Foy Vance is and Irish artist that sticks pretty true to his roots, The Irish have always been known to be a singing folk, but Foy’s voice is absolutely incredible. It’s one of those super unique voices, and the same is to be said for his songs. Beautiful Celtic arrangements, great use of the keys and traditional Irish drums. I saw him live in Sydney at the Oxford Arts Factory, and he just took hold of the audience from the get go. At one point he had the crowd simply humming a note continuously, it made the room so eerie in the most beautiful way as he sang acapella over the top. He opens ups and gives you so much insight into his music, and has such a funny, charming side to him as well that just comes across so great.

The Kin came on tour with me a few years ago, two brothers - Thorry and Isaac. Great blokes and with killer voices that harmonise together like butter, and drummer Shakerleg, who plays all the drums with his hands. They have a very unique sound that obviously brought forward with the unorthodox drums and the brothers voices almost sounding like one singer. Thorry plays the guitar and Isaac normally playing the keys instead of having a bass player, which I’ve always loved as a set up. The boys have so much energy on stage and they put on one hell of a show.

A three-piece band from Brooklyn, an amalgamation of rock, metal and punk with little pieces in between. It’s always so special to watch a three piece band that sound soo big live and these guys definitely do that. They’ve found a great way of utilising what they have to work with and using it to the fullest. On first listen when I heard them actually thought they were a four or five piece band, then seeing them on stage it really shocked me, but they still bring the goods. The on-the-edge vocals are great and really bring in the punk vibe, one of those voices when every now and then a trill or lick is thrown in that you weren’t expecting, all in all these guys sound like no one else, I love their finger print in the industry.

5-piece Brit rock band… Britain have always flown their own flag in the music industry, these guys are leading the pact up there at the moment. They’ve brought a new fresh air to the rock scene in the UK with their record a few years ago, and are now flying around the world with their latest record. These guys create their own little world wherever they play, one of those shows where it feels like it’s over before it began. A lot of soundscape stuff in between songs, almost classically operatic and Jeff Buckley-esque vocals that are so juxtaposed to the music that backs it up. A great blend and super tight band.

Well Chris is just the man, hands down one of the best vocalists of our time and a magical songwriter. What you hear on the records is what you get live, just amplified tenfold. I saw him live twice on my last visit to the stage, at the Greek theatre in LA, the perfect venue for an artist with such a simple and effective set up. And then again at Stage Coach outside LA in the desert at the Polo Club. I remember standing in the 90,000 strong crowd of avid country fans, and hearing Chris’s guitar tech come on stage and simply pick two notes to line check the guitar. Hit tone is so memorable from the record that I saw heads turn at that alone. He uses the same band he does on the record and credit to him for that, they are so tight and a great group of musicians to back up insane voice.