2024 List of Favorite New Bands and Singers (new to me, but maybe not to you)

My annual list of favorite new bands and singers: new to me, but maybe not to you. The Top 20 in alphabetical order.

1: Local music festivals: Americana West Music Fest, Echo Park Rising, Happy Sundays Long Beach, No Earbuds Fest.

To me, there’s nothing better than a DIY music scene festival. The Americana West Music Fest was all Americana and country with Los Rock Angels and Tristan Lake Leabu catching my “new to me” fancy. I only saw two or three songs of Fangbanger, but their stage show had me the moment I found myself having to squeeze through a packed Echo Park Rising venue. Though technically not part of Echo Park Rising, the Sunday lineup at Sticky Rice had Deathchant blasting the ear drums. NÜTT, I’m surprised I didn’t leave Happy Sundays Long Beach with a broken back due to all the mosh pit pounding I took. No Earbuds had the unexpected energy from Perennial and the vibes of Queen of Jeans.

Notes from Vivace Show Alerts (Los Angeles): Dec 29th - Jan 4th

 A Handful of Show Alerts 

Sunday Dec 29th: El Colmo at Zebulon. Doors at 6 p.m.
You can read my review of their set on US Rocker Music here.

Sunday Dec 29th: Soft Palms at Club Tee Gee. Doors at 8 p.m.

You can read my US Rocker Music review of their Happy Sundays Long Beach set here.

Tuesday Dec 31st: Blaze Franscisco at The Redwood Bar. Doors at 4 p.m.
One of the band members is Liza Light. You can read my review of her song "To the Dream" here.

Friday January 3rd: Shane Alexander at Permanent Records Roadhouse. Doors at 6 p.m.

Shane Alexander played the Americana West Fest in 2024. You can read my review of that festival on US Rocker Music here.

Saturday January 4th: Primer at Permanent Records Roadhouse. Doors at 9 p.m.

You can read my review of Primer's release party for US Rocker Music here.

Thursday, January 2nd to Saturday January 4th: The Smell's 27th anniversary. Doors at 8 p.m. each night. 

NFV Song Spotlight: Jordan Gruver's Without Loving You

 

I wrote this about how I first came across Jordan Gruver on Instagram back in early September:

"I thought I first came across Jordan Gruver back in July at Club Tee Gee. That turned out not to be accurate. I was scanning through my list of bands / artists that I saw in 2023 to do some quick research about when I last saw another band. As I was scanning through, Gruver’s name popped up. I was a bit surprised. And then I remembered the night. I was invited to photograph a trio of bands at Hotel Cafe. I got there a touch early and caught a song or maybe just half a song by Gruver. At the time, I remember thinking that I really needed to catch a full set as I loved the song and so I added the name to my list of bands / artists I’d seen. Well, I obviously forgot about my desire to catch a full set – in my defense, I see way too many bands / artists. Flash forward a few months and it happened by random and I totally didn’t recall that moment back in 2023 until a couple days ago." 

Jordan Gruver at Hotel Ziggy

NFV Song Spotlight: Houston In The Blind's On a Wire

I arrived about ten minutes too late to catch Houston In The Blind's full set at Harvard & Stone (a Swyndle night). I walked into the venue and was immediately blown away and regretted not showing up just a few minutes earlier. The music was sonic bliss with a shoegaze touch. 

Houston In The Blind at Harvard & Stone

NFV Song Spotlight: Beeson's everybody's baby

Jane Beeson who performs / releases music under her last name played the WFNM night at Hotel Ziggy the Wednesday prior to Thanksgiving. This was my second time catching a set. My first time catching one of her sets was at the same location back in July. I was hesitant to head out on Wednesday night as I knew I had to wake up early on Thanksgiving to do some food preparation, but getting a second chance to catch Beeson won out.

Beeson at Hotel Ziggy

Notes from Vivace Show Alerts (Los Angeles): Dec 22nd - Dec 28th

 A Handful of Show Alerts 

Monday Dec 23rd: Bee Appleseed at Club Tee Gee. Doors at 8 p.m.

I don't believe I've seen Bee Appleseed perform, but he is part of the uniquely interesting Elf Freedom. I took a photo of the band at Echo Park Rising 2023 and you can find the photo on Buzzbands if you scroll through the gallery.

