Today was a big day for Blind Channel fans because the long awaited European tour dates were finally confirmed. The band will be starting the tour Oberhausen in Germany on the 21st of March, work threir way around 15 countries to finish at the Nokia Arena in Tampere, Finland on the 27th of April. Click the poster to go to Blind Channel's official website for tickets 21 March - Oberhausen, Germany 22 March - Hamburg, Germany 23 March - Berlin, Germany 24 March - Leipzig, Germany 26 March - Stuttgart, Germany 27 March - München, Germany 28 March - Frankfurt Am Main, Germany 29 March - Bristol, United Kingdom 30 March - Wolverhampton, United Kingdom 31 March - Glasgow, United Kingdom 2 April - Manchester, United Kingdom 3 April - Nottingham, United Kingdom 4 April - London, United Kingdom 5 April - Antwerpen, Belgium 6 April - Amsterdam, Netherlands 8 April - Paris, France 9 April - Zürich, Switzerland 11 April - Bilbao, Spain 12 April - Madrid, Spain 13 April - Barcelona, Spain 15 April - Milan, Italy 16 April - Wien, Austria 17 April - Prague, Czech Republic 18 April - Wrocław, Poland 19 April - Warsaw, Poland 20 April - Gdańsk, Poland 22 April - Copenhagen, Denmark 23 April - Stockholm, Sweden 24 April - Oslo, Norway 27 April - Tampere, Finland It will follow the release of the bands 5th album, Exit Emotions, which will come out early next year before the tour. The support bands are Ghost Kid and Rock Band From Hell. I've never really listened to Ghost Kid but I will be giving them a listen. Rock Band From Hell are a band from Finland that I have listened to, they recently released their debut album "Music For Late Night Activites" so I'm looking forward to seeing them live. Obvisiouly, as a huge fan of the band, I was on Ticketmaster using my O2 Priority to book the pre-sale tickets for Manchester and London, I will be booking the tickets for the other 4 UK shows on Friday when they come out on general release. Hotels were booked in a matter of hours and plans in place with people coming along for the ride so now the countdown begins!

Link to Cancer Culture There are very few songs that I come across where I liked it in the first 5 seconds, this is now one of those songs becuase OMG this song frigging rocks. I came across this song when I got an email saying that the band had signed up to Sharptone Records so decided to check them out and basically got my mind blown! I was straight away rocking away to this song and even went and woke up my husband who was still in bed to get him to listen to it and see what he thought of it too. I don't know if it's because it sounds like it came straight out of the early 2000s with a new awesome twist or just the pure energy that it gives me listening to it. I got some serious Drowning Pool and Korn vibes from this song so it feels like a brilliant mash up. I honestly had this on repeat for a good hour because I couldn't stop listening to it. I even got online to check the band out to see if they were touring so I could see them live but the band are from Texas in the States so I will have to patiently wait for them to come over to the UK.

Link to the song - Enemies With Benefits This is a brilliant catchy song, I had this song in my head for 2 days after listening to it the first time haha. I love the guitar and drum beat, especially when you get the quieter sections for the verses and then the guitar and drums come smashing in for the chorus. I really like those 2 elements in a song, the quiet part that kind of draws you in and gets you interested in the song before BAM, the chorus hits you and all of a sudden your body is dancing away all on it's own. Alien Blaze's voice is amazing, I absolutly love the tones that her voice has throughout the song and changes perfectly to suit the musical changes. The music vibe that I get from this song is heavy rock with a bit of emo sprinkled in and it works so well together. Alien Blaze has done a brilliant job at writing this song, I can see her going far in the music industry. A bit of background info:- Alien Blaze is a singer and songwriter who spent a lot of her younger years at home due to sickness but instead of laying around, she spent her time widely by learning to play her mum's old guitar and dreaming of one day being like Jerry Cantell from Alice In Chains and the guitar legend Slash. She gave herself the name Alien Blaze because of the alienation she felt from her peers, being a bit different can always be hard but she has flipped it round and used that to write songs.

