I first discovered Lori McKenna in maybe little of an unusual way: while you may only know Mandy Moore as an actress, or have a vague memory of her limited success in the UK as a teen pop singer in the late ’90s and early ’00s, she’s really turned into something pretty great musically. Her last four albums have been strong, Americana leaning records; with 2003’s ‘Coverage’ she covered songs from her heroes, with the likes of Joni Mitchell, John Hiatt, The Waterboys and Joan Armatrading amongst those in the mix. In 2007 she released ‘Wild Hope’ which saw writing collaborations with The Weepies, Rachel Yamagata, and yes, McKenna. This was a little after the time McKenna started to gain some mainstream success, but this was the first place I picked up on McKenna’s amazing writing talents, and then went hunting for her solo material. Continue reading “The top 10 Lori McKenna songs”
Like fellow country singer-songwriters Angaleena Presley and Kacy Musgrave, Brandy Clark has a wonderful, at times sassy, sense of humour. She starts off a little serious, a little dark, but still okay, but then around the fourth song she lets her mask drop. It must be those official photographers; it wasn’t until after the first three songs allowed for stage photos had elapsed did a genuine smile truly emerge from the raven-haired Washington born act. Her humorous wit has become both a staple diet of her shows and the kind that incite her audience to voice their approval. Some no doubt able to relate all too well to her lyrics, while others, were just happy to hear someone voice a feminist viewpoint.