Roo Around The World

For those of you that know me, you’ll know that I am totally, absolutely, 100% obsessively in love with Ben Haggerty aka Macklemore. I love everything about him – his face, his hair, his eyes, his voice, his mind and most of all, his music. He writes incredible, heartfelt and meaningful lyrics to awesome tunes and can get a crowd on their feet in a matter of seconds as soon as that distinctive beat drops. I don’t know anyone who doesn’t like him. I first started listening to him way back in September 2012 and since then have accumulated all the music he has ever made. His is the only music I can listen to everyday and never be tired of it. But I have never had the opportunity to see him live… Until now.

I’d known he was playing a single headlining show in Newcastle (Aus) on Wednesday for ages but I’m currently living about an hour and a half north of there and just thought it wouldn’t be possible. But on Wednesday afternoon I randomly looked online and saw there were still tickets for sale! So we asked to borrow the car and off we went for the greatest night of my life. I can’t describe how I felt when he walked on stage – it was a mixture of excitement, nerves and pure joy and I’m not ashamed to admit that I had actual tears in my eyes when he started the first song. Macklemore and Ryan Lewis… What a team.

They played all the big hits, including Thrift Shop, the beautiful Same Love and Can’t Hold Us (twice!) as well as some of the older stuff like Otherside, Irish Celebration and the awesomely eccentric And We Danced. The crowd was insane, and we were so so close to the front it was incredible. We danced, we sang, we screamed, we jumped, and we sweated more than I thought was possible. But it was all worth it. To me this guy is more than just another artist. He is passionate and inspirational and he writes music that speaks out and tells the world that everyone has the right to be themselves, whoever they choose to be.

Can I do it all over again now please?