In Tennessee they throw around compliments like confetti at a royal wedding. In England we don’t throw around compliments at all; perhaps it’s more like confetti at a funeral here. Let’s crack on.

Alison Krauss. She has worked with Robert Plant and they recorded a song together called Gone, Gone, Gone. Of course, it is an Everly Brothers cover. Cyrena Wages is better than the Everly Brothers. Gone is not the best title perhaps but Cyrena’s latest, Same Shit, Different Century, (an incredible title actually) reminded me in a wonderful way of the Gones.

This song simmers gently where If It Ain’t Broke and Find Out boiled. Same Shit has a chugging guitar which means it is perfect for driving a desert highway. Or just popping out to the 7-Eleven with your babies and dogs. I can’t think of a single thing you might want to do in your day that wouldn’t be improved by listening to this. And worth bearing in mind: my version of Same Shit is a rough demo.

I really enjoyed If It Ain’t Broke last year. The humour is evident from a first listen. But when I saw the video, lawd, my sides split open and my intestines fell out on the freshly dopamine-stained carpet. I damn near died. Interesting because the guy in the video certainly was dead or at least his legs and feet were. I just never managed to figure out why her hair is pegged to a washing line.

Same Shit is partly about the inevitable nature of men and women and how it hasn’t changed in a hundred years. It’s quite likely that the absolute basic chemistry hasn’t changed in a thousand years, or a million. This brings both pros and cons. It seems earlier in the song that Cyrena was hoping for more from her man. She always expects more than men are able to provide, even though she isn’t really hoping for much. Can’t they just behave?

The pro of course is that the lessons learned by our ancestors, by our mothers and grandmothers, are just as relevant today. We can learn a lot from those who learned all the tricks before we were born. If the world had changed too much through the generations, things might be even worse than they are.

Do you need a fix?
Then I got your back
Gonna hit you in the head
Like a baseball bat
Let’s rumble
Let’s rage

One of the things I love most about Cyrena is her demure femininity... hah! She’s got more balls than any man in America. She is most certainly from Venus though. One thing about Cyrena Catherine Wages is that she will always cheer you up. If you want something darker and more serious then try 2024’s Vanity Project. I have been listening again to Vanity Project again this week while waiting for Same Shit to drop. It’s still brilliant. It is so varied, so pained.

These are the wounds from which Cyrena still heals. I hope she is always pissed off, at least in her persona. Whether she is Patsy or Cyrena, or C$, or one of her many other characters does not matter. There are no misfires. There is only quality every damn time. If you prefer funny dark humour, the scars from the wound, then hit the new tunes. They offer a rich seam. She is starting to laugh at herself, but only now and then.

I cannot wait to hear more music. Cyrena is the only Cyrena I have ever heard of in the whole world and if you’re still dope enough not to know, it is Serena Wages. Like Serena Williams but with more balls. Wages as in earnings from a job. And what a job this is!

You can stream Same Shit in all the usual places and find out more on her website. Her first album, set in Memphis, was Vanity Project.

The videos below are older songs. The Overton Park BTS footage just shows how magnetic she is. CW is never happier than performing in front of her hometown crowd. The Carried Away footage is more recent and shows how equally at home she is in the studio.

Ruby describes how she wrote the song with the Upper 309 out of Memphis, TN, showing how international the music scene is now and how indie musicians are finding new ways to collaborate across oceans.

Is he loving me or killing me, has it always been like this
The idea of him is better than who he really is
Cause holding onto him is arsenic and it’s tainting my mind
The only antidote is letting go of this lie so I say goodbye

Ruby is active on TikTok and Instagram. It is a fabulous song and if you are near Essex on Saturday 18th April you can drop by to meet Ruby at Never-ending Chain in Battlesbridge and pick up a custom trucker cap!

I have moved every single article over to americanavibes.uk and I have also migrated the email list to that new site as well. This represents a new beginning, a broader music coverage beyond Tennessee itself, and also opens the door to other articles on culture more widely, especially Americana in film and television.

This site will remain in place for a few months and if you do happen to sign up here I will make sure you stay in touch on the new platform. See you on the other side!

Unusually (even in 2026) this event was live-streamed so you can watch the whole thing for free below. I don’t therefore need to run through the set list, although be reassured. It included Stones and Years Beers Her Tears, Traveling On and plenty of unreleased new songs too. Downpour is a song about Seattle’s rain, surely the Manchester of America, and she might have commented on our grey, damp offering last night.

Born and raised in Washington State, Rae Isla now lives in Laurel Canyon, California. She is inspired by Joni Mitchell and Carole King, and loves the history and lore around music in the widest sense. I’m a Laurel Canyon fan too, of course, and once spent a weekend in a house on Kirkwood Drive overlooking the Canyon Country Store. It was where Mick Fleetwood decided to invite Lindsey Buckingham to join Fleetwood Mac, and has been a hub of Canyon life since its 1970s songwriters’ zenith. What I did not know is that the café there is still run by Lilly, who has regaled Rae with stories from the days when Joni and others were regulars.

Rae did a genuinely impromptu encore rendition of her highly personal The Gardener, and I’m sure a few others had a tear in their eye after that one. The natural world is a theme that runs through her songs, including her rock collection, curated since childhood, and occasional references to incessant rain.

It was a privilege to watch Rae sing Years Beers Her Tears right in front of me (see my socials for the proof) as that was the first song of hers that I heard and it remains a very powerful song. I love the new stuff and look forward to more. She dropped a few top-secret hints about future plans and I expect she will be back in the UK next year, fingers crossed.

Rae is active on social media, especially TikTok and Instagram, and you can sign up to receive her UK tour diary here. You can buy her music on Bandcamp or stream in all the usual places. A new album will be with you shortly.

Fox Palmer

Fox has played several times at the Drawing Room and seemed at home. I saw a couple of fans wearing her merch. Fans will be reassured that she sang Forever, Tired and That Way as well as some unexpected covers of 1990s dance hits Freed From Desire and Rhythm Is A Dancer. In her own words, she is “known for a sound that blends rock, indie, and Americana-style folk.”

I really enjoyed her opening set. Fox is a proper guitarist with a haunting, atmospheric voice and I will try to catch one of her band shows this year. She is based in London and plays live all over the country. Her next London show is at Folklore in Hoxton on 29 March.

You can find out more about Fox Palmer’s tour dates on Instagram and listen on Bandcamp.

