Tuesday, July 7, 2020

Eva Cassidy - An Omission Rectified...


I was pleased recently to correct a glaring gap in my music collection. 



Before I get onto that, please indulge me whilst I drift off on something of a tangent.

I’m a fan of Doctor Who and in 2010 during the Matt Smith era, there was an episode where they travelled back in time and met the famous Dutch painter, Vincent van Gogh. There is a beautiful scene towards the end of that episode where they bring van Gogh forward in time in the TARDIS to Paris. They take van Gogh to the Musée d'Orsay to show just how influential and important his work was and continues to be, recognition that sadly he did not receive during his troubled lifetime. It’s one of my favourite Doctor Who scenes, with the wonderful portrayal of van Gogh by Scottish actor Tony Curran. There is also a brilliant and uncredited guest appearance from Bill Nighy.

At this point you’re probably thinking, “This is all well and good, but what the heck does Doctor Who have to do with Eva Cassidy?”

I mention this as it seems to me that there are parallels with the life and career of Eva Cassidy. Outside of the north eastern states of the USA, she was largely unknown. She tragically passed away at the age of just 33, relatively unheard of in the music world.

As fine a singer as she undoubtedly was, she seemed ill at ease performing in front of a big audience. I get the impression that she just loved to sing but didn’t seek out fame and the pressure that this would have brought.

I am a big fan of Canadian country artist Whitney Rose, who summed up a similar attitude with the following message on Twitter this year:



A compilation album called “Songbird” was released in 1998, but it was two of her songs being played on BBC Radio 2 a couple of years later which really brought the music of Eva Cassidy to a much wider audience. On the recommendation of his producer Paul Walters, breakfast show presenter Terry Wogan played the music of this obscure American singer and the reaction was incredible. A video of Cassidy singing “Over The Rainbow” became the most requested video ever shown on Top of The Pops 2. On 18th March, 2001, “Songbird” went to Number 1 in the UK Album Chart.

Eva Cassidy’s music is timeless - it is a great pity that she was not more celebrated during her lifetime.  We are so lucky, however, that we have these recordings and can celebrate the legacy that she has left behind. I would not hesitate to tell anyone that she had one of the best singing voices of all time.


Sunday, July 5, 2020

My Favourite New Artists of 2020

Just to clarify from the start, these are not necessarily new artists. They are, however, new artists to me. 

I discover new artists in a variety of different ways. The excellent "Bob Harris Country" show on BBC Radio 2 has provided many of these over the years. Bob is something of a legend in the music industry and he has an encyclopedic knowledge of many different genres. He plays a fair mix of both traditional country and the more modern stuff. He is now most associated with country music and has an unerring knack of playing artists that I've never heard of, but end up really liking. He has done it time and time again.

I am also a regular user of Spotify and I've picked up several new favourites from playlists on there.

My newest source is the superb "Voice of a Woman" radio show which is on every Sunday at 6pm on Claremorris Community radio, a local community-run station in County Mayo, Republic of Ireland. The host Linda plays an hour of female artists every week, and I have found many artists that I like from listening to this show.

Several new artists have also come to my attention from reading the Saving Country Music website. This is a site that focuses more on the traditional side of country and publishes articles, album reviews and other information on country music. 

The other main source of artist recommendations is my friends. If I hear a song or an artist that I think a friend will like, I suggest that they give it a listen. My friends do the same for me. Everyone has different tastes when it comes to music and I feel like I know what my friends like to listen to. I take this seriously, only suggesting artists that I think they will really enjoy. Modern life is busy enough as it is, and I don't want to waste someone's time listening to music that they are not going to like.

One result of the Coronavirus lockdown has been that I have had more time to listen to music. Below I present (in no particular order other than being alphabetical) my favourite new artist discoveries of 2020 so far. I have also created a Spotify playlist featuring a couple of songs from each of these artists. Please see this link at the bottom of this page. I hope you enjoy it!


Caitlin Cannon


Ruthie Collins


Kree Harrison


Lauren Mascitti


Craig Morgan


Lorraine Nash


Zephaniah OHora


Katie Pruitt


Allie Sealey


Tessy Lou Williams



Of the ten artists in this list, 80% are female and all ten artists lean towards being more traditional. This merely reflects where my listening tastes sit at present. 

Please visit the below links for more information..


Finally, as promised here is the Spotify playlist featuring a couple of songs from each of these artists. Enjoy!


My favourite new artists of 2020