10 Beach Girls You Must Listen To!
This is the first in what will be a fairly sporadic set of “10 things/people/songs” style posts we’ll be writing over the coming weeks/months/years .. who knows!
Anyway, I wanted to highlight some of the amazing female Beachy artists who are out there writing, recording and performing great music that we’re playing every single day. We all know streaming services can be a bit like going into a forest and trying to find one leaf among ten thousand trees.
Don’t get me wrong, I’ve discovered some fabulous artists on streaming and video sites but discovery can involve a huge slice of luck. I’m going to take the luck out of this discovery at least because all of these are well worth checking out. Not every song they do is a beach song but they’ve certainly got plenty of great ones between them.
They’re not in “chart order”, so there’s no top to bottom as such, just 10 brilliant artists I think you’ll love. So grab a cocktail and, in no particular order, let’s begin.
Aubrey Wollett
Ok, clearly I have to start with the brilliant Aubrey Wollett. Not only did she launch our station with the first show on air at 8am on Saturday, August 13th but in 2020 she released one of our all time favorite beach songs .. ever! Beach Vibes was a massive tune for us and remains so to this day.
Aubrey splits her time between Florida and Nashville, as referenced in her current single Boots On The Beach. She talked about being a beach girl in an interview with us but she also visits Nashville regularly to write, record and perform.
The video to Boots On The Beach is dropping this week on September 14 so in the meantime check out the video to the fabulous Beach Vibes.
Must Listens: Beach Vibes, Better On A Beach, Boots On The Beach, Saltwater Gypsy
Alyssa Micaela
Well if Aubrey Wollett’s Beach Vibes was our Song of 2020, then Alyssa Micaela’s Heartbreak Vacay is without question the Song of 2019! A super catchy, almost earworm-esque (in a good way!) chorus accompanied by a lovely breezy beach video means this song is a staple in the high rotation section of our output .. safe to say WE LOVE IT! In fact if we ever get round to writing our Top 10 All Time Beach Songs list I’ve got a feeling Heartbreak Vacay could be knocking on the door of the Number 1 spot!
Alyssa released her debut EP Cowboys Like That in 2017 and has since opened for Eli Young Band, Willie Nelson, Dierks Bentley, and Sam Hunt. Her latest single is Girls Like Me but don’t forget to check out our Must Listens and of course the video for Heartbreak Vacay, you won’t regret it!
Must Listens: Heartbreak Vacay, Tie Dye, Hell In A Handbag, Cowboy For Christmas
Julia Cole
Influenced by the genre-crossed locker room playlists she and her Texas volleyball teammates blasted, Julia’s musical style blends authentic country storytelling with a little Houston rhythm and attitude.
She’s played the Opry and toured globally in over 10 countries opening for acts like Dan + Shay, Jon Pardi, Carrie Underwood, Kenny Chesney, Kane Brown, The Chainsmokers, Dierks Bentley, Chase Rice, Lee Brice, Jon Langston, Eli Young Band, Chris Lane, Michael Ray, Jake Owen, Rhett Akins, LANCO, Tracey Lawrence, Tyler Farr, Love and Theft, Thompson Square, David Nail, Hunter Hayes, Canaan Smith, Jonny Lang, Kevin Fowler, Runaway June, Clare Dunn & more.
Her duet with Renee Blair, Something In The Sunshine, is one of the regular tunes blasting out of White Sand Radio. Add to that the brilliant recent single Whole ‘Nother Margarita and you can see what Julia Cole is on our Beach Girls Must Listen list.
Must Listens: Whole ‘Nother Margarita, Something In The Sunshine, Wine Country
Jessi Pugh
When we first heard Coastin’, the latest single from Jessi Pugh, we knew we had to play it .. a LOT! And that’s what we’re doing. It’s got a glorious laid back intro and you just know it’s going to take you right to the beach. Any song that mentions Coconut Rum in the first two lines is good by us! And that’s before you even get to the catchy chorus delivered perfectly laid back.
Island Man, which is a track from Jessi’s 2019 EP “Five” has a delightful reggae vibe and is another with that laid back beach vibe we love.
