As the New Year approaches I am in the middle of a year-end reorganization of my life. This is a time of year that I love to sit back and reflect on the good of the previous year and the promise of the New Year. This has been a great year. Next year will be another. One of the great components of 2005 was the soundtrack. In the last year, I was introduced to some wonderful music. In the spirit of the season of giving, here are the great acts of 2005.

Kinnie Starr

This is a hip-hop singer from British Columbia that has great skill. I first heard her with my wife at the Winnipeg Folk Festival this summer. Her music is very entertaining with a good beat and a good message.
Kinnie at the Jug Band Festival
Beautiful Girls

This is a fun jam band style, but they actually have good lyrics. We saw these guys first at the WFF as well, but heard of them before. They are good friends with Mason Jennings (he even sings on one of their tracks). They have a very energetic live show and a well-produced album. The tough part is album availability. Since they are from Australia the discography is hard to locate in the States. However, it is worth it.

My Morning Jacket

This is a band that is starting to receive a lot of the major media attention, mostly due to my interest in them. Some friends turned me on to them. I loved the album, but I did not expect the all out hair-rock show. Either way it is a good act.

Damien Rice

This is the year’s new-to-me folk singer. And you can understand what he is saying.

The Killers

This is a good straight up British rock band. No big message in the songs, they are simply rock songs.

Enjoy the New Year! It will most certainly be better than 2005 and 2005 was a banner year.