While many people flocked south to Austin, Texas last week for this year’s South By Southwest festival, which showcases more than two thousand artist performances alongside label presentations, technology reveals, and discussion panels, some of us had to settle for attending Couch By Couchwest from home. I spent the past week digging through a spreadsheet of 2,121 artists who were slated to play during SXSW 2015, and after whittling down the list and listening to 622 of them, I have selected 76 independent acts that warrant further attention now that the festivities have ended. Read a short blurb on each artist below along with a prime track among their discography, or skip ahead to the full playlist on SoundCloud by clicking here. Continue reading “76 independent artists to watch following SXSW 2015”
Jessie Ware
As the music industry wakes up from its holiday slumber and begins the new year, attention shifts to developing new artists whose careers are beginning to build. Below are forty hand-picked artists of varying genres and current levels of success. Some are completely independent, while others have already topped charts. Regardless, all of them show potential to be even bigger names, particularly in America, in the coming year. Listen to the artists through this SoundCloud playlist, and check back later in the year to see how these predictions turned out. Continue reading “Class Of 2015: 40 promising artists to watch this year”
As the industry settles down during the holiday season, the chart continues to be quiet. Martin Luke Brown scores a tenth week at the top with “Nostalgia,” becoming the longest chart leader of the year. The only movement in the top ten comes from Mark Ronson and Bruno Mars, whose “Uptown Funk” jumps Jamie Scott’s “Unbreakable” to finally enter the top three, following five weeks at #4, in its seventh week on the chart. Only four songs make their debut this week: The Voice finalist Chris Jamison and Wet each score their first entries, while Nicki Minaj (featuring Jessie Ware) and Madonna both return with new album tracks.
