Musical highlights of the year from staff and students on BA (Hons) Music Business

12 December 2025

Leo, 1st year

My musical highlight this year has been Magdalena Bay’s ‘Nice Day’ series. I have always talked about Magdalena Bay’s music as being ‘genreless’ - nothing like anything else I’ve heard before, and this release proves it. Just over a year after the release of their massively successful album Imaginal Disk, they released two singles (’Second Sleep’ and ‘Star Eyes’), almost entirely unannounced.

They followed this up with another three pairs of singles. Throughout these eight tracks, the duo demonstrate their talent across an incredible range of genres, from the heavier shoegaze sound of ‘Nice Day’, to the orchestral jazz feel of ‘Star Eyes’, while keeping in touch with their synth-pop roots in ‘Human Happens’.

Each of the four releases came paired with beautiful artwork by Parker Steven Jackson, and they have since been released as a vinyl box set, individual 7-inch records, posters, and much more. I would recommend all eight of these tracks, especially ‘Second Sleep’, and ‘Star Eyes’ to everyone - whether you want to dance, cry, or simply enjoy something new.

Robyn, PR and Media Relations Advisor

I spent a lot of the year listening to, and discovering, ‘old’ music. The highlight has to be diving into the weird and wonderful world of Nightmares on Wax, especially the tracks ‘Les Nuits’ and ‘Da Feelin’. When it comes to ‘new’ music, a shoutout to Tommy Richman who, alongside Brent Faiyaz, is recreating the absolute vibes of 90s R&B. I’m here for it.

Izzy, 1st year

My highlight of the year in music was Malcolm Todd's self-titled album, particularly the tracks "Concrete" and "Who's the Fool?" The album delves into themes of personal challenges and relationship breakups, making it an emotional journey.

My top concert experience of the year was undoubtedly Role Model’s headline performance at the Eventim Apollo. The venue size was ideal for his fan base, providing a sense of intimacy despite its large capacity. He also brought out Niall Horan as a special guest for "Sally When The Wine Runs Out" (his most popular song), which significantly elevated the atmosphere and energized the audience. This was my third time attending a performance by him, and I would consider it the most memorable of the three.

Matt, tutor

I’ve seen some fantastic performances this year, went to what I think is one of the best festivals in the UK (possibly world) for the types of music I enjoy - but I should probably give a shout out to my radio show, Radio Mundial, which is broadcast on Voice FM every week. It’s something I want to develop and do more with. I have no barriers to what I can play, so it’s a real mix. It’s difficult to highlight any particular tracks as it’s always moving but in the next show, I’m going to play Carrier, Happy Mondays, Collettivo Immaginario and Demi Riquísimo & Hammer. It’s off-piste.

Freya, 2nd year

My 2025 musical highlight was seeing Sabrina Carpenter at BST Hyde Park. I have been a fan of Sabrina since she was on the Disney Channel, so it was amazing to see her live. I also got to see Clairo, Beabadoobee, and Amber Mark in support. Here is a link to the music video of my favourite Sabrina Carpenter song, which she performed live at BST Hyde Park.

Celine, 3rd year

My musical highlights of the year were Rosalia’s Lux and Bad Bunny’s DTMF. In Lux, Rosalia explained that she didn’t use any loops on the 15 tracks (every repetitive melody or vocal isn’t a loop, which is rare in this musical age). She also mixes Spanish with 13 other languages, including Arabic, Japanese, Mandarin and Hebrew to mention a few. The tracks ‘Reliquia’ and ‘Divinize’ are the ones that I would recommend listening to. She blends and mixes genres in the tracks and there are a few surprises as well. It’s bold, smooth, and different. Her lyricism is impressive - and feels like a warm hug. To mention Benito (Bad Bunny)’s album as well, the album mentions the complexities of Puerto Rico’s political status and issues around this. He also mentions cultural identity and how memories fades with time. He also mixes different genres, which I find interesting.

Marie, 2nd year

My musical moment of the year was finally getting to Hammerdown Festival after a few years of trying and failing… even after crazy train delays, we made it. Harry and the team put on such an incredible event with loads of upcoming artists. My highlight was seeing the band In Search of Sun play live.

Emily, 1st year

My musical highlight of the year is an album from a hardcore band called Turnstile. This album is called Never Enough, this is a nice move from their previous album ‘Glow On’ with a lot of ambient styles as well as sticking to their hard-core roots. The song called ‘Never Enough’ has been on 2K26 (a PlayStation Basketball Game) as well as on the radio. If you want more ambient with a hint of hard-core, I suggest listening to ‘SEEIN’ STARS’ and for the all-out, hardcore fans I would suggest ‘DULL’ or ‘SOLE’. The album is perfect for a summer’s drive, or making you feel you’re back in the baking sun on holiday!

My concert highlight would be from one of my own shows. We had a band called Public Scandal support us - they are a punk covers band (soon to start originals) from the south. Their front man Joash is incredible; you physically cannot take your eyes off him as he is so energetic and has an impressive stage presence. They are personal friends, so it was cool to see their growth after only playing one gig this year! Check out their socials and go to a show when they next play.

James, tutor

My album of the year is Lux by Rosalia. It’s great to see an adventurous and unusual album do so well, both critically and commercially. An amazing artist, who will be talked about for decades to come.

Secondly, I’d recommend the amazing documentary My Brain: After the Rupture (BBC iPlayer), which tracks the recovery of former BBC music presenter Clemency Burton-Hill following a brain injury sustained in New York in early 2020. It’s difficult to watch in parts, but ultimately inspiring. I guarantee that you will never take the joy of music for granted after watching it.

