I saw Bruno Major with Georgina just last year. My friend LL was supposed to come too, but she didn’t realise that she’d be away from spring break and wasn’t able to make it. So when I saw that Bruno Major was on tour through Philly again, I thought it’d be nice to make it up with her, and Georgina was down to see Bruno Major again as well. Plus, the tickets were still only $15 like they were last year, so why not? The only catch was that Bruno Major would be performing at Boot & Saddle, a 21+ venue, and LL isn’t 21 yet. She has a fake, but it doesn’t always work, so we had our fingers crossed for this one.

I finally got to see Tom Odell! I was supposed to see him October 2016, but the venue changed to a 21+ venue after I bought the tickets, and at the time I wasn’t yet 21. It worked out okay though. The venue gave me the option of getting my money back or exchanging my tickets for another show. I ended up exchanging my tickets to see James Vincent McMorrow and even got a plus one. Anywho, I’m glad Tom Odell came back to Philly, this time promoting his third album on his Jubilee Road tour!

I first stumbled upon Jacob Banks on Youtube — this video of him singing “Unknown (To You)” to be exact. I was captivated by the texture of his voice, the clear runs that fell off easily and perfectly, the resonance that made me feel as if the song was filling my whole body, yet still maintaining that gruff texture I loved, with a growl here and there to top it off. The melody was beautiful, slightly depressing — just the kind of music I like to listen to ;P The music plus the colour grading of the video and his aesthetic in general… I was reeled in hook, line, and sinker.

Photos by Georgina Johnson | Edits by moi

Around the holiday season, I was listening to Christmas albums and thought, Bruno Major should record a Christmas album. His music is the type I love listening to on cosy nights in, which is basically every night. I popped by his Instagram to see what he was up to and found out that he had a North American tour coming up and would be going through Philly. I manically texted my friends to see if any of them listened to Bruno Major (not Mars!) and would want to see him in concert with me. I began subtly sneaking Bruno Major songs into all my playlists and playing them when I hung out with friends. (Strategy = inception!) I finally lured Georgina in and we were set to go.

As soon as she started playing, before she even sang her first word, there was a sense of serenity. There’s a beauty and grace that exudes from her, her manner, her music. This concert was originally scheduled for November, but she lost her voice; I’m so glad she came back to Philly to finish off her North American tour!