[LMBTO] EuroStarz 2018 - that's my live Eurovision gig in August sorted...

There is never much going on as far as Eurovision is concerned in the 'close season' between the day after the Eurovision Final and "Eurovision New Year" (September 1st), so when a concert with five acts comes along that includes:


I definitely wanted to be there!  When I say there, I am talking about:

A new venue for the vent this year but what a venue!  Under its old name of 'The Pindar Of Wakefield', it saw the likes of Bob Dylan and The Pogues inside its walls and since being known as it is since 1992, Oasis and the lady below have graced its stage:
Now THAT is some list to call on!  So lots of us Eurovision fans will be lucky enough to see five top Eurovision acts perform there a week Saturday - I could just make you read the banner at the top but matching my 'clues' you have:


I'm sure that you really didn't need reminding of their Eurovision entries and I am certain that those songs will be sung on the night.  What else they all sing will be the really interesting part - will Lindsay sing her amazing version of "Sound Of Silence"?  Will Esther sing "Wait For The Moment", her 2003 song that we never got to hear sung at the UK NF?  Will Linda shout out that Father Jack Hackett term?  Might Scott do a duet with one of the ladies, giving us a Eurovision version of "If I Had Words"?  And will Ovi's round piano make an appearance?  All of these artists are incredible live singers and I am certain that we in the audience will not be disappointed!  Just in case there is any of my regular readers who hasn't heard of one of these legends of the Contest, here is a playlist of my favourite songs by each of them, four from their NF and unfortunately for Scott, a performance just after his trauma in 1988:



EuroStarz has been going for two years now - I foolishly missed the first one in 2016 but was lucky enough to go last year - here is a brief summary of what I saw and heard, courtesy of the organisers:



Given that we have had a Contest winner sing every year now (Emmelie de Forest was at the inaugural event in 2016), 2018 matches that and actually gains some, as every single act next weekend has sung at Eurovision itself.  If you want to get a flavour of what it is like to be at the concert and even at the VIP Meet & Greet beforehand, the link to the gallery for both years is here - EuroStarz 2017 Gallery.  In some of those pictures, you might recognise an old guy with a blue striped shirt, either leaning on the bar or photobombing other people's pictures and even taking advantage of looking like Kurt Calleja's 'wingman'!  There will be an added bonus for me this time - I have a press pass this year and will be chatting with all the artists, on behalf of not only this blog but also my very new radio show, "Let Me Be The One" on BSR103.4FM (I'll tell you more about that in the next post)...
So you could wait for an article in this blog in a couple of weeks, with some interviews to listen to - of course if you are in London on Saturday 18th August and you want a superb night's music with an amazing running order of Eurovision artists on the bill, tickets are still available here - EuroStarz 2018 Tickets...
I know that I'm going to have a great time and meet up with lots of fans, those that I recognise from previous events and hopefully new ones that will probably have the jump on me from seeing my face on social media as they exclaim 'Hey Martin!'  What is certain is that EuroStarz is a major highlight of this summer for me - definitely up there with seeing SuRie in Bristol - but it is that much closer to when the 2019 season kicks off for us all...