The Drawing Room, Chesham

This is no ordinary venue. I got some B-roll shots you can see below which somehow, in my own mind, sum up the experience. When Rae Isla requested stories to use in her UK tour diary, she could not have expected the one offered up. Chesham has been famous for hat-making in the past. So far, so normal. But the building in which we stood was once owned by a man called Roger Crab, a hat-maker who is said to have inspired the character of the Mad Hatter in Alice in Wonderland. I kid you not!

This is a cash-friendly place, and it became the only bar in which the owner (Richard) wrote me an IOU for a Guinness Zero on a yellow Post-It note. The venue really was a paid actor last night, complete with Tibetan singing bowls, making some brilliant live music even more memorable. I spoke to someone who had driven an hour from Northampton to see Fox Palmer, and I understand why. It’s one of those situations where words cannot do the place justice. Do try to go if you’re ever in the area.

But when Stripper For A Week hit my inbox last month, I was stunned. Rose gold stripper pole. Those are the first words of this week’s song, spoken by an announcer in a strip joint, one presumes. I can hardly believe I am writing these words about a Kimberly Kelly song. But it turns out, there’s a twist.

Work two jobs just to stay behind
Well I got to thinkin’ the other day
I’m in my prime, so what the hey
If you got it, flaunt it
Girl you’re wasting time

Kimberly neatly expresses the drive behind Stripper For A Week:-

“The song asks, what would you do if you had to keep the lights on and the kids fed? I like to think of it as the next chapter in the Book of Modern Day Woman.”

So, it all fits together. Once we have a couple more songs, the story will begin to emerge. But I’ve been there, or as close as a guy can get. Not by taking my clothes off and hugging a pole, of course, but I’ve been there at two in the morning to grab the milk out of the fridge, only to realise we accidentally left it in the warm kitchen, only good for tipping down the sink. At times like these, the surface glamour and neon of the club might seem an attractive alternative.

Wish I could be a stripper for a week
Spin around that pole
Shake what mama gave me
And get out of this hole
I can almost feel those dollar bills
Falling at my feet
Wish I could be a stripper for a week

It is only when Stripper fades out that you realise that this is a continuation of the Modern Day Woman era. Yes, it is a reaction to the mundanity of the everyday. She only wants to do it for a week, just to clear the backlog, blow off some steam. A week will be enough to realise this might not have been the best plan, but it was fun while it lasted. Although there is another possibility. What if it goes too well? Will she be back for more next month?

Kimberly Kelly has her own website and is active on Instagram and TikTok. You can stream her music in all the usual places. Even better, you can buy her music on physical formats. Her tour schedule, being booked right now, is on Bandsintown.

Background Notes

Co-written by Jenny Tolman and Marty Dodson, Stripper For A Week balances wit and heart, exploring resilience, sacrifice, and the determination it takes to keep going. Kelly made personal lyrical tweaks to further ground the song in authenticity, delivering a vocal performance that’s both sharp and deeply human.

With its catchy hooks and relatable narrative, Stripper continues Kelly’s mission of telling the stories that often go unsaid — offering an honest snapshot of doing whatever it takes to get by, without apology.

At Christmas 2024, I came across the duet between Lilly Winwood and father Steve of Higher Love. Gosh, she was a teenager with a cold when they recorded that! This was nothing short of major talent and it led me to Lilly’s 2022 album Talking Walls and, in particular, the track Sleep Issues. Man, I was experiencing some sleep issues at that time, and her music found the right ears on the right day.

The profile was always intended to be a one-off piece, and I posted it up on my main catch-all blog for my random musings over on Ghost. It wasn’t long, however, before I followed a trail from Lilly to her friend and regular co-conspirator Cyrena Wages. In fact, as I look back now, I realise it was two months down the line before I got around to writing about Cyrena. Just as Lilly’s music reached me at the perfect moment, it seems my profile of CW reached her at a pivotal moment too. To my everlasting surprise, she actually quite seemed to like my writing! Two more different people it would be difficult to imagine.

I just realised why I wanted to write this post. There is a message, unusually. I hope I am allowed a message after 52 weeks and well over 100 articles. The domino effect came about completely unplanned and unexpectedly. Cyrena’s early encouragement led to more articles, led to me reviewing half of her upcoming 2026 release, Miss Melancholia. It led to a proposal for a country music book that has not quite happened (yet) but indirectly led to a two-book contract to write about Fleetwood Mac, my favourite band of them all.

And so the message is really two messages, and the first (if you have not spotted it) is JFDI. Or, as Cyrena might put it, FAAFO. Whatever that creative project is that you never quite got around to? Get around to it today! You can have no idea where it may lead. It might not lead anywhere in particular, but it will put you in the game. If you’re in the game, amazing things might happen.

The second message is that even the softest whisper of encouragement can really give someone a boost, especially if that person is a stranger. A small boost today, like the butterfly effect, can make a big difference.

You can find out more about Lilly Winwood here and Cyrena Wages here and, with the wind in the right direction, they will both release major new albums in 2026.

just zipped up my combat boots
and i’m ready to kick it in a three-piece suit
got an early morning and a later night
but i’m a little bit sick of being so polite

Sound-wise we are on the same playing field as Blondie or The Go-Go’s, two enormous 1980s bands that Queen Anne’s Gen Z singer Katie Silverman no doubt heard on her parents’ CD player as she learned to walk.

In the lyrics we hear of combat boots being paired with a three-piece suit. It’s all about living life, taking your chances when they are offered, and having a grand adventure. Someone willing to throw themselves at life in such a way will always win, one way or the other. As long as you don’t die, you will learn something. And if you die… well, they will remember you all the better.

“Queen Anne sharpens its identity as an indie-pop duo driven by mood, narrative, and emotional tension. Led by songwriter and vocalist Katie Silverman alongside producer Sandy Chila, the project blends dark, ethereal textures with a postmodern edge, drawing from ’80s pop-punk influences while reframing everyday frustration as immersive storytelling.” (1883 Magazine, 2026 Artists to Watch)

Katie will be 21 by the time you read this review, which takes some believing. Younger readers might know her as an accomplished actress, having appeared in Pretty Little Liars at the age… of… five! She’s better known for her roles on New Girl, PEN15, and the film The Exorcists. I mention this only to establish context for my observation that Katie is wiser than her years.

watch me win it
my nails are fake
but my heart is in it
take no prisoner
you know, i catch way more flies with perfume
than i do with vinegar

The whole aesthetic of Queen Anne will inevitably make me think of England. There are those pearls, and that pose which blends her in with the oil painting behind. But then there is the contrast of the femme fatale, the Bond girl, the high roller. Is that a motorbike chain or a necklace?

