Festival Clothes

Happy Friday everyone! Now with festival lineups and tickets being released, I think its about time to do another Festival Friday. Of course there are lots of things I could write about, but there is one very important part of festivals that I haven't really spoken about. OUTFITS!

Most festivals have a anything goes rule when it comes to clothes, the more your outfit clashes the better in most cases or just very little clothing at all works too. Although with the second suggestion may I remind you it can get pretty cold. However there are some festivals that are a bit like a fashion show (Coachella), now I'm not the most stylish person in the world, but I like to think I have my own sense of style. But I have done a bit of research and asked some experts and come up with some websites that seem to cater for the more fashion aware festival goer.

So anyone who knows me well will know I'm big into all things colourful, sparkly and shiny. Obviously not every festival calls for the same level of effort to go into what to wear. But that's where I intend to help you give you an idea of what kind of thing to wear to each festival to fit in or (even better in my opinion) stand out! 

Festivals like Bestival, Secret Garden Party, Wilderness, Shambala and Latitude as well as many more, usually have a fancy dress theme, or at least a day where you have to dress up over the weekend. Most festivals have released their themes for the weekends now, so get researching to make sure you are dressed to impress!

Have a little look at each of the websites to find a great range of awesome clothes and accessories. I have sorted the websites by who they say they cater for, however I would still recommend having a look at everything, because everyone looks incredible in glittery body suits. Enjoy!

BOTH

http://festivalfanatics.com/

The home of festival gear and accessories. All the coolest, funkiest and most unique festival and rave gear out there.

http://www.fairylove.com/
Bespoke wings and unique, magical dress up clothing and accessories for everyone.

http://shop.stateofdisarray.co.uk/
Dedicated to dressing party people and performers in the most awesome attire. See the universe reflected in your spandex.

http://www.foragedesign.com/
Design and produce clothing, pocket belts and bags, jewellery, and funky, fair trade, finger knitted hats.

http://www.secretemporium.com/en/

A creative platform for independent design talent.

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/SexGypsies?ref=hdr_shop_menu
Beautiful, quality charmed outwear fit for any festival and perfect to unleash your inner gypsy.

http://omgaiatree.com/
Stylish, comfortable clothing to live life in.

http://funkandflash.com/
Clothing that exemplifies the very best in the world wide festival culture.

http://phoenixrisingartists.com/
Warriors, regal... rugged.

http://www.beyondretro.com/en/
One-of-a-kind clothing and accessories, bring new life to clothing that promotes uniqueness.

http://rosita-bonita.myshopify.com/

Closed at the mo - open soon, Inspiration comes from glamorous fantasies of past times & faraway lands, & encompasses icons of folklore, myth & legend. With these influences, and a pervading sense of dreamy fun, Rosita Bonita creates tactile printed leather statement jewellery, which is at once nostalgic & novel.

http://jeeperspeepers.co.uk/
Sunnies with a blend high quality fabrication with new and vintage inspired design.

WOMENS

http://kucoondesigns.com/
Anti-trend, caters towards the stylish, adventurous, playful, yet practical woman.

http://www.ohmyhoney.co.uk/
Glamorous, feminine and chic, the nipped in waists and full skirts make any women look fantastic.

http://www.dazzleandjolt.com/
Makes colourful, playful apparel for those not afraid to stand out! Designs feature all over prints with a graphic twist and a kaleidoscope of exotic animals, tropical fruits, geometrics and cosmic wonders.

http://www.rosabloom.com/
Eye-catching and wearable, crossing the borderline between costume and ready-to-wear. Now most well-known for her sequinned pieces, such as leggings and leotards adorned with her trademark over-sized scale-like sequins.

http://www.katiejonesknit.co.uk/
Unique and fabulous knitwear.

http://www.janebowler.co.uk/
Unique tactile surfaces and constructed textiles which naturally evolve into what Bowler refers to as ‘wearable art’.

https://www.etsy.com/uk/shop/LOMstore?ref=condensed_trust_header_title_items
Colourful Luxury Festival and Party Fashion.

MENS

https://www.opposuits.co.uk/
If you want to look all business at a festival, these suits are the right way to go about getting into the swarve festival spirit.

The BRIT Awards 2016

So last night were The BRIT awards, or the Adele awards after last nights ceremony. There were some fabulous acts and speeches, so I have a few on here for you to watch, as well as a list of all the award winners and nominees. ENJOY!

