When I find a song I like I become quite obsessive. It’s not unusual for me to have a handful of songs on repeat for weeks – when I find something I like, I stick with it! At the moment I have five favourite songs on repeat – my summer soundtrack – a mix of rock, pop and country…

1) Homegrown by Zac Brown Band

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I did a road trip in the states this summer and travelling through Idaho, Montana and Wyoming I decided I needed a summer soundtrack of American country music to accompany me. The Zac Brown Band is from Georgia on the other side of the USA but fitted perfectly for the long drive. Homegrown is my favourite from the Jekyll & Hyde album – it’s super catchy and I love the lyrics “I’ve got everything I need”.

2) Steal My Girl by One Direction 

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We spent several days in Vancouver and at the last minute we decided we wanted to spend our final night at a gig. We googled and found One Direction were playing at BC Place – with cheap tickets left we headed there. I only knew a handful of their songs before and this was a new one for me that I bought after the show.

3) All Of Me by Jasmine Thompson

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One of the couples whose wedding I photographed this summer chose this song for their first dance. I’d never heard it before and I love it. The incredibly talented singer Samantha Harvey performed it and Jasmine Thompson’s version is the closest I could find. It makes a great first dance, slow and intimate with beautiful lyrics: “All of me, loves all of you – love your curves and all your edges, all your perfect imperfections”.

4) Superheroes by The Script

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I heard this on the radio the other morning and it fired me up for the day. It has a good beat for working out and will stick in your head. If you need a dose of determination then the lyrics “every day, every hour, turn the pain into power” will inspire you to keep you going!

5) Phone In A Pool by Ben Folds

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Ben Folds Five was part of the summer soundtrack to my school days and I was very excited to see him perform at the Royal Albert Hall with YMusic last month. He’s so talented and also has a great ironic sense of humour. He told the story of how he threw his mobile in a hotel pool, and the song he wrote about this has quickly became my favourite from his new album ‘So There’ which was released a few days ago.

So that’s been my summer soundtrack – as autumn starts I’ll be looking for some warming and cheery tunes before I happily dive headfirst into my favourite Christmas songs! I love to discover different singers and bands so please leave recommendations below for me to try out.

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