Contemporary blues-rock duo Larkin Poe is a sister act comprised of Atlanta-natives Rebecca and Megan Lovell, who relocated to Nashville to pursue their musical ambitions. Named for one of their familial ancestors who was also a distant cousin of Edgar Allan Poe, Larkin Poe’s music mines a reverent blend of blues and Americana with the patina of a Southern Gothic sensibility, punctuated by the sisters’ seamless harmonies and gritty interplay between electric and slide guitars. The sisters have steadily won critical kudos on both sides of the Atlantic and amassed a fervent following on Facebook. Their debut LP, Peach, arrived in the fall of 2017, with a mix of classic covers and emphatic original songs.

Wes Period is a native Californian rapper/songwriter/producer who began making music in 2010. Flecked with a bright, celebratory and hazy lyrical flow, Wes’ music is upbeat, sunny and singularly Californian, well evidenced on his single, “Champagne Champion.” Since signing to Facet Records, Wes has released a track called “Trap Star,” and a mixtape Pretty Words.

Originally hailing from Asbury Park, the rock capital of New Jersey, striking singer-songwriter Fletcher made a tremendous splash when her rousing pop track “War Paint” was essentially declared the anthem of the summer 2015 via the Spotify Viral 50 Chart. The single became the #1 most socially shared track on Spotify in the U.S. for two consecutive weeks, and #3 across the world, earning nearly 5 million streams. After that auspicious opening statement, Fletcher unleashed the Finding Fletcher EP, which added “Wasted Youth” to her arsenal of provocative pop, racking up 2.9 million views on YouTube and whetting appetites for her impending full-length debut album.

Born in Africa, bred in Brooklyn by parents of Albanian descent, Gashi seamlessly sings, raps, blends and melds musical elements into a singular style that has made him an artist to watch. His single “Disrespectful” has accrued 4.6M views on YouTube, and his single “No No No” has been streamed over 6 million times, landing on Spotify’s New Music Friday billboard in the middle of Times Square. Gashi is leaving his mark.

Chicago rapper/producer Supa Bwe (real name Frederick S. Burton) dropped his full-length solo debut, Finally Dead, last December, and the bold release proved to be an audacious opening statement, premiering at number 3 on iTunes and earning critical shout-outs from XXL, Hype Best and others. As influenced by classic hip-hop from his father as the punk, metal and alternative rock championed by his British mother, Supa Bwe’s music is an assertive blend of inventive rhymes, in-your-face attitude and striking vocal melodies that meld his influences into a single, distinctive style that sets him well apart from his contemporaries.

Madison Beer is a Long Island native who started posting her covers of pop and R&B songs online at the age of 12. Since then, Beer has racked up YouTube views past 83 million, she’s amassed 10.7 million Instagram subscribers and 2.6 million Twitter followers. She signed with Island Records after Justin Bieber shared one of her covers. Here recent EP, As She Pleases, featured the hits “Dead” and “Say it To My Face” and racked up streams in the millions.

Finding elegance in simplicity, California-via-Brooklyn band Mainland play a passionate blend of powerful rock rife with soaring choruses and chiming hooks that recalls garagey New York City bands from the turn of the millennium. After independently releasing their Shiner EP in 2014, they landed a deal with 300 Entertainment as one of the label’s marquee acts. Following the release of the Outcast EP a year later, they released fan-favorite singles such as “Beggars” and “Permission Slip”. The 2017 single, “I Found God” is about the spiritual connection that arises when you experience real love communicated through sounds and visuals.

The enigmatic guise of Vermont singer/songwriter Joe Mulherin, Nothing,nowhere plays an introspective blend of hip-hop and guitar-driven emo rock. While he continually hides his face in videos and promotional photographs, Mulherin’s lyrics pull out all stops in baring his soul. His most recent album, Ruiner, is an emotive exercise in catchy catharsis.

Notorious in the 2000’s for their raucous sound and anarchic, hard-partying skate-punk aesthetic both onstage and off, Pennsylvania’s CKY are in the process of a comeback that started with 2017’s The Phoenix, their first new album in eight years. While not necessarily a kinder, gentler ensemble, the CKY of 2018 is comprised of grown men that are feverishly devoted to delivering rock from its pretentious doldrums and serving up their music in as raw and authentic a manner as possible.

