Editors' Picks

Izo FitzRoy, the talented gospel, blues, and jazz singer-songwriter, distinguished herself from her peers with her first two albums, 'Skyline' (2017) and 'How The Mighty Fall' (2020). Her music featured uplifting harmonies, powerful lead vocals, and impressive live performances, which garnered widespread critical acclaim worldwide. As a result, she earned plays on various BBC radio stations, including BBC Radio 2, BBC Radio 1, BBC 6 Music, and BBC London JazzFM. Additionally, she received accolades such as the FIP Selection award and was featured on NPR's 'Heavy Rotation' in the US. On top of that, her Spotify listenership reached almost half a million monthly listeners.

This week, we had the pleasure of catching up with the talented singer/songwriter, Callum Spencer, as he graced the stage at The Mess Room in Skipton for a sold-out full band gig. As an Indie-Folk artist, Callum delivered a great performance, showcasing his remarkable vocals, powerful voice, and an array of captivating, well-crafted songs that left the audience thoroughly enthralled. Notably, his recent successful tour in Poland has further cemented his presence on the music scene, with a string of impressive gigs and coveted festival slots, solidifying his position as a rising artist to watch.

Ada Morghe's recent album, titled 'Lost,' skillfully wove together a captivating blend of refined expressive vocals, an ambitious and uplifting concept, and expertly executed musicianship. In a testament to her diverse creative abilities as an actress, author, and director, Ada now unveils an exciting twist by presenting 4hero's fresh remix of the title track. 

Embark on a thrilling journey as Kris James ascends to new heights in his musical career. Recently, he had the incredible opportunity to support acclaimed artists Will Young and Anastacia during their UK and European tours. Now, the talented singer-songwriter from Liverpool is ready to captivate audiences once again with his first release of 2023 - the soul-stirring summer single 'Caught Feelings'. With this latest track, Kris invites fans to delve into the depths of his true essence, providing an intimate glimpse into his raw emotions and genuine self. Fearlessly embracing his authenticity, he unleashes a symphony of unfiltered thoughts and heartfelt sentiments. As his latest song takes flight, we sat down with Kris to learn more about his journey as an artist and discover what inspires his craft.

The enchanting Belle Roscoe, a talented sibling duo from Australia, captivate their audience with a mesmerizing blend of contemporary Americana and timeless folk-rock reminiscent of the '70s. Their latest single, "The Birds," showcases their unique style, and now they unveil the eagerly awaited music video for the song, just in time for their performance at the esteemed Black Deer Festival on June 17th. In our recent interview with Belle Roscoe, we delved deeper into their story, asking them a series of questions.

Singer-songwriter Dave Hause is currently on his European tour to showcase the upcoming release of his album, "Drive It Like It's Stolen," due at the end of April. On his latest release, the punk rock turned Americana artist delves into a more fictional type of storytelling to create what he terms "post-apocalyptic Americana."

As this year's Sunday headliner at the Country to Country festival in London, the multi-platinum, Grammy Award-winning, Southern rock group led by frontman Zac Brown offered UK country music fans the chance to once again experience their outstanding, dynamic live performances that often defy genre boundaries.

Skerryvore's unique blend of Scottish traditional music and contemporary alt-pop has been captivating audiences both at home and abroad. Their upcoming album 'Tempus', set to be released on April 28th via Cooking Vinyl, showcases the band's evolution with an intoxicating mix of anthemic highs, strident rock, stadium-folk thrills, and subtle dance beats. To kick off 2023, Skerryvore has shared the album's first official single 'Everything You Need', which debuted on Zoe Ball's Radio 2 Breakfast Show.

The Kingdom Choir have made their return with a brand new single ‘Not Giving Up’. Founded in 1994 by Karen Gibson MBE (the Godmother of Gospel), The Kingdom Choir have continued to win hearts since their unforgettable performance at the 2018 Royal Wedding in front of a global televised audience of 2 billion people. This boost of exposure has since given them a range of opportunities and exposure they could only have dreamt of. 

Tide Lines are a Scottish four piece band established in 2016. They’ve built a keen fan base and have been releasing music totally off their own back. Eye of the Storm was the band's last album, and the self-produced, self-released LP entered at #12 in the Official Album Charts - some feat for a DIY release. 

After leaving his homeland of Scotland for the epicentre of the music scene in Nashville, Tennessee, Sean C Kennedy has set his gaze towards his sonic signature of 2022. As an entirely independent artist, Sean C Kennedy has built a strong foundation to his career, achieving over 5 million streams at Apple Music. With that groundwork in place, Sean is now primed for visionary opportunities beginning with last week's release of his newest single, ‘Hurts To See You Go’.

Aphir’s heavenly electronic artististry is equally inspired by 17th century choral arrangements, as it is by modern hyperpop. 

With great vocals and honest lyrics, Matt Stell has quickly made his mark on the country music scene.

