DECLAN CULLITON
COUNTRY:
1 Kristina Murray – LITTLE BLUE
2 Sunny Sweeney – RHINESTONE REQUIEM
3 Tobacco City - HORSES
4 Brennen Leigh – DON’T YOU EVER GIVE UP ON LOVE
5 Colter Wall – MEMORIES AND EMPTIES
6 Joshua Hedley – ALL HAT
7 Will Worden – THE ONLY ONE & ALL THE OTHERS
8 Jesse Lovelock & The Velvet Voices – SELF-TITLED
9 Kelsey Waldon – EVERY GHOST
10 Willow Avalon – SOUTHERN BELLE RAISIN’ HELL
GENERAL:
1 Kassi Valazza – FROM NEWMAN STREET
2 Chris Eckman – THE LAND WE KNEW THE BEST
3 Kathleen Edwards – BILLIONAIRE
4 Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter – FOREVER, I’VE BEEN BORN
5 Carson McHone – PENTIMENTO
6 S.G.Goodman – PLANTING BY THE SIGNS
7 Caitlin Cannon – LOVE ADDICT
8 Rose City Band – SOL Y SOMBRA
9 Ryan Davis & The Roadhouse Band – NEW THREATS FROM THE SOUL
10 The Autumn Defense – HERE AND NOWHERE
TRIBUTE ALBUM:
Various Artists - IT’S ALL HER FAULT: A TRIBUTE TO CINDY WALKER
RE-RELEASE:
Drive By Truckers – THE DEFINITIVE DECORATION DAY
FAVOURITE GIGS:
1 KASSI VALAZZA @ Dee’s Cocktail Lounge Nashville
2 JON BYRD @ East Side Bowl Nashville
3 MERCE LEMON @ Basement East Nashville
4 WILLOW AVALON @ Opium Dublin
5 KRISTINA MURRAY @ Vinyl Tap Nashville
6 HAYLEY REARDAN @ Static Roots Festival Oberhausen
7 THE SOUTHERN FOLD @ Static Roots Festival Oberhausen
8 RYAN DAVIS & THE ROADHOUSE BAND @ Kilkenny Roots Festival
9 MARY GAUTHIER / JAIMEE HARRIS @ Pavillion Dun Laoghaire
10 THE PINK STONES @ Vinyl Tap Nashville
STEPHEN RAPID
COUNTRY:
1 Luke Bell – THE KING IS BACK
2 Dallas Burrow – THE WAY THE WEST WAS WON
3 Jesse Lovelock & The Velvet Voices – SELF-TITLED
4 Chandlier Dozier – BAKERSFIELD EAST
5 Tom Dunphy – EVERYTHING WAS NEW
6 Sunny Swenney – RHINESTONE REQUIEM
7 Paul Burch - CRY LOVE
8 John Howie Jr & The Rosewood Bluff – THE RETURN OF ...
9 William Beckmann – WHISKEY LIES AND ALIBIS
10 Cody Grinder & The Playboy Scouts – AND MORE
11 The Doohickeys – ALL HAT NO CATTLE
12 Rosy Nolan - MAIN ATTRACTION
AMERICANA & ALTERNATIVE:
1 Ben De La Cour – NEW ROSES
2 James McMurtry – THE BLACK DOG AND THE WANDERING BOY
3 Joe Stamm Band – LITTLE CROSSES
4 Teague Brothers Band – WISH YOU THE WORLD
5 Murry Hammond – TRAIL SONGS OF THE DEEP
6 Tobacco City – HORSES
7 Daniel Meade – TIME ROLLS BY
8 Xixa – XOLO
9 Brent Amaker & The Rodeo – VAQUERO
10 Mike Delevante – SEPTEMBER DAYS
11 Helen Cronin – MAYBE NEW MEXICO
12 Kinky Freidman - THE POET OF MOTEL 6
TRIBUTE ALBUMS:
Various Artists - IT’S ALL HER FAULT: A TRIBUTE TO CINDY WALKER
Various Artists - CAN’T STEAL MY FIRE: A TRIBUTE TO DAVID OLNEY
FAVOURITE GIGS:
BEN DE LA COUR @ Kilkenny Roots Festival
LEAF RAPIDS @ Kilkenny Roots Festival
BOOK RECOMENDATION:
MERIDIAN RISING by Paul Burch
Deciding on the albums of the year and their placement in a list is a somewhat arbitary process. We at Lonesome Highway to not tend to review albums that we don’t oursleves like. So all of the 50 or so releases that I have reviewed this year have merit. But you have to stop somewhere and rely, to a degree, on memory as to what albums made a more lasting impression - for one reason or another. A few were albums I didn’t review but became favourites, however all are worthy of investigation for the curious or those who have found that their musical tastes tend to align with mine based on the albums chosen.