Monday Dec 23rd: Dutch East Indians at Harvard & Stone. Doors at 8 p.m.
I saw the band when they played with Autogramm at Zebulon a few weeks back.

Friday Dec 27th: Rocco DeLuca at Zebulon. Doors at 7 p.m.

I've been catching Rocco DeLuca off and on since 2009. 

Saturday Dec 28th: Pegzilla and Moonfuzz at Galaxy Peak. Doors at 7 p.m.

The lead singer, Olivia Naperstein, of Pegzilla is in a band called Egg Drop Soup that I wrote about for US Rocker Music when they played the 2024 edition of Happy Sundays Long Beach.

Review: Young Lovers and Zeinapur Inspire the Soul at Final "Alphabet Soup" 2024 Series

Safe Travels Presents and The Witching Hours recently finished up their 2024 series: Alphabet Soup. It started off at the Resident and shifted to Non Plus Ultra for the last handful of shows. From my count, I went to a total of 11 of the 23 shows - specifically A, F, G, J, L, M, P, R, S, T, Y/Z. (There are 26 alphabets, but the later alphabets got combined.) There were shows where I came across a new favorite like Madeleine Mayi. There were shows where it felt like I knew most of the people in the crowd: nights featuring Fuss and Julez and the Rollerz. There were other times where I caught up with a band that I had not seen in a few years such as Le Pain. I even feel like I had input on one night. An Instagram stories went out asking for any band names that started with a Q and I tossed out Qyburn. The band got booked. Unfortunately, I was unable to make that night. And there were definitely a couple nights where I wanted to support the bands I love, but had conflicting priorities.

Zeinapur at Non Plus Ultra

Zheani at the Fonda Theatre brings intense DIY Chants

Back in early September, I was able to attend Zheani's set at the Fonda Theatre. I was covering the night for US Rocker Music. Unfortunately, due to circumstances beyond our control, we were unable to put the review up on US Rocker Music. It was such a fun set and I've decided to post the set here on my personal blog site. Why am I posting my review here and not on the site? Like somethings in life, it is a complicated situation.

NFV Song Spotlight: TwoLips' MFKN Free

I first came across Kianah LongChase of TwoLips in 2018 -- twice, in fact. What is an interesting point about the two encounters is that the sets were held at a couple favorite venues that have since closed: The Satellite and The Hi Hat. I then caught TwoLips twice more in 2019. This time those venues and events had better luck surviving: The Echo and Echo Park Rising. Unfortunately, though, I had to wait until 2023 to catch another set and only one set that year. That set was also at Echo Park Rising. And in 2024, I'm back to two sets a year. Once at The Echo and just recently at Non Plus Ultra. Yes, the number two is a trend here.  

TwoLips at Non Plus Ultra

Notes from Vivace Show Alerts (Los Angeles): Dec 15th - Dec 21st

A Handful of Show Alerts 

Sunday Dec 15th: Strawberry Fuzz at The Roxy Theatre. Doors at 7 p.m.

Monday Dec 16th: Sarah Once Was at Harvard & Stone. Doors at 8 p.m.

You can read my post on their song "Thumbnail Moon" here.

Monday Dec 16th: Safe Travels Presents and The Witching Hours close out their Alphabet Soup Series with Young Lovers and Zeinapur. Doors at 8 p.m.

Tuesday Dec 17th: Salem's Bend at The Redwood Bar. Doors at 8 p.m.

Wednesday Dec 18th: Nightjacket at Gold-Diggers. Doors at 7 p.m.

You can see some photos I took of the band for Buzzbands here.

Thursday Dec 19th: Jett Kwong at Zebulon. Doors at 8 p.m.

You can read my US Rocker Music review of her 2022 performance here.

Thursday Dec 19th: MACKandgold (jazz edition) at Gold-Diggers. Doors at 7 p.m.

Thursday Dec 19th: Meth Math at The Roxy Theatre. Doors at 7 p.m.

You can read my US Rocker Music review of their April 2024 Zebulon set here.

Friday Dec 20th: Faetooth at The Echo. Doors at 7 p.m.

Saturday Dec 21st: Boy Deluxe at Permanent Records Roadhouse. Doors at 6 p.m.

You can read my post on their song "Bait" here.

