Forever Five: Mama Kin

Mama Kin has always sung with a voice equal parts earth and fire — a storyteller, a truth-teller, a conduit of spirit and song. Whether solo or alongside her longtime creative partner Tommy Spender, she’s built a reputation on raw honesty and the kind of music that feels carved out of lived experience. Their new album Promises takes that further still: a record of searching and surrender, wide-eyed hope and bruised beauty, stitched together with harmonies that ache and uplift in the same breath.

Her five forever records shine a light on where that alchemy comes from. They map out the inspirations and sonic touchstones that have guided her own path — albums that wrestle with truth, celebrate vulnerability, and bend melody into ritual. In choosing them, Mama Kin doesn’t just reveal what she loves to listen to; she reveals the fertile ground from which her own songs have grown. Like Promises, they are about connection, transformation, and the courage to follow the heart wherever it leads.

Forever Five mama Kin

LISTEN — MAMA KIN'S FOREVER FIVE

A trio of tracks from each of her choices, plus an essential five tracks of their own. The resulting playlist flows like a short music history lesson.

Alabama Shakes - Sound & Color (2015)

Gillian Welch - Time (The Revelator) (2001)

Blake Mills - Heigh Ho (2014)

Paul Simon - Graceland (1986)

Sarah Blasko - As Day Follows Night (2009)