carnival – Pull up the culture
Being able to make spaces in places that feel like home culturally and be proud of is essential for your sense of self. Carnival is one of those places, celebrating Caribbean culture in the UK for a good 50 + years, following the floats around Notting Hill, Ladbroke Grove to Westbourne Park blasting out Soca tunes all day was such a mood.