10 More Contemporary Musicians You Ought To Listen To

It's been quite a while since my first  list, but I always suspected I couldn't just leave it at a mere ten music groups. There is a lot of good bands out there. So without further delay, let us get started.


10. Matt Mays



Matt Mays is a good ol' boy from Nova Scotia. Before his recent forays into solo recordings, he fronted the band El Torpedo, based out of Cole Harbour. Since disbanding El Torpedo, Mays has continued to write and record music, releasing his first post-El Torpedo album in 2012.

9. Wax Fang



For big fans of prog rock (like myself), Wax Fang is a welcome sound. Hailing from Louisville, Kentucky, Wax Fang can be at times reminiscent of old school prog bands like Pink Floyd (both Gilmour and Waters era) and Crimson King while still retaining their own distinct style, which is more than can be said for other contemporary prog bands.

8. Irish Stew of Sinduin



Irish Stew of Sinduin, usually shortened to just Irish Stew, is what happens when you get a bunch of musically talented Serbians together and form a Celtic band. As far as I am concerned, there will always more room for more celtic style groups. But who would have thought that they would be coming from eastern Europe? Life is grand.

7.  Torres



Mackenzie Scott is not even 25 years old and she has released what is one of my favorite albums to come out in recent years. Seeing as how she attended university in the mecca of American country, she had ample opportunity to hone her musical talent. Her singing, song-writing, and musician-ship are already impressive, so I imagine that as she releases more albums, she will only continue to get better.

6. My Morning Jacket



Another great band from Louisville, My Morning Jacket has delved into a mixture of country and psychedelia. Not a common repertoire, but it seems to work for them. They gotten a well-deserved boost in recognition over the past few years.

5. Angel Olsen



Angel Olsen is the third artist on this list hailing from the American south, specifically St. Louis, Missouri. The first time I heard her was on a radio station broadcasting from Saskatchewan. I thought her music was decent enough to check out further, and so here we are.

4. Boy & Bear



Hey, it's an Australian band! I love Boy & Bear. For reasons unknown I am always getting them mixed up with Blitzen Trapper, which is not fair to Boy & Bear. A collusion of members from different college bands, Boy & Bear kind of runs the gamut in terms of genre.

3. Old Crow Medicine Show



Just above I talked about a band that is pretty successfully at aping prog rock. What amazes me is that not only is prog rock seeing a revival, but so is swing and rockabilly and psychedelic rock, along with every other genre known to the history of man. Bluegrass revival band OCMS formed in 1998 and have been producing great music ever since.

2. First Aid Kit



Have you ever heard Townes van Zandt? He's good, you should listen to him. I have been listening to van Zandt for a few years now and it was really weird when I first heard First Aid Kit. It was like van Zandt's ghost was being channeled by a pair of Swedish sisters in their twenties. Call me crazy, but their syntax and song-writing are uncannily similar. Maybe its just me. Either way they are good.

1. Carbon Leaf



Hey, another Celtic influenced group that isn't from Ireland! Like OCMS, Carbon Leaf has been around longer than most of the other groups on this list but I included them since they are new to me, I like them, and those are all the reasons I need. What's 20 plus years anyways?


That's good enough for now. Maybe I will do another list someday. For now take care, and give these people your money :)

10 Contemporary Musicians You Ought to Listen To

You know, music isn't what it used to be. For the past two decades we have been wandering through what can only be described as a junk heap of mediocrity and nonsensical malaise. We are living in dark times my friends. Nevertheless, I believe that such things come and go in inevitable cycles. Sometimes you have to dig through the junk heap to discover the shiny silver bike that was hiding under there the whole time. I have spent a bit of time doing a little bit of digging, here and there, traveling the interwebs in an electric odyssey, seeking for a reason to believe that there is more to today's music than mass-produced plastic totems which are defiling the airwaves these days. This is what I found.

10. Couer De Pirate



Quebec has blessed us with Beatrice Martin, better known by her stage name Couer De Pirate, pronounced 'car duh peeraht'. She has been gaining popularity since releasing her debut album in 2008. Since that time she has released two more albums.

9. Josh Ritter



Inspired by artists like Bob Dylan since an early age, Ritter's own songs have been covered by the likes of Joan Baez. Before he gained popularity in North America, he gained a fanbase in Ireland, which springboarded him to further success.

8. Yeah Yeah Yeahs!



The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are a band which support the growing theory that music is trending back towards the '80's, which isn't necessarily a bad thing. Comprised of Karen O (Orzolek), Brian Chase, and Nick Zinner, they emerged from the New York indie scene back in the early 2000's, and have been going strong since.

7. Nico Vega



Aja Volkman, lead singer for Nico Vega, has a savage quality to her voice that invokes, in my mind, Joan Jett. Nico Vega is an excellent band, and they cover a wide variety of topics. Some interesting trivia about Volkman is that she is married to Imagine Dragon's Dan Reynolds.

6. She and Him



Not surprisingly, Zooey Deschanel, the eponymous 'She', is the more well-known of this particular musical duo. Deschanel met Matthew Ward while working on a film, and the two have collaborated to create a fairly unique take on '50's and '60's bubblegum pop, which has been quite successful.

5. Tame Impala



Tame Impala, the so-called 'psychedelic messiah', is Australia's great gift to us. If I had to describe them, I would say that are what would happen if you put Steppenwolf, The Beatles, and Syd Barrett in a room with lots of acid, and then told them they had twelve hours to create an album. That doesn't, however, do Tame Impala any justice.

4. Lana Del Rey



I could listen to Lana Del Rey for hours. Her voice has a rich quality in it that is lacking in most of today's artists, and her lyrics are very clever. Drawing inspiration from the likes of Elvis, Eminem, and Frank Sinatra, her style is unique to say the least.

3. Kongos



Johnny, Jesse, Dylan, and Daniel Kongos; four brothers from South Africa who have combined to make one of the most fun sounding bands of recent years. They have only become more-widely recognized in the US as of late last year.

2. Lindsey Stirling



At this point, the gospel of Lindsey Stirling has been preached to the ends of the earth to all living creatures. All that remains now is for everyone to choose which side of the line they stand on: Pro-Stirling or Anti-Stirling. Her music is great, covering a lot of genres, and being generally enjoyable to all audiences. She is living proof that Hipsters have come to rule popular culture.

1. Jake Bugg



I was pleasantly surprised when I heard Jake Bugg's music for the first time. I could barely believe he was a contemporary artist. His vocal style is gritty and substantial, and hearkens back to artists of another era. His no-nonsense, driving lyrics touch on relevant topics, and demonstrate a depth of understanding often found lacking in many of his contemporaries.


Alright, good enough. Now give these people your money!