The third highlight was returning to the clarinet after a 25-year absence. I’d last played the clarinet at music college, but didn’t really get on with my teacher there. As a result, I gave it up and turned my focus to music technology. Earlier this year, my youngest son started clarinet lessons at school, so I saw this as a great excuse to reopen the case after a quarter of a century. My son has made good progress, so we can now play duets together.

Denisha, 1st year

My musical highlight of the year was going to watch The Hives at Alexandara Palace in London. The venue was beautiful and going up on the bus to Alexandara Place while seeing the lights over the city was amazing. The sound and atmosphere for the show were incredible, with the audience singing along to every bass riff and drum beat. The show was electric and The Hives proved they remain one of the best rock ‘n’ roll bands of this century.

Amber, 2nd year

My musical highlight of the year was seeing Bradley Simpson perform at the Engine Rooms in Southampton, with support from my favourite artist Nieve Ella. Watching two of my favourite artists in the same night at one of Southampton's amazing music venues was such a special moment for me. I was also extremely lucky to meet Nieve before the show, where we chatted away (mainly about our favourite Sam Fender songs), a day I’ll never ever forget!

Chris, tutor

My Spotify Wrapped tells me that I listened to over 500 albums this year on that platform alone, the majority of which were new releases. Any ‘albums of the year’ list from me is, therefore, going to be tricky, so I’ll focus on the artists that I played a fair bit over the year.

First up is the Argentine singer-songwriter Juana Molina whose most recent album Doga continues her experimental electronic style and is like nothing else out there. Another singer-songwriter, in a style more akin to Joni Mitchell, is the American Jesca Hoop, whose latest release Selective Memory reinterprets an earlier album in a stripped back acoustic style.

For those interested in noisier or more progressive material, I’ve enjoyed the complexities of The Blue Nowhere by the US group Between the Buried and Me, the unusual and largely uncategorisable soundworld of Birthing, which is the latest album from Swans – a New York band that started out as part of the no wave scene in the early 1980s but has since travelled an idiosyncratic musical path under the guidance of singer and leader Michael Gira.

There’s also the genre-defying Crooked Wing by the British band These New Puritans, which mixes the mellow, the experimental and the brutal in new ways. Needless to say, this brief list misses out so much good music in so many styles, but for whatever reasons, these ones occurred to me today. Ask me tomorrow and I’ll give you a different list…

Tijana, 2nd year

My highlight of the year was the ‘Hit Me Hard and Soft Tour’ in July in London. Billie’s show was incredible. The lighting, the crowd and the confetti shaped in her logo made it so much more memorable. Being so close to my favourite artist of all time at the barricade made my 2025 one of the best years ever. I’m so thankful for this show and her work. I hope to see her again in the coming years.

Sara, 2nd year

My musical highlight of the year was attending Black Sabbath's farewell concert - “Back to the Beginning”. I actually skipped a lecture because I was trying to get tickets and it was absolutely worth it (sorry James).

The entire experience was so emotional… I wanted to cry during the whole day and when Ozzy came up on stage I couldn’t hold my tears anymore. I also had the opportunity to see performances from icons such as Steven Tyler, Metallica and Pantera. It was truly a once in a lifetime experience.

Apart from that my favourite gigs this year were:

Linkin Park performing at Wembley Stadium (Spiritbox as an opening act)
Camila Cabello performing at the Eventim Apollo (first headline show in London since 2018)
Billie Eilish performing at The O2 (six sold-out nights)

My favourite albums released in 2025 were:

Lou Garcia - Literalmente Devaneios (Brazil)
Favourite track: ‘Magia / Reservado’
Hayley Williams - Ego Death at a Bachelorette Party
Favourite tracks: ‘Parachute’ / ‘Discovery Channel’ / ‘Glum’
The Neighbourhood - Ultrasound
Favourite tracks: ‘Private’ / ‘Lil Ol Me’ / ‘Planet’
Day Limns - SAUR (Brazil)
Favourite tracks: ‘Frenesi’
Finneas - For Cryin Out Loud! (released late 2024)
Favourite tracks: ‘Sweet Cherries’ / ‘Little Window’
Billie Eilish: Tiny Desk Concert (released late 2024)

Looking forward for next year’s releases!

Sofie, 3rd year

Sabrina Carpenter’s Short & Sweet tour
J.Tajor, he is a (I believe) Australian/Indonesian artist that has had some TikTok success, and he puts music out very rapidly, quite RnB influenced, but more on the softer side.

K-Pop Demon Hunters, Sabrina’s Man’s Best Friend and Zara Larsson’s Midnight Sun (for me a no-skip album)
Pitbull, Ed Sheeran and AC/DC tours

Khalid’s After the Sun Goes Down (another no-skip album)
DPR IAN - I usually gravitate towards his music during Autumn.

I recently found an artist called Keshi, his music is very reminiscent of 90s/00s RnB, with Timbaland drums.

Louise, tutor

Lately I've been listening to my old rave and hip-hop mix tapes. To name but a few:

Roni Size
King Bee
LLCoolJ
Liquid
Bomb The Bass
Bizzare Inc
Us3
Tyree Cooper
LFO
Moby
Rob Base & DJ EZ Rock
Rob 'n' Raz
Gat Decor
Digital Underground
BDP
Third Base

...and the list goes on...