This day was the hottest of all days, there was no breeze and next to no shade so it felt like we were all slowly cooking. I saw so many people suffering from heat stroke and there was people round them trying to help them. People were sitting anywhere they could that was shaded including in front of food vans, I just wish there had been more places that were shaded for people to just sit in out of the sun. We got to the gates just before they opened and as soon as I got through, I was off to the second stage. There was no way I wasn't going to have front row for Blind Channel lol. Fran said she has never seen me move so quickly lol. We found my friends Luna and Carman and we camped out in the front row. It was so hot that while we were waiting, Fran decided to go and find some shade instead of seeing Blind Channel but she did get to see Bloodywood instead so she still got to see a great band. Blind Channel As usually, my amazing Finnish lads were absolutely brilliant. They came out singing their newest song at the time, Happy Doomsday, which had been released a few weeks before the festival. Hearing the new song live was amazing! Seeing them at a festival definetly has a different feel to a gig, I was further away from the stage for starters hahaha. There was a lot more people, it was great getting to see so many people coming to see them and everyone having a brilliant time. I loved every minute and felt like I was taking everything in as much as possible as I didn't have another gig booked to see them at all as I was waiting for dates. We went in search of Fran but couldn't find her and it was hotter than the deepest, hottest corners of hell so we went into one of the marketplace bars that had a tent to sit in the shade. Fran found us and said she wanted to go home, the heat was getting too much for her, if there had been more shade then it would have been better for everyone. There was no wind either, at least a bit of wind would have cooled us down a little. We chilled out in the bar for a little while as none of us had another band to watch for a while. We saw a few people being brought in with heat stroke and helped by everyone around them. One young girl got brought in near us so we helped as much as could. I think it's brilliant that everyone was helping each other, no one asked for help, people just stepped up and did their bit. Love it! We went out to the walled walk through that runs from the day ticket entrance to the main stage, the walls provided a little bit of shade and there was less foot traffic so we laid down on the grass and had a little nap. I Prevail I'd seen these guys in March so it was nice to see them again on a much larger scale. They put on a brilliant show and everyone was really getting into them. they did their version of System Of A Down's Chop Suey which sounded awesome. This is when things started to turn for the worst. I was feeling light heated, sick and really tired. Luna and Carmen went to watch a band so I found some shade to lay down in and kept passing out. I felt like I just closed by eyes but whenever I opened my eyes again and looked at my phone for the time, I'd find out that I had actually been asleep for a while. That's when I decided that I should head home before I pass out and don't wake up again until the end of the night. As much as it pained me to not get to see Slipknot, I knew that if I had stayed, I would have passed out in a corner and missed them anyway. I messages Luna and Carmen to let them know, rand Sean to come get me and then started walking out to the main road. Download 2023 was an awesome festival with some of the most amazing bands. It's definitely changed since the first one in 2003, it has grown massivly and that's all down to the hard work of the organisers and their teams, and the fantastic fans, both new and die-hard fans that return year after year. I can't wait to see what they do next.

