10. Grace Potter: Midnight
Grace Potter is a member of The Nocturnals (Grace Potter & The Nocturnals) with Scott Tournet (guitar/slide guitar), Matthew Burr (drums/percussion), and Bryan Dondero (upright/electric bass). Potter's dynamic vocal ability has drawn comparisons to legends Bonnie Raitt, Aretha Franklin and Janis Joplin. Her unique style behind the Hammond B-3 and piano is also gaining widespread recognition.
9. New Order: Music Complete
New Order are an alternative rock/electronic dance band which formed in 1980 in Salford, England, United Kingdom by the three remaining members of Joy Division. The band's classic lineup consists of Bernard Sumner (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Peter Hook (bass, electronic percussion), Gillian Gilbert (keyboards, guitar) and Stephen Morris (drums, keyboards). The group effectively disbanded in 1993 but reformed in 1998. Gilbert left in 2001 to look after her and Morris' children and was replaced by guitarist/keyboardist Phil Cunningham. Hook left acrimoniously in 2007 and declared the band to be defunct. Initially, Sumner, Cunningham and Morris denied the band had split up, but in 2009, following the release of the trio's Bad Lieutenant album, they admitted that that they could not continue on without Hook and officially disbanded. However, the band reformed in 2011 for a pair of charity dates without Hook, with Gilbert returning to the fold and Tom Chapman replacing Hook on bass.
Pioneers of dance music in the 1980s and one of the first bands to effectively and popularly synthesize keyboard- and guitar-based music, New Order's members hailed from Salford and Macclesfield, England out of the ashes of Joy Division, are noted as being one of the first bands to bridge the gap between Post-Punk and Dancefloor. They were Factory Records' highest selling artist. They also funded Factory's famous Manchester club, The Haçienda. The band partnered with Quincy Jones's American label Qwest, recorded with legendary hip-hop producer Arthur Baker (on 1983's single "Confusion" and 1984's "Thieves Like Us"), and they embraced Ibizan club culture on the album, Technique.
8. Butterfly Boucher: Happy Birthday Flutterby
Butterfly Boucher (pronounced 'bow-cher' with a hard "ch" sound, unlike the French pronunciation) is an Adelaide, Australian singer/songwriter.
Boucher, born June 2, 1979, is the middle child of seven daughters. The name "Butterfly" was a suggestion from a friend of the family. Her mother didn't initially like the name but kept seeing butterflies in pictures, on clothing, etc. before the birth. In later years, Butterfly's sister had a band, The Mercy Bell, in which Butterfly played bass guitar. In 2004 and 2005, Boucher toured the U.S. and Canada, opening for Sarah McLachlan and Barenaked Ladies.
Butterfly currently resides in the United States. She released her first track of the album, "I Can't Make Me," in the UK first. It did poorly. However, when she released that track along with "Another White Dash," her U.S. success was assured.
7. The Bamboos: Fever in the Road
The Bamboos are masters of super-heavy, raw and upfront drum-break driven grooves. Led by Guitarist Lance Ferguson (Equatorial Records/Lanu/No Comply), other members include Ben Grayson (Hammond Organ), Danny Farrugia (Drums), Yuri Pavlinov (Bass), Anton Delecca (Sax/Flute) and Ross Irwin (Trumpet). The Bamboos formed in 2001 and released the 7” single ‘Eel Oil/Blackfoot’, earning them international acclaim from the likes of Snowboy, Mr Scruff, Jazzanova, Patrick Forge and Russ Dewbury. Their next release ‘Tighten Up/Voodoo Doll’ was picked up by Kenny Dope (Masters At Work) and Keb Darge (Legendary Deep Funk) for their U.S-based imprint Kay-Dee Records. Making their home at Tru Thoughts records (home to Quantic and Alice Russell) in 2005, The Bamboos debut album ‘Step it Up’ looks set to bolster their reputation as heavy players in the global Funk scene. In 2004 and 2005 The Bamboos toured Australia and New Zealand alongside Quantic and Alice Russell to universal acclaim. The Bamboos live shows have evolved into non-stop mixtape-style throwdowns that draw the links between Hip Hop, Funk and old-school Breaks. The Bamboos have supported international artists including: Keb Darge (UK) Moloko (UK) Mathew Herbert (UK) Dynamo productions (UK) Derrick Carter (USA) Patrick Forge (UK) Snowboy (UK) Jazzanova (GERM) Chris Lum (UK) Alice Russell (UK) Quantic (UK) Nextmen (UK) Russ Dewbury (UK) Steinski (USA) Guru (USA)
6. She & Him: Classics
She & Him is an American indie folk band consisting of Zooey Deschanel (vocals, keyboards) and M. Ward (guitar, production). The pair first met in 2006 for a movie soundtrack project for the film 'The Go-Getter' in which they recorded a version of Richard and Linda Thompson’s "When I Get To The Border”. Their first studio album, Volume One, was released in March of 2008 on Merge Records. Their second studio album, Volume Two, was released March 23, 2010, just over two years since the release of Volume One. Their third studio album, Volume 3, was released May 7, 2013.
According to Merge, at their initial studio session the two “were immediately struck by one another’s talents and found an instant rapport". During a conversation about their shared love of old records, Zooey let slip that she wrote her own songs, which she recorded alone at home on her computer. Somewhat shy about sharing these musical morsels, she was eventually persuaded to send them to M. Ward. He was instantly impressed, and they soon reconvened at his studio in Portland to begin work. Recorded over a period of several months, between acting work (She) and touring commitments (Him), the pair found time to bring Zooey’s fledgling songs to gorgeous fruition.
