Live music is a beautiful thing.

One of my goals that I made before coming to Glasgow was to see some form of live music at least once a week. So far I have done that pretty well. The city of Glasgow is home to Celtic Connections- a two week long music festival that takes place every winter. During this festival I had the opportunity to attend two concerts at the Oran Mor- a former church turned bar/concert venue/club. This venue has hosted legends such as Amy Winehouse, Calvin Harris, and The Proclaimers. The venue itself is incredible. The back of the bar still features the original stained glass windows that belonged to the original church (don’t tell the Vatican, don’t know how well they would respond to churches being turned into a bar, only in Scotland!) The stage and venue allow for the performer and the audience to have an almost personal relationship. It was cozy and comforting to be in the venue even though it was packed to the brim with people. I loved it.

On Tuesday (1/19), I went to see Nahko and Medicine for the People. The opener was a one-man band from Australia who was named Kim Churchill. It was a great start to the show. Here is a link to one of his youtube videos:

I would highly recommend him. He has a very happy vibe that completely suits his Austrailian-beach dwelling vibe.

Nahko and Medicine for the people was also incredible. I had no idea who they were before the show, a friend got me interested in going. After having heard them, I would describe their style as Passenger meets reggae. Something that you could easily jam out to or play in the background to get some homework done. Here is some of their work:

Then on Wednesday (1/20), I had the opportunity to go and see one of my favorite musicians, Noah Gundersen open for Gavin James. Two concerts in two days with 9am classes each morning- some of my best procrastination. This was my second time seeing Noah Gundersen and it was my first time seeing him solo. As usual, his incredible lyrics took my breath away and I fell in love with him all over again. This was also the first concert I ever went to solo. It was a new experience and I still enjoyed myself even if I was alone. My favorite song was Selfish Art– a song that I really relate to in the lyrics. Mr. Gundersen is a genius when it comes to his lyrics and he is extremely honest- something that rank him in my top 10 favorite musicians at the moment.

After his opener, I had the opportunity to meet with him and chat for a bit about his lyrics since he was the opener. I even got a signed poster from him. A kind soul indeed.

I stuck around for the main act as well, Gavin James. He has opened for Sam Smith and I can understand why- he was incredible. At one point he jumped into the middle of the crowd and played an acoustic cover of the song You Don’t Know Me by Ray Charles. It was one of the most daring things I have seen a musician do.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YIZqzl7wEFw

Although that happened weeks ago, on Saturday (1/30) I went to the historic King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut and got exposed to the one and only Izzy Bizu- a singer/songwriter from England. We got there super late so we only got to see her perform three songs, but we got in for free. This was my favorite song by her. She is flawless.

I definitely plan on experiencing all of the live music that Glasgow has to offer.

See ya soon,

-L