London vegan news, reviews & events
If you’re looking for a night of Queer creativity, community, and good vibes, you need to get yourself to Queer Open Mic this Sunday in South London.
I started the open mic about two years ago with my friend Josh as we wanted to create a safe and supportive space for LGBTQ+ performers in London because, let’s be real, not all open mic nights are as welcoming as they should be.
Worshipping celebrity vegans can often be a problematic endeavour.
Holding up and celebrating famous people as vegans has often come back to bite our community in the backside.
Miley was championed as an ethical vegan for years right up until she went on the Joe Rogan podcast to tell the world she was eating animals again.
One of my childhood heroes, Drew Barrymore, also went down a similar route. Drew lived as a vegan for years but over the past decade or more had dipped in and out of plant-based eating sporadically. The superstar does promote a lot of vegan food, but it feels as though the argument for ethical veganism is somewhat diluted by her suggesting it’s cool to chop and change on a whim.
I am not really here to drag ex-vegan celebrities (and I do still love both of the mentioned performers. I mean, Flowers is a fabulous song), rather I’d love to shout out a vegan celebrity I feel more comfortable endorsing.
So take a look at who I bumped into yesterday at legendary vegan fried chicken shop, Temple of Seitan.
It’s that time of the week again.
My ex-partner Josh and I got together again online to discuss a few pop culture moments and in this episode of Tell Me Where I’m Going (Wrong) podcast, we both get a little bit worked up about Emilia Pérez.
We discuss out collective disbelief at the huge number of Academy Award nominations this film has garnered, as we both feel it is one of the worst movies we have ever seen.
Truly shocking.
There are a few other pop culture moments discussed in the episode such as legendary award show musical performances, as well as Josh’s ongoing fight against his chest infection! Is everyone in the UK seriously unwell, or just everyone I know?
You can watch and/or listen on YouTube:
And click through below to watch or listen via Spotify:
You Me At Six have announced an exclusive ‘SUCKAPUNCH’ vegan hot sauce in collaboration with Lou’s Brews. The sauce is limited to 200 bottles and available exclusively through pre-orders of the band’s forthcoming new album ‘SUCKAPUNCH’, due January 15th via Underdog Records / AWAL. You can pre-order here.
The ‘SUCKAPUNCH’ sauce is the hottest Lou’s Brews have ever made, and was spearheaded by bassist Matt Barnes who said: “We have always loved our hot sauce, especially when we are on tour. It is an absolute must to spice up the super noodles and microwave meals when travelling on the tour bus. The SUCKAPUNCH sauce is a Habanero based chilli sauce with distilled vinegar, garlic, sugar and salt. It starts with a big punch of spice, before the vinegar and sweetness come through and goes great with anything that needs a little punch of fire!”
Lou’s Brews founder, Lou, said: “I jumped at the chance to collaborate with the guys when I found out they’re all a bunch of spice heads. It’s been awesome working alongside the fellas, playing around with recipe ideas, and I’m stoked for the world to try our delicious little baby.”
The hot sauce follows new single and title track from the band’s forthcoming album ‘SUCKAPUNCH’, described as “transformational” by the Metro, “epic” by the NME and “absolutely huge” by Rock Sound. Their eagerly anticipated seventh studio album will also include ‘MAKEMEFEELALIVE’ and ‘Beautiful Way’, the perfect introduction to their shape-shifting new record, already tipped as “their most radical record to date” by The Sun with DIY confirming, “this is a version of You Me At Six we’ve never seen before”.
You Me At Six are one of the biggest and most prolific British rock bands of recent times. Their 15 year career has seen four UK Gold Records and five Top Ten Albums in the UK, including Number One record ‘Cavalier Youth’. An unparalleled 17 consecutive A-List singles on BBC Radio One, multiple sold-out US headline tours, and a Number One rock song in the UK & Australia, and Top Five Rock Radio track in North America, in ‘Room To Breathe’.
Undoubted heavyweights in the live arena, the summer of 2019 saw You Me At Six play their biggest outdoor headline show to date infront of 15,000 fans at a sold-out Gunnersbury Park. Their most recent UK tour saw 40,000 ticket sales, including three nights at Brixton Academy, selling-out four months in advance in just twenty minutes. May 2021 will see the band celebrate the release of ‘SUCKAPUNCH’ with a string of underplay shows across the UK, including London’s O2 Kentish Town Forum, with support from Saint Phnx. A series of intimate album launch shows across the UK will begin on July 6th at Pryzm in Kingston Upon Thames, preceded by a special socially distanced album release show at Pryzm on January 14th. All tickets are on general sale HERE.
