RECENT ARTICLES

When the video for her song, “Phenom,” hit the internet on April 3, 2020, no one knew really what to expect. America had just begun the lockdown for the COVID-19 pandemic but there was still new music to release and new videos to make. That’s when the work went viral and Thao Nguyen, front person for the project, Thao & The Get Down Stay Down, saw her face on prominent talk shows and her songs in mass media. She’d released the first Zoom music video of note and it was a powerhouse.

Now, about a year later, Nguyen is attempting something new and noteworthy again by partnering with the online publishing platform, Substack, to invite fans behind the curtain and into the process of making her next record ($5 a month of $50 a year). If Nguyen’s success with the release of “Phenom” is any indication, she shouldn’t have any issues surfing this new platform to great success.

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Tom Grennan’s life is marked by massive changes. The gravely, big-voiced British singer grew up playing soccer. Music wasn’t ever really on his mind. When asked if he even sang in the shower, Grennan says, “No.” Singing wasn’t cool, wasn’t the thing to do. He was an athlete and a pretty darn good one. But as he got older and as the demands of a top-notch soccer player began to feel further from him, Grennan’s life began to change. His confidence dropped, his identity drifted through his fingertips. But then, one day at a party, the 17-year-old Grennan drunkenly took the mic of a karaoke machine and belted out a tune. He was good—really good. His friends encouraged his ability and burgeoning interest. But it wasn’t until the day as an 18-year-old that Grennan was severely assaulted that he started writing his own music.

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For Brooklyn, New York City-born musician, Mike Garson, there was no real accomplishment in music without the necessary, accompanying homework required to make him better. For Garson, who began playing piano in 1952 when he was seven years old, the instrument has been an important part of his life ever since. As he began to learn, he played for 20 or 30 minutes, but as the instrument started to consume him, he’d play for two hours. Later, he practiced in regular eight-hour shifts before heading to a late night, six-hour jazz gig. But, of course, his dedication paid off. It did so in a significant way when he received a phone call out of the blue from David Bowie, who asked Garson to try out for his Ziggy Stardust tour kicking off in 1972. Later, what began as a chance encounter eventually turned into a lifelong friendship and partnership. So much so, that when Bowie died in 2016, Garson had become Bowie’s longest tenured and most frequent band member.

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In music, they say that “legends never die.” For quick proof of this maxim, just look to recent album and song titles from seminal artists like Juice WRLD and Orville Peck. The idea, of course, is that some artists are so accomplished, so groundbreaking, inspiring and unique, their work will live on long past their last breath. And all of that may be true. Legends may never really leave us. But that doesn’t mean they don’t experience a lot of pain on their way to cementing mythical status.

Take, for example, the fabled musician Lady Gaga. Her work, including her most recent LP, Chromatica, has traveled the world billions of times over. Yet, that doesn’t always make the days and weeks easy for the platinum-selling, 11-time Grammy Award-winning artist.

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It’s rare for a burgeoning artist to understand what their voice is early on. It’s uncommon to know what lyrical style and content works best and most efficiently, what sonic qualities define. But Frances Garrett (a.k.a. Frances Forever) is a unique artist. Garrett, who prefers the pronouns “they” and “them,” is set to graduate this year from Clark University and they have already landed on a style and tone that is both immediately recognizable and particular.

Listening to Garrett’s latest single, “Space Girl,” which has amassed millions of spins, is to understand their dreamy dichotomy. Bouncy music meets at times-eerie, confounded vocals and subject matter befitting of Garrett’s spirit. The artist, who released a new video for the song today (below), is already working on new music, too. Some of these songs, which they plan to release later this year, will include bigger production methods while still maintaining the same kernel of artistry that makes Garrett stand out.

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The founding members of the Austin, Texas-based band, Black Pistol Fire, have been friends since kindergarten. Kevin McKeown and Eric Owen grew up in Toronto, Ontario together. In an age when longtime relationships can fracture over a Facebook post, it’s remarkable in many ways that the two have stayed tight since they were tykes. Sometimes, says McKeown, who sings and plays guitar in the band, he has to remember how special the relationship is. From an early age they grew up together. And as they did, music became more and more of a central component to their lives and friendship. In high school, they began writing songs and playing small local gigs. Later, they took the plunge and moved to the indie rock capital of the world —Austin, Texas—and have since found a footing. The band released its most recent LP, Look Alive, in late January and today, the group is continuing to strive ahead in a time as uncertain as any.

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Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter, Sunny War, left home at 16. For the next handful of years, Sunny hitchhiked, jumped trains and busked to support herself. Before she’d left, Sunny says that she remembers thinking she was too old to be told what to do by her mother. She didn’t want to take part in any formal schooling either, so she felt she could do it on her own. Sunny was also drinking heavily, which caused problems at home, and it was a habit she kept up to her detriment until she was about 20. While traveling the country, Sunny slept outside. She made friendships with a community of young people who rode the rails and busked to earn money for food. But the experience wasn’t all good, she says. It was certainly a series of adventures that taught her both about life and about how to play and sing for people. Sunny, who got her first six-string at seven years old, took to the instrument quickly. Since then, it’s been her life raft through it all. Now, Sunny is set to release her rollicking new LP, Simple Syrup, on March 26.