NFV Song Spotlight: Scout LaRue Willis' Mysterious Ways

I wrote the following back during the summer on Instagram, "This is my third time catching Scout LaRue Willis. The first two times were in 2016 at the Bootleg Theater. It only took 8 years to catch another set. I did try to catch a set in 2023. I was at an early show at the Moroccan Lounge and decided to make a dash to Zebulon. I got to the Zebulon and the set times had been moved up by 30 minutes. Usually Zebulon has a 15 minute buffer going in the other direction. Oh well, I waited a few months and got to finally catch a set at Zebulon."

Scout LaRue Willis at Zebulon

NFV Songs Spotlight: Austin Stambaugh's Nightwalk (Less or More) and Ain't That Like It Is

Nashville based musician Austin Stambaugh dropped on by Club Tee Gee for a Back in the Garage night. He was at the end of a tour that took him from Texas to New Mexico to Arizona with two stops in California via San Diego and Los Angeles. The tour was to promoted his just released  Speechmythology: The Musical Short Stories of Austin Stambaugh album. I will admit that my going out to Club Tee Gee was not due to knowing anything about Stambaugh. I noticed that Rosy Nolan was on the bill and the last time I saw a full set was back in September 2023. It sounded like a good time to head out and catch another set. 

Austin Stambaugh at Club Tee Gee

NFV Song Spotlight: Liza Light's To the Dream

While hanging out at WFNM, I've seen Liza Light playing back-up for Megan Winsor and perhaps another singer or two. What I've noticed is the enthusiasm and joy that she has playing in a band. Looking at the WFNM schedule recently, I saw that she was playing a set as the front woman. I decided I had to circle the date. I was curious about what her sound was when she was in front of the microphone.

Liza Light at Bar Lubitsch

Notes from Vivace Show Alerts: Dec 8th - Dec 14th

A Handful of Show Alerts

Monday Dec 9th: Alexandra John at 7 p.m. at Hotel Cafe

Wednesday Dec 11th: Lovecolor at 9:30 p.m. at Hotel Cafe

Wednesday Dec 11th: Circle The Earth at Hotel Ziggy 

(You can read and listen to my song spotlight of their song "Sweetest Pain" here.)

Thursday Dec 12th: ELKE at El Cid. Doors at 6 p.m.

Thursday Dec 12th: Hooveriii at Zebulon. Doors at 8 p.m.

(I previously covered the side project Primitive Ring.) 

NFV Song Spotlight: Night Party's All That Fades

It is probably due to my desire to catch local bands before they gain a following that explains why I like to catch opening bands. I've occasionally shown up at venues an hour early (because I simply can't judge when the first band hits the stage) just so that I can catch the opener. And by desire to catch local bands, I mean being one of the first photographers to snap some concert photos.

Side note: that theory of being one of the first photographers to snap photos could also apply to the last band of the night, but depending on when that band hits the stage, there is something called needing to wake up the next morning to go to work. Trade-offs in life.   

Night Party at Zebulon

NFV Song Spotlight: Autogramm's Born Losers

Zebulon more often than not introduces me to bands that are new to me, but maybe not to others. This was the case on a recent Saturday night when Autogramm hit the stage just before 8:30 p.m. The band joked that there was a large contingent of Canadians in the audience. The band comes from Vancouver, British Columbia though their Instagram account also mentions Chicago and Seattle. I'm not sure if they all currently live in Vancouver or if they all grew up in Vancouver and now some of them live in the United States. Whatever to that wondering on my part, the band had their Canadian support crew in the audience. 

Autogramm at Zebulon

NFV Song Spotlight: Bruvvy's Concealer

I first crossed paths with Bruvvy at a WFNM night at Bar Lubitsch. At the time, they were recent arrivals from Miami. One of their Miami photographers was joining in on the fun. I saw them again a month later at another WFNM night, this one at Hotel Ziggy. In between those two dates, lead singer and guitarist Liz Varum broke her foot. She had to spend that second set sitting on a barstool, but the band still had their classic set. After only seeing the band twice, what would I call a classic set? A blow away set filled with head bangs, jumps, back to back stances, guitar and bass swung in wild fashion, and basically non-stop energy. Does this band even have any slow songs? Maybe they do, but I'm so into the set that I don't even notice that they've slowed it down. Their music is an electronic amalgamation of pop-rock intensity and attitude. 

Bruvvy at Harvard & Stone