DAY 1

So how did you spend your 23rd birthday? Chances are, not onstage during a coveted sunset slot at England’s Reading Festival, celebrating

your newfound status as one of rock’s rising stars while surrounded by tens of thousands of your closest friends. Then again, you are most likely not Florence

welch. The flame-haired singer, who operates under the handle Florence and the Machine, is trying to maintain her footing while her

ragged, soulful debut album, Lungs, already a chart-topper in the U.K., just made its proper American bow, boasting perhaps the year’s

sexiest paean to domestic abuse (“Kiss with a Fist”). But with all that comes a seemingly endless docket of appearances and interviews— so what better way to alleviate the stress than to have a photographer follow you around for a day and a half documenting your every move? STEVE KANDELL

AUGUS T 27, 2009

That sort of thing is
a nice perk.”

3:00 P.M.
MTV studios,
London
“I drove to the MTV
studios in Camden
for an interview and
performance. Those
are the Charlotte
Olympia shoes I got
hooked up with that
I was going to wear
for the session.

4: 30 P.M.
MTV studios
“I’ve got to do a lot
more press these
days, which can get
quite tiring. You
learn what you feel
comfortable with. I’m
a lot less freaked out
about interviews now
than I used to be.”

5:00 P.M.
MTV studios
“I have a notebook I
carry around with me
just to doodle or write
lyrics in—just notes
from the day. I’ve been
doing it since I was in
school. I’ve managed
to hang on to all of
them; I have a whole
pile at home. If I ever
lose one, I’m usually
only a page or so in,

Day 2, 5: 50 P.M.

Backstage bathroom,

Reading Festival

“I’m pretty unfocused, actually. I’m just trying to have a good time.”

3:00 P. M.

3: 15 P. M.

PHOTOGRAPHS BY ROBERTA RIDOLFI

4: 30 P. M.