Liz Kennedy – ‘Hike Up Your Socks’

We last caught up with San Francisco based singer songwriter Liz Kennedy this time last year, with the release of her track, ‘Everyone Knows How It Goes’. Now she’s hiking up her socks in a love letter to San Francisco – in particular Telegraph Hill, historic North Beach, and the steep and spectacular slopes that say so much about the city. She presents herself as a woman who is more than just enchanted by her community and surroundings, she is also deeply invested in her neighbourhood, with the message of her song clearly saying, “a life well lived is one that’s deeply rooted in the local community”.

Swimming Bell – ‘1988’

Swimming Bell is the project of Katie Schottland. The Brooklyn-based folk singer broke her foot in 2015, and her imposed inactivity led her to write music. She writes by ear, having no formal musical training, and learned some basic chords from a chord sheet she printed out in order to work out how to play Neil Young’s ‘Harvest Moon’. From these gentle beginnings, she launched her debut EP, ‘The Golden Heart’, in October 2017, which was met with critical acclaim.