Chase Atlantic is a trio formed by two brothers, Mitchel Cave and Clinton Cave, and one longtime friend, Christian Anthony, who produce, perform, and passionately conjure up dark alternative pop punctuated by rock and R&B. This Australian group blurs the lines between a nocturnal aesthetic and primal bliss on their 2017 self-titled debut for Warner Bros. Records. Since forming in 2011, the trio has packed multiple headline tours across Australia, released two successful independent Eps, Dalliance [2014] and Nostalgia [2015], and spawned a viral single with “Friends.” Their success landed them the opportunity to score a deal with Warner Bros. Records. Now, their first single “Church” invites everyone to congregate in their world.

While he hails from the hip-hop-heavy streets of Compton, CA, Buddy (a.k.a. Simmie Sims III) is devoted to a message of positivity. Initially signed by Pharell and tapped for collaborations with Kendrick Lamar and Chance the Rapper, Buddy’s restless muse demanded that he pursue his own path, paving the way for his full-length album, Harlan & Alondra, a lush mix of retro R&B, chilled-out rap and jam-heavy funk, featuring cameos from A$AP Ferg and Ty Dolla Sign. “It’s beautiful day music,” says Buddy of his optimistic debut.

Broadly praised by outlets like NPR Music, The New York Times, Complex, Vibe, Billboard and Rolling Stone (who called him “an artist you need to know”), R. LUM. R, also known as Reginald Lamar Williams, Jr., is an ascendant R&B singer/songwriter creating warm, soulful music that is resonating with listeners. Romanced and inspired by the city’s song-storytelling tradition, R. LUM R. has settled in Nashville, where he’s been steadily building a following with his acoustic guitar, piercing falsetto and original songs. On his debut EP, After Image, all six tracks were recorded live in single takes, augmented by a string quartet. Asked to describe his music, he says “it’s ‘R&B/singer-songwriter/soul/electronic, but,” he adds, “I don’t want to limit myself.”

From singing in Milwaukee’s Central City Youth Gospel Choir to claiming an award at the GRAMMYs, Grace Weber has been on the rise. Two of her singles, “More Than Friends” and “Elated,” shot to the top of Spotify’s charts, and she’s collaborated with Chance the Rapper and Kanye West, co-writing and singing on “All We Got,” the opening track of Chance’s GRAMMY-winning Coloring Book. Weber’s performance at SXSW was compared to a “religious experience” by Nylon. Beyond her flourishing success, Weber is the cofounder of The Music Lab, Inc, a non-profit organization that provides free music education, career preparation and performance programs to high-school students in the Milwaukee area.

Inspired by the passion of vintage soul and the emotional uplift of gospel, New Jersey native Davie cut his musical teeth singing in churches in a traveling gospel band. His vocal prowess led him to Los Angeles, where he found work singing back-up for artists like Chris Brown, Cee-Lo Green and Childish Gambino. But it wasn’t until he went back to the churches of his youth that he found the key to unlock his own path. His debut, Black Gospel Vol.1, is filled with both Davie’s fiery spiritual passion and the celebratory energy of contemporary R&B, making the euphoria his songs can generate palpable.

To hear them explain it, British duo Bones is “leading the charge of taking rock’n’roll firmly into the 31st century.” Comprised of vocalist Rosie Bones and guitarist Carmen Van Den Berg, the band has already racked up some serious cred to back up their claim. After hearing an early gig by the duo in London’s Camden Town, rock legend Jeff Beck asked Bones and Van Den Berg to collaborate—as both co-writers and players—on his 2016 album Loud Hailer. Upon seeing the video for their third and most recent single, “Beautiful Is Boring,” Nylon praised Bones for their “Trent Reznor-level cool.” Their music has been featured on series including Orange is the New Black, Transparent and The Vampire Diaries, as well as commercials for Apple and Victoria’s Secret.

MELVV is the artist project of Milwaukee, WI producer/DJ Jeffrey Melvin. He started producing music at age 12 after being inspired by a video of Daft Punk’s 2007 Paris concert. Melvv is currently signed to Atlantic Records and has a new EP releasing in the fall, which he will be performing at his Lolla Set.