Today was definitely an experience, there was a lot of traffic going to Download again as there was still people turning up for camping. We got dropped off near the day ticket entrance, there was lots of people but it didn't take us long to get through once the gates opened. We got Fran's wristband and then did the short walk round to the arena. I've never been at Download so early before so it was weird to see it so empty before everyone arrived. It was quite nice to pick out a nice spot to see the main stage as we had a while before there was a band we really wanted to see. I'd selected to get the 20th anniversary packet with the program, lanyard and pin and seeing as I wanted to be able to check the set times without having to keep checking the app, I decided to get in the queue for click and collect. 2 hours later after trying to navigate the fact that there was 3 queues for click and collect, 2 members of staff serving people and my skin burning in the sun shine, I had my pack and I could go back to my poor sister who had been left on her own while I was in the queue. I found my friends Luna and Carmen in time for us all to go and watch Punk Rock Factory. These girls are my Blind Channel sisters, we have been to a lot of gigs and always have the best time together. Carmen had the best stood ever! It was a telescopic stool that collapses down into a nice little portable case that's easy to carry. I saw a few people with them, it's a lot easier to carry round with you than a camping chair but the only thing that would put me off is that it doesn't have a back to lean back on. Punk Rock Factory These guys were amazing! I haven't seen them before and they were so much fun, they started off singing the Power Rangers theme song and they ever had people dressed up as Power Rangers on the stage!! My favourites that they played were "Under The Sea", "You're Welcome", "Mamma Mia", "We Don't Talk About Bruno", "Spongbob" and "Pokemon". I loved the happy party vibe that everyone had for this set, everyone was just having such a good time dancing around and singing at the top of their lungs. One thing I love about this band is the Disney covers they do, even if you have never heard one of their songs, everyone knows the words because we have all seen the films. Halestorm I missed the beginning of the set because of seeing Punk Rock Factory and then needing to get something to eat but Halestorm sounded awesome on the main stage. I only know a few songs but they put on an awesome performance. I heard them play "Back From The Dead" and "The Steeple" which were amazing to hear live. Alter Bridge OMG Alter Bridge were amazing!!! I will admit that I didn't know all of the songs that they played as I'm not a die-hard fan but they played 2 of my favourites which are "Black Bird" and "Metalingus" and hearing them live was just out of this world. Myles said at one point that he has been at Download quite a few times now with different projects and he's now at the point that he feels so comfortable playing at the festival because it feels like we are all family. I just love this so much because it is true, everyone is just so lovely to each other, we are all there for the same reasons and that is to listen to our favourite bands. We don't feel the need to fight or be dicks to each other, we dance and sing together. Hearing Myles' golden voice ringing out over the crowd was just out of this world. His voice is one of a kind and While we were waiting for Metallica to come, a guy goes to walk in front of us but stops, he has 4 pints in one of those cardboard trays and it looks like the tray was going to fall apart. I get up and agree to help him take his drinks to his friends as there was no way the poor lad was going to make it. He took 2 pints, I took 2 and we started making our way through the crowd. He couldn't find his friends so he phones his friend Lee only to find out that his friend had gone off to the toilets. So, to keep the story short, I ended up adopting this lad (his name is Gareth), who came with me to find Fran and Carmen as Metallica started and I ended up having Lee's pints. It was quite good cider so wasn't going to complain haha. Ok, I'm going to admit something that some of you won't like....... I'm not a fan of Metallica. Yes, yes, how dare I and all that haha. I repect them as a band as there is no doubt that their contribution to the music industry hasn't been huge but I'm just not into them. I like some of their songs obvisiously, there's not a chance that there are many people who don't know the intro and words to "Master Of Puppets" or "Sad But True", "Nothing Else Matters", "For Whom The Bells Tolls" or even "Enter Sandman". We stayed for about an hour and Metallica hadn't played anything that we knew so we decided to leave. This kicked us in the arse though because as I was getting changed to get into bed, I heard "Master Of Puppets" as clear as day haha. I couldn't believe how clear I could hear it and all from the comfort of my bed.

