We’ve got some amazing sessions scheduled in the first quarter of this year and we’re reaching out to our lovely readers in the London area who have or know of some great indoor locations where we could film.

It could be a great spacious house/flat, a shop that you own, warehouse, rooftop or great garden or anything like that.

This Saturday (28th) afternoon we’re filming a session an unplugged acoustic session with an absolutely amazing artist and her band and if you fancy a lovely afternoon of music with the band and Mahogany crew – get in touch at info@themahoganyblog.com.

To confirm, it needs to be in London.

As Saint Saviour works round on the clock on her upcoming album (you can get involved in the project right here), she’s also playing a couple of special shows before the years end.

The next event is on Sunday 11th December at Lo Profile where she’ll perform an exclusive acoustic session for Gaydar Radio Live with doors opening at 5pm.

Now we’ve got a fantastic prize to give away which not only includes getting into the incredible gig but also;

• 4 VIP tickets
• Private table
• Bottle of bubbly

All entrants must be 18-or-over and be able to make their own way to and from the London event on 11th December.

Entering the competition is simple, all you need to do to the following;

Email competitions@themahoganyblog.com with the title ‘Saint Saviour’ with your full name, full address and date of birth by 1300 on 7th December and we’ll announce the winner on the 8th December via email.

COMPETITION NOW CLOSED.

Simples!

Saint Saviour came to prominence via a series of collaborations most notably with Groove Armada.  She contributed 4 songs to their latest 2011 Grammy-nominated album – the critically acclaimed and commercially successful Black Light – taking on the role of front woman on the ensuing world tour. Her subsequent profile developed her growing fan base resulting in a sold out show of her own at Bush Hall and a pivotal performance at the Little Noise Sessions, with the Sunday Times stating “She has one of those extraordinary voices that somehow combines incredible precision with the sense of both imminent collapse and the possibility of a completely unanticipated vocal tangent”.   SUNDAY TIMES / Breaking Act

Saint Saviour -Fallen Trees

Groove Armada featuring Saint Saviour – Paper Romance

Jack Daniel’s have walked hand-in-hand with music since Mr. Daniel’s himself started the Silver Cornet Band in his hometown of Lynchburg in an effort to draw bigger crowds to his saloons to try his famous sour mash whiskey.

Over 80 years later, the musical relationship is stronger than ever and we were lucky enough to be invited to Tennessee last month to see it first hand for their annual birthday celebrations which included some very special live performances from a truly steller lineup.

The crew

We didn’t head to the States on our own – the cream of the crop of UK magazines, blogs and radio were there including The Line of Best Fit, Rockfeedback, BBC, Drowned in Sound, Clash Music, The Mac Twins, Nailer9 and the Daily Record were also there to name a few and we’re all pictured below. And let’s not forget Goose (pictured centre) who you may have seen on JD’s marketing campaign in the UK. He’s headed up the tours for over 30 years now and is a truly unforgettable character!

The Distillery

The party couldn’t start until understanding exactly how the golden sauce is made and before the theory, came the practical - TASTING!

Master tastesman Jeff walked (or sipped) us through all three production bottles made on site (Old Number 7, Single Barrel and my personal favourite, Gentleman Jack) but most excitingly was their first new product in over a decade, Tennessee Honey. It’s a new liquer blended with, you guessed it, honey and makes for a much softer, sweeter and more subtle taste. It’s not coming over to the UK until 2012 but perhaps our US readers have tried it before.

After the day of educational tasting and history – it was time to get some sleep before the big party on BBQ hill.

The Party

Every year incredible names in music descend on the iconic BBQ hill, just a short walk up from the distillery to play to an exclusive crowd. Since 2007, acts like Patti Smith, Roisin Murphy, Jon McClure, Juliette Lewis, Richard Hawley, Ellie Goulding and Jarvis Cocker have played and this years lineup may well have been the strongest ever!

Steve Cropper and the New Silver Cornet band

Nearly 80 years after the original set-up, the magic has been re-created and comprises of living legends Steve Cropper (Booker T And The MGs), David Hood and more. Without needing much of an introduction, Cropper penned the Otis Redding classic ‘Sitting on the Dock of the Bay’ and that’s only the start. The band sat down for long rehearsals with every act on the bill to make sure the classic sound on their modern hits were flawless.

K. Flay

Now K. Flay was new to us until the party and the rapper/producer/singer stole the show as she opened the party. Blending her electronic break-beat sounds, witty lytics and the instrumental funk backing was truly unique and the grin on her face was huge!

Real name Kristine Flaherty is on the new so keep an eye out for her as she takes her one-woman show on the road including some new dates this month in the States and her information can be found here.

