• What’s a common misconception people have about happiness?: It’s not an end-goal. It’s a feeling, caught in a moment. It’s sometimes fleeting, sometimes light and airy and sometimes deep and overwhelming. And to reach that feeling more often? Practice noticing when happiness hits you. In the simple day-to-day moments, as well as in the important,…

  • What would I tell my 20-year-old-self? Buy the ticket. See Prince live at every opportunity. Ditto George Michael. Don’t worry so much what people think of you; the ones that matter most still love you, and they stick around.

  • Elbow at Ludlow Castle

    A pretty magnificent location for a gig. Elbow didn’t disappoint either! We hit an unusual road block on the way to this gig:

  • Gig List

    I started cataloging all the gigs and live music events we attended in 2022 as part of our 50-50 project. I continued beyond the project so that I can more easily recall all the gigs we’ve been lucky to experience. 2022: 2023: 2024: 2025: 2026:

  • Gigs 11 -13, Floatalong Festival, 2022.

    The Floatalong festival took place for the first time this year across various music venues across Sheffield on Saturday, September 24, 2022. We got to see bands in three of those venues, and so have assumed that each venue counted as three different gigs for this event. Gig number 11 – Katy J Pearson, playing…

  • Gig 10 – The Wedding Present, Friday, September 23, 2022, The Leadmill.

    Another all-time favourite of Mike’s and a fantastic set from a band still on top form after so many years! This is their Seamonsters30 Tour, celebrating 30 years since they originally released the original album! Mike was particularly happy that their final song was his favourite, My Favourite Dress.

  • Gig 9 – Live bands at Worral festival, Saturday, September 10, 2022

    We spent an afternoon enjoying some local bands and beer at this festival a few minutes walk from our home 🙂

  • Gig 8 – New Dawn Fades at The Leadmill, Thursday September 1, 2022.

    This one was a bit different! New Dawn Fades is a play telling the story of Joy Division and Manchester, and this was the anniversary tour. The play combines drama and live music and is emotional, brilliant, funny and thoughtful in equal measures. If you get the chance to see this play anytime soon, we…

  • Gig 7 – Robert Carmichael, Killin

    For live music gig 7 we joined locals whilst holidaying in Killin, Scotland for a fantastic night of singalong tunes at The Falls of Dochart Inn, with local musician Robert Carmichael on Saturday August 20, 2022.

  • Gig number 6 – Richard Hawley at the Leadmill, Sheffield. Monday, August 8, 2022.

    Richard Hawley played a series of homecoming gigs over four days at the Leadmill in the week of August 8 – 11, 2022; his contribution to the effort to save the iconic music venue from eviction. The Leadmill is a much-loved and important venue and a cornerstone of Sheffield music history. Over four nights, Richard…