Morgxn, at age 8, became the youngest member of the Nashville Symphony Choir, and at age 9 penned his fist song “I’ll Always Be There for You.” Morgxn decamped from Nashville to Los Angeles, in order to find “space to think, breathe, and be with myself.” While at a party he was asked if he wanted to meet Stevie Nicks, who sagely told the young songwriter, “You have to keep moving. This world will walk all over you if you don’t just keep going.” This advice changed Morgxn’s life and his career. His debut album inspired by loss, Vital, is filled with cascading synth-scapes and cool beats, celebrating the emotional complexities of the human condition. His breakout single, ”Home,” has earned nearly 7 million Spotify streams, and even inspired a partnership with The Covenant House, a charity for young runaways.

Vera Blue is an Australian singer/songwriter who started off playing acoustic folk music before adding lush, sultry electronic elements to broaden her sound. The results are sometimes gentle, sometimes ferocious and always show-stopping, with her commanding vocals front and center. After some crucial collabs with artists like Illy and Slumberjack, she released her EP Fingertips in 2016, followed by her debut album Perennial the following year. Response to both her recorded work and live shows have been rapturous, prompting Paper magazine to claim Blue is “undoubtedly on the path to world domination.”

Morgan Saint emerged in 2017 from the North Shore of New York’s Long Island with an audacious vision and a distinctive sound. Striving to craft contemporary pop music that is simultaneously catchy and emotionally resonant, Saint’s so-called “mood pop” comes wrapped in colorful, euphoric choruses and immediate, irrepressible hooks, with narratives suited to an open-hearted, personal journal. Her debut EP, 17 Hero, is a bold, opening salvo from a burgeoning songwriter still just discovering her endless possibility.

From the coastal Californian town of Cambria, Van William devoted his time to songwriting when not working on his father’s commercial fishing boat off Kodiak Island, Alaska. Following the traumatic end of a six-year relationship, William said goodbye to the boat to pursue music full time. Channeling his heartache into his music, William’s solo debut, Countries, is an emotionally candid rumination on the nature of relationships, imbued with poignant, folksy melodies, sweet harmonies and a warm, resonant ray of hope.

After collaborating with celebrated names like Rihanna, Ryan Tedder and Stargate, Nashville-based songwriter Mikky Ekko found himself straddling the worlds of hit-making co-writers like Pharrell while also working with more alternative-minded artists like TV on the Radio’s Dave Sitek. By exploring both sides of his creative muse and his knack for melding pop, folk, R&B and hip-hop, Ekko’s finding his way as a songwriter. His forthcoming album, Fame, promises a confident showcasing of his musical roots.

Hailing from Orem, Utah, this quartet has been playing together for over a decade despite the oldest member being only 22. Comprised of sisters Cristal and Alisa Ramirez and childhood friends McKenna Petty and Katie Henderson, The Aces released their debut album When My Heart Felt Volcanic on April 6th. Serving as a follow up to 2017’s critically acclaimed I Don’t Like Being Honest EP, the album is a collection of songs that exhibits confidence and polish that belies their young years. When My Heart Felt Volcanic captures who they are right now, formative moments as they careen from their teens to adulthood, and yet like all the best pop songs, these tunes transcend specifics to be applicable to all.

The Wrecks have lead a suitably reckless path towards success, playing their own blend of energetic, alternative rock. After a promising rise following their 2016 breakout single, “Favorite Liar,” which scored over 9.6 million Spotify streams, averaging 208K monthly listeners, the band checked into a Los Angeles studio to work on a their second EP. But when the sessions didn’t seem to come together, the Wrecks followed their gut, cut their losses and decamped back to the East Coast to Wellsville, New York to do it themselves. Recorded in a barn, the resulting Panic Vertigo captures the restless abandon they were after.

Inspired by R&B and a Beatles obsession inherited from his father, Chicago-born singer/songwriter John Splithoff initially studied jazz and songwriting at the University of Miami before relocating to New York City with no plan beyond pursuing his musical path. After penning numerous ideas on guitar, piano, and bass while recording early demos, Splithoff crafted “Sing to You,” a breezy, hypnotic single with an unbreakable bounce that tallied up 31 million streams and landed prominently on notable Spotify playlists. His most recent EP, Make It Happen, further showcases Splithoff’s range and is broadening his rapidly growing fanbase.