In the words of Henry Holland, “I’m so excited I could wee, it’s the Queen’s Jubilee!”

We’re gearing up for 4 days of Pimm’s, tea, cake, bunting and other various clichés. With so much happening and only 100 hours to cram it all in, we thought a little “Top 10 List of Jubilee-tastic Events“ would come in ever-so-useful.

So here they are in no particular order:

1. Head to Kona Kai tonight and feel like a Polynesian princess for an evening. All ladies are treated to free tiaras and leis. Think Kate Middleton goes to Maui. You also get a hula lesson.

2. Accidental Festival 2012 is the product of taking 21 young producers and giving them 4 days in the Roundhouse to programme whatever they want. Intrigued? You should be.

3. Who wears lots of ballgowns? Royalty, that’s who. See lots of lovely ones all weekend at Ballgowns: British Glamour Since 1950 at the V & A.

4. Head to The Hoxton Pony tonight where cool kids prove that one need not have a stiff upper lip to enjoy the Jubilee festivities. Fun stuff includes free manicures, hula hoopers and make-up (and music and visuals obviously).

5. Shaka Zulu is hosting a Diamond Jubilee party this evening. Expect impersonators and giveaways.

6. You know how the Queen’s face is everywhere at the moment? How everything suddenly has a Jubilee theme? Including this blog post? The Museum of Brands, Packaging and Advertising is dedicating a whole exhibition to this kind of thing. Pop along to see souvenirs and commemorative products made to mark the royal jubilees of the past.

7. FREE CAKE will be available tomorrow afternoon at Cake, Rattle and Roll, a shopping and eating extravaganza at the Newburgh Quarter.

8. From tomorrow til Tuesday, Proud Camden are hosting a massive, free 4 day festival featuring the best of British live music called Jubilee Jam Festival.

9. Assuming you’re not partied out on Sunday, The Book Club will be having a crackin’ knees-up of a street party which will feature the Guilty Pleasures DJs, in an unashamed, glorious celebration of all things pop.

10. Food, drink including shellfish and commemorative ales will grace the street outside the Water Poet for their Diamond Jubilee Street Party. Grab a flag and hold on to your crown…

Got another event you want to tell us about?

As a neighbouring resident of Islington, surprisingly Saturday 5 May was my first experience of the famous Camden Crawl. On arrival to the heart of Camden Town, I was surrounded by the colourful atmosphere and quirky shops that make up the area. But it was the Holiday Inn that was my first stop, as I went to collect my much sought-after press pass.  My exclusive goody bag gave me free entry and queue jump! If that wasn’t enough, I got to see private performances from some of the acts. From then on, I had a feeling that the event was going to embody the spirit of Camden Town.

With my trusty flip map in hand, I set off to my first chosen venue. The Jazz Café played host to The Hip Hop Shakespeare Company.  Fronted by British MC Akala, the organisation performed their alternative take to the music genre. As the art form allows for expression, a mixture of live music coincided with musical theatre. We were entertained with rhymes that were loosely based on Shakespeare’s plays, as well as originally inspired content.  And since rapping is related to poetry, one act gave an intense and passionate rendition of his poem ‘Moments’ to music generated by the live band, whilst another provided the audience with an emotional tale of a character who contracted HIV, and it’s disastrous effects  to those around him.

At the Roundhouse came ‘one woman band’, Tanya Auclair. I was pleasantly surprised and impressed with her unique approach to music. She patiently played and recorded a sample of music, ranging from her own vocals to beat boxing, the guitar, keyboard and even wooden spoons for example. In turn, this supplied her with the soundtrack to her songs, which had an intricate, Electronica and ‘at peace with the Earth’ sound.

The Cuban was where I started the evening’s entertainment. Earlier the bar had put on Hula Hooping performances and master classes; however the night’s line up was in contrast to the carnival-like dressed acts, producing an urban menu to the festival’s showcase.  The Milk and Ghetts were my two favourite acts there. The Milk is an Essex quartet that vary from your usual indie band, considering that some of their songs were infused with a Motown, Soul and Reggae vibe. The crowd didn’t stop moving either, since the group insist on not taking breaks between each song.

For a different reason, Ghetts lit up the audience with his MCing and live band. His set offered a twist to usual MC performances, due to having a band. They also added a slight rock edge thanks to the electric guitar, whilst still managing to keep in sync with the authentic sounds of Grime music.

I wonder who’ll be performing at the Camden Crawl next year.

Welcome to Ramsbottom

Although it’s got a name like a sheep’s behind Ramsbottom is a very pretty, character filled town in the hills just outside of Bury (and half an hour’s drive from Manchester city centre).

Next weekend, this gorgeous little town gets its groove on big time when the hills truly come alive with the sound of music as they host Ramsbottom Festival for the first time. Music comes in the form of carefully selected blues, rock, soul, folk and indie sounds. A real treat!

Acts such as The Waterboys, Badly Drawn Boy, Cherry Ghost, Capercaillie, The Animals, Steve Cropper, Kid British, Janice Graham Band, Ahab, The Guillemots and The Travelling Band will be gracing the stages. Radio 1 DJ Mark Radcliff and his R & B band The Big Figures will also be pitching up to show us what they’ve got.

The Guillemots

Ramsbottom already has a history of picking out the creme of the British music crop and has long been a bohemian music lovers place – the Blues Festival of previous years held in Ramsbottom kept music savvy folk coming to this town year after year, and its popularity meant it had to move home to the Ramsbottom Cricket Club – a much lager venue. Ramsbottom Festival is run in co-ordination with the original organisers of the Blues Festival, as they wanted to enhance what was already on offer.

Held over 3 days – on Friday 16th, Saturday 17th and Sunday 18th of September,  The Ramsbottom Cricket Club is an ideal setting for the festival as it’s right on the side of a river too. Just beautiful.

Being a trendy boutique festival that offers a wide range of entertainment, they have also made sure there is loads on offer to keep the kids entertained – including arts and crafts, games and street performers.

As well as live music and entertainment, there will be music related art work from Atelier Rose and Gray Gallery plus  loads of yummy, home made food. A local brewery have even created an exclusive Ramsbottom Festival Ale for the event, to keep all those music lovers refreshed all weekend!

Tickets are £35 for a day pass, or £70 for 3 days. For more information about the festival and buying tickets, go here.