Must Listens: Coastin’, Island Man
Erica Sunshine Lee
Since the release of the brilliant album Buried Treasure in 2017 we’ve been desperate for Erica Sunshine Lee to revisit that tropical Country feel and her recent album Same Ship, Different Day does just that. Not only that, she’s made some fabulous videos to go with singles released from it too, notably the title track and Single For The Summer.
How she finds time to record is a mystery though. She’s constantly on tour and has shared the stage with legends like Maren Morris, ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, Tommy Tutone, John Michael Montgomery, Randy Houser, David Allan Coe, David Nail, Brett Eldredge, Cam, Jack Ingram and more.
With a whole host of albums to go through, ESL is a definite must listen on our list of favorite Beach Girls.
Must Listens: Single For The Summer, Same Ship Different Day, Mojitos, My Buffett List
Karissa Ella
Karissa Ella released the fab Vacay as a single ahead of it becoming the opening track on her second EP Blossom in 2019 and we’ve loved it ever since. Add to that, the single Bad Summer from 2021 and we think Karissa is definitely a beach girl. And one we’d love to down a cocktail with especially judging by the amount of songs she’s recorded about drinking!
We loved Crackin’ Cold Ones and the new single Hometown Bar, whilst on the more mellow side, is also a beautiful track.
Not only that, when we interviewed her she was such fun! Check out a gorgeous acoustic version of Vacay below.
Must Listens: Vacay, Bad Summer, Crackin’ Cold Ones
Robin Tricker
I remember hearing the opening notes of one of Robin’s earliest releases Road Trip and I instantly knew I as going to enjoy this artist. I’ve been proved right with all of her subsequent releases.
Her album Salt Water Happy is a joyous celebration of the beach and if you’re landlocked just put it on and drift away on the island vibes.
Robin’s cover of In The Summertime is fabulous, complete with beatboxing but some of the original material is just pure escapism. I could easily just list the whole of Salt Water Happy but for a special mellow treat listen out for the beautiful “I’ll Bite”. Then dig outside the album and there are some wonderful single tracks too. And if you’re waiting for more, the great news is there’s a new single coming very soon!
Must Listens: In The Summertime, Island Boy, I’ll Bite, Summer Crushin’
Becky Denton
OK, we know there’s no ocean in Missouri which is where Becky comes from but she’s definitely got that beach girl vibe. Listen to the fabulous Two Bags, One Beach and tell me she hasn’t! That was our first introduction to Becky and it’s a song we’re still rotating high now. Catchy chorus, brilliantly delivered and images of the beach … we’re in!
The rest of the album Fire & Grace is as delightful and there’s quite a variety of Country styles on there from the kick ass opening of A Dancing Song to the sweet Take Me Back To Tybee.
More recently Becky has been channelling her inner beach girl with the gorgeous Sanday and the current single which we’re hammering at the moment (!) the brilliantly catchy Ain’t No Ocean In Missouri. Great voice, great songs and a big floppy hat (the last bit according to the lyrics at least!).
Must Listens: Two Bags One Beach, Ain’t No Ocean In Missouri, Sanday
Carrie Cunningham
Anyone who cites Hall & Oates Maneater as an early influence gets our vote. Of course the fact that Carrie Cunningham can also get her vocal chords expertly around songs that take us to the beach is just a bonus!
Our first introduction to Carrie was on the super catchy Karma’s A Beach, it’s still with us now and it’s still getting loads of spins every week. She’s not just a one trick pony though as her experience as a live sound engineer and music publisher will testify.
With albums going back to 2007 there’s a wealth of material to search out. Of course we love the beachy, happy sounding tracks like Happily from 2017’s Let’s Dance EP but there’s so much good stuff to listen to not least the more recent single Just A Bar Thing which is fabulous!
Must Listens: Karma’s A Beach, Happily, Just A Bar Thing, Windshield
Melissa Lee
Our final beach girl on this list is Melissa Lee who may only have one beach song in her discography but it is an absolute banger! On The Beach is one of our go-to tunes when we need a pick me up. Fabulous melody and a great chorus, perfectly delivered for the Country Beach Pop style of song.
Melissa sings about heading to Paradise, whizzing past Palm Trees and driving through Florida, all wrapped up in 3 minutes of pure joyousness.
She’s busy gigging and when we interviewed her said she is working on some more beachy tunes and to be honest, we can’t wait to hear them!
“If you need me I’ll be on the beach,” she sings. And now, so will we.
