Editors' Picks

Country music is definitely cool again. With lots of young artists leading the way, the genre often finds itself back in mainstream media.

There's a very strong chance you’ve heard Yael Naim’s music before, even if her name might not be familiar. 

For longtime Paramore fans, Hayley Williams’ debut single ‘Simmer’ is well worth the wait. For over sixteen years, Williams has been the undisputed face of the alternative rock act as its cherished lead singer and has essentially grown to become a musical and fashion icon for rock and punk communities all across the world.

The Who, Madonna, Talk Talk, Black Sabbath, Bo Diddley, Queen and Big Country all have something in common with some of their music and James Smith can now join that list - I’ll leave the answer to the end, but it’s not too tricky a puzzle to solve. 

Badly Drawn Boy releases ‘Is This A Dream?’, his first song in seven years.

Prior to ‘This is the Place’ Tom Grennan has released, or been featured on three other tracks that have made it into the top 75 of the singles chart.

Pearl Jam formed in 1990, which means that this year will mark 30 years as a group (29 since their release of their first album).

Louis Tomlinson’s new song ‘Walls’ is the title track of his latest album out next week.

Meghan Trainor is a name you’re more than likely familiar with. All About That Bass was her first major release with manager Troy Carter, and it became one of the fastest selling singles of all time reaching number one in 58 countries - an impressive feat to say the least. 

Ashley McBryde is one of Country Music’s newest stars and the American born artist from Walden, Arkansas has already drawn nominations for tracks on her soon to be released second album, Never Will, which Martha Divine is taken from.

Manchester born GZ Tian is a rising star in English music. He raised a lot of excitement with his 2018 debut single release ‘Laid Back’ and has grown a steady following who have been anticipating more from the young artist.

What’s not to like about Drive-By Truckers. Firstly, the band creates a wonderful image of a group of middle aged men who could bear a slight resemblance to ZZ Top. Secondly, what music are they going to play? Probably a rock theme...

You may think Malka sounds familiar. Perhaps you've heard her music before, or you could know her work from her time as leader of 6 Day Riot.

Tim Chadwick learnt his craft in Dublin’s singer songwriter venues and quickly enhanced his reputation as a powerful songwriter, who wasn’t afraid to put real emotion into his music. Sore Thumb is no different, it is refreshing in the way it tackles personal issues, which the more you read about Tim Chadwick, the more you respect him as a person and musician. 

It's been 7 years since Ella Eyre’s collaboration with Rudimental on the award winning ‘Waiting all Night’, which went on to win the 2014 Brit award for single of the year.

Douglas Dare is a London based singer-songwriter who originally harks from the West Country. With a piano teacher for a father, he was always exposed to music and this helped him develop into one of the UKs most talented multi instrumentalists.

When you get a brief biography of a band and you hear that their influences range from the Rolling Stones to Hip Hop greats, you know you’re in for a great tune.

Artists come and go, and if they stay around for more than 10 years, there’s very often band member changes. Not so much with Little Big Town who have been together for 22 years, and have the original 4 members all still loving their craft.

The Canadian multi-instrumentalist has been around now for nearly 14 years, but a car accident has meant that there has been an understandable hiatusher production for a couple of years.

Gengahr are just about to start a tour which sees them crossing continents, all the way down to Auckland in New Zealand to spread the word of their latest album, Sanctuary, which is due for official release on the 31st January.

Fake Laugh has established himself as a serious contender now as an artist that can compete in the streaming charts with his unique sound and brand.

Billy Ocean has been back in the mainstream public eye more and more over the last few years, making regular radio appearances and still performing his hits around the world.

Ireland can be proud of its contribution to popular music, not just the superpower of bands like U2, but with a huge range of tradition, pop and more eclectic artists, there is a new wave of excitement being created through talented artists who are being given opportunities to showcase their undoubtable talents.

Seafret are a London based Indie-pop duo Jack Sedman and Harry Draper. Originating from Bridlington, their name reflects their closeness to one of England’s coastal towns. Since their first EP release in 2014 they have been consistent in their production of songs that are growing them a loyal army of fans around the UK. 

With four previous UK number ones, an impressive total of 67 weeks in the UK top 10 over their four decade career and over 100 million records sold worldwide, the Pet Shop Boys need little introduction.

British rap has evolved steadily over the last 40 years and is more mainstream now than ever. It's getting young people into a genre of music that they can really relate to.

What's not to like about David Keenan. His journey into music is something of fairy tales - running away from his home in Dundalk in Ireland at the tender age of 17 to find the ‘disappeared’ in Liverpool.

We all want to start the New Year happy, so Oh Wonder’s new release would be the perfect place to start. The alternative pop duo of Anthony West and Josephine Vander Gucht have released some awesome tracks since their first EP in 2015.

Hannah Grace could soon be ruling the music world with beauty in her music. 

You may not have heard the name of Camden Cox before, but this London based singer is about to get a lot of attention for her style, vocal delivery and natural talent.

The resurgence of folk music, thanks largely to bands like Mumford and Sons and artists such as Ben Howard, has opened the door to many new talents who can now commercially make inroads into the music industry.

If you’re going to have music with rap in it, you have to be able to show passion and anger, and not just with the vocal line - it has to come through all of the musicianship.

With Nomeansno now officially retired, Fugazi on indefinite hiatus and Sonic Youth extremely unlikely to tour again after the acrimonious marital split of Kim and Thurston there’s very slim pickings, gig wise, for those of us Generation X’ers with an affinity for US post-hardcore, indie, noise rock.

Upcoming Irish singer-songwriter Megan O’Neill impressed a London audience on Thursday, marking her final performance of 2019. After a successful year - including opening stadium shows for the legendary Sir Tom Jones, playing at key UK country music festivals (British Country Music Festival, Country 2 Country, Body & Soul) her fans seemed keen for her closing headlining gig at The 229 Venue.

Lana Del Rey finished her USA fall tour on Tuesday night supported by a range of special guests, including Lukas Nelson (son of the great Willie Nelson), former The Walkman frontman Hamilton Leithauser, Nikki Lane and Lissie; the acts were seemingly included to suit the Nashville music culture and crowd, adding a little extra spark and interest to the show. This ultimately invoked a country theme for the event, which seemed to favor the city's music scene.