a music blog
I love this time of year when the release schedule begins to fill up and you start to feel excited for what treasures might be in store for this year. I’ve rounded up the confirmed releases, likely releases and hopes for 2026 below!
Continue reading “Music to Look Forward to in 2026 “
We’ve made it to the end of blogmas and I’ve saved the best of the year until last. It’s been great writing a post every day in December and I want to thank everyone for reading the blog this year!
So now for my favourite albums of the year by women artists. The list reflects my own personal listening and is not intended to be any kind of ‘best of’.
Please share yours in the comments! Click below to read my reviews of each album.
Continue reading “Albums of the Year 2025”
This year I made a rolling playlist of my favourite songs on Apple Music which has been hugely helpful in keeping track of what I’ve enjoyed listening to. I’ve always kept a list of songs from albums I review on Spotify but that doesn’t catch every single.
Another useful app for me is Last FM which I’ve been using since 2006 to count what I listen to. Sometimes the numbers are skewed because I have to listen to something more to review it, or just because a song came out at the beginning of the year but it still helps me to see what music I’ve gone back to.
So using those metrics alongside my own gut instinct here are my top 20 favourite songs of the year sung by women. Apologies to the artists who I just haven’t had a chance to listen to this year. Share yours in the comments and let me know what I missed!
Continue reading “Songs of the Year 2025”
Melissa Carper is on a hot streak after her last few brilliant solo albums and her work with Wonder Women of Country and she has now released this sparkling new Christmas album. Unlike so many other festive offerings ‘A Very Carper Christmas’ is a collection of nearly all originals, written mainly with her old bandmate Gina Gallina plus Brennen Leigh and Katie Shore.
Continue reading “Album Review: Melissa Carper – A Very Carper Christmas “
When the Grammys recently introduced a ‘Traditonal Country Album’ one of the artists who came straight to my mind was Brennen Leigh. She has regularly played at Robert’s Western World in Nashville, has a brilliant trio with Melissa Carper and Kelly Willis called Wonder Women of Country and just seems to perfectly encapsulate the vintage style of country music which gets unfairly overlooked by the mainstream.
Continue reading “Album Review: Brennen Leigh – Don’t You Ever Give Up On Love”
When I started blogging in 2017 one of my favourite discoveries was Caroline Spence. I have since reviewed both her albums Mint Condition and True North, and believe they are two of the best recent releases in the Americana genre. She’s a compassionate and poetic songwriter with a beautifully sweet voice.
Continue reading “Album Review: Caroline Spence – Heart Go Wild”
One of the joys of blogging has been the chance to celebrate older artists like Mavis Staples who are still out here, in their 80s, singing and spreading the good word of peace, love and understanding. On her new album ‘Sad & Beautiful World’ she brings together a collection of songs which she says are ‘part of me and what I’ve been singing about my whole life.’
Continue reading “Album Review: Mavis Staples – Sad & Beautiful World”
After two albums where she strayed somewhat from her country music roots, Margo Price is back in the genre she started in with the release of this new album ‘Hard Headed Woman’. This week she played the Opry, wearing clothes loaned from Loretta Lynn’s archive, suggesting Margo has come home, all guns blazing, ready to take back the genre once again.
Continue reading “Album Review: Margo Price – Hard Headed Woman”
Twelve ago Kathleen Edwards was done with music. She even opened a cafe called Quitters. Then she quit that too. Now she has returned to music with a renewed appreciation of just playing with other people, for other people.
When Jason Isbell offered to produce and have his band the 400 Unit play on her new record, Kathleen wept. During the recording process she says she learned how to trust herself, and just get it done. ‘Billionaire’ is an enjoyable listen (apart from one notable song, more of which in a moment) and overall it’s one of the strongest Americana albums released so far this year.
Continue reading “Album Review – Kathleen Edwards: Billionaire “
Highway Queens 