Well that’s it from us for another week dear reader and we leave you with a brand new song from Broolyn-based Hudson Freeman. Born to Evangelical missionaries, Freeman started writing songs upon a radical break at the age of 13 when his family suddenly moved from the suburbs of Dallas to The Kingdom of Eswatini. Inspired by Midwest folkheads like Sufjan Stevens and Bon Iver, the 26-year-old continues to record and perform songs equal-parts resonant, reflective, and poignant, and this tune, recorded in a field in southern Indiana by Freeman and Sean Saville has a warm and familiar set of chords it feels like coming home to.

Starting up the beloved annual feature Jingle Bells Friday is a bit like christmas shopping in reverse.  When is too soon to start that shopping - or, and perhaps more meaningful and likely to be remembered in the future, making those special personalised gift items - in order to ensure that everyone will have something that they like but without making it feel that the Winterval is lasting all year? 

Hot on the heels of his hometown gig at the HotBox and following his appearance on the AUK Podcast, Jack Browning has announced three dates in the New Year with the promise of more to come. This all comes ahead of the release of his sophomore album "Painted Skies", which explores love, loss, and family, and is slated for a Spring release (whatever that means!).

A number of the top music artists who have managed to have long, successful careers have had the ability to reinvent themselves periodically. Think David Bowie, Elvis Presley, Cher, Madonna, Neil Young, Kylie Minogue, Johnny Cash, Bob Dylan. To that list, you can add Emmylou Harris. If you think of an artist's reinvention as looking different, perhaps sounding fresher or newer, perhaps more relevant, whilst remaining unmistakably the same artist, then all of the above have successfully transitioned at least once during their respective careers.

Suffolk’s Red Rooster Festival has announced the first round of acts for its 2026 iteration. As the festival heads towards its 12th edition, it continues to celebrate the best of authentic country, soul, blues and rock ‘n’ roll. As ever, it will be taking place in the stunning landscape of Euston Hall, Suffolk, running from 28th to 30th May 2026.

What! November already! Where has the year gone? It feels like only yesterday that we were embarking on a new adventure, excited about the forthcoming EPs that would continue to enthral us through the onset of spring and beyond. And now, here we are, about to wave goodbye to Autumn, though with these balmy temperatures, it has so far felt anything but autumnal, and venture into winter.

A slow-burning album that captures deep spiritual yearnings. In the late 90s, Swedish singer Christian Kjellvander was part of the roots-influenced alternative rock band Loosegoats, with which he recorded several albums before their disbandment in 2001. Although they would reunite for a series of concerts and a final album years later, since parting ways, Kjellvander has followed a different path as a solo artist, characterised by a steady output of albums.

'Everywhere You Go' is an undoubted love song about being flawed - but also devoted.  It finds My Girl The River hitting a west coast early 70s vibe with a 'Whiter Shade of Pale' organ sound (Harry Whitty) and some subtle lead guitar (Steve Lee). Add in the three part family harmony from the start - and an unforgettable…

Tommy Womack's latest single, 'Just Another Shooting', tackles attitudes towards gun ownership in the United States. It's a controversial topic that frequently makes the news due to the frequency of shootings in schools and other public spaces. Indeed, the song was written in the aftermath of the 2023 Covenant School shooting in Nashville. Womack says, "It’s one thing to see it on the television week after week, then it happens at home, and for some stupid reason, it means more when it happens at home…

Every writer faced with distilling the entire history of music into the Top 10 Americana Songs of All Time is faced with a need to place some boundaries around the task in order to get some sense of perspective on the subject. Leaving aside the “what is americana?” mug’s game, I was thinking about what a greatest of all time meant – is it the intrinsic value of a single piece performance, or is it a song that transcends the performance and somehow epitomises a facet of americana in a way which connects across performers and audiences.

“Does anyone want to get a dose of Southern Rock?” was included in the invitation from the AUK live reviews editor. This certainly whet my appetite, and after I read the review of their last album that said, “this band are apparently the real deal” live, I was convinced. They kicked off with ‘Ramblin’, a straightforward rousing rocker in the style of ZZ Top from their last album…

Texan songwriter Jana Horn will release her self-titled third album on 16th January 2026 via No Quarter. Most of the ten songs on the new record were written during Horn’s first year of living in New York, where she moved after completing a creative writing MFA in Charlottesville. “Moving to New York after graduation had felt almost too right, like an arranged marriage.

Even though we're heading towards the end of the year, there's been no drop-off in the number of soon-to-be, or in some cases recently, released folk albums. This time around, the accidental theme is one of tradition - whether that's traditions carried forward or old songs brushed off and given new life. There's new music in older traditions as well.