I knew that was going to go to Download 2023 while I was attending Download 2022. It had been a good 10 years since I had been to Download and I didn't realise how much I missed it. Getting to see loads of my favourite bands all in the same place, hanging out with my friends, enjoying the sunshine, being surrounded by like-minded people, seeing the effort some peopel go to with their outfits and make-up as well as the people who must of lost a bet because they look like a 3 year old dressed them haha. Althought 2022 was the first time that I didn't camp at Download, I have issues with my hips and back so camping was definitly going to be a no no. We got an Airbnb instead which was nice as we could have hot showers every day and sleep in a proper bed. My friends and I were talking about going to Download 2023 before we even left to drive home. We were thinking of doing VIP camping but that is super expensive and had to be paid in one go so that was another no no. I was waiting for the first announcement when the legend that is Corey Taylor unofficially confirmed that Slipknot would be at Download so in my mind, it was a done deal. Slipknot will be there and so will I. When the announcement came out, my favourite band Blind Channel were confirmed and my brain basically screamed "GIVE THEM YOUR MONEY!!" There was no way I was going to miss Blind Channel being at Download for the first time, plus, I haven't seen them a a festival before so it's going to be a whole new expierence for me. At first I was going to go on my own and meet my friends up there as my husband, Sean, has some medical issues that caused him enough issues before so he said he was going to sit this one out. Then a week after all the weekend tickets sold out, he said he really wanted to go. Changed all my plans including the hotel, worked out how we were going to work everything out for him....... 2 weeks later after a day out that basically crippled Sean, he decided it would be better if he didn't go. This made me very upset as I wanted him there with me, but after a long chat, we thought it was the best thing to do. Luckily, my sister Fran agreed to come with me as she has never been to Download before and she lives a 15 minute drive from Download so everyone wins. Sean is still coming with me but he is going to be our taxi service to and from the festival. I like to be well prepared for festivals so my packing started about 3 weeks before Download haha. I wanted to make sure that I had all the clothes I wanted to take. I also wanted to make sure that I had the right gear to mount my phone as I was going to use it to take the videos and pictures for my blog. I couldn't see anything on the restrictions about the stuff I was taking so I basically have my fingers crossed that I will be able to get it with it all. I love dying my hair for gigs and festivals so I have gone pink and purple with a little splash of blue. It makes it easier to spot me in pictures and videos as well as being easy for my friends to find in a crowd haha. We have our plan for getting wristbands, as I have a camping ticket because I couldn't get an arena only ticket, we are driving straight to Donington on Wednesday so I can go in and get my wristband and then go to Fran's. Then on Thursday, I will line up with Fran as she has an arena only ticket, get her sorted and then we go in. The first band I want to see aren't on until 4:40pm so we can take it easy, walk around, find people and check out some of the other bands that are on. Thursday is going to be a nice chill day haha. The Download app is going to be a god send with notifications but I am wondering if it's still going to work during the festival as last year I had little to no signal so I'm going to set alarms on my phone for my favourites just to be on the safe side. Better to have 2 notifications then none at all and then missing a band I really want to see. I am super excited, I just know this is going to be an awesome year at Download. Wednesday 7th of June Well, today can go and suck a big hairy sweaty ball sack. We set off mid morning as we weren't in a rush and all was fine until we got close to Donington and the traffic was horrendous. We ended up in very VERY slow moving traffic to get to Download, we moved just under a mile in an hour and half. I can't complain too much though as there were people on buses that did a mile in 3 hours. We got into the camping car park, which was a massive MASSIVE field, and managed to drive all the way down to the camping queue which had hardly anyone there by the time we arrived. I went in, got my wristband and got back out in 15 minutes haha. It felt good to finally have it and get back out onto the road to my sister's house. It was quite nice just being up there amougst the other Downloaders, I remember back in the day when we would camp and it would feel like forever dragging all our stuff from the van to the campsite, getting it all set up and then just chilling out. I wish my back and hip were better so I could camp.

