Meeting Alison Sudol

As you may have seen on my Instagram, Tumblr or Twitter, I won the chance to meet Ali Sudol, the singer from A Fine Frenzy, last Friday evening. If you've followed my on Tumblr for a while you've probably realised that Ali Sudol is my favourite person in the world and her music is also my favourite! I think I first heard of A Fine Frenzy about 4 or 5 years ago on Last.FM, probably in my 'recommended artists' bit. I remember being in a music shop in Nottingham, looking for an Ingrid Michaelson CD but as soon as I was about to leave the shop, I saw One Cell in the Sea and had to get it! Since that day I've been in love with her music. A Fine Frenzy has three albums now; One Cell, A Bomb in a Birdcage and her newest album which has just been released in the UK, Pines. With every album she's grown and her songs and her voice have gotten better. She has a variety of happy and more melancholy songs. If I want to dance around and be happy, I'd listen to Electric Twist or Now is the Start. Some of her more sadder songs are Riversong, Happier and Almost Lover (which is probably her most well known song).

The evening started off with me being in a panic, thinking that I'd be late. My train to London was delayed by half an hour and the Circle Line (the only line I had to travel on) had some minor delays, so by the end of my journey I was close to tears I was that stressed! However, I made it to the EMI Music building in time! There was about 10-20 of us in a small room with a big comfy sofa and lots of big cushions on the floor. There was hot chocolate and cookies which was so cute and the walls and ceiling were covered in fairy lights! It was such a nice, intimate and calm atmosphere. When she first came in, she chatted to us all and answered a few questions and began to read some of her book that she wrote along with Pines. It really did sound like one of those stories your parents would read to you as a child before bed time, and the book had some really beautiful illustrations inside. It was beautifully written, I'd really like a copy but the physical copies are exclusive. She then went on to play two songs from Pines, Avalanches and Riversong. Both were amazing of course! After that she spoke to us all individually and signed things for everyone and took pictures with everyone. When I went to talk to her my mind went completely blank, I had literally no idea what to say to her! She told me she remembered me from Tumblr and asked me how things were. She was incredibly sweet, I've never met someone who's so kind and thoughtful as her. I wish I could remember what she said to me but I think at the time I just couldn't believe anything that was happening haha! She did ask how old I was and she was like 'no way!' which resulted in us both laughing! She's 28 and looks sooo much younger than that! Near towards the end she came and sat next to me and asked me if I was a student and in a small group we all talked about what we were all doing and stuff. I'm quite shy, especially in those situations but it was nice to talk to other people who like Alison too and it was especially lovely to meet Alison and talk to her. For all the years that I've been a fan, I NEVER imagined meeting her or even seeing her live. I am so so happy about that evening, it was perfect and she was perfect! 

Sorry I've babbled so much, it was one of the best nights of my life definitely!

Here's a video of Ali singing Avalanches from Friday

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