Ben Miller

This is the story of my trip from the US to the UK in September 2024 to see my favorite singer Katie Melua, with a few other adventures along the way. All photos in this post were taken by me. Prologue In the fall of 2007, I was working on a cover of Bob Dylan's "Blowin' in the Wind" and decided to search the internet for other covers. I came across Katie Melua's 2005 performance on the French TV show Taratata and was instantly mesmerized. To this day I still consider it one of the greatest covers of any song ever. I quickly downloaded all of her albums (there were three at the time; she has nine now). The more I learned the more impressed I became. Like how she went from growing up amidst civil war in the former Soviet state of Georgia to being the best-selling female artist in Europe. Or how she holds the Guinness world record for the deepest underwater concert. As an avid concertgoer I've seen hundreds of artists live over the years, but there was always on...

This post chronicles my trip to England in February 2017. The main purpose of my trip was to attend the opening of Jim Steinman's Bat out of Hell musical, although as you'll see I had a few other adventures as well. All photos by Ben Miller unless otherwise noted. I took an overnight flight from home (Raleigh, North Carolina, USA) and landed at London's Heathrow Airport around 7:00AM local time on Thursday, February 16. After going through customs and passport control, I boarded the Heathrow Express to Paddington Station, where I bought an all-day London Underground pass. My first ride on the Tube was on the Bakerloo line to Baker Street, where I found the Sherlock Holmes Museum fittingly at address 221B. I then checked into my hotel, the Ibis at Euston Station, to drop off my luggage and then ventured on to the British Library around the corner. My favorite part was the Treasure Room, which houses original manuscripts ranging from Michelangelo and da Vinci ...