British Male Solo Artist 

Winner: James Bay

Mark Ronson

Jamie XX

Aphex Twin

Calvin Harris

British Female Solo Artist

Winner: Adele

Amy Winehouse

Florence + The Machine

Jess Glynn

Laura Marling

British Group

Winner: Coldplay

Blur 

Foals

One Direction

Years & Years

British Breakthrough Act

Winner: Catfish and the Bottlemen

James Bay

Jess Glynn

Wolf Alice

Years & Years

British Producer of the Year

Winner: Charlie Andrew

Mark Ronson

Mike Crossley

Tom Dalgety

British Single

Winner: Hello - Adele

How Deep Is Your Love - Calvin Harris & Disciples

Bloodstream - Ed Sheeran & Rudimental

Love Me Like You Do - Ellie Goulding

Hold Back The River - James Bay

Hold My Hand - Jess Glynn

Black Magic - Little Mix

Up - Olly Murs ft. Demi Lovato

Wish You Were Mine - Phillip George

King - Years & Years

Mastercard British Album of the Year

Winner: 25 - Adele

A Head Full Of Dreams - Coldplay

How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful - Florence + The Machine

In Colour - Jamie XX

Chaos and The Calm - James Bay

British Artist Video

Winner: Drag Me Down - One Direction

Hello - Adele

Black Magic - Little Mix

How Deep Is Your Love - Calvin Harris & Disciples

King - Years & Years

Photograph - Ed Sheeran

Love Me Like You Do - Ellie Goulding

Flashlight - Jessie J

Writing's On The Wall - Sam Smith

Runnin' (Losing it all) - Naughty Boy ft. Beyonce & Arrow Benjamin

International Male Solo Artist

Winner: Justin Beiber

Drake

Father John Misty

Kendrick Lamar

The Weeknd

International Female Solo Artist

Winner: Bjork

Ariana Grande

Courtney Barnett

Lana Del Ray

Megan Trainor

International Group

Winner: Tame Impala

Alabama Shakes

Eagles of Death Metal

Major Lazer

U2

Critics Choice Award

Winner: Jack Garratt

Izzy Bizu

Frances

Global Success

Winner: Adele

Adele performing a stunning rendition of her latest single 'When We Were Young.

Lorde's wonderful version of Life on Mars and touching words from Annie Lenox and Gary Oldman

Justin Bieber performed Love Yourself & Sorry with a little help from James Bay, it was rather refreshing to hear him sing live.

Little Mix showed off their moves and danced their way through their song Black Magic.

The 58th Grammy Awards, 2016

The Grammy Awards were a week ago so here are a few of the key winners and a little overview of the night.

Album of the Year

Winner: 1989 - Taylor Swift

Sound & Color - Alabama Shakes

To Pimp A Butterfly - Kendrick Lamar

Traveller - Chris Stapleton

Beauty Behind The Madness - The Weeknd

Best New Artist

Winner: Meghan Trainor

Courtney Barnett

James Bay

Sam Hunt

Tori Kelly

Best Rock Album

Winner: Drones - Muse

Chaos And The Calm - James Bay

Kintsugi - Death Cab For Cutie

Mister Asylum - Highly Suspect

.5: The Gray Chapter - Slipknot

Best Rock Performance

Winner: Don't Wanna Fight - Alabama Shakes

What Kind Of Man - Florence & The Machine

Something From Nothing - Foo Fighters

Ex's & Oh's - Elle King

Moaning Lisa Smile - Wolf Alice

Record of the Year

Winner: Uptown Funk - Mark Ronson Featuring Bruno Mars

Really Love - D'Angelo and the Vanguard

Thinking Out Loud - Ed Sheeran

Blank Space - Taylor Swift

Can't Feel My Face - The Weeknd

Song of the Year

Winner: Thinking Out Loud - Ed Sheeran & Amy Wadge

Alright - Kendrick Duckworth, Kawan Prather, Mark Anthony Spears & Pharrell Williams (Kendrick Lamar)

Blank Space - Max Martin, Shellback & Taylor Swift

Girl Crush - Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna & Liz Rose (Little Big Town)

See You Again - Andrew Cedar, Justin Franks, Charles Puth & Cameron Thomaz (Wiz Khalifa)