There is a sense of humour to this one. The line about fake nails is delivered as an aside. She acknowledges there is artifice to her appearance. She has an ulterior motive and is open about it, unusually. She's in it to win it.

Every single is different, every one is brilliant but they are all tied together by this duo of Silverman and Chila. I am always excited when their next track arrives. The only two things you can expect? Whatever it is will be catchy and totally different to the last one.

Whereas Lexi Loves Me had a cinematic, slightly orchestral feel that reminded me of Sophie Ellis Bextor, Watch Me Win It is pure punk spunk. The promo photo below makes a clear reference to either high stakes gambling or organised crime, or both.

I strongly recommend you catch the mini movies on Queen Anne’s socials that go under the title of Cleavage and which dramatise how the idea for Queen Anne might have come about. If you did not know, as I didn’t, these are called vertical micro dramas and are the new thing for 2026. Scroll down for the TikTok versions.

The idea of the artist being a distinct entity from her creator (causing a cleavage between two personalities, not between two… oh, stop it) is a powerful one for those of us who have dreamed of a living from the arts. The pressure to perform, to deliver, is vastly reduced if you create a separate new identity. It can work, if only some of the time.

In a postscript to this tale, which only goes to show how deceptive appearances can be, the Queen has lifted the veil a little more on how this song was born:-

the inspiration for “Watch Me Win It” came when i had like three victory points in my hand during a game of Catan and nobody had the slightest clue. they all pretty much counted me out because i only had a couple settlements, but then i built a city and turned over my development cards and that was that. if anyone asks, though, it’s about something really cool. like poker, maybe. or gymnastics.

You can add Watch Me Win It here. There is much more on Queen Anne, the best band you have yet to hear, on Instagram and on their own website. You can also buy and stream on Bandcamp. Queen Anne were picked out by 1883 magazine as a 2026 artist to watch.

@queen.anne.bandCLEAVAGE: Episode 1 - watch now. A new vertical series from Queen Anne. "Katie wanted the world to hear her music. Big-time record executive Randy Wheeler promised to make her a star...kind of." #popmusic #popstar #verticalseries #verticaldrama

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@queen.anne.bandCLEAVAGE: Episode 2 - watch now.⁣ ⁣ A new vertical series from Queen Anne.⁣ ⁣ “Katie barely knew what she signed. She was just trying to get back to her normal life. That is, until a special delivery showed up that would change EVERYTHING. She soon realized that nothing would ever be normal again.”⁣ ⁣ #popmusic #popstar #verticalseries #verticaldrama #independentartist

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British audiences love the idea of an American porch. I cannot overstate this. Your porches are the size of our houses, and they go all the way around! You have front ones, back ones, and side ones. And there’s room for a child’s swing. This, friend, sounds like heaven. When you grow up a bit, they work beautifully as stages for a show.

I hope someday
I get to waste time
On an old front porch swing just laughing and
Remembering the people I loved
And all the crazy things that I got to do
I hope & pray that someday
I get old too

Whereas October’s Cowboys Ride Away was an action movie, admittedly one with some sad reflections on addiction and an observation that even the preachers have their demons, this one is more reflective. It grows surely and steadily on you.

I am almost too excited and keen to blurt out that Paige is on her way to the UK as I write this. I am optimistic that I will be able to share a Q&A in a couple of weeks. If you’re not otherwise engaged on March 11, I strongly recommend a bus to Ron’s Honky Tonk at The Water Rats on Grays Inn Road. I will be there. It might be your last chance to catch her at a smaller venue before she hits the Albert Hall or the O2.

I hope someday I get to tell my grandkids
Of my days and all the highways and places
I ended up going and my heart in that moment
Their granddaddy first walked in the room

When I became a father, my cold, scientific brain went to mush. I now tear up at the slightest provocation. The first time I heard Paige’s grandfather’s voice at the end of the song, I had to stop writing. It’s one of those things that is so unexpected that it is even more powerful. Even as I edit this, there are tears in my eyes. He’s left an answerphone message to say that he didn’t quite reach the phone in time because he was on the lawn mower, perhaps slowing up in his later years. I think the cover artwork makes his importance in PKJ’s life clear.

Paige King Johnson is a Belmont-trained songwriter with a home base in Nashville and North Carolina. She is seven Carolina Country Music Awards deep, has charted on MusicRow, premiered videos on CMT and Heartland, serves as the official Got To Be NC musical ambassador, and contributes regularly to WRAL television with stories that spotlight music and culture in her home state. In short, Paige is multi-talented. You can follow her on Instagram, TikTok and read more on her own website.

If I ever lost you
What hell I’d be in
Each day would hurt to begin
And hurt the whole day through

It’s a simple lyric, a universal sentiment and a very charming song. I loved it straightaway and have been tapping along to it all week.

I love that photo. It says so much in a nice, fun way. Happiness is finding someone willing to push you home in a shopping trolley after accidentally getting married in Vegas at 4am. Hannah and Mose had this to say about their new release:-

“This track is a true country love song about not wanting to lose the other. Though we’ve worked together in each other’s bands for years, this is our first combined release. It’s about the very real feeling of finding the person you can’t live without.”

I had the immense privilege of meeting Mose and Hannah at their show in London last summer, shortly after they announced their engagement. It was a surprise to realise that this is their first formal duet release and I cannot wait to hear more. You can find a review of that show at The Grace, Islington, and of another Mose song, down below.

If I ever lost you
You’d walk away with my dreams
Life would unravel at the seams
If I ever lost you

You can catch up on the latest from Hannah Juanita on her own site and on socials. You can stream the new single here and you can see them on tour. Mose fans can learn more on his website.

If there is a way to describe Megg in a single word then chameleon might do the job. She never sounds the same from one album to the next, and she also varies her appearance in each photo shoot.

There are themes and traits that transfer between her albums, not least her distinctive voice. She often sings about travel, notably for British audiences in Piccadilly Line from 2025. But this year’s offering, Massive Negroni, reflects another theme: cocktails, or booze more widely.

This week’s song was popularised in the ‘60s by Sugar Pie DeSanto and is a fun, if not funny, study of the humble mule shoe. A selection of lyrics below:-

Baby, my red dress in the cleaner
But my shoes will steal the show…
Ain’t wearing no high-heel sneaker
Cause they hurt my toes so bad

All the tunes in the new album were recorded at Old Soul Studios by a quartet that includes guitarist Thor Jensen (Ashley Campbell, Hazmat Modine, Postmodern Jukebox), bassist Dylan Perillo (Hot Club of Saratoga), and drummer Chris Gelb (JD McPherson, Jessica Simpson, Margo Price, Asleep at the Wheel) in addition to Megg.

