Song of the Day: Kate Rusby’s inspiring message to teenagers

Colin Randall writes: Let Your Light Shine is the new single from Kate Rusby’s first non-Christmas album of original material in six years. With its anthemic chorus belted out with a blend of joyous gusto and enchanting harmonies by the... Read more →


Songs within songs – going undercover

Bill Taylor writes: If I had another penny, I would have another gill… Even I’m not old enough to remember when beer cost tuppence a pint (“And it was beer then, not like the muck you get nowadays”), but I... Read more →


Donal Lunny, Coolfin and the idea of a modern Ireland

Andrew Curry writes: Donal Lunny has been at the heart of innovation in Irish music for 50 years, as a musician, arranger, and producer—since founding Planxty with Christy Moore, Andy Irvine and Liam O’Flynn—and later with The Bothy Band and... Read more →


Ainsley Hamill: a fabulous Scots voice telling stories in song

Andrew Curry writes: The Scots singer Ainsley Hamill seems a bit of a well-kept secret, at least judging from her Spotify hits, but it’s not clear why. Her latest record, Fable, is her third solo record, and she’s been in... Read more →


He Mistook Her for a Swan: a rare gem from Canada

Steve Peck writes: As a musical explorer, one of my greatest joys is to find an exceptional act that lies off the beaten path. For the last four years, I’ve been an avid follower of He Mistook Her for a... Read more →


Song of the Day: Bill Barclay and Mr Sax. In search of a singer and a song

Bill Taylor writes: take it from me, when you’re getting well into your 70s, it’s a bonus if you can remember what you had for breakfast. Don’t push me on that, though I know it always includes coffee. And as... Read more →