Playlist: HITS magazine

To celebrate the release of our first print issues, here's a playlist featuring all artists involved.

HITS x Berlin

We hosted our very first live gig in Berlin - and this is what it looked like.

Cover The HITS

Our latest video series - covers performed by our favourite acts, exclusively for us.

Video Interview: Scenic Route To Alaska

Melting away in front of Stuttgart's castle, we had a chat about touring, band names, Toy Story and a lot more.

Find us on YouTube!

Visit us on the 'tubes for interviews, exclusive performances and outtakes.

Editor's Note: 2019, that was something.

31st December 2019 //

Hey everyone!

Vanessa here.
It's a little tradition for me to sit down on December 31st of every year and just reflect on the year.
And because OCD is running this ship, I'm here to review 2019.

I'll start with the obvious - house in the sand is still here.
It might've gotten quiet a lot around here this year, but we're still very much an active part of the mess that is the music industry. Technically we had 365 opportunities to quit this year, but we didn't.
And I'll be honest, sometimes it would've been easier to quit and just to let the waves take it, but we've built this up too much to let new algorithms and horrible blogging trends take it away from us.

We did a bunch of cool things in 2019. 

We celebrated seven years of HITS and released our first official merchandise - and you guys actually went to buy and wear it. Mind = blown!



We made and released our first ever print issue - what what what! 

HITS magazine #1 features 26 artists, some of which have been a part of HITS for years.
The magazine allowed us to have in-depth chats with acts such as Kodaline, Alice Merton, Lissie, Martin and James and so many more. We shot the cover at Wembley Arena in London and were over the moon to have the brilliant ROE be our first cover artist.


We saw the artists we featured reading the magazine and celebrating with us. 





This year we heard amazing new music from Rhys Lewis, Hozier, Maggie Rogers, dodie, Kat Frankie, Jim Kroft and so many more.
The Jonas Brothers reunited and we cried when we received the press release.

We had super fun chats with Dean Lewis, Alex Francis and so many more.




We photographed Lewis Capaldi, Dermot Kennedy, Blossoms, Catfish and the Bottlemen, Hozier and more. Artists we truly admire have been in front of our lenses.


We hosted living room shows, we hung out with music folks we care about, we laughed because of music, we cried because of music.
We found lifelong friends in bloggers, photographers and managers.

And what we're most proud of is that we didn't bow down to the pressures of getting the most views and compromising our standards for it.


We know that a lot of you reading this have been with us for a long time and we know that some of you just found us in 2019.

No matter how much time you have spent on HITS, please know that we are so thankful to have you around. If it wasn't for you, this place wouldn't be the lively platform that it is. You make sharing music fun because you are there to receive it. Because you are there to tell us what you think.


So, thank you for your visit - today and always.



Much love,












Credits // Words & Image: Vanessa Jetwash | Embedded images belong to their linked creators.

Playlist: Christmas 2019

23rd December 2019 //

Hey everyone!

We almost didn't make it in time.

The past few weeks have been a wild ride and pre-Christmas excitement has been on shoved in the backseat.

But then we had a realisation: music is such a big part of Christmas - whether you celebrate Christmas or not - the cheerful songs are everywhere.
And as a source for brilliant music, we'd be missing out if we didn't share some of our favourite holiday songs of 2019 with you.

We hope that you can relax, recharge and just drop feeling any of the pressure we've all been feeling over the past 50 weeks.
The holidays should give us time to reflect, to set new focus, but most of all, to just be.
Be whatever we want to be without any deadlines, any worries and any stress.

If you aren't able to have a cheerful holiday season, we hear you.
 Hang in there, it will get better and you're not alone, no matter how dark it may feel.


To make sure we can supply you with some wonderful music for this festive season, we made you a playlist and hope you'll find yourself singing along.




Please enjoy our Christmas 2019 playlist:



Featured artists: Alex Francis, Oh Wonder, Hudson Taylor, Gabrielle Aplin, Hannah Grace,
 Rhys Lewis, Taylor Swift, Jane's Party, Wrabel, Jonas Brothers, Sigrid


While we are very much in need of just dropping it all for the rest of the year, we'll still be looking back on 2019 within the next few days.


Happy Holidays!






Thank you for your visit!













Credits // Words & Image: Vanessa Jetwash

Gig Photos: Dayglow at DC9 Nightclub, Washington (November 2019)

18th December 2019 //


Hey everyone!

We're getting closer and closer to the end of the year (and decade),
but that doesn't mean we have to slow down exploring music we love just yet.

There still is time to find new favourites that ultimately will appear on your Spotify Wrapped next year. So let's give the corporations some data!

Our DC photographer Gabby Ames went to see Dayglow last month and got us some brilliant shots.

As always, please take the time to support Gabby online:Website | Twitter | Instagram

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 

Date: 8th November 2019
Venue: DC9 Nightclub, Washington (DC)

Headliner: Dayglow


Dayglow is the alias singer, songwriter and producer Sloan Struble uses to release catchy indie pop.

Hailing in from Fort Worth, Texas (US), Sloan started Dayglow in 2017 and pretty quickly found his sound. Although he didn't grow up in the art scene or in a musical surrounding, so it was up to him to find what he loved and create his own thing.

Writing and producing everything himself, Sloan felt inspired by Tame Impala to write on his own but tour with a band. Finding inspiration not only in music but also in places, his debut album "Fuzzybrain" pretty much just bubbled out of his brain. (Pun intended.)

