Sunday 9 January 2011

2011!! the year it all happens! :)

A very Happy New Year to you all!!

Well the year has started brilliantly for me and my wonderful band mates!

2011 started with me being voted number 1 'Best emerging Soul Artist' by the lovely music journalist Natasha Devon who announced her top 5 soul artists of 2010!  which was a total surprise and very much appreciated.
I have also just announced the launch of my album 'FairyTales & Stepping Stones' on the 3rd of March at one of the industry's most well known venues 'The Monto Water Rats Theatre' in London's Kings Cross, this is an industry event, all major and independent labels have been invited as well as Music journalists who will be reviewing the event and some well known faces. Tickets will go on sale on Friday 14th January ticket outlet will be announced shortly, advance tickets will be £12 or £15 on the night at the door.We also have two very special guests performing on the night! Exciting!

We performed our first gig of the new year last night at the brilliant Hootananny in Brixton! If you have never been to this venue I urge you to go, the atmosphere and music makes for a truly entertaining and fun evening out, where you can hang with your friends, enjoy two out door BBQ's in the garden as well rocking with the live bands inside. We played to a 400 strong crowd, who were amazing! singing my songs back to me, dancing and ending with us doing not one but three encore's at the end! Can't think of a better start to the new year and couldn't have wished to do our first gig of 2011 anywhere else! thank you to all of you who came down and supported us your chants of 'Tara, Tara, Tara!' are still ringing in my ears haha! think I will pay you to be at all my gigs!! :D Big shout out to upcoming artists 'The Meds Collective' who came to see us last night, you guys rock! looking forward to seeing you at The Rats in Feb!

Our next gig is a Venue launch for 'The Living Room' St Katherines Dock, Towerhill on the 30th January and I can tell you there's a couple of well known faces going to be performing with us on this night, so get involved peoples! Come and spend a great evening of music and fun with us, be great to have you there :)

2010 was a year of really deciding my place in the industry in terms of what sort of music I really wanted to be doing and planning ahead for what's to come in 2011 as well as finishing my album 'FairyTales & Stepping Stones' which is at last finished! Artwork is the focus for this month for the cover of the album as well as organizing and planning the launch for the album, which is a lot of work but really exciting! I will post more details as we draw closer to the event.

So it is with a great level of anticipation that we enter this new year as a band, I have to say, I am very blessed to have the guys that are in my band, having been in and around this industry for sometime I am yet to meet individuals as talented, loyal, passionate and warm hearted as these guys! as a band we are all working towards the same goals on our journey and we all want the same things, we have a chemistry and bond that makes us great friends as well as colleges and I know that people have said that really shines through on stage, so a big warm hearted THANK YOU to you guys BRING ON 2011!! Shan-Bass, Nick-Guitar, Jake-Drums, Pete-Keys, BabyG- Bv's Liz-Bv's and Amanda-Bv's, I love your faces xxxxxxx

So, I hope this new year will bless everyone one of you with good health, love, friendship and many moments that make you smile! Hopefully see you soon at a gig! come and say hello! and don't forget the album launch on the 3rd March!! see you there beautiful peoples :)

Big love T xxx

Friday 26 November 2010

My year in words...

There's something incredibly personal & tangible about writing a blog, its almost like an online diary..so I thought I would share some of my thoughts & feelings with you as I go over the last 11 months of my musical journey.


I started 2010 with a definite purpose and that was to finish my album, so from the outset myself and my production team set to work writing, recording and remixing the songs that have made the final cut. The album which I have entitled 'Fairy Tales & Stepping Stones' has been an 18 month journey of creativity, self discovery and a reflection of my own life, thoughts and feelings about the human condition and the world at large.  I wanted a piece of work that would speak to people on more than one level, something that would provoke thought outside of oneself,  and encourage humility in others and myself to realise that our lives are full of blessings if we choose to acknowledge them., hopefully this album is a piece of work that many will identify with and will enjoy.


Over the last year I have grown as an individual and musician thanks to the support and love of a multitude of people. The overwhelming generosity of the people who took time out of their day to vote for me in 'The Peoples Music Awards' meant that I won not one but two awards this year for 'Best Female Solo Artist and Best Soul/Funk/Blues Artist' from hundreds of entrants, made me feel truly humble, and I have a huge amount of gratitude to every single person  that voted and also to The Peoples Music Awards for all the support and encouragement I have received over the last year, they have been amazing! I have always had quite a personal relationship with the people that support my music and come to my gigs. I have always believed that  an Artist is 'Toe to Toe' with thier audience, you have a personal exchange with them. Without an audience behind you, it doesn't matter how gifted a Musician, Singer, Songwriter, Performer you are, you are nothing without them, they are part of what you do and who you are as an artist, thay are respeonsible for any success you achieve as much as you are, so never underestimate, or under value them. To all of you guys, I give my love, respect and unending gratitude x


I am lucky enough to have cultivated a full professional band of members and musicians that I love and respect. It has really come together over the last 12 months., we have the kind of chemistry that usually only comes after years of working together. These guys, hold a very special piece of my heart,  and I would like to thank them for their commitment, loyalty, unwavering support, love and musicianship, I am blessed to have them on my journey and am excited about spending the next 12 months with them. Over the last year we have played some amazing shows as well as smaller intimate ones for charities such as Nordoff Robbins, Banardos and The Youth Arts Festival, where I have met and worked with some incredible people, Amy Winehouse, Matt Lucas as well as Ian Matthews (Kasabians drummer )  and the lovely boys from Issacs Aircraft. 


So as we near the end of the year, my thoughts have become reflective of what an incredible year it has been and how lucky I am to be able to do what I love. This ever evolving backdrop of modern music, fresh innovative productions and the constant stream of the next generation of  very talented artists appearing on the scene almost daily has had me considering my place amongst my peers & in this industry as a whole, sometimes it feels like i'm riding the crest of a gigantic wave, exhilarating, exciting and sometimes a little scary to say the least, then in the blink of an eye there are times when I feel like I'm treading water and getting nowhere fast...so I ask myself ' Do I measure my success or failure by how much I have managed to achieve in the last 18 months or have not achieved in that time? The glass is half empty, half full senario...Personally I have always tended to lean towards the latter 'From Acorns oak trees grow'


So looking forward into the new year, I can confirm that I will be embarking on new management, the release of my album, launch and a tour. I am also involved in  putting together an outdoor festival for next summer which will be amazing!  Glastonbury also beckons, as well as Monmouth Festival, so here's to a year filled with Music, Love, friendship, Good health and laughter! let the good times roll! :D xxx


Reaching Your Dreams Takes Courage

Courage is admitting that you're afraid and facing that fear directly. It's being strong enough to ask for help and humble enough to accept it.


Courage is standing up for what you believe in without worrying about the opinions of others. It's following your own heart, living your own life, and settling for nothing less than the best for yourself.


Courage is daring to take a first step, a big leap, or a different path. It's attempting to do something that no one has done before and all others thought impossible.

Courage is keeping heart in the face of disappointment and looking at defeat not as an end but as a new beginning. It's believing that things will ultimately get better even as they get worse.

Courage is being responsible for your own actions and admitting your own mistakes without placing blame on others. It's relying not on others for your success, but on your own skills and efforts.

Courage is refusing to quit even when you're intimidated by impossibility. It's choosing a goal, sticking with it, and finding solutions to the problems.

Courage is thinking big, aiming high, and shooting far. It's taking a dream and doing anything, risking everything, and stopping at nothing to it make it a reality.

~ Caroline Kent ~