The next entrant in Twang Factor 4 is Cold Bones Lullabies, who is a singer-songwriter based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire. Cold Bones Lullabies usually plays at venues like Cafe 9 in Sheffield. After playing bass guitar in a band decades ago (usual John Peel session, etc), he put the guitar away and didn't touch an instrument for 30 years. Eventually, he recovered the bass from the loft, sold it and bought a couple of acoustic guitars.

Multi-platinum, four-time JUNO Award-winning Canadian rock band The Sheepdogs announce their return to the UK and Europe in November and December 2026 for the "Out All Night Tour". The band kick off in Glasgow on 11 November, before rolling through the UK, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, France and Spain, finishing in London on 12 December. (Full tour dates below.)

Melodic instrumental compositions and mesmerising playing from Australian guitar virtuoso. What can one say about Tommy Emmanuel that hasn’t already been said or written in a career spanning well over a half-century? He is simply one of the best guitarists in the world, much-loved and followed by devotees of his craft. Multiple awards, including a 2024 Grammy for The String Revolution’s reworking of Johnny Cash’s…

Lady Nade, we dare to suggest, has the breakout possibilities of an Allison Russell - a great stage presence, a fine songwriter and with a wonderful voice.  She has already made herself noticed in both folk and Americana - and the non-acoustic version of 'One Of Us' takes a tilt towards a more mainstream pop sound.  It's a song that encompasses both wider generational traumas, but frames that within the personal. 

Here's Canadian alt-country artist Bobby Dove with the immediately-absorbing 'Trans Canadian Blues'. A great guitar groove, propulsive percussion from Dani Nash and Dove's urgent vocals combine to make this into a compelling, compulsive track that grabs you and doesn't let go. After a surging guitar solo midway through, the song quietens, a change of pace and volume that hooks you back in before it races towards its conclusion.

Light, poppy indie-country with strong melodies and engaging words about life’s struggles. “Strange Trip Ahead” is Canadian Mariel Buckley’s third studio album, after her 2018 debut “Driving in the Dark” and 2022’s “Everywhere I Used to Be”. It is no great departure from these two, but that’s okay, as it is full of good songs with great “earworm” melodies and catchy choruses.

Richmond, Virginia-based artists Stephen McCarthy (The Long Ryders, The Jayhawks) and Kevin Pittman (The Dads) have joined forces as The Sky Chiefs and announced their forthcoming self-titled LP will be released on 13th February 2026. In the early 1990s, the pair holed up in a 100-year-old bungalow that doubled as a recording studio, songwriting lab, late-night speakeasy, and occasional test site for neighbour complaints.

On one of the wettest autumnal nights in quite a while, a good crowd squeezed into St Lawrence’s Church in Biddulph, North Staffordshire to see the musical debut in the area of Isle of Wight chanteuse Sorrel Nation. Nation often plays in different line-ups and this gig was no exception – Theo Holder on cello, Sam Anderson on resonator guitar/vocals and Hollie Garwood on guitar, backing vocals – and musical saw – formed the band on this occasion, all providing a richly textured sonic mix which blended well with the short natural reverb tail of the acoustics in the building.

Unflinching and moving lo-fi recordings focusing on personal struggles. The cover of The Quaint & the Curious's latest album, entitled 'Most of my Problems are all in my Head', comprises an illustration of several tiny devil-like figures attacking various parts of a man's head. It's actually an advertisement from the 1860s for Wolcott's Instant Pain Annihilator, a popular 19th century US quack medicine, containing ethyl alcohol and opium which, according to the manufacturers, would soothe a range of different pains.

If the Shoe Fits. "Life ain’t nothing but a blending up of all the ups and downs/ Dammit Elvis, don’t you know." Mike Cooley’s opening line on the 2004 track 'Carl Perkins’ Cadillac'. A double sovereign name check. There are definitely many big ups and downs and big names described within the pages of Jeff Apter’s biography on "

Today's Track Premiere comes from "Ivory Tower", the latest album by Samuel Wilbur, whom, you may recall, is a Minneapolis-based singer-songwriter, high school teacher (he teaches history), and passionate environmentalist.  He describes "Ivory Tower" as a concept album which reflects on life in modern day America, where the rise of the billionaire ruling class opens its doors to fascism while invasive technology and ubiquitous AI accelerate the global climate crisis.

Here's the latest single from Catskills-based singer-songwriter Hannah Cohen. Central to 'Mountain' is Cohen's gorgeous vocal delivery - it's timeless, graceful, pure and sweetly melodic. Most striking are Cohen's poetic lyrics that meditate on feelings of loss: "Losing you is a mountain of stillness // distant star flashes your mischief // a nasty thought rises and I fell sick // I won’t ask questions, forgiveness // I’ll just play it on over and over again // a love like that won’t ever end // we could be like this or that instead // I miss you bad I miss my friend." …