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It seems Ellie Goulding is the latest member of Taylor Swift's gang of besties as joins Taylor Swift, Selena Gomez and Haim for an exclusive 'girl popstars only' tea party - and, according to Instagram, she really can't believe her luck.

Ellie Goulding joins Taylor Swift to celebrate womanhood

The 'Love Me like You Do' hitmaker has found a new buddy in Taylor Swift, who probably has one of the most sought after phonebooks in the music industry. Not only has she been rubbing shoulders with the likes of Hozier and Calvin Harris recently (resulting in a series of unwarranted romance rumours), it seems Swift is equally keen to embrace her girlfriends. 

Continue reading: Ellie Goulding Spends International Women's Day With Taylor Swift And Friends

We've been seriously pushing US and UK music festivals this year but, it has to be said, there's nowhere quite like Europe.

The continent is home to some of the most unique music events in the world and, looking at what's on offer this year, it seems that the festival season is the best time to experience cultural diversity to the nth degree. Whether its sun or snow you're after, rock or dance music, indoor or outdoor, Europe has it all and with the summer quickly approaching, it's time to get on a plane and take the best vacation of your lives as we guide you to the most exciting countries you can hope to visit this year.

Belgium
- Pukkelpop (August 14th - 16th): This Belgian weekend remains seriously cool having first began in 1985 and always playing host to some of the world's best alternative music with early performers including Ramones, The Jesus And Mary Chain and Iggy Pop. Nearly 30 years on, Pukkelpop maintains its excellence with 2014 seeing the likes of Clean Bandit, Gogol Bordello and Die Antwoord on the bill.
- Tomorrowland (July 18th - 20th and July 25th - 27th): If you want to feel like you've entered a fantasy world for a weekend (or two), Tomorrowland is definitely for you. Taking place in the town of Boom, you'll be rocking out against a backdrop of incredible art installations of gargantuan proportions - it really isn't a sight to be missed.

Continue reading: Head To Europe This Year For The Best Summer Festival Experiences!

Arguably what could be Florida's most fun-packed 3-day event of the year, Big Guava Music Festival makes its debut today (May 2nd 2014) with an impressive line-up headlined by Outkast, Vampire Weekend and Foster The People.

There's a lot of things we like about Florida, and we reckon Big Guava's inaugural event will definitely be one of them. Set against the glorious city backdrop of Tampa, this festival is bound to be the highlight of your year as it arrives at the Florida State Fairgrounds and Mid-Florida Credit Union Amphitheatre. As well as  40 awesome bands on 4 different stages, you got your craft beers, your diverse food trucks and your epic fairground rides (which are free, by the way) that will keep you busy in between performances from a line-up that prides itself on its quality over quantity. Having said that, we still think you're going to be spoilt for choice with this lot.

Continue reading: Betty Who, Tegan And Sara And Foster The People - Big Guava Music Festival 2014 Is Definitely Worth A Visit

There’s something about Haim that makes them stand out from their other contemporary rock bands. Maybe it’s got something to do with the feeling we can't shake that they belong to a different time and place. They wouldn’t have stuck out performing at Woodstock in ’69 and they’ve successfully managed to cement a spot for themselves as one of the most successful bands around, without ever distinctively conforming to a single genre.

 The sisters narrowly missed out on the BRIT Award for Best International Group

Yesterday, Haim headed over to BBC Radio 1 where they recorded two tracks for a Live Lounge session (we live for Live Lounge sessions). One of the tracks that the band laid down was their new single ‘If I Could Change Your Mind’, which looks set to achieve similar success to their previous track 'The Wire'; but the recording that’s already gone viral is their cover of Beyonce’s ‘XO’.

Continue reading: Haim: The Persistent Allure Of California's Favorite Rock Band

The Coachella festival always manages to bring out the big names for its annual two weekend spectacular in April. This year, organizers have outdone themselves with a feast of big name acts that will take to Coachella’s sun soaked stage. From the relatively new wave makers like Lorde and Bastille to heavyweights such as Muse and of course the reunited Outkast there is something for everyone in the Californian sun. In order to really whet your appetite, we’re running down the 10 acts you simply cannot afford to miss at this year’s Coachella Festival.

Beck will be preforming at this year's Coachella festival

Beck

Continue reading: Coachella Festival 2014: Your Guide To This Year's Lineup

Golden Globes Glory: Last weekend's Golden Globe awards set hearts racing ahead of March's Oscars with plenty of deserving winners next to a few jaw-dropping snubs. 12 Years A Slave predictably came out on top with the big gong but a few unpredictabilities set award odds and Oscars speculation askew. Newbie comedy Brooklyn Nine-Nine saw off rivals to claim two awards whilst Blue Jasmine's Cate Blanchett took the leading lady award alongside Dallas Buyers Club's  for the men.