EILIS BOLAND
ALBUMS:
Carter & Cleveland - JASON CARTER & MICHAEL CLEVELAND
Rebecca Porter - ROLL WITH THE PUNCHES
Becky Buller - SONGS THAT SING ME
Shawn Camp - THE GHOST OF SIS DRAPER
Mason Via - SELF-TITLED
Michael Prewitt - SOMETHING HE CAN HANDLE
Jesse Daniel - SON OF THE SAN LORENZO
Special Consensus - BEEN ALL AROUND THIS WORLD
David Mayfield Parade - GO BIG OR GO HOME
Sierra Hull - A TIPTOE HIGHWIRE
The Faux Paws - NO BAD IDEAS
Rick Faris - LIFE’S PARADE
Foggy Mountain Spaceship - GALAXY TRACKS VOL 1
Jaywalkers - MOVE ON
Seth Mulder & Midnight Run - COMING ON STRONG
Ben de la Cour - NEW ROSES
GIGS:
WILLIE WATSON @ AMA-UK, Hackney, London
STURGILL SIMPSON @ The Telegraph, Belfast
SEAMUS FOGARTY @ the American Bar, Belfast
LIAM PURCELL & CANE MILL ROAD @ Westport Folk & Bluegrass Festival,
NEIL YOUNG @ Hyde Park
GILLIAN WELCH & DAVID RAWLINGS @ IBMA World of Bluegrass, Chattanooga
MICHAEL CLEVELAND & JASON CARTER @ IBMA World of Bluegrass, Chattanooga
THE INFAMOUS STRINGDUSTERS @ IBMA World of Bluegrass, Chattanooga
MASON VIA @ IBMA World of Bluegrass, Chattanooga
FOGGY MOUNTAIN SPACESHIP @ IBMA World of Bluegrass, Chattanooga
JIM ROONEY & SHAWN CAMP @ Ballinderreen GAA club, Galway, Ireland
PAUL McGEE
Once again the amount of new music arriving at Lonesome Highway Head Office proved to be overwhelming. With our best intentions we attempted to post as many reviews that time will allow across our team of writers, and yet, “The undiminished sea still crowds the shore.”
The quality of music submitted was of a consistently high level and if we didn’t get to post a particular album, then the failure is ours. We listen with dedicated ears to many new artists/bands before deciding upon what individual choices will make the cut each week when we post new reviews. As always, our intention is to promote lesser known music with a limited exposure, in the hope that it will reach new territories and develop an improved fan base across our readers/listeners.
Our weekly radio show on Dublin City FM is a great outlet for much of the music we choose to highlight, as continues to be the case with our social media outlets on Facebook and Instagram. Our website remains the premier source for comprehensive album reviews, artist interviews and live music gig reviews as our scribes wrestle with the increasing demands of old father time.
My personal favourites for 2025 are as follows:
ALBUMS:
1 My Politic - SIGNS OF LIFE
2 The Equatorial Group - SUNSEEKER
3 Caroline Spence - HEART GO WILD
4 Amy Speace - THE BLUE ROCK SESSION
5 Dan Raza - WAYFARER
6 Katie Spencer - WHAT LOVE IS
7 Jesse Daniel Edwards - SELF-TITLED (Piano Songs)
8 James McMurtry- THE BLACK DOG AND THE WANDERING BOY
9 Morgan Wade - THE PARTY IS OVER (Recovered)
10 Kris Delmhorst - GHOSTS IN THE GARDEN
11 Lisa Cerbone - WE STILL HAVE SKY
12 Rachel Whitcomb - WILDEST DREAMS
13 Tekla Waterfield - MOTHER MIND
14 Tim Grimm - BONES OF TREES
15 Grayson Hugh - SAVE YOUR LOVE FOR ME
16 Zandi Holup - SELF-TITLED
17 Steve Postell - WALKING THROUGH THESE BLUES
18 Crys Matthews - RECLAMATION
19 Jeffrey Broussard - BAYOU MOONLIGHT
20 The Tasty Kings - NATIVE TONGUE
IRISH ALBUMS:
1 Blue Fish Diamond - RADIO SILENCE
2 Dave Clancy - LIVE OUR OWN DREAM
3 Bren Berry - IN HOPE OUR STARS ALIGN
4 DUG - HAVE AT IT
5 Mick Flannery - LIVE (with Susan O’Neill)
6 Ólafur Arnalds/Talos - A DAWNING
ARCHIVE:
1 Neal Casal - NO ONE ABOVE YOU: (The Early Years 1991–1998)
2 Kimmie Rhodes - WEST TEXAS HEAVEN (Revisited)
3 Various ArtistsI - WILL SWIM TO YOU: A TRIBUTE TO JASON MOLINA
4 Woody Guthrie - WOODIE AT HOME: Unreleased Tracks From 1951-1952
5 Waylon Jennings - SONGBIRD: Unreleased Songs 1974 – 1983
6 Drive-By Truckers - THE DEFINITIVE DECORATION DAY
GIGS:
1 AMY SPEACE @ Belfast and Derry
2 JEFFREY MARTIN @ Whelan’s Dublin
3 americanafest @ Nashville, USA
4 BONNIE RAITT @ Vicar Street Dublin
5 KILKENNY ROOTS FESTIVAL @ Kilkenny, Ireland
6 EMILY SCOTT ROBINSON @ Whelan’s Dublin
7 THE DELINES @ Whelan’s Dublin
8 THOMM JUTZ / ERIC BRACE @ Rathfriland
9 RON POPE @ Workman’s Club Dublin
10 JOSHUA RADIN @ Whelan’s Dublin
11 MARTYN JOSEPH @ Whelan’s Dublin
12 JAKE XERXES FUSSELL @ Whelan’s
NEW DISCOVERY:
GOLDPINE @ AmericanaFest : September
BUFFALO NICHOLS @ AmericanaFest : September
JESSE DANIEL EDWARDS/ALEX STEININGER : In Music We Trust PR / Cavity Search
SPECIAL MENTION:
THE LEAF RAPIDS @ Kilkenny Roots Festival : Four gigs played over May weekend
BOOKS OF THE YEAR:
YUSEF/CAT STEVENS: On the Road To Findout
JASON MOLINA: Riding With the Ghost
GARY LIGHTBODY: The Forest Is the Path