This song is close to Megg’s heart too, and she has been singing it for years. Here’s her explanation:-

“Slip In Mules” is a blues I’ve sung for years, and I wanted one song on this record where we could really let go and channel those memories of growing up in Brooklyn’s DIY jazz scene. I think we captured that raw energy… what do you think?”

Sweet Megg is by now a truly international artist. Originally from Brooklyn, her relocation to Nashville allowed her to explore a form of jazz-country, but jazz is surely her roots. She learned from the best in Paris, France, and British fans will be treated next month to Sweet Megg live in person as she tours here, not only in and around London (including the brilliant Green Note) but as far north as Lancashire too. Grab your chance while you can!

You might even know Megg from her touring with Postmodern Jukebox, a connection which brought her into contact with Ronnie Scott’s legend, Emma Smith, who is as London as they come but looked equally at home last month with her show at Birdland Theater in NYC.

Sweet Megg is on tour now in the USA and will be coming to the UK in March and Paris in May. All tour details here. You can stream Slip in Mules here. The full album will release on 17 April. Megg is also on Patreon where you can even do live Yoga with her. You can also buy real things on Bandcamp.

The second part of our chat with writer Ellie Norris from Memphis, Tennessee as she talks about her year on Substack. We mention Lily Allen, Elvis, Memphis past and present. The music video for Carried Away does indeed feature John Prine’s red auto. As he tends to do, Paul finds a way to bring Lola Kirke into the conversation, referencing her Too Much Information (TMI) tour happening right now in the US.

You can listen to Cyrena Wages on streaming or buy her music on physical formats on her website. Ellie Norris is here on Substack as well as Instagram and on TikTok.

Last shelf
Box in the spare room
Old boots
Thought they might fit you
Scuffed heels
Life tends to wear them out
Dressed up
That's how they'll find you
Love's here
Just to remind you
Time's up
No need to scream and shout

On third glance, I wonder what she’s wearing. Is that her grandmother’s faux fur coat, or a shawl, or rug? This character is in need of a hug, of reassurance. She needs a weighted blanket or teddy bear. But I wrote a lot of words about Zoee last year and the person I got to know is the one who came out the other side of some difficult times: grown up but not invincible.

Zoee is not the one who is lost, she is one of the few who can shine a light, who can show us our way ahead. Whether she’s pep talking us up in I Could Complain or pointing out the fragility of the future in the song The Butterfly Effect. Whether she is finding her inner strength in Little Voice or helping a friend in Jackie, Zoee is one of the few who appear to ‘have it all worked out’.

She hasn’t, of course. She’s been writing songs about real life long enough to know that the very moment someone might think they have it all worked out is when things go south. I feel happier thinking that there are people in the world like Zoee who have faced the darkness and resolutely decided to seek the positives. But the path to that point is difficult and dangerous, and not for the faint of heart.

One day
This will all be yours
Someday
You'll do all the chores
You'll need what I'm leaving you

This is a summer song that will provide relief here in winter. I loved it immediately from those first guitar notes and the playful whoops. I cannot wait to blast this out with the top down this spring. Unfortunately I live in England, so I don’t drive a convertible. But I will open all the windows, front and back, and turn it up to 11.

These are Zoee’s words on her latest creation.

Hand Me Downs is about inheriting a world we didn’t create. It’s about growing up carrying the weight of student debt, impossible housing markets, climate anxiety, pandemics, and broken systems that were handed to our generation without asking.
The song uses the metaphor of literal hand-me-downs like old boots, worn heels, and dusty boxes to represent emotional, financial, and societal baggage. It’s not angry, it’s quietly defiant. It’s about recognizing what we were given, choosing what to carry forward, and leaving the broken crown behind instead of pretending it still fits. It’s a Gen Z anthem about resilience, identity, and learning how to build something new from what was left to us.

Stream Hand Me Downs everywhere now, or visit Zoee’s store. Her next show at Sundance Resort, UT is sold out! Below you can read my deep dive review of Zoee’s absolutely incredible Country Pop debut album from summer 2025, The Butterfly Effect.

The first decision I made, after a few months of thinking about it, was that there was no point moving from Spotify to a different streamer. They all face the same structural problem: you end up renting the whole world’s music collection for your whole life without an asset to show for it. This means that you will be spending around $13 / £13 a month for your whole life. (Yes, I am appalled as you that the price in UK £ is the same as it is in US $! It means that UK listeners pay more like $20 a month for the same service.)

Someone subscribing to Spotify for 50 years will therefore pay these ‘rental’ fees of around $8,000 (or £8,000) with nothing at all to show for it. If you are a power user with a family plan and add a few audiobook hours on top you will already be spending closer to $30 every month in the USA, or $42 in the UK.

If you have a political complaint against the owners and founders of Spotify, what makes you think some nefarious tech bro will not buy Qobuz or Tidal tomorrow? No. I was either streaming or I was not, and at Christmas I stopped being a streamer: cold turkey, in more ways than one.

The next challenge, as with any addiction, was to figure out if I could stay stopped. Turns out I could. I do have a few advantages. I bought into iTunes long before streaming was a thing. I had a v2 iPod or whatever edition it was in 2002 and I did not hold back on filling it with music. I still bought CDs back then, and my laptop in those times had a CD drive. So I religiously ripped every CD I bought into my iTunes library. A little later on, I put all this music, mainly in MP3 format (of which more later) onto an external hard drive.

I quickly discovered that it is still possible, in 2026, to buy MP3s on Amazon or (via a convoluted process) you can convert your iTunes purchases to MP3 for playing on non-Apple devices such as Android phones. Great! Let battle commence.

My next discovery, for Sonos fans, was that you can point your Sonos at an external hard drive using the ‘Music Folder’ settings and stream all those MP3s around your home. This was important because it meant no new speaker purchases, and it meant in fact no new equipment purchases at all. My phone, my Sonos and all bluetooth speakers, even my car, can all access my entire collection of MP3s collected since around 2002. And all those 1980s CDs I ripped to MP3 since.

I admit some advantages here in the equipment I have accumulated through the decades. But whatever your setup, the point is that MP3 is the music format that will work on whatever you own. You do not need an external hard drive or Sonos, or a car with CarPlay. But if you do, things are easier.

