Over the past few months many in the music industry have been struck down with what is being called ‘blue dot fever’. The name for this disease comes from the way Ticketmaster show unsold seats on their site but this problem of lack of ticket sales is not confined to seated concerts. In Scotland alone this summer we’ve had cancelled festivals, and other major events offering heavily discounted tickets for standing concerts. 

This week Brandi Carlile was the latest artist to come down with blue dot fever. She’s cancelled and rescheduled her entire European tour, with every venue in the UK being downgraded to venues that are less than half the size of the original ones booked. She’s used the ‘personal circumstances’ reason for the changes, which may be true but is suitably timed to save face and cover her losses. As a fan it’s irritating to have to rebook, especially as I’d carefully chosen the best seat for the lowest price in the previous venue. Other fans had booked flights and hotels for these shows leaving many much more out of pocket than me. 

At the start of each year I re-read Woody Guthrie’s list of ‘New Year’s Rulins’ from 1943 and try to capture a little of his spirit. My favourites remain the same: Work more & be better, work by a schedule, eat good, write everyday, read lots of good books, listen to the radio, learn people, don’t get lonesome, stay glad, keep the hoping machine running, beat fascism, love everyone, wake up and fight. 

In the past I used to write yearly blogging resolutions but haven’t done since 2021. Maybe that indicates how the past few years have been challenging in the blogosphere. Looking back at that 2021 list feels crazy now as it’s all about the pandemic and trying to find ways to cope without live music. Now five years later, I thought I’d take stock and write my blogging resolutions for 2026.