We are swiftly moving through 2022 with even more music I have been learning about. These last few months have been quite a rollercoaster for me, filled with some very low lows and some very high highs. Notably, I learned of most of the musicians these past few months from seeing them live in concerts. I love getting introduced to a musician through their live performance because you get to learn more about them than simply listening to their music and only using one of your senses. So with that being said, let’s get this ball rolling…
May
I was first introduced to Arlo Parks through my musician of the month in January, because she was featured in a song by the band, Easy Life. I really like her gentle and soothing voice and was curious about her own work. She was also performing in my area and I considered getting tickets (but didn’t end up going). I was drawn to Arlo’s backing Hip Hop-esque backing beats with her ultra-feminine vocals.
June
This month I discovered not one, but two new musicians. The first is a country singer based in Austin, Texas named Lucas Hudgins. I learned about him through a number of former bandmates of (yes, that band,) Uncle Lucius. A number of former Uncle Lucians? Uncle Lucius bandmates? now write music and play on recordings for Mr. Hudgins (such as the first song of his below). He’s currently releasing new music as I write this, so I’ve been keeping up with him since June. I’ve only liked a few of his songs, but I’ve found they are really catchy nonetheless. His older stuff is more traditional Country Western, and his newer stuff has got some more funk to it.
The next band for June is a sharp turn in a different direction, Tank and the Bangas. I saw them as part of a big concert of many New Orleans-based musicians, so I decided to look them up ahead of the show to familiarize myself with their music. This lively group of musicians relies heavily on rapping but the two main vocalists’ cutesy-girly voices make their sound unique and stand out. Their instrumentation also has a strong sense of whimsy, a fun kind of rap, I don’t typically hear.
July
As with last month, I learned of this month’s musician, Buffalo Hunt by seeing her in concert. She was the opener for David Ramirez, a previous “new musician of the month.” Through my musical research, I learned that she is the fiancé of another musician I’m a fan of, Shakey Graves. He actually duets with Buffalo Hunt (real name: Stephanie Hunt) in her song, placed third below. I was drawn to her Hippie kind of stylings that I heard on YouTube, like the songs below. However, live, she performed quite differently and didn’t sing any of her songs that I had discovered online, which threw me for a loop. Still, I enjoyed my introduction to her music.
August
This month’s band came to me on a whim. The month was really busy for me and I was struggling to decide on a new musician to commit to discovering. Like with Tank and the Bangas, this month’s musician, Little Dragon was the opener for a Leon Bridges concert I went to. Although the Little Dragon has been around since the 1990’s, I had never heard of them until the concert. I immediately vibed with their energetic and danceable, electric sounds and upbeat tunes. Their music feels like a mix of House plus Electronic, which aren’t typically my go-to genres, but it’s fun to switch it up.
Endlessly Waffle 