Launched in 1999, Songlines is the leading magazine covering traditional, contemporary, folk and fusion music from around the world. Each edition is packed with the latest album reviews, artist interviews, festival profiles and travel adventures from every corner of the globe. Music is about culture, politics, history and the environment and Songlines is your essential guide to it all.

If you’re new to Songlines, download our Aug/Sept 2014 issue (#102) for free. Features include an interview with Afrobeat pioneers Tony Allen & Orlando Julius, as they both celebrate 50-year careers with new albums.

There is also an interview with Scottish author, avid music consumer and vinyl addict Ian Rankin, who speaks to Jo Frost (Songlines editor) about how he’s always willing to take a punt on new music, especially if there’s a good story behind it.

Also featured in the trial issue: a feature on Israeli musician Idan Raichel and his collaboration with Malian musician Vieux Farka Touré; Malian jeli singer Kassé Mady Diabaté; and violinists Anna Phoebe and Jyotsna Srikanth. We also pick our Essential 10 Afrobeat albums that you must own, plus Chris Moss provides a Beginner’s Guide to salsa superstar Rubén Blades.

The February/March 2026 issue (#215) of Songlines is out now. Steve Martin & Alison Brown drop by to discuss their new all-star bluegrass album. We catch up with Lebanese artist Yasmine Hamdan as she prepares to take her Songlines award-winning album out on tour, and we talk to Algerian desert rockers Imarhan about their latest, and perhaps best, album to date. We chat to Portuguese breakout star Slow J and Dino d’Santiago about fado’s African roots, calypso legend Mighty Sparrow gets the Beginner’s Guide treatment, we find out about the making of electro-bossa classic Tanto Tempo with Bebel Gilberto and hear from Ukrainian pianist Lubomyr Melnyk about his transcendent piano style. Glasgow-born Egyptian duo The Ayoub Sisters tell us about their Arabic classical crossovers, and we venture deep into Kashmir to speak to Yousuf Nassem, one of the last custodians preserving the Dard-Shin community’s oral traditions. Plus, we have an AI in Music focus, looking at the ethics and legalities of AI, as well as how it can be used creatively. Plus, The Ukrainians, Sabine McCalla, COLECTIVA, Sessa, Suntou Susso, Elijah Minnelli, Essential 10 Songs of Revenge, Icelandic Popular Music in the 1970s, klezmer flute and all the usual news, listings, reviews, competitions and so much more. Subscribers will also receive our accompanying compilation (CD + digital) featuring ten tracks from the best new music releases and five bonus selections to accompany the issue.