Cat Badra
Cat Badra covers the intersection of rock, metal and popular music culture, writing news and features that keep listeners close to the artists they follow. As a senior news and features writer for Audio Ink Radio, she focuses on stories about major bands and musicians, from classic rock figures to contemporary heavy acts. Her work stands out for blending quick-turn artist updates with longer form lists and song features, so readers see both the day’s headlines and the broader sound of the scene.
Rock and metal news focused on band developments
Badra’s core coverage tracks what established bands are doing now, with a clear focus on how that news lands with fans. She writes pieces such as a report on Keith Richards sharing bad news for Rolling Stones fans, framing developments through the experience of the audience that follows these legacy acts. Her bylines also include articles on groups like Duran Duran, where she reports on the progress of new albums and shares comments from band members about how the music is taking shape. Across these stories, she documents tours, releases and announcements in a straightforward news format, using artist quotes and specific developments rather than commentary.
Within rock and metal, Badra’s beat spans both classic and modern names. Coverage of bands tied to the early days of heavy music, such as Metallica, appears alongside pieces on newer releases in the broader rock and metal spectrum. This range lets her move between heritage acts and current projects while keeping the focus on concrete updates—what is being recorded, released, or said publicly by the musicians involved.
Lists and features that map out songs and trends
Beyond daily news, Badra writes list-based features that collect and rank songs for rock and metal listeners. Her work on a “Best 50 Rock And Metal Songs” feature shows how she uses this format to highlight a wide array of artists in one piece, giving readers a snapshot of the genre across different bands and eras. These lists sit at the border of service journalism and fandom, offering a structured way to discover or revisit tracks while still grounded in clear, factual descriptions of the music.
In these features, individual songs and albums are treated as points in a larger map of the genre. Badra connects studio releases, singles and standout tracks across multiple bands, so a reader interested in one group can quickly see how it sits alongside others in the same sound world. This approach complements her band-specific news writing: one side follows what a single artist is doing now, while the list pieces zoom out to show how many artists contribute to the current moment in rock and metal.
Interviews and artist perspectives within the rock lineage
Badra also works in an interview and profile format, capturing how musicians relate to one another across scenes and generations. An article on Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett discussing his relationship with Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain is one example, bringing forward personal recollections that link two landmark names in rock history. In this kind of piece, she focuses on the musician’s own words, using their perspective to show how iconic figures understood each other and the culture around them.
These interviews serve a different purpose than her news briefs or lists. Where a news story may center on a tour announcement or album update, pieces built around artist conversation reveal the social and emotional connections that shape the music world. By anchoring these stories in direct quotes and specific anecdotes, Badra keeps the emphasis on verifiable experiences from the artists themselves rather than analysis.
Writing across music, sports and lifestyle publications
Alongside her work for Audio Ink Radio, Badra writes for a range of other music, sports and lifestyle publications, extending her reporting beyond a single outlet while keeping music at the center. This mix gives her regular exposure to different segments of popular culture, which informs the way she covers bands and songs for a broad general audience rather than a narrow niche. Within Audio Ink Radio’s masthead, she is positioned as a senior writer, underscoring her role in shaping both fast-moving news and more reflective features on the artists and sounds that define the rock and metal landscape.
4 more music journalists.
Abigail Kellett
Abigail Kellett is a news reporter at the Halifax Courier who stands out for visually led coverage that shows how culture, nightlife and local life play out on the ground. She documents gigs, festivals and major live shows at venues such as The Piece Hall through curated photo sets that capture atmosphere, crowd and setting as much as performers, and she uses extensive image galleries to tap reader nostalgia for nights out in Halifax town centre. Her beat spans arts, entertainment, going out, heritage, books and literary events, along with community life, people stories, local challenges, milestones, transport, regeneration, lifestyle and food. She reports through photographs, checklist-style features, reader-driven lists and roundups of most-read stories, turning announcements, programmes, author events, festivals, shop lists and everyday characters into stories about place, shared memory and how people spend their time.
Adam Lyon
Adam Lyon is a digital audience and content editor whose news beat sits at the intersection of Ayrshire’s cultural life, business environment and public affairs. He works for the Ayr Advertiser and as Digital Audience & Content Editor for Newsquest in the west of Scotland across multiple weekly titles. He covers Ayrshire news with a strong thread of music and local culture alongside business, courts and public affairs. He reports on music when it has a clear community or national hook, treating songs as news events rather than reviews. His business work explains how local firms and retail policy shape town centres. His court coverage uses round-ups of sheriff court cases to show patterns and outcomes. He also fronts video previews and is active in a football supporters trust community.
Adam Maidment
Adam Maidment is a senior What’s On and LGBTQ+ reporter whose work links big-name gigs, new venues and cultural flashpoints to everyday fan culture and inclusion. He covers music, nightlife and the wider cultural scene for the Manchester Evening News, focusing on how concerts, openings and immersive events land with real people and communities. His beat spans live music, arenas and stadiums, new restaurant and bar openings, food reviews, exhibitions, street art and nightlife infrastructure, with a particular focus on LGBTQ+ audiences and neighbourhoods. He reports on venue ambitions and problems, cultural institutions and equality issues, and franchise-led experiences, using straightforward, on-the-ground reporting and clear description. Drawing on a background in community reporting, he looks for underrepresented perspectives and uses social media, analytics and local sourcing to find stories where culture, identity and place meet.
Alison Brinkworth
Alison Brinkworth is a freelance journalist who treats music as a gateway into place, history and everyday life, often through exhibitions, performances and city-centre events. She covers music within the wider cultural and lifestyle scene, leaning toward accessible, on-the-ground stories framed by familiar artists, venues and local attractions. Her work often focuses on music exhibitions and attractions built around well-known performers, alongside theatre reviews, live events and city attractions. She brings a lifestyle, travel and human-interest sensibility, using interviews and personal stories to show how people spend their time. With over 25 years of experience across print, digital, social media and internal communications, she writes clear, factual, audience-facing articles with dates, locations and organisers, suited to listings, guides and practical recommendations.