With festival season coming in hard and fast, I thought I would put together a little guide for anyone who was heading off to their first festival. Read the festival rules. Don't be that person standing at the front of the queue complaining because staff are taking something off of you that you shouldn't have. Most festivals don't allow you to take in any food or drink and they usually have a limit on the size of bag you can take in. Always check the festival website to check their rules. Check the weather forecast. The last thing you need is to wear the wrong type of clothes at a festival as there isn't anywhere for you to change unless you go back to your tent if you are camping. You don't want to end up missing your favourite band because you got heat stroke and end up in the medical unit like I did twice because I didn't learn the first time. I passed out 10 minutes before Iron Maiden came on stage at Download 2003 and then in 2007 when I was pulled out the crowd before Korn took to the stage because I felt really light headed and then passed out. Not done it again since though so I did finally learn from my mistakes haha. Be prepared to spend a lot of money on food and drink. The sooner you realise that you are going to spend upwards of £6 a pint at a festival, the sooner you won't begrudge buying anything. Little bottles of fizzy or water are sometimes £3 or more and cans can up £2 or more. There is a huge range of food available at festivals but it can be expensive so take your time to have a look around before buying food. If you are going to Download, it is worth opening a Barcleys bank account to get the slightly cheaper prices. If you don't drink alcohol, look out for stalls that do deals on drinks, I've seen a Pepsi stall before that did £4 for a pint of Pepsi and then £3 if you went back with the same cup. Take a fold up poncho If it rains, you have something to keep you dry, if it doesn't rain, you have something to put on the ground so your backside doesn't get dirty. Win win Don't automatically think you will get signal. I have found that sometimes at festivals, I have had a brilliant signal and then others I have had nothing. Remember to tell people who may try to call you while you are there, it will be easier if they message you so you can call them back once you have signal. Arrange Meeting Points If you are going with a group of people and you know you aren't all going to see the same bands all day, arrange a meeting place for the bands you are going to see together so that you don't spend half your time trying to find each other. You could pick one of the food trucks, a bar, the sound desk for the stage you are going to, anywhere that you will all remember and make sure you set a time as well. This is great just in case you are at a festival with no or little signal. Plan your day. Make sure you know what time your favourite bands are on stage so that you don't miss them. Most festivals have an app where you can pick your favourite bands that are playing and it will tell you when they are going to be on stage. They also send you a notification when they are about to start their set. Take a camping chair If you are ok with getting up and down from the ground or standing around for ages then this doesn't apply to you but if you aren't ok with it, take a camping chair. It's so much more comfy to be able to sit in a camping chair, plus, they have drinks holders so you don't have to keep holding your drink. Another win win Get a power bank If you are like me and like taking lots of videos and photos, your battery is going to go down quickly, so invest in a power bank so that you can keep your phone topped up throughout the day and be able to capture your special and fun festival moments. Take sun cream As most festivals are in the summer months, there is a very good chance that it is going to be sunny and hot, make sure you have sun cream so you don't get sunburnt. I like getting the small bottles of sun cream spray as it fits nicely into my bag and I prefer spray as it's easier to apply. Drink plenty of water I'm not saying to just drink water, although that would be the healthy option, I'm saying that you need to drink some water to stay hydrated. Drinking alcohol is fine but every now and then have some water. No one wants sun stroke. To save some money, take an empty bottle that you can fill up with water at the water stations. There are some great collapsible bottles you can buy so they don't take up to much room in your bag when you don't have water in it. Know how you are getting there Seems like a simple one but not fully knowing has caught me out before. I got a weekend parking pass for Download in 2022 thinking the car park would be close but it wasn't. It took us an hour and a half to walk from the car to the arena, that was not fun and it was the last time we parked that weekend. The rest of the time, we got a taxi to and from the festival because the walk from the drop off point was only a half hour walk. There