“New” is a slippery word. No artist truly comes out nowhere to meet the world fully formed. “New” merely means they moved from the streets to the stratosphere. “New” is code for months (years?) of hard work finally paying off — the stars aligning and the magic mix of preparation and luck colliding at last. It’s hard to break through. It’s nearly impossible to break through in only a year. And the really hard part? Breaking through with music that rather than occupying space.
These artists became new in 2015. The fates finally smiled and allowed them to rise above the fray. They not only got a whole bunch of people to remember their name, they did something more essential: They made music that mattered, adding some essential new songs to that great playlist in the sky.
If you somehow got through 2015 without hearing this music, please pull your head from the sand and catch up before the New Year’s ball drops. You owe it to yourself.
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OK, he’s hardly new. Nathaniel Rateliff has been paying his dues for the better part of eight years. His brooding 2007 self-released project, Nathaniel Ratliff & The Wheel, earned him a well-deserved following in his adopted hometown of Denver. But 2015 was the year that the rest of the country caught up. Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats brought Rateliff’s barroom soul to the mainstream. Good things happen to good songwriters who wait. (Photo: Facebook)
Watch Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats perform at Yahoo Studios
The Kentucky coal miner’s son tooled around for 15 years writing songs for others, joining some cool bands (check out the short-lived bluegrass bands the SteelDrivers) and preparing for his closeup. Stapleton’s debut, Traveller, won him converts and three CMA Awards. It’ll most likely get him a Grammy this February. Most importantly, Stapleton helped steer country music away from the slick NashVegas pop ditch. (Photo: Facebook)
The Australian singer-songwriter spent the first part of the ‘10s playing a supporting role in Melbourne’s thriving underground scene (including the must-know psychedelic folk band, Immigrant Union). Barnett’s slow burn to mainstream notice began with a spot-on 2014 Tonight Show appearance. Her 2015 solo debut, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit showed a sardonic wit worthy of Randy Newman comparisons and a Best New Artist Grammy nomination. She also plays a mean slide guitar. (Photo: Facebook/Mia Mala)
Watch the video for “Pedestrian at Best”
Jesso’s story is the stuff music myth-making: Frustrated bass player gives up on L.A. after four years and retreats to his Canadian home. Frustrated bass player takes up piano and makes demos. Frustrated bass player gives demos to friend and soon famous musicians (including the Black Keys’ Patrick Carney) help produce album. Frustrated no more, Jesso not only gets his own stellar debut, Goon, but he gets to co-write a tune with Adele (”When We Were Young”), too. See how easy it is?
Listen to “How Could You Babe”
Yahoo Music’s Chris Willman predicted Raury’s rise in his 2015 prediction list. It took me seeing him sing around a campfire on The Late Late Show With James Corden to get the memo. This 19-year-old Atlanta kid has the soul of Gil Scott-Heron, the hippie-hope of Arrested Development’s Speech in his prime, and the musical curiosity of Kendrick Lamar. He’s the face a future that is free of cynicism while still deeply concerned. We need more brothers like this one.
Watch the video for “Devil’s Whisper”
King’s DNA would lead you you to believe she is suited for a catwalk or comedy club, but her body and soul definitely belong to the blues. The daughter of SNL comedian Rob Schneider and model London King, Elle King armed herself with a banjo, a Delta blues sixth sense, and an indie-rocker’s sense of mayhem. The mix is potent, confounding, and totally rewarding. Anyone who can pivot from the morning show safety of the Today Show to the near-chaos of a Modest Mouse opening tour slot is OK with me.
Watch the video for “Ex’s and Oh’s”
Seth Avett & Jessica Lea Mayfield
All right, I’m technically cheating, but it’s my list so I can do what I want. I have no idea if Seth Avett & Jessica Lea Mayfield will remain a duo. And, yes, I know they both are past being “new” as individual artists. Still, their pairing was brand-new by any definition. The two got together for the first time this year to record a collection of Elliott Smith songs. They sing like they joined at the heart and reminded the world (or me at least) how heartbreaking Smith’s words, music, life, and loss still remain. (Photo: Getty Images)
Watch a live performance of “Baby Britain”
The Los Angeles tenor sax player is Kendrick Lamar’s secret weapon. Any mortal would have nothing left in the tank after mind-melding with Lamar to create the far-reaching arrangements for his To Pimp a Butterfly. But Washington is no mere mortal. He is a superhuman music time-traveler who walked out of the studio with Lamar and hit the record button on nearly three hours of his own uncompromising jazz debut, The Epic. What did you do the year? (Photo: Facebook)
Listen to “Miss Understanding”
Here’s an artist who dons 1960s vintage wear and shines a light on a criminally forgotten era of African American music. That has, admittedly, been done before. I was initially included to write off Bridges as simply derivative without the personal conviction or gravitas to carry the music forward. But I was wrong. The dude cares, and he’s getting attention: both of which are good for American soul music. Keep preaching, Brother Bridges. I’ll see you on the road. (Photo: Facebook/Jason Kim)
Watch the music video for “Coming Home”
The London group started as an acoustic duo in 2010 and ended 2015 as a Grammy-nominated rock quartet. Like the best British bands, Wolf Alice know how to marry swagger, expansiveness, and detached sex appeal to make music that is deeply confident. An American version of this band would try just a little too hard. An American Wolf Alice would be just a little too self-conscious and smile a little too much. Wolf Alice hold the delicate balance perfectly. They just know they are badass. Damn, those Brits. (Photo: Facebook)
Watch the music video for “Bros”
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