Gravity's Alfonso Cuarón stole Best Director from Steve McQueen whilst Breaking Bad and Behind The Candelabra snatched the big TV awards. The surprise wins also made for some truly memorable speeches too, with Elisabeth Moss exclamation of "Oh s**t!" and Jacqueline Bisset's sweary ramble marking two particular highlights. Read about all the winners here.

Continue reading: A Week In News: Globes And Oscars Mania, Prince Finds His Funny Bone, Lena Dunham Gets A Vogue Make-Over

Arctic Monkeys are looking set to be the stars of the show at this year's NME Awards after the newly-released nominees list shows the British rockers sitting atop a pile of nominations higher than any other artist. The Sheffield group are up for an impressive eight awards this year and are only rivalled by Californian sister group Haim, who have gathered six, according to NME.

Arctic Monkeys Are Leading The NME Awards Nominations.

The band's fifth studio album, AM, rocketed to the top of the charts and has earned Mercury Music Prize and Brit Awards nominations, as well as critical acclaim. The R&B-inspired album faces competition in the Best Album category from Queens Of The Stone Age's ...Like Clockwork, In Love by Peace, Kanye West's Yeezus, Savages' Silence Yourself and Drenge's self-titled debut.

Continue reading: Arctic Monkeys And Haim Lead NME Awards Nominations

Darkside 'Psychic' - After an EP in 2011, Darkside released their debut album this year. The duo - the project of Nicolas Jaar and Dave Harrington - gave as good as they got on 'Psychic', honing their talents as individual musicians. Wonderfully crisp textures ride over its entirety, creating a rich, confident ambience. 

Continue reading: Hayley Fox's Top Albums Of 2013

Vampire Weekend 'Modern Vampire in the City' - 'Modern Vampires in the City' makes it three for three for the New Yorkers and their latest release could very well be their best yet. It shows evolution for the band, but they have retained that essential quality that made 'Contra' and their self-titled debut such wonderfully upbeat and genuine pleasures to listen to each time. 'Modern Vampire in the City' is also the release that marks Vampire Weekend as a band that should be taken seriously, but one who you can still have immense fun with. 'Diane Young' is yet another indie floor filler, standing shoulder to shoulder with previous bangers 'A-Punk' and 'Cousins.' Where the album really excels, however, is when VW reach out to new quarters and sound completely inimitable. The yelps of 'Ya Hey' bring fun to a song that essentially deals with the theme of lost conviction, the graceful 'Hanna Hunt' erupts in the most complete song released this year and album opener 'Obvious Bicycle' sets the whole thing in motion with its refreshingly angelic melodies and steady, train-like clunks that lie beneath all the splendour. Vampire Weekend are no longer the Brooklyn minions rattling at the gates of eminence, the gates have been swung open for them and the welcoming committee should have made them feel rightly at home. 

Continue reading: Contactmusic.com's Top Albums Of 2013

The 2014 Grammy Awards will take place in January 2014, with the full list of nominees being revealed over the weekend. Jay-Z was the most capped nominee, with nine nods in total, whilst Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Kendrick Lamar and Daft Punk were also among the list of potential winners, but there were a number of artists who were nowhere to be seen on the list of nominations.

After their shock win in 2011, Arcade Fire have been ignored this time

Despite their last album, The Suburbs, being a runaway success at the 2011 Grammy Awards, Arcade Fire are nowhere to be seen on next year's list. Their fourth album, Reflektor, was met with almost universal praise and some critics noted that it was an improvement form their latest release, but it seems as though the Grammy committee weren't as impressed as everyone else. The Canadian band don't even appear in the Best Alternative categories, however it is pleasing to see Tame Impala and Vampire Weekend among the nominees in this category, especially considering VW released one of the albums of the year with Modern Vampires of the City.

Continue reading: Grammy Awards 2014 Nominations: Who Are The Notable Absentees On The Nominee's List

It's that time of year again, time for the BBC to poll who it thinks we will all be listening to this time next year. You might be familiar with some of the names, others you might not be so knowledgable about, but they are all names that the broadcasting house has earmarked for success over the next twelve months.