If you don’t, you will still save money buying MP3 and (even better) the artists will receive 100% of your money after the retailer or other distributor takes their cut. Instead of receiving two magic beans for every stream, your local indie artist is suddenly receiving more like $8 - $10 for each album. For an artist with fewer than a thousand fans, that is a fortune compared to what they will ever make on Spotify. They might be making more like $10,000 per album instead of the price of a Big Mac.

One reason I focus here on MP3 (digital music) is that most indie artists cannot ship CDs or vinyl around the world at competitive prices due to shipping costs. The postage typically costs the same (or more) as the album itself. It just doesn’t work out financially to ship one unit, and takes forever and a day.

Even new indie artists can distribute via Bandcamp, iTunes or Amazon for digital music. And the very keen amongst you can still burn those MP3s to tape or CD at something close to lossless quality if you wish. One thing I would love to see (as a words and lyrics fan) is the ability to download lyric books and other artwork in digital formats because I really, really miss that aspect with digital music.

Below I will walk you through a couple of tips for setting up an external networked drive and using it with Sonos. This is just an example of the myriad things you can do when you own and curate your own music collection. It does take some planning but this is only a one-off time suck: once you are set, it needs little to no maintenance.

I set up my hard drive ten years ago and it has been purring away in the corner ever since, automatically updating itself and automatically powering down when not in use. They are not expensive compared to your annual streaming fees.

I focus on music here because you cannot do this for TV streaming so easily, for lots of reasons, not least the sheer size of digital video. We are all blessed that an MP3 track is only around 5MB which means the humblest, oldest phones can store thousands of them. Even my ancient 5GB iPod could store 1,000 songs like that and your phone is probably at least 128GB, so room for 25,000 songs!

Storage Options

There are so many hard drive options. Mine is a Western Digital but the company have moved away a little from consumer storage. I hear good things about Synology although you can just search for NAS, or Network Attached Storage. This is crucial information because it means the device can run without a computer being turned on. It has its own power supply and internet connection, which means it uses minimal power and can turn itself off overnight. Some of them come with an uninterrupted power supply (UPS) option which means it will run even when your mains electricity cuts out.

UGREEN also have some nice-looking devices at a reasonable price. My drive has two separate hard drives which are dupes of each other, which guards against drive failure, but I can say that in ten years both of my 2016 drives are still running smoothly so this is not a necessary requirement. If you do have two bays (or even more) then this can be a cheaper way to add capacity, and more resilient too.

The other thing I can share, screenshots below, is how to point your Sonos at your hard drive if that is important to you. Otherwise, you can just stream from your hard drive to your phone (or any other device) using whatever cloud app comes with your hard drive and play on any headphones or bluetooth speakers. Even better, your new hard drive can store any type of files so you might save on other cloud storage services too if you rely on Apple iCloud or Google Drive, for example.

Sonos: Step 1

Go to your Settings page in your Sonos app on your phone. Half-way down (see below) you will see the ‘Music Library’ option. Click this.

Sonos: Step 2

You just click on ‘+ Add Shared Folder’ shown below. I have blanked out part of the name of my shared folder as it gives clues to my home address. Whenever you add new music to your drive it will appear on Sonos the next day, or you can click ‘Scan for new content’ below to add it immediately.

Sonos: Step 3

You’re setup and can now play your music! Just look for the 'Music Library’ section on your Sonos homescreen on your Sonos app.

Support

Lucky for you, the audience for Tennessee Vibes is still on the niche side. Comment below if you want some help, or DM me.

Let’s kick things off with the amazing ‘playing along’ podcast hosted by Norah Jones. In the episode below she chats to Margo Price, and I have a reason for selecting this one. Margo is not all that well-known in the UK, and I spent last summer following her release sequence for Hard Headed Woman, which has since picked up a Grammy nomination.

This makes Price the only female to be nominated in the category of Best Traditional Country Album, which speaks volumes about the industry and the structure of the awards but also (and most importantly of all) speaks to Margo’s stand-out brilliance. BTW Norah Jones’ brilliance is so obvious I won’t mention it.

Also strongly recommended is the audiobook, not the actual book, of Margo’s 2022 memoir (Maybe) We’ll Make It. The reason for singling out the audiobook is that Margo reads it herself and includes songs from through the years. This is an example of what audiobooks should be, taking them far beyond the printed word. Margo has had some severe knocks in life and hearing her talk about those in her own voice is very powerful. She is also based in Tennessee and tends to record her albums at Southern Grooves in Memphis. I will be reviewing the book in a future post.

Substack itself has sprung to life for music fans in the last twelve months. In addition to Cyrena Wages, of which more below, you can find Margo Price, Anna Vaus, Lola Kirke, Bre Kennedy, Zoee… the list is growing by the week. Sticking with our Margo theme, she recently spoke to Lola Kirke right here.

Love, Lola

Lola + Margo!

Listen now

3 months ago · 49 likes · 7 comments · Lola Kirke and Margo Price

And finally for Lola fans (who isn’t?) she has her own audiobook which you can sample below. The paperback is out in March. I partially reviewed the hardback last year, see below. If you prefer Jemima then she features heavily in the anecdotes. Lola had a pivotal role in the record-breaking movie Sinners and will appear soon in a siege drama based on a true story, Eleven Days.

Needless to say, the very best music podcast is actually Tennessee Vibes. Everyone says so, even people who don’t know us. Our most popular episode, by a Memphis mile, is from the day Ellie Norris accidentally staggered into our studio to tell us about her memoir/novel type book thing. The best news I have to share is that this is only the first half. More news soon!

Back in the summer Cyrena suggested we record one of our mad chats. This is the result, and you can listen to all the episodes from here on in. All of the Tennessee Vibes chats are on Spotify, Apple and YouTube as well as here on Substack.

Coming soon on the Vibes we have a new song from Queen Anne on February 20, and before that a single that can only be described as ‘Catchy AF’ from Zoee on February 6. Bre Kennedy’s new album is out next Friday, January 30. The links will take you to the presave pages.

Is This Really Happening?

You get the sense that Ali is asking herself this question. A debut album! After all those years, those countless hours. The dream is coming true, isn’t it? This has quickly become one of my favourites on the album. It’s slower, with a prominent acoustic guitar, and it builds beautifully. The choice of the first track of your first album is always such an important choice. Perhaps it is too important? Is there a chance you will overthink it? Never mind: this is the perfect choice. A tender love song full of questions. If you want to know, it’s about that night when Ali decided to go to a club on her own and ran into the love of her life. There’s surely nothing more uplifting than that.

