pinkpop // h.s au

prologue

Lola

Music. The most important thing in my life. Music is the only memory I have left of my father. He had cancer and unfortunately he could not fight it. When I was six my dad first brought me to pinkpop. Three days full of music. My dad and I loved it. We loved it so much. Music made us feel free, made us feel alive. It became a tradition. My dad and I could not live without music. It was what kept us both going.

When my dad was so weak because of his cancer and he thought he did not have long to live anymore, he made me promise him something. I still remember his exact words.

"Lola, sweetheart," my dad spoke. He was lying in his hospital while I sat beside him. I smiled to him and waited for him to continue. "You have to promise me something. It is very important to me." He spoke sofly and grabbed my hand. I held it tighly and kissed it before I wispered. "Anything, dad."

"Never give up your passion for music. I can see in your eyes how much you love it. You have this sparkle.. your mum says I have it too. I know we always did these things together, listen to old tracks, find new bands, go to festivals," his eyes were still full of joy when he reminisced about these things. We always had the time of our lives. We shared so many happy memories. Then he grasped my hand a little tighter and looked me straight in the eye.

"Lola, when I'm not here anymore.." he paused. I could feel the tears swell up in my eyes. "I still want you to feel happy and free and that's what music does to you. So never ever give that up, okay? I may be not with you physically anymore but here," he placed our combined hands over my heart. "Right there, I will always be." A single tear rolled over my cheek. I wiped it away with my free hand. "I promise you dad, I won't give it up."

And that's exactly what I did. I kept my promise. I still listen to all our favourite tracks. Whenever I find a new band that I love I go to my dad's grave and listen to it. That way he won't miss a thing. The most important thing. I still go to pinkpop every year. The festival where it all started. Where my love for music was born.

Harry

Music. The most important thing in my life. When I was six, most kids my age wanted started to play football or some kind of other sport. But I was different. I wanted to learn how to play the guitar or piano or just sing. I've always been fascinated with music. I've always known that I wanted to become a musician. It just came naturally to me I guess.

When I was 18 I started to write my own songs and I told my parents I wanted to move to London to make my dream come true. My parents didn't really like that. They wanted me to finish my school first and go to university. But that just wasn't me. I didn't like to study, I just wanted to make music. So i just did that. I packed my bags and with all the money I had saved I went to London. I found a job in bar and I barely made enough money to pay my rent but it was all worth it. I don't know what is was, but I had a feeling something great was about to happen. 

One night I was cleaning up the bar while softly singing a song. One of my own songs. My boss heard me. "Hey kid, what's the song you're singing?" I looked up from the table I was cleaning to see my boss standing before me. "Oh..uh, I actually wrote it myself," I said nervously while scratching the back of my neck. He looked at me kind of bewildered, "really?" I nodded. He tilted his head to the side as if he was thinking. He just stared at me for a few minutes before he spoke up again. "Listen kid, I'll let you play here.. We'll just try it for a week or two, to see if it atracks more customers. If so, you may play." I was shocked, that was actually good news. This was my chance. "Thank you Dave, thank you so much. It means a lot to me, really." The only thing I could do was smile. This was my first job as a musician, I couldn't be happier. "Yeah yeah kid, we'll see how it works out," he turned around to go back to his work before he spoke up again, "oh, and any tips you get are for you," he winked and walked away.

That night really changed my life. I played every night at the bar and a lot of people seemed to like it. Dave even had to hire more people because the bar became more crowded. One night after I was done with singing my songs, this guy came up to me. His name was Max, he had dirty blond hair and clear blue eyes. We talked for a bit and he told me he had band together with his cousin and best friend. They only needed a singer and he thought I was perfect for that. I made the best decision that night to say yes to max' offer. I am now twenty, our band DISTRICT got just signed by a label and this year we're playing on our first big festival. PinkpopThat has always been my dream, to play at a big festival. Thousands of people that come together because they all love the same thing. Music. I really think music connects people with each other. It doesn't matter which language you speak. You don't have to know what someone is singing to feel the emotion behind it. Everyone can feel music and that's beautiful.

***

Hiiiii guys!! If you're reading this it means you read the prologue of my first story ever and I can't thank you enough for that. I really hope you enjoyed it. I've had this idea in my mind for a long time and I finally decided to write it down. If you like it and you think I should continue to write it please comment or vote or something. it would mean a lot to me. I would also like to point out that this is my first story ever so if it's not good I'm very sorry. Also English is not my first language so exuse me if there are any mistakes. I'm really excited to write this story so I hope you all like it.

Please vote & comment!!

xoxo