Sam Smith is one of the favourites for the contest

In the past, victors have included Adele, Ellie Goulding, Jessie J and last year's winners, Haim, and once again the list is predominantly pop-based, but there are some notable exceptions. Soloists such as Ella Eyre and Sam Smith appear on the list, having already found notable fame for their guest appearances on other artists' tracks. 21-year-old Smith appeared on Naughty Boy's chart-topper 'La La La' and Disclosure's 'Latch,' whilst Eyre found success as a featured vocalist on Rudimental's hit 'Waiting All Night.'

Continue reading: BBC Unveil The 'Sounds Of 2014' Longlist

Life Is Beautiful Festival 2013 brings top artists of all walks of life to Downtown Las Vegas this weekend for two days of cracking music, scrumptious gourmet food and breath-taking art.

This brand new festival opens for the first time this year from October 26th - 27th and will certainly be marked as a highlight for festival lovers this autumn. Headlining the event are The Killers, who will hit the Downtown Stage on the Sunday, and Kings Of Leon who will perform likewise on the Saturday. Californian singer Beck will also be making an appearance alongside Vampire Weekend, who topped the US chart with their album 'Modern Vampires of the City' earlier this year, and Imagine Dragons who are returning home to play some of their platinum hits to the neighbours. 

Continue reading: Life Is Beautiful Festival Debuts In Vegas - With An Understatement Of A Name

Haim and Justin Timberlake battled it out in one of the most closely contested fights for the top of the UK album chart this weekend, with the all-girl trio only just managing to out muscle Justin's second album of 2013. Earlier this week, it was Justin who led the girls, but after a long-fought weekend it was the 'Don't Save Me' hit-makers who were able to finish the week as the no. 1 artist in the UK.

Haim managed to beat JT after a long week of competition

According to the Official UK Album Chart, Haim managed to score 2,100 more sales of their debut album, Days Are Gone, than Justin's The 20/20 Experience 2 of 2, which at one point in the week had led the girls by just 28 copies. Ultimately though, it was the three piece from Los Angeles who made the top spot, making Justin have to wait before he can claim his fourth UK number one album.

Continue reading: Haim Edge Out Justin Timberlake To Claim UK Album Chart Top Spot

Haim and Justin Timberlake are in an intensely close battle for the top spot on the UK Album Charts.

According to the Official Charts Company between Sunday and Thursday Haim have sold 26,417 copies of their debut album 'Days Are Gone'.

Whereas Timberlake's '20/20 Experience 2 of 2' has sold 26,445 copies, thus JT is leading the Californian sisters by selling 28 more copies.

Continue reading: Haim Vs. Justin Timberlake For No.1 UK Album

Austin City Limits Music Festival is set to hit Texas for its twelfth year, bringing with it two weekends of fabulous live music and family fun.

The festival organisers first decided to spread the fun out over two weekends last year, in a bid to welcome yet more people into this unique world, and it appears that they haven't gone back on their word as they are set to return to Zilker Park on October 4th - 6th and 11th - 13th. This year sees some impressive headline acts including Depeche Mode, The Cure, Muse and Kings Of Leon - and if that wasn't exciting enough, Atoms For Peace, Lionel Richie, Phoenix and Wilco are also high up on this year's bill! Some of the other acts scattered around are just as jaw-droppingly impressive, not to mention extremely diverse. We have Californian rockers Queens Of The Stone Age, country star Hank Williams Jr.'s daughter Holly Williams, Compton rapper Kendrick Lamar, LA sisters Haim, alt-folk group Thao & The Get Down Stay Down Nottingham singer Jake Bugg and legendary 'Gay Bar' hitmakers Electric Six.

Continue reading: Austin City Limits 2013 Set To Return With A Stunningly Diverse New Line-Up

Leeds Festival 2013 may not have brought with it the best weather of the year, with torrential downpours and heavy flooding putting a damper (pardon the pun) on everyone's camping weekend, but the line-up was enough to put a smile on everyone's mud spattered face!

Green Day Headline Leeds Festival 2013

Biffy Clyro drew in a rapturous audience on the Friday and Green Day had a smaller but dedicated audience on Saturday, but that was nothing compared to Eminem's fantastic closing performance which drew the biggest audience of the whole weekend. Other bands had a few surprises up their sleeves, with Fall Out Boy managing to get Foxes up on stage to perform their collaborative track 'Just One Yesterday' (Pete Wentz' favourite song from their new album) and The Lumineers taking crowd participation to a new level by playing in the middle of their audience.

Continue reading: Leeds Festival 2013 Flooding Fails To Bring The Rapturous Crowd Down