Best Pop Vocal Album

Winner: 1989 - Taylor Swift

Piece By Piece - Kelly Clarkson

How Big, How Blue, How Beautiful - Florence & The Machine

Uptown Special - Mark Ronson

Before This World - James Taylor

Best Pop Solo Performance

Winner: Thinking Out Loud - Ed Sheeran

Heartbeat Song - Kelly Clarkson

Love Me Like You Do - Ellie Goulding

Blank Space - Taylor Swift

Can't Feel My Face - The Weeknd

Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album

Winner: The Silver Lining: The Songs Of Jerome Kern - Tony Bennett & Bill Charlap

Shadows In The Night - Bob Dylan

Stages - Josh Groban

No One Ever Tells You - Seth MacFarlane

My Dream Duets - Barry Manilow

Best Music Video

Winner: Bad Blood - Taylor Swift Featuring Kendrick Lamar

LSD - ASAP Rocky

I Feel Love (Every Million Miles) - The Dead Weather

Alright - Kendrick Lamar

Freedom - Pharrell Williams

Best Dance Recording

Winner: Where Are U Now - Skrillex and Diplo with Justin Bieber

We're All We Need - Above & Beyond Featuring Zoe Johnston

Go - The Chemical Brothers Featuring Q-Tip

Never Catch Me - Flying Lotus featuring Kendrick Lamar

Runaway (U & I) - Galantis

Best R&B Performance

Winner: Earned It (Fifty Shades Of Grey) - The Weeknd

If I Don't Have You - Tamar Braxton

Rise Up - Andra Day

Breathing Underwater - Hiatus Kaiyote

Planes - Jeremih Featuring J. Cole

Best R&B Album

Winner: Black Messiah - D'Angelo And The Vanguard

Coming Home - Leon Bridges

Cheers To The Fall - Andra Day

Reality Show - Jazmine Sullivan

Forever Charlie - Charlie Wilson

Best Urban Contemporary Album

Winner: Beauty Behind The Madness - The Weeknd

Ego Death - The Internet

You Should Be Here - Kehlani

Blood - Lianne La Havas

Wildheart - Miguel

Best Country Album

Winner: Traveller - Chris Stapleton

Montevallo - Sam Hunt

Pain Killer - Little Big Town

The Blade - Ashley Monroe

Pageant Material - Kacey Musgraves

Best Country Song

Winner: Girl Crush - Hillary Lindsey, Lori McKenna & Liz Rose (Little Big Town)

Chances Are - Hayes Carll (Lee Ann Womack)

Diamond Rings And Old Barstools - Barry Dean, Luke Laird & Jonathan Singleton (Tim McGraw)

Hold My Hand - Brandy Clark & Mark Stephen Jones

Traveller - Chris Stapleton

Best Metal Performance

Winner: Cirice - Ghost

Identity - August Burns Red

512 - Lamb Of God

Thank You - Sevendust

Custer - Slipknot

Best Rap Album

Winner: To Pimp A Butterfly - Kendrick Lamar

2014 Forest Hills Drive - J. Cole

Compton - Dr. Dre

If You're Reading This Its Too Late - Drake

The Pinkprint - Nicki Minaj

Best Music Film

Winner: Amy - Amy Winehouse

Mr. Dynamite: The Rise Of James Brown - James Brown

Sonic Highways - Foo Fighters

What Happened, Miss Simone? - Nina Simone

The Wall - Roger Waters

Best Song written for Visual Media

Winner: Glory - Lonnie Lynn, Che Smith & John Stephens (Common and John Legend)

Earned It (Fifty Shades Of Grey) - Ahmad Balshe, Stephan Moccio, Jason Quenneville & Abel Tesfaye (The Weeknd)

Love Me Like You Do - Savan Kotecha, Max Martin, Tove Nilsson, Ali Payami & Ilya Salmanzadeh (Ellie Goulding)

See You Again - Andrew Cedar, Justin Franks, Charles Puth & Cameron Thomaz (Wiz Khalifa Featuring Charlie Puth)

Til It Happens To You - Lady Gaga & Diane Warren

Ed Sheeran won his first ever Grammys at the ceremony - song of the year and best pop solo performance for his hit, Thinking Out Loud.

Lady Gaga performed a tribute to David Bowie, singing a medley of his songs.