are separate car parks for camping and arena only so make sure you check the festival website to know which one you need to go to. Take wet wipes At festivals it can be dusty so having wet wipes can be quite refreshing. Plus, if like me you are a messy eater, it's good to have one to clean up haha. There are some great small wet wipe packs you can get for festivals that are super handy and are small enough that they don't take up too much room in your bag. Check out the marketplace I have found some serious bargains in the marketplace at festivals, like my alien and predator rings that I think you will agree are super frigging awesome!! There is some things that can be expensive but there is some seriously good stuff too. It always amazes me what you can buy in the marketplace so take your time to walk around and I am sure you will find some bargains. Ask people that have been before People that have been to the festival you want to go to are your best source of information. They will be able to tell you things that caught them out and if there is an alternative. Some festivals have a forum that you can join and you will be able to go through loads of threads of questions, tips and general festival chat. Be yourself A festival is the perfect time to be who you really are. I love going to Download and seeing everyone dressed to the extreme because they look so amazing! The outfits and make-up are outstanding and I am so jealous because I don't think I will ever have those make-up skills. Wear what you want, be as crazy as you want, just don't be a dick haha. And last but not least.... Have an awesome time 😀

I went to see the Kris Barras Band at The Forum in Tunbridge Wells on their "My Parade" tour and they were BRILLIANT!! My husband and I had work during the day so we got changed as soon as we got home and then jumped in the car to go to Tunbridge Wells. It's only a half hour drive from our house so we got there at about 7pm, we hadn't had anything to eat so we decided to go to Framptons over the road from the venue to get something to eat. We went into the venue just as the support band was finishing. I have never been to The Forum before so was quite blown away by how small it was. I looked it up online and it holds 250 people, definitely looked like it was meant to hold less but it was a great venue. I started off standing near the merch stand as I had a great view until 3 very tall people decided to stand in front of me so I moved round to the bar and got a great spot there instead. One thing I was surprised about was that I felt like one of the youngest people in the crowd, which doesn't happen often lately haha. I was a little annoyed that hardly anyone in the crowd was dancing to the songs, it looked like it was just me, one guy a few rows in front of me and the people right down the front that was getting into it. I pissed the woman off next to me because I was cheering at the end of the songs, not sure why she was pissed off but she gave me some seriously dirty looks when I was cheering. Now, I had an awesome time, dancing around, singing along to the songs, really enjoying myself but one thing that did annoy me a little bit was that there was a lot of guitar solos, I'm talking nearly every single song. I get that musicians want to show off their skills and I am all fine with that as these guys are amazing, it just got a little dull a few times. There were even people who left the show not long after it started. My husband Sean was outside as it was really hot in the venue and he said he heard people making comments about the band "not being as good as they used to be". I've only seen them twice before this gig and I thought they were brilliant but maybe these people had been following them for years, afterall, a bands style and sound can change over the years. Anyway, the gig was amazing. I loved hearing the songs from the "My Parade" album as that is the most recent one that I have been listening to. In fact hearing "My Parade" was phenomenal, Kris got in the crowd getting us all to sing in sections. Loved it so much! They came out singing my favourite song "Hail Mary" so the gig started off amazing for me haha. There was a few songs that I didn't know as they were the older songs but I still got a good vibe from them and had a little boogie. Kris sang a beautiful song about his dad called "Watching Over Me". He said that he used to be a Muay Thai and MMA fighter and retired in 2014 but his dad who was a musician and influenced Kris musically, never got to see him play in the band because he passed away. So Kris wrote the song about him and it is a truly beautiful song. It brought tears to my eyes thinking about my own who passed away a few years ago. If you are going to listen to it, make sure you have tissues! They did an awesome cover of "Rock And Roll" by Led Zeppelin, I didn't realise they did this one so it was a nice surprise. I was quite sad when it ended, I'd had such a good time and I can't wait to see them again.

