The 21-year-old Bay Area rock ‘n’ roller showcases the dark noir and new-wave power-pop of his upcoming independently released debut album California’s Burning (3/3) in a live show that’ll make you believe again in old-school rock storytelling. The new album from the rising star praised by Entertainment Weekly, Paper Magazine and more channels the visceral energy of Johnny Cash, Guy Clark, Alfred Hitchcock and Raymond Chandler.
Charlie Puth, NBC’s Today Show and the New York Times all agree – this 17-year-old master of the guitar-and-loop pedal performance should be on your radar. She performs her sharply intelligent yet playful songs that observe Gen-Z life off her debut EP, A Little Awkward (S-Curve).
Inspired by his coast-to-coast travels with the upbeat-yet-downhearted takes on American life, as well as the clever lyricism of Jason Isbell and Ryan Adams, the Sonoma County-born troubadour plays a gritty blend of Americana complete with double bass, mandolin and strings on his 12-song record mixed with Karl Derfler (Dave Matthews, Tom Waits).
Contact: Allen Nguyen
The ten-time GRAMMY winner releases her first solo album in nearly a decade, co-produced by son Alvin Love III and long-time collaborator Tommy Sims. The multiplatinum artist has appeared on The Today Show, Good Morning America and others; sold more than 12 million records; and placed five No. 1 albums on the Billboard R&B, Christian and Gospel charts.
Contact: Jaclyn D. Carter
The 9/11 attacks, the U.S. shale revolution, human rights concerns and diverging interests in the Middle East have put strains on our relationship with Saudi Arabia. Has this special relationship outlived its usefulness?
The soulful Southern-rock band, praised by Rolling Stone and VICE Noisey and with a #1 song (“Lightning Bugs and Rain”) on Texas radio, is on Live Nation’s “Ones To Watch” Tour, presented by SiriusXM Outlaw Country.
An impressed Joseph Gordon-Levitt invited the Helsinki teenager to fly to LA to perform on his hitRECord TV special – and the Finnish multi-instrumentalist hasn’t looked back since. The songwriter and her five-piece band offer a captivating performance brimming with honest lyrics, indie-pop optimism and Regina Spektor-like cinematic arrangements.
The San Francisco musician ponders life, death and “California noir" on his upcoming album, named after the “I Fought the Law” singer, with timely tributes to David Bowie and fellow Bay Area native Alex Nieto.
Contact: Max Lefkowitz
Called the “cowboy poet” by Bob Weir, one of Americana’s brightest talents will perform at the 11th annual Nolafunk Mardi Gras Ball with Voodoo Dead. Previously, Greene has toured with the likes of Phil Lesh, The Black Crowes, B.B. King, Susan Tedeschi, Buddy Guy and more.
The hard-swinging vocal trio’s new album guest stars Anat Cohen and Wycliffe Gordon and features beloved songs by Cole Porter, Johnny Mercer, Duke Ellington and Ray Charles, as well as lesser-known numbers.
Contact: Amy Bailey
The 21-year-old Australian phenomenon – a self-taught multi-instrumentalist, a beat-boxing vocalist and a guitar-tapping loopologist who already has toured the world and played to millions of people – is on her first US tour. “Jungle,” the lead single from her latest EP Notion, reached No. 1 on Australian radio, and last year she won the Triple J Unearthed “Artist of the Year” Award.
The "unstoppable" (Rolling Stone) roots music trailblazer brings her "unique, stunning voice" (New Yorker) and mesmerizing new album The Order of Time on the road, weaving electric blues, African rhythms, cosmic atmospherics and delicate soul into her inventive ruminations on love, family, struggle and the passing of time.
The “mesmerizing” (The Fader) songstress plays a hometown show previewing her evolved fusion of shadowy pop, vulnerable R&B and chilling electronic influences on her upcoming self-titled EP, out 3/17.
Charlie Puth, NBC’s Today Show and the New York Times all agree – this 17-year-old master of the guitar-and-loop pedal performance should be on your radar. She’ll perform her sharply intelligent yet playful songs that observe Gen-Z life off her debut EP, last year’s A Little Awkward (S-Curve).
On his highly anticipated follow-up to 2014’s HEAL, Tim Showalter confronts the struggle between overindulgence and accountability. He invokes the sounds of Creation Records, Trojan dub tapes and Jane’s Addiction on his most fearlessly honest release yet.
Contact: James Rainis
Astley’s first full U.S. tour since 1989 celebrates his latest release 50 (BMG), which went #1 in the UK and has been praised by NPR, LA Times, the New Yorker and more.
The LA dancing queen celebrates new EP Good Look For You (2/17 via Madame Gold Records) with a record-release show that, for one night, will turn this New York club into Studio 54. VICE Noisey calls her sound “disco-groovy, bass-funked pop.” SPIN says she “possesses the silky, arms-outstretched harmonizing of an in-her-prime Donna Summer.”
From her bold, sequined dresses to her hairstyle, this LA native is every inch a contemporary dancing queen. Her five-song collection draws from the R&B, soul and spirit of Studio 54, Chaka Khan and Giorgio Moroder while rooting itself in modern themes with an undeniable energy.
Contact: Allen Nguyen
The 21-year-old Australian phenomenon and recent Mom + Pop signee is a self-taught multi-instrumentalist, beat-boxing vocalist and guitar-tapping loopologist who already has toured the world and sold out her first US tour six weeks in advance. “Jungle,” the lead single from her latest EP Notion, reached No.1 on Australian radio, and last year she won the Triple J Unearthed “Artist of the Year” Award.