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New York City performer and songwriter, Blu DeTiger, says that the best songs she writes are the ones she thinks the least about during the act of composition. What she writes when she’s in that desired “flow state” is often her best work. DeTiger’s recognition of this fact is impressive. In fact, much about her is. She began playing electric bass at seven years old and, early on, she decided to dedicate herself to it.

While her friends were listening to the pop songs of the day, DeTiger was digesting The Rolling Stones and The Beatles. She would skip hangouts and sleepovers to go to music lessons. Today, the burgeoning musician finds herself in the company of artists like Timbaland and media personalities like Zane Lowe. DeTiger says credits a piece of advice she received years ago from a teacher for helping to strengthen her sense of creative clarity. And on March 5, she will release her dynamic debut EP, How Did We Get Here? The new record should prove to be another stepping-stone on DeTiger’s quick rise.

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For Norwegian songwriter and performer, Einar Selvik, making music is as much about excavation, construction and refinement as it as about melody and rhythm. A composer of epic, culturally rooted songs (some of which earn millions of streams in a matter of months on YouTube), Selvik cares very much about the details. In a way, it’s easy to understand why. If you were to close your eyes and think about the Scandinavian region, what might come to mind? Whatever does, the vision, in all likelihood, won’t offer the historical clarity and precision that it could or maybe should. As an artist, Selvik cares about unearthing the stories history actually told, not their blurry Xeroxes. This concerted, almost academic effort shows up in the affecting music Selvik makes in his popular group, Wardruna, and in the stories the band tells on its new 2021 LP, Kvitravn.

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At its best, a marriage between two people is a support system. It’s a spiritual, cognitive and physical space where the participants can convene and be made better. And for married musical couple, Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst, who comprise the Charleston, South Carolina-born band, Shovels & Rope, their marriage is indeed a source of mirth and rejuvenation. It’s also a source of music and collaboration. The two, which put out their first record in 2008, got married officially in 2009, and their folk-blues duo began to take off a few years later. More recently, the two became parents to two children. Together, Trent and Hearst strengthen and magnify one another’s abilities and this multi-faceted, productive relationship is evident on the duo’s 2021 release, Busted Jukebox (Juicebox) Volume 3. The record is inspired as much by their kids as it is from the songs the duo loves.

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Singer-songwriter and producer, QUIÑ (born Bianca Leonor Quiñones) loves a good windowsill. She’s a frequent daydreamer. In fact, as an infant, she used to scare her mom because she could stare off into space for long periods of time. As QUIÑ puts it now, she can “imagine with her eyes open” and often this zoning out is best done from one side of a windowpane. Since childhood, QUIÑ has grown to become a popular, capable artist and performer. She’s also invented a new term or genre-space for herself: fantasy soul. It’s an umbrella idea that acts as a safe place from which to grow, both as a solo artist and as a producer of other people’s work. After years of feeling insecure about herself and her artistry, QUIÑ has pushed herself to become a self-confident success. But none of what’s happened lately for QUIÑ might have come to fruition if she hadn’t gotten her own bedroom and her own windowsill from which to stare out.

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When most songwriters think about penning a fresh breakup song, it’s likely they’ll dig into the heartache. After all, it’s often the most palpable feeling in times of loneliness. But Las Vegas-based rising country star musician, Ashlie Amber, thinks about the matter differently. Amber thinks about the good times, the reasons she was with the person to begin with. Sure, there were reasons for the split. (Often in Amber’s case it’s because she’s chasing her career and not necessarily domestic dreams at this time.) But if there weren’t good parts, then why was the relationship a reality to begin with? So, she looks to the brighter side. The late nights, the extra shots of whiskey, the chosen sleepless mornings. This is valid subject matter for songs too, Amber says. To prove it, she wrote her new single, “Those Nights,” premiering today with American Songwriter, to celebrate the best of what was, especially in those exciting first days.

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When London-based singer-songwriter, Arlo Parks, first began writing music, she figured no one outside a few friends or her mom would hear it. At one point, though, Parks came across a quote in a book that read, essentially, “You are what you think about all day.” Well, Parks thought, all she thinks about is music and writing and expression, so maybe she should pursue those thoughts in earnest. So, Parks decided to allow herself a “gap year” in 2019 between finishing high school and finding a professional career. In that time, the artist proverbially hit it out of the park with millions of song streams and her gap year has yet to conclude.

In January, Parks released her acclaimed debut LP, Collapsed in Sunbeams, and today the 20-year-old artist is already working on new ideas and compositions for future projects. It’s a stunning output for a mature songwriter and performer poised to bring a great deal more to the world of creativity.

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