Jade Helliwell is firmly establishing herself in the UK country music scene. Born in Yorkshire, Jade crafted that Nashville sound, and added her own take drawing influences from Carly Pearce, Tenille Arts and Maren Morris. 

Dutch artist Gildor has just introduced himself to UK audiences with his latest single and video ‘Thinking Back’. The folk-pop singer-songwriter is emerging from a niche scene of musicians in the Netherlands that is slowly growing, and he’s already starting to establish his name further afield. 

Aaron Raitiere is one of Nashville’s most respected songwriters with cuts by Maren Morris, Miranda Lambert, Ashley McBryde, Anderson East, The Oak Ridge Boys, Midland, Shooter Jennings, Brent Cobb, Hayes Carll and many more.

Canadian folk band Wild Rivers have already amassed over 200 million streams and built a strong following on Spotify. With their album release this Friday 4^th Feb, they’re set to follow this up with a UK and European tour in May 2022.

Claudillea is known for her stunning operatic voice that blends pop, trap, hip-hop and electronica - a genre she calls OPPOP. In 2020 she rose to recognition on The Voice with Team Meghan.

Freddie Long is a rising singer-songwriter from Sussex who's been quietly gaining the attention of some big names, and got the likes of MTV UK mentioning him in the same breath as Tom Grennan and Lewis Capaldi.

Drew Sycamore is a name that’s already established in her homeland of Denmark. With three consecutive #1 singles under the belt (including a 16 week run at the top for ‘I Wanna Be Dancing’ and another 7 for ‘45 Fahrenheit Girl’) on the official Danish Radio Chart.

Multi-platinum singer-songwriter Vance Joy first gained recognition with his worldwide megahit “Riptide.” Since his debut album Dream Your Life Away, the Australian artist released a second album Nation of Two, which has now gained over 500 million streams. 

In times saturated by independent artists trying to make that break, on a plethora of different streaming and viewing platforms - gaining recognition, and even a modest amount of streams becomes an almost impossible task alone.

L.A based singer-songwriter GoldFord is back with a relatable anthem which couldn't be more fitting. When ‘Walk With Me’ was recently shared on major platforms, the catchy number had already been used on several large advertising campaigns and TV programmes.

Philippe Cohen, the million-selling artist, producer and composer who co-founded Gotan Project has teamed up with Mike Lindsay from band Tunng to release the album ‘OUTSIDER’. 

Charlotte Jane is a name that you'll probably be hearing a lot more about in the near future.

Flawes are a dynamic electro-pop trio consisting of JC (Josh Carruthers), Freddie Edwards, and Josh Hussey, all of whom come from a session musician’s background.

Pete Greenwood & the Dark Stars is the current band of the British singer-songwriter from Leeds. Over the years he’s toured in several groups including Starsailor and Mojave 3. In addition, he has also worked with psychedelic rock band The See See and country rock band The Loose Salute. 

Passenger is an English singer-songwriter and musician primarily known for his massive hit 'Let Her Go,' which gained multi-platinum status in numerous countries around the world. After hitting platinum four times in the U.K., and six times in the U.S., the song then went on to gain 19 #1 chart positions. Additionally, it has now reached over three billion Youtube views and similar figures in Spotify streams.

Josh Groban is a multi-platinum selling singer, songwriter, musician and actor from California, who's known for his distinctive baritone voice. He has sold over 25 million records worldwide, charting as the best selling USA artist back in 2007. In addition to a successful music career, he has also appeared in a substantial amount of popular movies and TV shows.

Amy Macdonald is one of the most successful international touring artists to emerge from Scotland, with over 12 million records sold, and accumulation of over 200 million Spotify streams. Her breakthrough was in 2007 with her debut album ‘This Is The Life,’ which reached number 1 in four countries, including the UK. The eponymous single from the album became her most successful, having reached number one in six different countries. 

Irish singer-songwriter Flynn has recently found himself featured on many key Spotify playlists, accelerated by his involvement in Lost Frequencies track ‘Recognise’ (over 40 million streams). Now with his latest track ‘B-Side' generating 300K+ streams in only a few weeks, and the likes of Niall Horan sharing his previous track 'One Of Us', it seems he's setting great foundations for the future.

At just 19 years of age, Caroline Romano has already achieved what most would dream of. From supporting artists such as Shawn Mendes and Kelsea Ballerini, to racking up millions of views/streams - the future looks bright for this Nashville based pop artist. Having recently shared a remix with R3HAB, we caught up with Caroline to ask some further questions.

Today sees the release of ‘Make Do’ from Jerry Castle, a song sure to heat up many playlists. His style described by himself as “Cosmic Country meets Appalachian Soul” offers a sound that will appeal to a wide audience. 

Sporting a rather unfortunate name, The Coronas have recently been labelled "Ireland’s most famous contemporary pop act right now". With a spike in media interest surrounding their title, a recent song release with Gabrielle Aplin, and an upcoming album on 31st July - I caught up with Danny from the band to ask some further questions.