Sunday Sessions #8 - Taylor Swift

This week, former country singer Taylor Swift announced her fifth studio album titled 1989. Swift herself says it is her first official pop album. The first single from the album 'Shake it off' is a big step away from her country music routes. If I didn't know it was the 'Love Story' singer, it would be hard for me to tell if it was her singing. 

She has come a long way from her days as a country singer singing about the teardrops on her guitar. 

I'm all for artists growing and changing their sound, KT Tunstall subtly changed her sound in her last 2 albums, for some reason I can't warm to Taylor's new single. 

In the wake of Miley Cyrus' drastic changes to her look and sound, could Taylor Swift be heading a similar way? 

Let me know your thoughts!

Livvy x

Sunday Sessions #7 - Stevie Nicks

Hear we are for the second Sunday Session, featuring a favourite of mine, Stevie Nicks. 

I have recently found out that we are going to see another solo album release from Stevie Nicks in the autumn, titled 24 Karat Gold. 

Stevie has collaborated again with Eurythmics star Dave Stewart and the great Waddy Wachtel.

The lead single from the album is a track titled 'The Dealer', an emotional song which looks back at past mistakes, perhaps from love.

"Most of these songs were written between 1969 and 1987. Each song is a love story... They represent my life, the secrets, the broken hearts. These songs are the memories - the 24 karat gold rings in the blue box. These songs are for you" - Stevie Nicks

The album will be released October 7th. 

Livvy x

Sunday Sessions #6 - Once The Musical

Stand by for two Sunday Sessions today as I was galavanting around London (again) last weekend!

I thoroughly enjoyed the weekend, my boyfriend (Tom) and I spent two nights in a hotel in Kensington, near to Bayswater tube station, which was perfectly placed to explore West London. We explored Notting Hill and a very busy Portobello Road, Knightsbridge (Harrods!) and Exhibition Road, as well as central London, Covent Garden and Leicester Square. 

We managed to get Day Seats for the musical 'Once' at the Phoenix theatre. Tip for when you want tickets for a show, if you know the specific show you want to see - queue up before the box office opens on the day of the performance you would like to see, we got there about 9:25 and it opened at 10am. The theatres commonly do 'Day Seat' tickets, they are normally priced at around £70 and on the day of the performance, they are going for around £25!

The show was fantastic, it was originally a film starring Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova, with the soundtrack composed by themselves. 

If you don't want to read any spoilers then skip the next couple of paragraphs! 

All I knew about it was it was set in Ireland, and it was about music. The male lead is a musician, who has lost his motivation to play anymore, and the female lead is also a musician, who helps him get his spark back for playing again. 

It is a heartbreaking love story, you see the two fall in love, but never do anything about it because of their own different situations. 

The show features a beautiful score, featuring the Oscar winning, painfully beautiful song 'Falling Slowly' which is reprised as the finale. The whole cast are musicians too instead of having an orchestra in the pit, they all play on stage; and the harmonies they sing together are fantastic. 

The cast were all brilliant, but the two leads Jill Winternitz and David Hunter were incredible. 

No doubt we will be going back to London soon, and hopefully seeing another musical! 

Livvy x