As the 2026 music calendar fills with tour dates and long-awaited releases, a fresh wave of artists are setting their sights on New York City stages. From breakout tracks to defining performances, these are some of the most compelling acts making their mark, along with where you can catch them live this spring. Quarters (f/k/a […]
By the time B.B. King recorded “The Thrill Is Gone” in 1969, the blues had already traveled far beyond its point of origin. The song crossed over to pop radio, reached audiences who did not think of themselves as blues listeners, and introduced King to an entirely new generation. It also became the single that […]
Some albums arrive on the scene with fireworks and a tagline. REDEMPTION enters the chat by saying the thing that was never said out loud. Karey Lee Woolsey, a singer-songwriter releasing music under the name Karey Lee, released the record on January 2. The entry point is plain: these songs come from lived time. Marketing […]
Paul Hennessy didn’t set out to overwhelm listeners. What he built with The Cost Of The Escape was something closer to an architectural feat than a stunt: twelve albums, 144 songs, released simultaneously, each piece designed to support the weight of the whole. At the core of the project is a songwriter’s instinct rather than […]
Every January, NAMM (the National Association of Music Merchants) converges on Anaheim, drawing more than 75,000 attendees to experience the products and services of over 3,500 brands across the music, professional audio and live sound industries. Although the massive, multi-day 2026 event has already come and gone, NAMM 2026 left us fixated on a number […]
If you want to know who’s on the rise in live music, The National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) just dropped its annual cheat sheet of the most exciting up and coming artists of the past year. These aren’t just artists trending on playlists, but bona fide performers driving around the country, unglamourously roughing it, and […]
Emerging from Boulder’s eclectic music scene, MYND READER steps forward with a debut album rooted in raw rock and roll, hard-won clarity, and a renewed sense of purpose. Their self-titled record, arriving January 30, 2026, isn’t just a set of songs. It’s a reckoning, a journey pulled from personal chaos and rebuilt into something cathartic, […]
The National Independent Venue Association began publishing its annual Live List in 2023, a poll of independent venues and promoters, curated by NIVA’s membership to select the most exciting up-and-coming live performers on independent stages across America. With the NIVA’s 2026 Live List on the way soon, here’s a look back at a few of […]
KXLLSWXTCH has built a career on emotional extremity, but EYESORE feels different. The Anaheim, California artist has never been interested in smoothing out the rough edges of his inner world, yet this album leans fully into the feeling of being out of place, of standing out when you would rather disappear. Rather than framing alienation […]
Some nights, a bouzouki cuts through the kick drum, clear and played live. That detail anchors the live set from Zehavi (Sagi Zehavi), an electronic artist who grew up sharing one crowded room in an impoverished neighborhood and found his early momentum busking on that same instrument. His music blends club energy with Mediterranean and […]