Christmas has crept up on me this year. So much so that I’ve already missed a fair few singles with an undeniably festive feel. To put that right, I thought I’d do a quick rundown of five tunes with which to fill your musical stocking. Four from the UK, plus a bonus track from oneContinue reading “Five Festive Country Tunes for 2025”
Tag Archives: christmas
Katy Hurt ft. Two Ways Home – Merry Christmas Everybody
The scream of Noddy Holder is as synonymous with Christmas as mince pies and fairy lights. It is also emblematic of the chaotic and wild excitement of the whole song. So Katy Hurt‘s version of ‘Merry Christmas Everybody’ is a refreshing take on this British classic. Through the gentle meandering of an acoustic guitar andContinue reading “Katy Hurt ft. Two Ways Home – Merry Christmas Everybody”
Mared & Bronwen – A Joint Christmas Review
Bronwen and Mared have been visited by the ghosts of Christmas past and present this year to tell their respective tales of home. Both Welsh singer-songwriters draw on a rich array of imagery to convey the festive season. ‘December Blues’ contains the most simple yet striking of pictures that represent a very modern sensibility. TheContinue reading “Mared & Bronwen – A Joint Christmas Review”
Eleri Angharad – A Merry Eleri Christmas
Welsh singer-songwriter Eleri Angharad is ending a successful 2021 on a suitably festive note. A Merry Eleri Christmas is a pleasant four-track EP that returns to her folk roots whilst retaining an element of that experimental pop that worked so well on her debut EP, Nightclub Floor. Opening track ‘Homemade Christmas’ certainly evokes the feelContinue reading “Eleri Angharad – A Merry Eleri Christmas”
Pistol Annies – Leanin’ on Jesus
It wouldn’t be a Pistol Annies album without a little bit of gospel – though the surprise here, for a Christmas album, is perhaps that ‘Leanin’ on Jesus’ contains no references to the most wonderful time of the year. Instead, it offers a diversion into the purely devotional, avoiding any mention of snow, sleighs, orContinue reading “Pistol Annies – Leanin’ on Jesus”
Hark! A Nativity Story – Saltmine Theatre
Hark! A Nativity Story was filmed live at Dormston Mill Theatre under strict Covid-19 guidelines. This one-off livestream provided the perfect tonic to a Christmas darkened by lockdown restrictions and marked by botched family plans.
Jess and The Bandits – My Country Christmas
If there’s one Christmas album that is determined to lift you out of your lockdown blues then it is the new release from country band Jess and the Bandits. My Country Christmas is a barnstorming record that has happiness and joy written all over it. Opening track ‘Sleigh Ride’ is emblematic of the album’s resemblanceContinue reading “Jess and The Bandits – My Country Christmas”
Philippa Hanna – Christmas: The Greatest Story
Philippa Hanna’s latest release remains firmly in the realm of Gospel music with a Christmas EP that comes hot on the heels of Christian worship album Stained Glass Stories. Whilst the latter may have been full of the Country singer-songwriter’s original material, Christmas – the Greatest Story is packed with covers of well-known carols bothContinue reading “Philippa Hanna – Christmas: The Greatest Story”
Lucy Blu – Got It Covered Christmas
Few can break down my resistance to the festive season starting before Advent. Yet here I am, in early November, listening to Christmas music, and enjoying every minute of it. The person who has managed to assuage my Scrooge-like insistence is Lucy Blu. And her new EP ‘Got It Covered Christmas’ is that rare seasonalContinue reading “Lucy Blu – Got It Covered Christmas”
Country Christmas Singles 2019
In 2018, it was the Christmas EPs of Charlotte Campbell and Jess Thristan respectively that helped get me in the festive mood. In 2019, it is a couple of cracking Christmas singles that are making the run up to the big day all the more enjoyable. Click on the images below to watch/listen: PadraigContinue reading “Country Christmas Singles 2019”