Disco

Disco represents what I’ve come to consider mainstream Ali Angel. A little faster, a little more upbeat. It chugs along from the first bar. It’s not complex, it’s just catchy as hell. Turn off the phone, be in the present. Don’t let anyone distract from a simple night at the disco. In some ways, the narrative is part two of ITRH? because it was at The Echo that she met Austyn. The photo below is outside The Echo, on Sunset near Echo Park. If you were wondering, as I was, the sign says Nayarit and was the name of a previous restaurant in the building.

Come On Through

We’re slowing down again, a more reflective mood. Time to cool down. Can the pain be washed away? We can try. It was at this point that I tried to set down what it is that I love so much about Ali’s music. It certainly goes beyond the music itself. She has such an open personality, works hard (I mean like really hard) and yet makes everything seem so effortless. I’m not surprised someone flew her halfway round the world for a wedding show after seeing her live. Even on a reel, her live shows just ooze quality. There’s a dryness, a crackle to her vocals, and plenty of space in the guitar. It’s just very chilled, welcoming and friendly music.

Lighter

I covered Lighter in depth on the day it was released. Read more below.

Hold

The next two tracks are a little older and so I was more familiar with these. Hold is a duet with Tyler Ballgame, and it’s great to hear Ali in a duet with a male voice. This one has more of a groove, slightly bluesy.

Tell Me

Tell Me is a full-on summer song for driving in a convertible. Or going on a rollercoaster. This must have been written around the time Ali started to realise she liked girls more than guys, and I think that newness, that novelty, is what makes this song so special. It’s the happiest and sunniest song on the album.

Why am I so giddy?
I feel just like a child on a rollercoaster ride
Maybe it’s the way that she moves, she looks so cute

Emotional

Time to slow down again. The rollercoaster had to stop sometime, or at least slow a little. She’s been overthinking and working herself up. There are some wonderful harmonies in this one. The singer is learning how to let someone else look after them when they are overwrought. It sounds easy, letting someone else take control, but for those of us who are fixated on being the driver, letting go can be really tough. If she’s going to let go, first she has to trust her new partner. That’s what it boils down to.

Fire

Ali sometimes describes her music as indie twang which says a lot in two words. Fire is a strong example of that. What I keep forgetting, and which should not matter but does, is that she is a totally independent artist. Yet even her press kits are always first rate.

Self-written and co-produced, the album captures a cinematic portrait of modern love—warm, intimate, and grounded in everyday magic.

The themes across the whole album include contrasts of fire and water, head and heart, learning to grow authentically and to love truly. I recall that Ali is a firm advocate of astrology. A Sagittarius herself but Aries Rising, both of them fire signs. During the summer, I downloaded my own birth chart after seeing a post by Ali. There’s more to this than meets the eye.

Her new relationship is more than just passionate fire. She wants them to be together forever, for those moments in-between, those moments which separate love and lust. This one really grows on you. The video gives a glimpse of Ali’s life with Austyn. I’m pleased to see she maintains good dental hygiene, although the one thing these girls are not is ordinary people.

She Says It’s Alright

I have written about this song before, and it was the first and most instantly catchy single of that autumn sequence leading up to the full album. The artwork for the single gave us a rare glimpse of Ali’s muse, guitarist Austyn. This is a strong finish to a brilliant debut album. Listen today!

The article below is the one I wrote before I knew Ali Angel. I had only really heard Stone Cold at that time, a song I played so much last spring that it became one of my top five of 2025.

You can catch Ali May Angel at all kinds of venues around LA and further afield and you can read more on her own site. She has a funny TikTok account and she shares posts on Instagram regularly. All of her recent music is available direct on Bandcamp.

Cyrena has said that her 2026 album, Miss Melancholia, reckons with the South’s “Bible Belt beauty pageant” expectations. This song, Best Behavior, is the most direct version of that and is more on the nose than its predecessors from last year, If It Ain’t Broke and Find Out.

The beauty pageant concept, and Cyrena’s own experiences of it, were also covered in Vanity Project, her incredible 2024 debut album. On the cover of that album we find a melancholy Cyrena in swimming costume, wearing a sash that simply reads “Vanity Project”. She is kneeling in the mud and dirt on the bank of the Mississippi river at twilight. It feels deeply lonely. Did she win?

Cross your legs and bat your eyes
Daddy worked hard to pay for that smile
She’s so pretty, we all hate her
Better be on your best behavior

This song is not as sad as those songs. I hear it as a satire on the beauty pageant, which lets us relax a bit. Satire is surely the best way to cover difficult topics. Cyrena describes a young girl being told what to do. Cross your legs, bat your eyes. Do this, do that… and you might win. The whole idea of the competition is to fit in but the winner is the one who stands out just a little, in only the right ways.

All of the girls are being puppeted by parents or well-meaning relatives and friends. There is puppetry in last year’s Find Out too. But Best Behavior references the American obsession with perfect teeth. How old do you need to be to have all your teeth replaced with fake ones? We don’t do that in England. Teeth are for eating with. Or moaning about when they rot. We don’t do the beauty pageant either, but we did get a bit too excited about Miss World in the 1970s.

Every word of a Cyrena Wages lyric performs. She’s so pretty… well, we have to admit that. At least with all that paint on the face, the garish lipstick, perhaps anyone would look pretty. How old is she? She looks 25. She’s only twelve, perhaps fourteen. I can’t listen to this song without the name JonBenét Ramsey coming to mind. The whole idea makes me shudder. Anyway, the bit about being pretty wasn’t a compliment, it was just the set-up to a new insult.

In her song Paper Rings, Taylor Swift talks about “shiny things” and the superficiality of so much of life. It is a song Cyrena referenced in a recent interview with the Vibes. The shinier the thing, the more jealous some people will feel. Is anyone shinier than Taylor at the moment? How quick were her critics to pan her new album?

Remember when it was so simple?
Good girls don’t die young
I’m still back there on the playground
With your poison tongue
I didn’t know I wasn’t beautiful
Until you told me so

How can Christianity align with the teenage beauty pageant in any way? So many contradictions, so many things that do not make sense. I look across at Tennessee with a sense of awe and fear. It’s such an amazing place but when did the idea of the bible belt stop becoming something positive and become something darker? I don’t feel qualified to get into it, but it puzzles the British.

In my scientific worldview none of this makes sense; none of it fits into a logical whole. Cyrena is in a very good position to help us navigate these ideas, as a former pageant participant. Twenty years later she is still navigating the consequences. Writers say that everything is material, do it for the plot. The worst days are the ones you write about. Dare we ask: would she rather it had not happened at all?

