Kacey Musgraces at Circuit

Kacey Musgraves

Circuit, 22 April 2025 

I never thought I would get the chance to see the magnificent Kacey Musgraves in a small venue, but that dream came true last night when the country queen gave a special performance for Banquet Records at the nearby Circuit Kingston to promote her upcoming new record, Middle Of Nowhere. What an absolute treat to see the Space Cowgirl play some brand new tunes and also some old favourites in such an intimate place and it was everything I had ever hoped it would be. 

My Favourite Albums of 2024

My top albums of 2024:

 

MJ Lenderman - Manning Fireworks

Waxahatchee - Tigers Blood

Kacey Musgraves - Deeper Well

Mary Timony - Tame The Tiger

St. Vincent - All Born Screaming

Kim Gordon - The Collective

Laura Marling - Patterns In Repeat

Jack White - No Name

Gillian Welch & David Rawlings - Woodland

Sturgill Simpson (as Johnny Blueskies) - Passage Du Desir

Kim Deal - Nobody Loves You More

Sierra Ferrell - Trail Of Flowers

Kacey Musgraves at the Roundhouse

Kacey Musgraves

Madi Diaz

Roundhouse, 14 May 2024

It's been almost ten years since I last saw Kacey Musgraves live, at the Royal Albert Hall, back in 2015. It feels like a lifetime ago and Musgraves has actually soared in that time, as I predicted back then, releasing four more acclaimed albums, including her latest, Deeper Well, which came out earlier this year.

My Favourite Albums Of 2021

16. Marina Allen - Candlepower 

15. Margo Cilker - Pohorylle

14. Ashley Monroe - Rosegold

13. Lana Del Rey - Chemtrails Over The Country Club

12. Pearl Charles - Magic Mirror

11. Kacey Musgraves - Star-Crossed

10. Dinosaur Jr. - Sweep It Into Space

9. St. Vincent - Daddy's Home

8. Brandi Carlile - In These Silent Days

7. Juliana Hatfield - Blood 

6. Sierra Ferrell - Long Time Coming

5. Sturgill Simpson - The Ballad Of Dood & Juanita

4. Lana Del Rey - Blue Banisters

3. Snail Mail - Valentine 

2. Lindsey Buckingham - Lindsey Buckingham 

1. Marina - Ancient Dreams In A Modern Land

Albums Of The Decade

My favourite albums of the past decade. It's really hard to rank albums and really every one is interchangeable because each has meant something special to me or been something of an obsession over the past decade at different times. It's also interesting to see since starting this blog how a lot of the albums on my end of year lists are now rarely listened to by me and some almost completely forgotten (I really don't think I've thought about Yuck, for instance, since 2011 but they are there on my list that year). These were chosen for a combination of most listens and the memories they bring back. I'm sure I've missed out some good ones though.

Merry Christmas!

My Favorite Albums Of 2018

There have been some years while I've been writing this blog where I have struggled to come up with even 10 albums I've loved released in the previous 12 months. This year though has had so many I've loved instead it's been hugely difficult to whittle it down to just 10. There were two EPs in particular that wowed me that didn't make the list simply because they weren't long players: Alison Sudol, formerly A Fine Frenzy, making her debut as a solo artist with the dreamily atmospheric Moon EP and the brilliant "super-group" Boy Genius, combining the talents of Phoebe Bridgers, Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker. I hope we'll get proper albums from both of them.

Merry Christmas!

My Favourite Albums Of 2015

I think this year has been one where I have struggled to find much inspiration in music. I don't know if it's my age finally catching up on me or a lack of music out there to excite me, but I suspect it's the former. I hope it doesn't last but in any case it was pretty easy this time for me to whittle down my favourite albums of the year to just 11. I'm crossing my fingers that 2016 reignites some kind of fire in my music-loving soul but in the meantime here are the few that meant the most to me over the past year.

Best Gigs Of 2015

This definitely wasn't a prime year in gigs for me but it was nice to finally see a few reunited acts live for the first time, most notably The Replacements and Sleater-Kinney, and of course the incomparable Christine McVie back singing with the Mac. You would think that the Fleetwood Mac shows would be my absolute favourites (they were certainly the gigs that cost the most, probably as much as the rest combined) but seeing and hearing McVie singing Everywhere and You Make Loving Fun, although undoubtedly thrilling, was slightly overshadowed by finally seeing The Replacements and the pure ramshackle, joy of their show. Other than my usual fare of alternative and classic rock, I also got to experience some heartwarming pure country shows (Sturgill Simpson and Kacey Musgraves) and even a pop concert, albeit a rather unusual one (the fantastic Marina & The Diamonds). I can't imagine I'll go to many more pop gigs in the future but I do hope next year has some more country in store for me.

Kacey Musgraves at the Royal Albert Hall

Kacey Musgraves
Sugar & The Hi Lows
Royal Albert Hall, 18 November 2015

"This is the fanciest place I've ever been to," Kacey Musgraves tells the crowd tonight, "how did they let me in?" Funnily enough, although she's the first country artist to sell out the Royal Albert Hall in 12 years, she and her band, resplendent in their matching light-up suits, seem a natural fit to the grand surroundings. It's easy to compare Musgraves to Taylor Swift but whereas Swift was obviously reared on Shania Twain, Faith Hill and Reba McEntire, Kacey was obviously listening to Bobbie Gentry, Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn, mixing their small-town country wisdom and Vegas glamour with a more modern slant. Musgraves afterall name-checks Gram Parsons and duets with Willie Nelson on her latest record and, despite wearing a Katy Perry-esque sparkly leotard with her cowgirl hat and boots, I just can't imagine her deserting her country-roots for pop stardom the way Swift has.