We quickly became fans of Dayglow's sound and we're pretty sure you'll be adding him to your playlists in no time.



Watch the music video for "Listerine" right here:




Dayglow online: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube | Instagram































____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

And there we go!
Have you seen Dayglow live yet?








Thank you for your visit!








&






Credits // Words: Vanessa Jetwash | Photography: Gabby Ames | **a ticket and photo pass have kindly been provided**

Song Of The Day: "Jackboot Jump (live)" by Hozier

22nd November 2019 //

Hey everyone!

As bloggers it is expected of us to be quick when it comes to new releases.
We need to consume quickly in order to write quickly - and that's something you adapt to over the years and get quite good at.

We love the immediacy of writing and sharing, knowing that once we hit "publish", we can talk to music fans and get their reactions.
It's brilliant.

But sometimes we prefer having an extra day and night to sit with a piece of music, to really understand it.
We decided to do just that with Hozier's brand new single and it was definitely a good idea.


- Song Of The Day -
"Jackboot Jump (live)" by Hozier


After writing a tribute song for those artists who have used and still use their voices and don't shy away from writing protest songs. "Nina Cried Power" was Hozier's powerful return last year and perhaps it was the first nod to what was to come.

With his brand new single "Jackboot Jump", Hozier has gone and given an even bigger nod to traditional protest songs written by artists such as Pete Seeger and Woodie Guthrie. (Both artists are also named in "Nina Cried Power".)

The song is a live recording from his show in El Paso, Texas and only features the drums, played by Rory Doyle, the electric guitar and his vocals.
Although only using three elements for the song, it still sounds huge. The riff is as mindblowing as it is catchy, staying in your even when the song ends.
Power and depth are what the drums deliver so brilliantly and give the song the signature stomping sound we associate with Hozier.

While the majority of the song highlights injustice, political unrest and oppressive regimes (examples: Standing Rock, Moscow, Hong Kong), Hozier uses the last verse to show the hope he has in those who protest and use their voices to demand change: 
 
"All around the world
You'd think that things were looking rough
But the jackboot only jumps down
On people standing up
So you know good things are happening
When the jackboot needs to jump"



It's just a bloody great track, so we advice you to check out the video below.



Watch Hozier's performance of "Jackboot Jump (live)" right here:




- buy and/or stream "Jackboot Jump (live)" here -



Hozier online: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube | Instagram





Thank you for your visit!













Credits // Words & Image: Vanessa Jetwash

Gig Photos: Blossoms at Rock & Roll Hotel, Washington (November 2019)

19th November 2019 //


Hey everyone!

Happy Tuesday!
Well, Tuesday generally have a bad rep, don't they?
The weekend is over, Monday has seen most of us return to work, whether that's 9 to 5 or 24/7 (hello there fellow freelancers!), it can be a bit of pain in the behind.

But isn't it also kind of cool how we collectively conquer another week?
We kinda think it is.
And to make it a lot easier, we think you need decent music - which we love providing to you.

Our DC based photographer Gabby has some photos of two brilliant bands for you today and if you add those two bands to your playlist, your Tuesday will improve about 124%.


As always, please make sure to support Gabby's work online:
Website | Twitter | Instagram

____________________________________________________________________________________________________________

Date: 5th November 2019
Venue: Rock & Roll Hotel, Washington (DC)

Support Act: Inhaler


Inhaler are a four piece from Dublin, Ireland.

They met at school and soon realised they all share interests and had similar tastes in music. This, of course, led to them uniting to bring quality rock music to the crowds.

Inhaler are:
Elijah Hewson (vocals, rhythm guitar)
Josh Jenkinson (lead guitar)
Robert Keating (bass)
Ryan McMahon (drums)

The guys have already released a bunch of singles, such as the soundtrack-like "It Won't Always Be Like This" and their latest, "Ice Cream Sundae", a groovy retro number.

After seeing them opening for Blossoms, we certainly can't wait to hear more from them.


Watch the music video for "Ice Cream Sundae" right here:




Inhaler online: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube | Instagram



























____________________________________________________________________________________________________________


Headliner: Blossoms


Blossoms are a five piece band from Stockport, UK.
Their sound has drawn inspiration from bands such as Oasis and Artic Monkeys to the classic 80s Pop elements.

They started out as a school band, named after a local pub.
As the band came together, they pretty quickly found their sound and started writing and releasing their debut single, "You Pulled A Gun", and soon after dropped their debut EP, "Bloom".

Blossoms are:
Tom Ogden (vocals, guitar)
Charlie Salt (bass, backing vocals)
Josh Dewhurst (lead guitar)
Joe Donovan (drums)
Myles Kellock (keyboards, backing vocals)

After signing to Virgin EMI, Blossoms kept releasing EPs while gigging around the country and playing festivals, including a set at Glastonbury in 2016.
Their self-titled debut album made it to number 1 in the UK charts and they haven't slowed down since.

Besides touring all over the place, Blossoms wrote and recorded another album and released the "Cool Like You" LP in 2018.


Watch the music video for "Your Girlfriend" right here:




Blossoms online: Website | Twitter | Facebook | Spotify | YouTube | Instagram



























____________________________________________________________________________________________________________


What's your favourite Blossoms track?
Let us know!








Thank you for your visit!









&






Credits // Words: Vanessa Jetwash | Photography: Gabby Ames | **a ticket and photo pass have kindly been provided**