Dawn Landes/ ‘Meet Me At The River’/ Yep Roc Records

Landes’ decade-plus career includes sound engineering for Philip Glass, recording a French yé-yé album and collaborating with Sufjan Stevens, Norah Jones and Andrew Bird. Her latest album, however, is her boldest turn yet – a spontaneous yet fruitful collaboration with the formerly retired Nashville legend Fred Foster (Roy Orbison, Dolly Parton, Kris Kristofferson). Moving to Nashville last year, Landes uses her adopted home’s rich history of music and tradition to fuel her songs of heartbreak (“Why They Name Whiskey After Men”), wanderlust (“Traveling”) and her poignant take on Jimmy Driftwood’s political “What Is The Color Of The Soul of Man.”

Contact: Amy Bailey

Amy Stroup/ ‘Helen of Memphis’/ Milkglass Creative

The Nashville singer, songwriter and artist teams up with SUPERCOOKIES (Kendrick Lamar, DRAM) to create her most pop-leaning record yet. The record is named after the Memphis female-run women’s vintage store and influenced by the passing of her grandmother, a devoted patron of the store. Stroup channels the cool swagger of her late grandmother in these bright and feminine-empowering grooves.

Contact: Andrea Evenson

Vitamin String Quartet/ ‘Vitamin String Quartet Performs The Hits of 2018’/ CMH Label Group

The critically acclaimed string collective continues its tradition of "sonic perfection" (Nerdist) by putting a virtuosic spin on the most popular tracks from the first half of 2018. Featured renditions include the Black Panther smash "All The Stars" by Kendrick Lamar & SZA, Justin Timberlake & Chris Stapleton's crossover hit "Say Something" and Bazzi's electric "Mine.” From appearances on HBO’s Westworld to TV hits like Modern Family and Shameless, VSQ’s “atmospheric” (Thrillist) hits have made “classical versions of pop music cool, [by] infusing the drama of mainstream composition into the classical community” (New York Observer).

Contact: Andrea Evenson

MC5

Wayne Kramer/ ‘The Hard Stuff: Dope, Crime, the MC5, and My Life of Impossibilities’/ Da Capo Press

In his memoir, Kramer chronicles his abusive childhood, his discovery of rock ‘n’ roll through artists like Chuck Berry and the Yardbirds and the beginnings of the MC5, which he founded as a teenager. The heart of the book is an intimate portrait of Kramer's post-MC5 life, which included a federal prison term, addiction struggles that lasted decades, reconnection with his long-absent father, finding the path to sobriety at 50 and, incredibly, first-time fatherhood at 65. A story of second chances, this book charts Kramer's evolution from rock star to inmate to feature film composer to prison-reform advocate.

Contact: Greg Jakubik

Smithsonian Folkways Recordings

Mariachi Reyna de Los Angeles/ ‘Mariachi Reyna de Los Angeles’/ Smithsonian Folkways Recordings

Armed with violins, guitar, guitarrón, vihuela, trumpets and joyful harmonies, the GRAMMY-nominated all-female mariachi ensemble takes their rightful place as role models in a male-dominated musical tradition. Mariachi Reyna embodies the tradition and offers an engaging experience for Spanish and non-Spanish speakers; though they play the most iconic genre of Mexican folk music, Reyna adds freshness, life and romance to the tradition.

Contact: Andrea Evenson

Emily Kinney/ ‘Oh, Jonathan’/ Independent

Kinney saw a pop-punk guitarist on MTV, and her next album was born. The songwriter, actor and “double-threat musician you need to know” (Esquire) uses this one-sided account of failed love as a launching pad into musings on nostalgia, stability and adulthood over minimalist pop. Kinney wrote many of these songs alongside friend, producer and collaborator Ben Greenspan.

Contact: Nina Lee

Various Artists/ ‘King of the Road: A Tribute to Roger Miller’/ BMG

Ringo Starr, Dolly Parton, Kacey Musgraves, Brad Paisley, Eric Church, Loretta Lynn, John Goodman and more than two dozen other artists present new renditions of songs by the late Roger Miller, one of American music’s premier entertainers and songwriters. This two-disc collection, produced by Miller’s son, Dean Miller, and Colby Barnum Wright, offers a fresh look at the creative giant whose music continues to shape contemporary music; the album even features Willie Nelson, Kris Kristofferson and Merle Haggard on one track.

Contact: Greg Jakubik

Matt Holubowski/ ‘Solitudes (Epilogue)’/ Audiogram

Holubowski’s unmistakable voice and understated poetry – "think Elliott Smith, Bon Iver," says The Toronto Star – has earned him a steadfast following in Canada, with his second album debuting at #3 on the Billboard Canadian Albums Chart. Now that album will finally be released in the US. Ahead of the release, Ones to Watch praises Holubowski’s dreamy acoustic playing and his “rare talent to blur the lines between poetry and music…it takes a true genius to make the two mediums indistinguishable.”

Contact: Greg Jakubik

Tash Sultana/ ‘Flow State’/ Mom + Pop Music

Tash wrote, performed, produced and arranged every song on her first LP, which continues the global rise that began on her NYT-approved debut EP. The Australian one-person tour-de-force plays every one of the 15 instruments and sounds that are featured throughout, including saxophone, pan flute, grand piano and guitar.

Contact: Ally Norton

Amos Lee/ ‘My New Moon’/ Dualtone Records

Lee’s first album for Dualtone is his most personal collection of songs to date. These ten new songs are the product of a period of intense connection and loss, given life with the help of producer Tony Berg (Phoebe Bridgers, Andrew Bird), multi-instrumentalists Ethan Gruska and Blake Mills, keyboardists Benmont Tench and Patrick Warren, pedal-steel player Greg Leisz, violinist/violist Rob Moose and many others.

Contact: Max Lefkowitz

BAYLi/ ‘SUMMER’/ Independent

This debut mixtape is a journey into the colorful and wild world of the Brooklyn artist PAPER says “perfectly embodies New York City’s summer spirit.” The eight-song collection of complex indie R&B includes previously released tracks “MYOB: Or Whatever,” “Right Now” and “Underneath” and five new songs exploring sentiments on love, parties, break-ups and insecurities.

Contact: Nina Lee