There was a new Download announcement last week and as well as announcing more awesome bands, the organisers have put the bands into their days so I feel a little more organised now haha. Thursday Alter Bridge - Fuck Yes! I have not been able to see these guys for quite a while now so this is super exciting for me. I just hope they sing at least one of my favourite songs, I would go to bed happy that night if I get to hear Metalingus live again. Five Finger Death Punch - Never seen them before so quite excited to see what they are like live. Halestorm - I seem to keep missing Halestorm when they are touring so it will be good to finally see them live. Caskets - These guys have come highly recommended and I like a few of their songs so can't wait to see what they are like live. Friday Architects - Never seen them live, really looking forward to this. Evanescence - Super super super excited!!! Never had the pleasure of seeing them live and I just need to hear Going Under or Bring Me To Life and I will be happy lol. Within Temptation - Always wanted to see them live and now I finally get to! Pendulum - I haven't seen them in about 12 years and last time they were AMAZING!! Forget the comfy-festival shoes, I'll have my jumping around like a comfy-jumping-around-like-a-loony shoes for Pendulum. The Blackout - Another band that has come highly recommended to me to see, will make sure I go along to see them. Saturday Disturbed - Some of my favourite songs are by Disturbed so there is no way I am going to miss them at Download. Placebo - Another band I haven't had the chance of seeing before but I'm going to make sure I get to see their set to check them out. Simple Plan - Been listening to their Harder Than It Looks album lately and a few of their older songs and getting a real feel for them so can't wait to see if they are as good live as they are on their records. Ice Nine Kills - Love INK and they were brilliant last year so can't wait to see what they do this year. Bad Wolves - Love love love Bad Wolves, can't wait to finally see them live! Sunday Slipknot - When I heard the rumour that Slipknot were playing, I knew straight away that I would be going to Download, there was no way I would be missing them. I have been listening to them since I was 16 years old and still love them! Ghost - First time seeing them but I have heard so many amazing things about their live performances that I feel like this is going to be one set that I shouldn't miss. The Distillers - I like a few of their songs so would love to hear them live. I Prevail - I'll be seeing them a lot in March but still really excited about seeing them at Download too. Electric Callboy - Only seen them at gigs, not seen them at a festival so really looking forward to seeing what they can do. Blind Channel - No shit right? lol my favourite band plays Download so I will definitely be seeing them. I've never seen them at a festival either so this will be a new experience for me. Bloodywood - Only recently got into Bloodywood but I am excited to see what they are like live. The Indian/metal fusion is awesome listening to the song on Spotify, I have a feeling it's going to be even better live. There is still going to be another announcement as we get closer to the festival so my line-up can only get better and better.

Like most people, I massively over-pack when I’m going away but I have had to learn to cut back A LOT when going abroad for a gig and only having hand luggage to take my clothes and things I need. Check the weather And don’t underestimate the temperature as I thought I would be ok in November in Helsinki and seriously didn’t put on enough layers. I had 3 layers on, but it was nowhere near enough, it was so cold that I had to keep walking around and still got cramp in my thighs. What I should have done was have my super thick hoodie, extra vests and a few pairs of thermal leggings as I could have worn the hoodie on the flight and the whole time I was outside so it would never have gone in my hand luggage. Get thermals for super cold weather I love my thermals, since I got them, I have worn them out in some really cold weather and barely felt it. Thermals are meant to be worn under clothes but if you wear them for when you are in the queue for a gig, there are 2 ways to wear them. Under your clothes and you run the risk of them making you really hot during the gig or over your clothes so that once you get into the gig, it will take you 2 minutes to get them off so you don’t overheat during the gig. Having thermals will also save you packing multiple pairs of leggings, jeans or trousers. Sometimes I have even just worn my thermals instead of wearing them under jeans or leggings and they have still kept me warm. Plus, hand warmers are amazing, get a few packets before you go. Get little toiletries bottles You can easily get these from Amazon and they are just the right size if you are going away for a few days. Just fill each one with your shampoo, conditioner or shower gel and you don’t need to worry about going out when you get to your destination to buy toiletries. Just remember that you need to keep them under 100ml and to write on the bottles with a sharpie to say what is in them. You can also get mini versions of toiletries from Amazon or at the airport if you would prefer and they are usually under 100ml. If you have absolutely no room in your bag of bottles, you can always buy them in a shop near your hotel once you get there. Don’t forget your handbag Most airlines let you on with a bag for hand luggage and a handbag so use your handbag to the max. I usually use mine to carry my electricals, make-up bag and a change of clothes. This will save you so much room in your hand luggage and will make things easier when going through security at the airport because everything is in one bag. Be super strict If you don’t need it, don’t take it. That top that you kind of like so you aren’t sure if you are going to wear it, don’t take it, you aren’t going to wear it. Do you really need 6 shades of lipstick? One pair of shoes I am the worst for this as I have my gig shoes and I have my normal day-to-day shoes, but if I go abroad, I only take one set and that is normally my gig shoes. My gig shoes lately are my DMs, I have finally worn them in enough that they are extremely comfy to walk around in all the time and for jumping around like a crazy person at a gig.