2021 Album Launch Show
14th January, PRYZM, Kingston (Socially Distanced Event)
2021 UK Headline Tour Dates
19th May, Barrowland, Glasgow
20th May, O2 Academy, Bristol
21st May, Academy, Manchester
23rd May, O2 Academy, Newcastle
24th May, University Great Hall, Cardiff
25th May, O2 Forum, London
2021 UK Album Launch Shows
6th July PRYZM, Kingston
7th July Metronome, Nottingham
8th July Chalk, Brighton
9th July O2 Academy, Oxford
10th July Leadmill, Sheffield
11th July Brudenell Social Club, Leeds
12th July Blitz, Preston
13th July Liquid Room, Edinburgh
14th July Fat Sam’s, Dundee
Follow You Me At Six:
FACEBOOK | TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | WEBSITE | SPOTIFY
Super brief news item.
Culture Club has released a new music video for their Let Somebody Love You single and there is an interesting vegan aside in the clip.
In one scene, a group of people can been seen gathering around the band as they hold signs featuring slogans and affirmations.
One placard reads ‘Only vegans are pretty’.
I’m not sure how or why this happened. I know that Boy George eats a mostly plant-based diet but I don’t know if anyone in the band identifies as vegan.
Vegan stuff is everywhere. From high street restaurants, to mainstream media, and now even to a Culture Club music video!
Watch the video below or click here if it isn’t loading.
One of my favourite bands out of Australia is Love Like Hate.
Heather and Sonja write, record, and perform irresisitible and atmospheric pop music.
I was encouraged to remind you about them after I saw the following Instagram post from the band.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BkD-EBrF1Ra/
Love Like Hate isn’t just a vehicle for fantastic music, the people involved are also fierce social justice advocates. Both Heather and Sonja are long term vegans and both are continually using their platform to speak out against injustice.
Please take some time to listen to Love Like Hate over on Bandcamp.
Follow Love Like Hate on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
If you hang around these parts much, you will know that I adore Colour Me Wednesday.
Colour Me Wednesday is an indie punk band from west London and they are awesome.
The band is fronted by sisters Jen and Harriet Doveton, while the current line up is rounded out by Jaca Freer and Laura Ankles.
Everything the band releases is fabulous, so it should go without saying that you should instantly listen to/buy/stream the new Colour Me Wednesday album called Counting Pennies in the Afterlife.
If I was a musician, I reckon it would piss me off royally if critics said I sound like another band or I was the new so-and-so. So you get no sort of comparisons from me to try and convince you to listen to Colour Me Wednesday.
All I’m going to say is that this music makes me happy when I listen to it and I think you will get a buzz from it, too.
Stream the album on Spotify if your personal politics permit.
Take a more ethical approach and buy the album via Bandcamp. There are bundles!
Head over to YouTube to watch the music video for the first single from the album, Sunriser. The band can be seen doing a bit of vegan grocery shopping in this video!
To speed up your eventual infatuation with Colour Me Wednesday, be sure to follow the band on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.
I told you about the fab vegan food line up I have helped curate for Field Day 2018, but now I have even better news!
The food line up is staying on for a third day at the incredible Mighty Hoopla festival in Brockwell Park on June 3, 2018.
As if that food isn’t enough to entice you, the musical line up on the day is phenomenal.
Acts include some of my favourite pop performers of the past few decades including Lily Allen, TLC, Belinda Carlisle, Betty Who, B*Witched, Five, and even Vengaboys!
It is so ridiculously camp!
Imagine an incredible pop fest like that AND a huge range of vegan food traders from which to choose.
This event is going to sell out extremely quickly so grab your tickets now. Book here.
One of my favourite bands out of London is the fabulous Colour Me Wednesday.
This band releases some of the best music you will hear out of London and in even better news they also champion vegan causes.
Because I think it is a great idea to support independent artists (especially if they are vegan), I am sharing the link where you can pre-order the soon-to-be-released new album by Colour Me Wednesday.
Click here to order and help keep the arts alive… and hear some fucking fantastic music.
If you sniff around these parts of the Internet often, you will know that I adore a band from West London known as Colour Me Wednesday.
Colour Me Wednesday is a super awesome feminist queer DIY music situation with the catchiest songs this side of the Hangar Lane gyratory.
As an added bonus, the band members are vegan. I just can’t get enough of them.
If you are keen to experience one of my favourite bands, you should grab a ticket for this very special preview show taking place in South London.
To celebrate the new album set to be released soon, Colour Me Wednesday is playing a one-night-only show at DIY SPACE for London on Sunday November 19, 2017.
You can buy your tickets online here.
You can follow Colour Me Wednesday on Instagram.
Yay for music!
