After recently finishing at Bournemouth Uni, there definitely seems to be a little something(s) missing. One is the lack of live music I get the chance to endure, working nights and early mornings isn’t quite giving me the chance to spend the evenings living it up like before, seeing who I want and when. Not that Birmingham doesn’t provide great music; the city offers a great diverse in venues and unmissable artists, which only makes it worse.

Over the summer however, I was lucky enough to spend a great deal of time travelling around the States. Starting in New York, flying from there to Las Vegas, road-tripping through Death Valley to Yosemite and finishing in San Francisco. My personal favourite stop was Mammoth Lakes. Mountain Biking, wine tasting and lake kayaking was the perfect way to recuperate from the many evening antics from the previous stops, in preparation for San Fran. A key thing that I loved most about this trip however, was the multiple opportunities we were given to see some great live music.

Our first live event was in Brooklyn, NY. The venue was a place called Good Room and I can only describe is as a very personal, disco lovers dream, with a rustic décor finished with a huge disco ball right above the main event. We’d got a taxi over from the center of the city and had bought the tickets on a whim, with no idea what to expect. Bondax were headlining the event, but those supporting were honestly an exceptional surprise. Gilligan Moss, who we got chatting to after, is a DJ from Chicago and came out with the sort of tunes you never expect to hear out at a live event of that size, especially in this petite venue in Brooklyn. The sort where you glance at each other with that “no way, it’s that song!” look.

An absolutely great track.

Vegas can be described as nothing but a breathtaking and individual city.

It will always remain this way. ❤

San Francisco was completely buzzing throughout our time spent there. We did the recommended tourist activities; open top bus over the bridge, a day trip to Alcatraz (which was incredible) and obviously the fattest cheesecake you’ve ever seen from Macey’s. We did also however get the chance to see some unforgettable live music. The first being a well known artist from Santiago named Nicolas Jaar. It was the most contemporary set I have ever witnessed, with a combination of the most peculiar sounds with ludicrous lighting and special effects. Held in a Vaudeville theater, opened in 1922, it holds an immensely large amount of people and Jaar filled every inch with his great music.

Our final evening of the trip was done in the right way. Starting off with a food and music street party where we ate curries from boxes and DJ’s blasted the Richard Earnshaw Remix of I get Deep and the Hot Toddy remix of In My Hands. The drinks flowed and the night drew in rapidly and we didn’t want it to end, so we decided to have a look at the events going on in the area. An hour later and we were waiting in the queue of 1015 Folsom where Motor City Drum Ensemble would soon be playing. I have wanted to see MCDE for a while and the fact that on the off chance he was there that evening was nothing but luck. The night was a great finish to a great trip and we met the most amazing people (2 of which introduced us to their favorite San Fran street taco van and proceeded to keep repeating “Hello mate” in a humorously poor English accent).

I think for music lovers; music events abroad are some of the best because they give you an opportunity to not only experience your favourite artists in a completely unique place but also allow you to meet incredible people who share the same interests as you, whom you may not ever get a chance to otherwise. MCDE did not disappoint and funnily enough, I have managed to get the evening off work to experience his music at Rainbow in Birmingham during this month with the rest of the lo key crew 😀

If you’ve not heard any of the artists or tracks mentioned, I strongly advise you take a listen. And if you hate them, I’m not sorry.

Wishing I was soon to be returning to Uni but my travels continue in Brussels in December, followed by a few month tour of Australia where I intend to make many more musical memories.

Love

Georgia

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