Adele performed the track All I Ask, co-written with Bruno Mars, although she had some audio problems after a microphone fell on the piano accompanying her.

John Legend, Demi Lovato, Meghan Trainor and Tyrese Gibson performed with Lionel Richie to honour the former Commodores singer.

Twelve-year-old Joey Alexander, a jazz pianist was this year's youngest Grammy nominee and received a standing ovation from the crowd.

The Weeknd collected two prizes - best urban contemporary album and best R&B performance. Hollywood Vampires - a supergroup made up of members including Johnny Depp, Alice Cooper and Joe Perry - performed on TV for the first time and sang Ace of Spades in tribute to Motorhead's Lemmy.

Valentine's Day Playlists!

Happy Valentine's Day! I hope everyone has woken up to snuggles and roses or (in my case) cuddling a pizza box and looking forward to spending the day with you single friends eating ice cream. However you are spending your day and whoever you are spending your day with, I'm sure one of our playlists can make you feel the love... or not. 

A Romantic Evening in with What's The Set List

Valentine's Day for Singletons

Eating Away my Sorrows

Our Picks of 2015, Part 2

Alfie and I have come together to create a couple of posts of our favourite albums and tracks of 2015. In this post, in no particular order, we picked our favourite tracks. All of which we highly recommend you have a listen to if you haven't already. There is a playlist at the bottom of this post with all the tracks on. So hit shuffle and have a listen! Let us know if you agree with our choices, and what your top five tracks were of 2015 in the comments below or on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

Top 10 Tracks 2015 

FourFiveSeconds - Rihanna, Kanye West and Paul McCartney

Written by: West, McCartney, Mike Dean, Dave Longstreth and Noah Goldstein, Kirby Lauryen, Ty Dolla Sign, Dallas Austin and Elon Rutberg

Apart from being very surprised when this track was released in January 2015, I was very excited! I thought it was really cool to see some of my favourite artist come together to release a track that was pretty different to what any of them had done before. What made me laugh when this track was release was that some fans thought McCartney was unheard of before this track, and before Kanye discovered him (if you think this, check yourself). FourFiveSeconds is very minimalistic (as is the music video) which is really effective in making you listen to the lyrics and the meaning behind the song. I think its simplicity and catchy hook made it a great track to start off 2015 with.

 

Alabama Shakes – Don’t Wanna Fight 

Written by: Alabama Shakes  

I know it seems as though I’m trying to force Alabama Shakes on you – but I’m desperately trying to make it clear that 2015 was a great year for them. ‘Don’t Wanna Fight’ starts with an echoed, gritty riff which builds into a fusion of aggressive strums and plucks. Brittany Howard then comes in at the peak of the sound wall with a heart wrenching howl which restarts the assaulting guitars. Assuming the song is sung from Howard’s point of view – she is clearly bemoaning her relationship with a loved one, stating the difficulties she goes through, but ultimately… she “Don’t Wanna Fight No More”.  The song was engineered by producer Blake Mills and I think Mills was key in achieving this punchy, sonic sound the Shakes were aiming for in this song. 

 

Can't Feel My Face - The Weeknd

Written by Ali Payami, Savan Kotecha, Max Martin, The Weeknd and Peter Svensson

Can't Feel My Face was the massive summer tune of 2015, along with OMI's Cheerleader (released in 2014, why it's not on the list). This Canadian singer, songwriter and producer smashed the charts with his album Beauty Behind The Madness, but the one that stood out for me most was this one. Can't Feel My Face was leaked prior to its release on the 8th of June, debuing at number 24 before shooting to number 1 in the Hot 100 USA. The funky bass line and awesome lyrics make the song super catchy as well as the strong beat and break beats that make the song a great club track.

 

Brandon Flowers - The Way It’s Always Been 

Written by: Brandon Flowers and Benji Lysaght 

Similarly to Alabama Shakes, Flowers has had an excellent year. He reached number 1 in the UK; again, he also had a successful UK tour. However, more importantly, he achieved a sound which is different to previous work with The Killers and other solo efforts. I’ve done my research and Flowers found inspiration in David Bowie for his latest album – and I think it’s most evident in this song. This song starts in the rawest fashion with just his voice with no added effects alongside a bass and high hat. The vocal goes from this natural, cute head voice to an almighty gospel choir in one bar. From here the song moves up a gear into a psychedelic frenzy of synths, organs and melodic guitars. The song’s about hope, redemption and, well, Jesus? “Everybody sitting around waiting for the Son to come again” which is pretty admirable – he’s saying ‘Is anybody actually doing anything?” I suppose aiming this at world leaders and innovators... 