I love phone apps, they can make our lives so much easier and what better time than when a trip is involved? I am very much a Google girl, I've had a Google account for years and I don't think there are many of their apps that I don't use. Google Maps What better way to organise your day than plotting out the places you need to go to on Maps. Hotels, nearby shops, venues, car parks, etc. Just about everything is listed on Google so it's a great search tool to find what you need and their websites. I find this really useful when I am driving to gigs so that I don't waste time on the day trying to find places. I usually create a list for each trip so that I keep my locations organised, I find this really helps me find locations quicker when I need them. Google Translate My husband is brilliant at picking up the basics of a language when we go abroad but I am useless so I use Google Translate when I am in a bit of a pickle. I love that as well as translating what you want to say by either typing it into the app, it will then say the phrase so that you can either play it to someone or help you to say the phase yourself. The picture feature has been a lifesaver on my more recent trips, because I have quite bad food intolerances, I have to check what I am eating and being able to take a picture and the app translates the writing has been a massive help. I have even had the app used to me, I was at a gig in Germany and not feeling well, the security guy couldn't speak much English so used Google Translate to ask me if I was ok. Google Photos I take a lot of pictures and videos in my day to day life so you can imagine how many I take when I'm on a trip or at a gig lol (I took over 1000 pictures at my last gig, thank you sport mode on my camera lol). I make sure that everything gets uploaded to Google Photos as soon as possible and then I can organise them into albums so that they are easily found later on. One feature that I do like is once you have everything up-loaded to Google, you have the option of deleting the photos off of your phone. It saves so much memory on my phone and they are then easily accessible on the app if I need them. Skyscanner Love this app because I can plan multi-stop trips that I may need to go on if buses and trains aren't an option and to save a bit of time. I just need to put in the destinations and dates of travel and the site finds the flights. No going to multiple airlines websites seeing what flights are on what day, saves so much time. Booking.Com I use Booking.com a lot for hotel stays and because I am a Genius Level 2 member, I get discounts off of some hotels. The search filter to find the perfect hotel is quite detailed as you can pick if breakfast is included, if it has a pool, wifi, free cancellation, pet friendly, no prepayment, fun things to do nearby, and so much more. I like to fill in the filters and then click to view the results on a map so that I can then pick the best location. I sometimes plan trips in advance so I can make a list per trip and add in the hotels I find that I may want to book or have booked so that they are easy to find later on. Trip Advisor The perfect trip planning companion, being able to see other peoples reviews of their experiences at hotels, tours, attractions, airlines and everything else you might want to do on a trip. You can also book through the site as well but I haven't done this before, I usually book directly through the companies website. I hope you found this useful and may even start using the apps for your trips. Just an FYI, I am not sponsored by any of the companies listed above, this is my personal opinion of these apps.

It was quite exciting to finally get an announcement for next years Download Festival, especially when I saw that my wonderful Blind Channel boys will be there! That was definitely the decider for me, I was hoping to go as I heard Slipknot were going to be there but wanted to see what other bands would be there first so that it was worth the money and there they were, Blind Channel. Honestly, I made a weird girly noise when I saw them on the poster lol. The other bands I am really looking forward to seeing are Disturbed, Pendulum, Seether, Evanescence and Within Temptation. I've seen a lot of people complaining about Metallica headlining twice even though it will be 2 completely different sets. I do agree that the organisers could have got another band to headline, I personally would of loved to see AC:DC, Motley Crue or Alice Cooper headlining one of the days but I guess the headliners are set in stone now. I'm still holding out hope for a few of my favourite bands to be announced like Lost Society, Lost Zone, Black Stone Cherry, Alter Bridge, Massive Wagons, Ice Nine Kills, Bowling for Soup and Eva Under Fire. I will have my fingers tightly crossed for those.