Don’t listen too closely to the words. Not every time. The words are what keeps this song grounded, keeps it meaningful, helps us to understand our world. But the tune! The tune is really fun. If you imagine the tune as an instrumental 12” single it is nothing but light. I’m thinking of that Carried Away remix again.

It is interesting to look back to April, a time when all I knew of Cyrena were the ten songs of Vanity Project. Those songs were a very accurate guide to the real Cyrena. If you listen carefully to them, you can find humour in them, she’s all there. There isn’t really any need for more exposition. The humour this year is in the front. In this song particularly the humour is more biting, more cynical: satire.

Strung out princesses in cages
Starving to be seen
While pin-stripe posers
Post their wages
It’s so fucking cheap

Don’t worry. Cyrena isn’t in that dark place any more but without those times, these times would have sounded very different. As a fan, and from a distance, I think those times helped her to grow. She no longer finds it difficult to be vulnerable in public, and an artist needs that more than anything else.

And that is the final analysis: they were difficult times, but the character in this song won in the end, she triumphed over it all. She survived and blossomed and so can you. Is this the same woman who murders her husband in If It Ain’t Broke?

The anger is tempered by a few more years on the clock. I’ve learned that Cyrena’s music is not as simple as you might want it to be: the person in her songs is not her, not completely, not always. She sometimes calls this persona C$. But whatever difficult memories she carries, Cyrena Wages is a well-rounded, deeply insightful artist. She was born already a 20-something adult with a couple of previous lives already lived, and I feel like we can all learn something from her experiences.

This time around, the message is: it gets better, you can find a way, your way. The video, linked below, reveals even more nuance. Listen today!

You can stream Cyrena’s music in all the usual places and find out more on her website. Her first album, set in Memphis, was Vanity Project. You can also catch CW live with the wonderful Lilly Winwood at Dee’s Lounge next week on January 15!

Cyrena Wages

Best Behavior: The Last Cotillion

Ya know, writing my one and only Substack May of last year was such a cathartic, enjoyable, natural moment for me that I, in the name of brand consistency, never did it again. Alas, I woke up this morning, the eve of my next single release, and suddenly felt like writing in my digital journal…

Read more

4 months ago · 3 likes · 3 comments · Cyrena Wages

BNB even played the Brands Hatch American Speedfest, a new event on my radar that combines my love of motor racing and music. They also played the major UK Country Music Festival in Blackpool and Country on the Coast in Portsmouth. But who on earth were they?

I soon realised the Surrey-based Bee is now the main voice and face of BNB after starting out as a duo a couple of years ago. They’re releasing a song every few months, so I took an hour out today to grab hold of their February 2025 EP Jumpin’ on the Bandwagon. It collects together a handful of songs released in the year before.

The EP kicks off quick and fresh with Love in the Dark, a high speed car chase of a song that involves whiskey and a Corvette. The car in the thrilling video is a 1968 scarlet model which adds to the vibe.

Next up is Stanley which is a modern bar-room classic with a swing. This is the track that gives us the title of the collection, Jumpin’ on the Bandwagon. And more whiskey. And lots of small-town gossip. Hit me, barman. Oh - Stanley is the guy behind the bar!

Bee manages to combine her role as mother of three young children with her country music career. She calls to mind Kimberly Kelly in more ways than one, an artist I reviewed here in October after she re-launched her music career as a mother with Modern Day Woman.

Best Part of Me is up next. It opens with a gentle acoustic guitar. It’s less produced, less electric, just a touch of pedal steel, and therefore allows the vocals to shine. It feels like the end of a relationship. She’s taking the dog, of course. It’s the saddest part of the EP.

The final song is Slow Down Honey, which references Dolly and 9 to 5. It might be slower but it’s still a loud banger. You can find an acoustic version below which shows a completely different side to the song, which Bee suggests was inspired by the fast pace of city living in London. I know how she feels!

Buckle ‘n’ Boots have just this week released their new single, the raunchy, slightly cheeky Girls’ Night Out and it really hits the spot. You can watch the lyric video below. They’re all holding down day jobs but are having a massive one, bosses be damned. It really does bring some Brit grit to the Nashville sound. It’s really fun, funny even in places, and a great way to close out a successful year.

You can follow Bee and the band on Instagram, TikTok, Facebook and on their own website with all the links to music, tour dates and merch, including the most endearing stuffed puppy!

@bucklenbootsofficial💙Blue Christmas cover x Sending love from the UK 🇬🇧 #countrymusic #ukcountrymusic #bee #bluechristmas #christmascover

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You can listen to Cyrena Wages on streaming or buy her music on physical formats on her website. Ellie Norris is here on Substack as well as Instagram and on TikTok. This episode was edited by Oli Seymour.

Ali Angel

Stone Cold was the first Ali Angel song I heard, and I played it so much during February and March that it became one of my top five most-played songs of the year. Her new album is out on January 16 and I will review all the tracks in due course.

Chloe Kimes

Lola Kirke introduced me to Chloe Kimes during their tour together in the US back in the summer. Chloe’s 2025 songs are thrilling and hilarious, catchy and infectious. If you prefer something a little more reflective then her 2022 debut is for you, a more traditional country sound.

Cyrena Wages

Cyrena has become a regular on my CD player this year. Her infectious laughter echoes through the corridors here at Tennessee Vibes HQ as we keep finding new things to talk about on our podcast. This might be the last written piece of the year, but there is one more podcast episode coming on 20 December so make sure you follow and subscribe wherever you listen. That one features special guest and fellow Substackian .

Cyrena is busy on her second record, Miss Melancholia, and the tracks I have heard indicate it will be every bit as good as 2024’s Vanity Project. I wanted to re-share my first ever profile of Cyrena, before I got to know her, and before my 2025 took a thrilling 180, in part due to her encouragement.

Cyrena has a single out on January 9 and you can pre-save it here.

Lilly Winwood

It was Lilly Winwood’s music that inspired me to write my first musician profile for about 8 years back in February, and I loved watching her release some old-time covers this year. Lilly has been busy playing and touring solo and with father Steve, but her recorded music highlight of 2025 was an EP, The Waiting Room. I forecast an enormous 2026 for her as she plans the release of a new album of original songs.

Miller Campbell

Watching an artist live is seeing them in their true environment, and has more impact than even the most expensive record player. Miller’s appearance at Bush Hall, London felt like a special treat because she had told me of the show herself. I was the only one in the audience who had bought a Lera Lynn ticket just to see Miller’s support set.

Miller is so busy, claiming to perform up to 160 times a year, which I find staggering. She’s on the up and I hope I played a small part in bringing her music to a UK and European audience in 2026. She’s even nicer in person than you would expect from her interviews!