5. Houndmouth: Little Neon Limelight
Houndmouth is a collaborative folk rock four-member band, formed in 2011 from the lowland plains and farmlands of Indiana, USA. The band's lyrics emphasize their foolhardiness, and their soulful harmonies carry far. Houndmouth consists of Matt Myers (guitar, vocals), Katie Toupin (keyboard, vocals), Zak Appleby (bass, vocals) and Shane Cody(drums, vocals). Folk duo Katie Toupin and Matt Myers (formerly of the Saint James Hotel) joined up with Shane Cody (Riffraff Revival) and Zak Appleby to create a colossal electric sound with bouncy half-time beats, punchy guitar riffs, and a bit of facial hair. They performed at SXSW in 2012 to promote their self-titled EP, and then were signed up by Rough Trade Records. The band have appeared on several major television shows, including Letterman and Conan.
First Album - From the Hills Below the City (2013) - Houndmouth's first studio album "From the Hills Below the City" was release on June 3, 2013.
Second Album - Little Neon Limelight (2015) - The band's second studio album, "Little Neon Limelight" was released on March 17, 2015
4. Diane Birch: Speak a Little Louder
Diane Birch (born January 24, 1983) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Her debut album "Bible Belt" was released in 2009 to positive reviews by critics.
With a childhood spent on the move, as the daughter of a preacher, living between Zimbabwe, South Africa and Australia, before her parents finally settled in Portland, Oregon when she was in her early teens, Diane Birch absorbed a unique and very cosmopolitan perspective on life that shines through her music and makes a simple categorization of it impossible.
Trained as a classical pianist using Suzuki methodology (playing by ear at a young age following Suzuki's theory of language acquisition, where a child learns to speak before learning to read), Diane rapidly moved away from any confines of tradition, cultivating a very individual style and composing her own material. With an obvious abundance of talent and a passion for performing, it wasn't long before she realized that if she wanted to pursue a career in music she would probably be better served in Los Angeles, where both the film and record industries could be explored.
3. Marina and the Diamonds: Froot
Marina Lambrini Diamandis (Greek: Μαρίνα-Λαμπρινή Διαμάντη; born 10 October, 1985) is a Greek-Welsh singer, who performs under the stage name of Marina and the Diamonds, which is based on the English translation of her surname.
Marina was born on the 10th October 1985 in Abergavenny, Wales. She began creating and producing her own music in 2005. In 2007, she released her debut EP, Mermaid vs. Sailor. She released her first single (a double A-side, Obsessions/Mowgli's Road) through Neon Gold Records on the 14th February 2009, closely followed by The Crown Jewels EP in June 2009. Now signed to 679 Recordings, her first single with the label was "Mowgli's Road", released in November 2009. In January 2010 she reached number two on the BBC Sound of 2010 poll list. This was followed by the release of her debut full-length studio album, The Family Jewels on the 22nd February 2010, and her debut American release, The American Jewels EP on the 25th May 2010.
Diamandis' musical style ranges from keyboard-based ballads to more up-tempo new wave-style songs with full band backing. She has cited a wide range of influences such as Daniel Johnston, Blondie, Patti Smith, Nirvana, PJ Harvey, Elliott Smith, Dolly Parton, Britney Spears and Madonna.
2. Madi Diaz: Phantom
With a staggering voice and a gift for poignant melodies and innovative arrangements, Madi Diaz is folding her roots, pop and indie influences into her own paper airplane.
Diaz was raised and home-schooled in Pennsylvania's rural Lancaster county, the daughter of a musician (her father Eric Svalgard plays keyboards in the noted Frank Zappa cover band Project/Object) and a schoolteacher, Nancy Diaz. Encouraged by her parents, Madi began commuting to Philadelphia in 2002 to attend The Paul Green School of Rock Music, where her father would also volunteer (today Eric runs the Wilmington, DE branch of the school, where Madi's brother Max is also an instructor).
Her somewhat contentious relationship with Green himself would be captured for audiences to see in the 2005 documentary film Rock School. Even at that young age, Madi had forceful ideas about her music, an instinct that has served her well in avoiding lazy categorization.
1. Striking Matches: Nothing But Silence
Made up of Sarah Zimmermann and Justin Davis, Striking Matches came to Nashville simply to play music. Sarah, a Philadelphia native and Justin, from Atlanta, met when a professor at Belmont University paired them at random to play for a classroom full of guitar majors. The pair has been writing and performing ever since. Their influences range from Jerry Reed to the Beatles, John Mayer to Patsy Cline, and back again.
It becomes more obvious every day that they were born to play music together. Striking Matches’ debut self-titled EP was produced by Luke Wooten (Dierks Bentley, Dustin Lynch) with all four tracks co-written by the band. The EP released October 2012 was named among iTunes “Best of 2012″ and enabled the duo to score features with NPR and The Wall Street Journal. In December 2012, Striking Matches made their debut on the Grand Ole Opry where they have subsequently played more than twenty times.
Striking Matches has shared the stage with John Hiatt, Vince Gill, Hunter Hayes, Martina McBride, Matt Nathanson, The Fray, Billy Currington, Kip Moore, Ashley Monroe and many more. They were named a CMT Listen Up artist in September 2013 and became the first artist signed to the newly launched I.R.S. Records Nashville.