While never a fan of the New Year celebrations, which now I find are perfect to be spent in pyjamas watching movies with cats sleeping in your lap, I do remember a time when I enjoyed the fuss around a good family dinner and a decent TV programme. Or a fun night out with friends. Or seeing fireworks with the eyes of a younger version of myself. I do, however, like to look back at the year that’s been and hope for the best for the one to come.

2024 has been, as many years before it, intense. It feels like only yesterday I was in Rome, though that was last February. Seeing London again was amazing, as well as meeting friends in Copenhagen or enjoying the Mediterranean sun in Barcelona. And like always, the concerts that I’ve attended hold a dear spot in my 2024 memories. And so do all the moments I spent at home with family and friends. The end of the year has been truly exhausting and I was seriously looking forward to a longer time off. In fact it’s been so draining that it kept me from stopping by here to write about a series of concerts that I attended, like finally seeing In Flames live, or, after almost 20 years, another Cradle of Filth live gig. If there is one thing that 2024 taught me, that is the fact that I need to take it easy. But overall, I do have a smile on my face when I think back at seeing Mr. h play with RanestRane on the stage of Auditorium Parco della Musica, or at the SRB gigs at Razzmatazz in Barcelona. Attending a sold out Ville Valo gig in Stockholm was another highlight, given that I’ve been a huge fan of his music, with HIM and as a solo artist, ever since I was a kid.

As for 2025, the year so far seems to be shadowed by turmoil on so many sides. What we can all try to do, me included, is to make the best out of it. Until then, I will skip the resolutions, as they don’t add any value to the new year, and simply wish us all peace, love, health and happiness. Happy New Year!