Warpaint

Emily and Theresa from Warpaint were on next and having been wanting to see the gorgeous girls play live since first hearing them, it was the perfect setting and among ‘Elephants’ and ‘Undertow’ as well as a couple of great covers.

Plan B

Headlining was Ben Drew aka Plan B who managed to squeeze in just one show before shooting his new movie The Sweeney alongside the infamous and brilliant Ray Winstone.

He stole the show with some unbelievable tracks and the Steve Cropped provided unparalleled sound on guitar whilst the rest of the band were as tight as a dolphin’s blowhole and despite some early sound problems which meant him having to steal one of the backing vocalists microphones – he was a roaring success.

Wrap Up

Whilst hundreds of brands try to merge with music, Jack Daniel’s are one of the few who remain not only fully committed on a long-term basis but also aware of the music they actually like. An artist like Katy Perry is never going to get an invite to Tennessee or a JD set because it’s simply wrong and that’s where other companies go wrong, they try and get the biggest artist on the planet to provide a lifeless plug to a unaligned product or service.

The party was incredible and the hangover on the journey home was completely worth it. The acts were astounding and I’m looking forward to the next round of JD sets in the UK in 2012.

Without any more words, watch a montage which sums up the weekend beautifully.

Your friends at Jack Daniels remind you to drink responsibly.

Jack Daniels is celebrating his birthday this weekend with a multitude of celebrations, all culminating at the historical distillery in Mr Daniels’ hometown of Lynchburg.

Plan B, Warpaint as well as Kay Flay and The Silver Cornet Band (including Steve Cropper who penned the Otis classic on the Dock of the Bay!) will be playing live and we’re flying over there today to provide ample coverage through the blog, Twitter as well as Instagram. Not to mention drinking our way through a proud amount of Jack and juice!!

Keep up to date and stay tuned.

Mark.

The next few months will see some key developments take place at Mahogany as we expand including a brand new website and more. We’re now looking for some part-time editorial staff to join one of the UK’s leading independent blogs.

We want confident, fun, talented and creative individuals with hugely diverse tastes in music to apply for;

• 1 Feature Contributor
• 1 Review Contributor

It is also desirable for applicants to be based in London but not essential and owning a DSLR camera would also be a big plus, but again not essential.

These positions are non-paying and editorial staff work from home but take part in bi-weekly editorial meetings.

Perks include free gigs and festivals (for review purposes), industry events, interviewing some of the most exciting acts in music and more.

To apply, email info@themahoganyblog.com with your full name, location and date of birth in the title.

Within the email you need to tell us two things, each in 150 words or less.

All applications to be submitted by 19th September at 2100 GMT.

So three big landmarks were celebrated at Mahogany HQ over the weekend – all of which strangely happened at almost the same time!

Firstly we reached 3000 subscribers on our YouTube channel after 14 months of being live. Since July 2010 we’ve filmed over 150 sessions with all kinds of great acts like Jamie Woon, Eliza Doolittle, Les Savy Fav and Wretch 32. If you’ve yet to subscribe and receive updates whenever new sessions are uploaded, it’s simple and free and you can do it HERE.

We also surpassed the 1,000,000 views landmark on YouTube which is just incredible and here’s to many more millions of views in the future!

Finally we also hit 5000 fans on our Facebook page and we hugely appreciated everyone who has taken time to click Like and Comment on our regular posts.

A big, big thank you to everyone for your continuing support!!

Over the past two to three years almost every major brand, company and service that I can think of is investing their time and money into music and I welcome it as any and all interest in what some say is a ‘dying industry‘ is surely a positive.

Nike’s concept space in Shoreditch called 1948 laid host to a fortnight of music-centric BBQ sessions titled Grass Roots which managed to squeeze in just before the end of the so called British ‘summer’.

The first event featured sets from Hudson Mohawke and Raffertie whilst Blood Orange had the crowd in his palm with a seriously great live performance, finishing with Sutphin Boulevard.

(Blood Orange)

Blood Orange – Sutphin Boulevard

Two weeks later, the second in the Grass Roots series kicked off with an even stronger lineup which welcomed the likes of Is Tropical, Alex Clare and all the way from NYC, Santigold!

Mr. Clare’s voice never fails to send dozens of shivers down my spine whenever I hear him and his set was incredible as usual and included our favourite tracks of his, Hummingbird.

Alex Clare – Hummingbird 

Santigold was by far the biggest name of the night however and the crowd surge for the artist (now under Jay-Z’s Roc Nation management) was by far the largest and the highlight had to be getting half the crowd on stage for the last track.

Santigold

Keep an eye for more unforgettable events at the 1948 space by following their blog here.