Pearl Charles

Pearl Charles was my first solo gig of 2025, the one where I realised it can be just as much fun sometimes to turn up on your own. Pearl was so engaging and easy to chat to on the merch stand. I have seen Pearl twice now and have recently obtained a third ticket for 1st May 2026.

Zoee

Zoee easily has the fewest letters of any artist I wrote about this year, even with her trademark double E. I loved her debut album in the summer and she was such a pleasure to work with on several song reviews. For a few weeks before and during the album release she was always one DM away and the very first artist to agree to a Q&A with me. She’s really blowing up in Nashville and we’re all hoping she can tour in the UK and Europe soon!

Encore

I wanted to take a moment to reflect on the first year of Tennessee Vibes. Most of my more successful projects have happened by complete accident. British Gangs is not a topic I knew anything about and I was shocked to be asked to write a hardback book about them. That relationship with Pen & Sword opened the door for next year’s two-volume history of Fleetwood Mac.

When I wrote the very first Lilly Winwood profile in February I had no plans to write any more. But it was the second profile, of Cyrena Wages, that really opened up a door into the Tennessee music scene. Fast forward to the autumn and I found myself not only meeting Pearl Charles, Chloe Kimes and Miller Campbell in person, but all of them recognised me! Such a surprising and rewarding end to a really fun year.

Thanks for coming on the journey, and do recommend Tennessee Vibes to your friends. I have no plans to paywall any content, although I do promise that all new content is free for at least 6 months.

See you in 2026!

Thunder

There’s a relatively traditional country feel to this 2022 album, but always with a wink and a humorous line. The humour is more to the front in 2025, but I am really enjoying this album which is a top quality debut.

Thunder also kicked off the set on the recent UK tour. This is one of Chloe’s best and most accessible tracks, and not only on this album. It has sweet moments but also anger. We see both sides. I always knew the tough girl routine was just an act anyway.

If I call you after midnight, I just dialled the wrong number… as if! It sounds like a relationship that is fading away, but it’s not what the singer wants at all. The staccato of thunder runs through this brilliant opener, and the loud weather is also keeping her awake.

Well I’ve gotten pretty good at the tough girl act
Tired of everybody feeling sorry for my ass
So if you think that you’ve seen a girl that’s showing her hand
I’m sorry, please don’t misunderstand

Atticus

This one really stuck with me this summer. It’s an unusual name, Atticus, unheard of in England. It comes with a certain humour. Could he be a real person? They’re in a covers bar. I am starting to get a sense that Atticus doesn’t really exist. Her memory is hazy.

No Cigar

Yes, Chloe is perhaps best-known for her song about Coors Light beer. I’m sure she’s okay with that. It got the biggest reception in London. But she also sings about whiskey and cigars too, other country symbols. I really enjoyed No Cigar. She’s keeping things clean and tidy but still didn’t quite manage to win the guy. All she has left is a case of beer to remember him by. Oh, he’s a musician. Will she ever learn? I found this the saddest song on the album. Is there anything sadder than an orphan case of beer?

When You’re Gone

He’s only going away for a weekend but she will still miss him. Oh man, he’s a musician too! He’s touring all over the country. If you need further convincing, she loves Neil Young’s chords. She has great taste. This is the blues but Kimes style.

In the Meantime

This one really is a break-up song but she’s not totally over him. I’m really enjoying this album as we reach the end of Side A. It’s so different from Chloe’s 2025 work. Although it was the hilarity of Uh Huh and Afraid To Die that first caught my attention her 2022 debut shows her range. The Kimes can pretty much handle any material. Is she happier now or just playing a different role? She certainly seems to be loving life when she performs.

Still Going With You

Chloe played this live in London and it opens Side B. It chugs along nicely and is an instantly likeable song. There seem to be quite a few downsides to her current relationship, but at least she’s hanging in there. This is one of the many songs that really highlight Chloe’s sense of humour and ear for a catchy hook. Chloe isn’t shy of a well-timed fuck. I try not to have favourites, not in my reviews. But I can say I play this and Thunder a lot.

Untitled

A more wistful track, reflective, but not without a shotgun. Is this as close as the album gets to a pure love song? Is that why she doesn’t want to give it a name? Normally in a country song there’s a twist or two. She’s finding herself a little tongue-tied. I think this is confused Chloe: she’s not used to feeling this way and it’s a little unsettling.

Roasted Peppers

Don’t worry, it’s only a bottle of wine. Not whiskey this time! Although she still drank every drop. She’s going to make Brownies first thing though so things are looking up. But will there be anyone to eat them with? This was the moment I worried that the brash Chloe, fun Chloe, is slipping away. Nobody can be up all the time.

Olivia

I’m not sure if Olivia is a real person, but Chloe speaks very highly of her. Is she a baby, a younger sister? Olivia is either a sibling or a very close childhood friend. Side B is much more reflective. It’s a proper old-school album with two distinct sides.

Stand to Gain

There is a definite feel to Chloe’s music that I called ‘outdoorsy’ last time. Once you know she’s from the lakes of Michigan, and you hear that pedal steel and fiddle, it makes sense to imagine her fishing in the river, hiking up a mountain… this truly is country music at its best. This was the last song she played in London and really represents her range: it’s very different to 2025’s side-splitters. It’s about family and the important things in life. The drink is only coffee this time.

This river where you caught me
I was just drinking my coffee
I was just finding my own way
You seem to think that I’m confused
A helpless bird that′s soft and bruised and used
And all I could use is you out of my way

Encore

It’s worth stepping back a little to mention family, an important concept in country music, and specifically important to Chloe too. She spoke between songs of being thankful and grateful for so many things in her life. Yes, the show was on Thanksgiving, but she was making some wider points. I didn’t know it until later, but it was her sister Megan we were chatting to on the merch stand. The next day, her dad commented on my Instagram post about the show. She has a very talented and supportive family.

This is a really challenging career and yet it is just that little bit easier knowing that your family are behind you. I have recently watched the new Led Zeppelin documentary and it seems that not only were Robert Plant’s family not supportive of his music career, but John Bonham’s wife took an instant and profound dislike to him as well!

Chloe was the support artist last week and she instantly won over the whole room with her infectious enthusiasm and evident talent. I hope they loved her as much as I do. If you scroll down a little you will also find an EP called Apothecary.

Chloe’s website has all the information you need and she is a regular on both Instagram and TikTok. She is on tour again this month from Saturday 6th December and there are still tickets available. Chloe is completely independent so head on over to Bandcamp!