 

Coldplay - Adventures of a Lifetime

Written by: Chris Martin, Guy Berryman, Jonny Buckland, Will Champion

 I really wanted to put this whole album in the top picks of 2015, however I knew I wanted to focus on this track as it is arguably one of their best tracks of all time. Although its nothing like their massive, sing your heart out, ballads like Fix You, The Scientist or Yellow. It has its own charms with the awesome guitar riff and upbeat feel, quite different to the usual stuff Coldplay produce. Although I have felt that over their past three albums they have started to become a lot more upbeat, with songs like Paradise and Sky Full of Stars. I must also mention the amazing music video for Adventures of a Lifetime. It is an incredible piece of animation, with the whole band being turned in to chimpanzees. Definitely give this video a watch if you haven't already, it's amazing!

 

St Paul & The Broken Bones - Call Me 

Written by: Paul Janeway 

Next up is a song by another band from Alabama – maybe I have a type? This song is up there with the best of soul music. One thing you can take away from this track is the charisma of frontman Paul Janeway, the rest of the band just bounces and reacts to his movements and flamboyance; which is why it works so well! Lead guitarist plays funk guitar for the Broken Bones which is a huge factor to the ‘good time’ sound they have going on. It was also used in the Fifty Shades of Grey film, although not on the soundtrack, you can hear it in the background to one of the scenes… also quite fitting because it’s such a sexy groove.  

 

Justin Bieber - Love Yourself

Written by: Justin Bieber, Ed Sheeran and Benjamin Levin

If you had told me 2 years ago that I would be a belieber I would have laughed in your face. I obviously knew all the words to the big  Bieber cheesy pop tunes from the beginning of his career, who doesn't?! But I would never have said I liked his music. However with the release of Purpose, his new album, I couldn't help myself. The album has some huge tunes on it, 3 of which were numbers 1,2 and 3 in the charts for a couple of weeks in the UK, in January. Love yourself was partly written by Ed Sheeran which I feel you can really tell. The lyrics are awesome, something Sheeran is really good at is writing amazing lyrics. Considering how basic this track is the lyrics are very important and the biggest part of the track really. I think the simplicity of the track is what makes it so special and different to everything else we usually hear from Bieber. The music video to this is mesmerising by the way, give it a watch and see.

 

One Direction - History 

Written by: Wayne Hector, John Ryan, Ed Drewett, Liam Payne, Julian Bunetta and Louis Tomlinson 

This is from the album Made in the A.M. and is a little more slow rock in comparison to the rest of the heavier album. This is a climaxing anthem to the end of the album and, I suppose, end of the first One Direction. It’s about their journey and a tribute to the die-hard Directioners. I love the stripped down version of One Direction, similarly to their hit Little Things. It will be interesting to see what happens during their break – hopefully they will come back with a matured musical direction to make some great music to, well, move them into classic rockstars. 

Maroon 5 - Sugar

Written by: Adam Levine, Martin Johnson, Jacob Kasher Hindlin and Mike Posner

First of all watch the video, it's one of the cutest things ever! what makes it better is that the bride and grooms faces is genuine surprise! Although the Grooms knew there would be a surprise band turing up and that they were a big band, they were not told who it would be, the brides had no idea. It was directed by David Dobkin, the same guy who directed Wedding Crashers. The song itself is such a feel good song, something that everyone can get up and dance to, no matter if you know the song or not. Although it was on their 5th album, V released in 2014, the single wasn't released until 2015. It is easily one of my favourite tunes of 2015.

 

Leon Bridges – River 

Written by: Leon Bridges, Austin Michael Jenkins, Joshua Block and Chris Vivion 

Listening to Leon Bridges is like hearing Sam Cooke again – with the same authentic 60s feel. The song is beautiful; it’s a powerful sacrifice of his emotions and is easy to get lost in. The song has a smattering of scattered skitter coupled with the slow burning guitar alongside warm, heartfelt vocal is a comforting end to the album. I’ve also just found out that Bridges has been recording for his second album and I’m hugely anticipating a strong follow up to the magical debut hit record.