This 21-year-old Australian phenomenon has gone from busking on the streets of Melbourne to headlining major venues around the world with her beat-boxing vocals and guitar looping. Her debut EP, originally released on her own Lonely Lands Records, is being issued by Mom + Pop to coincide with a sold-out, debut US tour. The EP has earned praise from Rolling Stone Australia, Viceland and national Australian radio Triple J, which named Sultana Unearthed Artist of the Year.
Contact: Spencer Foster
Asa Taccone and Matthew Compton’s first album together in five years, recorded in their hometown LA, is the duo’s most confident and fully realized blend of electronic, pop and R&B yet. Expect ‘80s synths, iPhone drum machines, Latin and Caribbean percussion, and hidden touches from Joanna Newsom, HAIM and Justin Young from The Vaccines.
Contact: Amy Bailey
Called the “cowboy poet” by Bob Weir, one of Americana’s brightest talents performs music from his latest release, Back to Birth, as well as songs from his decade-long career. Greene has toured previously with the likes of Phil Lesh, The Black Crowes, B.B. King, Susan Tedeschi and Buddy Guy.
One of the world’s most prominent oud masters kicks off the 2017 season of Sounds of LA with the first of back-to-back concerts presented in collaboration with Smithsonian Folkways Recordings, which also is releasing his upcoming album, Letters from Iraq (4/7).
Night two of the two-time GRAMMY nominee’s Sounds of LA 2017 kickoff previews his upcoming album, which features compositions telling the story of contemporary Baghdad based on letters he received from Iraqi women and children that depict a city in crisis but not without hope.
The 21-year-old Australian phenomenon – a self-taught multi-instrumentalist, a beat-boxing vocalist and a guitar-tapping loopologist who already has toured the world and played to millions of people – is on her first US tour. “Jungle,” the lead single from her latest EP Notion, reached No.1 on Australian radio, and last year she won the Triple J Unearthed “Artist of the Year” Award.
Vampire Weekend drummer Chris Tomson takes his solo project on the road for the first time, playing songs from a debut album, Youngish American (2/24 via Columbia/30th Century Records), produced by the Black Keys' Pat Carney. Stereogum calls Tomson, who wrote and recorded all the instruments, “a clever and insightful songwriter overflowing with ideas,” ideas that tackle early-30s ennui, domesticity and pretending to be Elvis.
The New York-based, hard-swinging vocal trio begins a four-night run at its home base in Greenwich Village, where its members met and started singing together, to celebrate new album Laughing at Life (Anzic Records).
The New York-based, hard-swinging vocal trio holds a four-night run at its home base in Greenwich Village, where its members met and started singing together, to celebrate new album Laughing at Life (Anzic Records).
Both a disciple of Donna Summer, Chaka Khan and Michael Jackson and a student of Indian and Ghanaian dance, the dancing queen returns home to perform the “disco-groovy, bass-funked pop” (VICE Noisey) off her new EP, Good Look For You (Madame Gold Records).
The New York-based, hard-swinging vocal trio holds a four-night run at its home base in Greenwich Village, where its members met and started singing together, to celebrate new album Laughing at Life (Anzic Records).
Vampire Weekend drummer Chris Tomson makes his solo debut, a 10-song collection offering Arthur Russell-esque takes on early-30s ennui and domesticity. Produced by Patrick Carney of the Black Keys, the album was written entirely by Tomson, who plays virtually every instrument.
Contact: Amy Bailey
The prolific D.C. MC, producer and musician pleads for humanity to dig deeper in search of understanding and common ground on his third release in 12 months, recorded and produced by the MC with live instruments and members of his band, Good Compny. These 12 tracks challenge hip-hop's stereotypical tropes while exploring the complexities of individuality and identity, how we see ourselves and how others see us.
Contact: Chris Taillie
Beyoncé’s inescapable, one-of-a-kind pop and R&B-infused sound takes on a new form with relaxing nighttime arrangements, from Destiny Child hit “Say My Name” to “Crazy In Love,” “Countdown” and “Hold Up.”
Contact: Allen Nguyen
The Montreal singer-songwriter returns with this lush and devastating record, inspired by Nick Drake’s Pink Moon and endless nights on the road.
Contact: Max Lefkowitz
The second LP from “the most mysterious man in music” (Ones To Watch) chronicles Rayman’s retreat to an isolated cabin in the woods of Lost Springs, where he wrestles with his demons in the form of a rebellious alter ego, Mr. Roadhouse. Zane Lowe, VICE Noisey and Pigeons & Planes are already vocal fans of Rayman’s fusion of R&B, hip-hop and folk with dark, seductive storytelling.
Contact: Liz Quinlan
The New York-based, hard-swinging vocal trio ends a four-night run at its home base in Greenwich Village, where its members met and started singing together, to celebrate new album Laughing at Life (Anzic Records).
The 10-time GRAMMY winner and “American superstar” (NPR Music) makes her Opry debut. Winans just released Let Them Fall In Love, which is her first solo album in nearly a decade and was co-produced by son Alvin Love III and long-time collaborator Tommy Sims.
The Montreal singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist performs songs off his lush and devastating new record Twin Solitude (2/24 via Secret City Records), which was inspired by Nick Drake’s Pink Moon and endless nights on the road.
The Nashville native comes home to perform music from his upcoming Out of the Ashes album (3/31), one of legendary producer “Cowboy” Jack Clement's final recording projects. Country Standard Time calls Urmy “a rare poet and visionary [who] has one of those old souls that you read about, and a big ol’ humanist heart a la John Prine.”
