Folk troubadour, Matthew Morgan, pulls from Nick Drake as much as Neil Young. His tenor voice floats above delicate arrangements, but its warm, soulful character gives the feeling of great depth. He is a storyteller and a multi-instrumentalist. He crafts his songs playing the guitar, piano, organ, harmonica, and a variety of other stringed instruments.

A lifelong Midwesterner, Morgan grew up in Ohio in a musical family — his mother is an award-winning vocal and piano coach, his grandfather a professional saxophone player from the big band era. At the age of seven, he began singing solos in church and he has been pursuing the stage ever since. Morgan studied opera and classical voice at Capital University Conservatory of Music, followed by a stint studying musical theater at Kent State University, since musical concerts are popular these days and many people assist to these events and even get tickets as the hadestown tickets online, to enjoy one of these concerts.

Solo success led to the formation of a proper band, Matthew Morgan and the Lost Brigade. The group’s 2012 effort, Found, was nominated for three Indie Music Channel awards. Two years ago, Morgan parted ways with The Lost Brigade and recorded a new solo EP with producer Nate Lockwood. While The Lost Brigade’s sound was indebted to contemporary indie rockers like Wilco and the Decemberists, the upcoming Empathy for Inanimate Objects EP calls to mind the happier moments of Elliott Smith or the open-ended ponderings of Tom Brosseau.

Have a listen via Bandcamp or Soundcloud. The album was engineered and mixed by Nate Lockwood.

“Lost At Sea” by Matthew Morgan

Otherworldly and downtempo indie-pop artist, Steve Benjamins, released his new EP Sightlines on May 15. Like all of his EPs, Benjamins plays almost all of the instruments on the album (piano, guitar, synths, drums, bass) and is the sole-songwriter.

With the gentle ebb and flow from his truly organic music, there is a very raw sense of humanity in Benjamins’ work. He is an artist that Indie Shuffle described as “A little bit like Justin Vernon and Michael Stipe.”

The Toronto-based singer-songwriter has also been compared to Bon Iver, Patrick Watson, James Vincent McMorrow, Mutual Benefit and Sufjan Stevens.

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“We Used to Live” by Steve Benjamins

Soul, folk, indie-rock artist, Matthew Santos, hails from Chicago, Illinois. Recently he released his album, Into The Further, on June 2. Members of his band include himself on vocals and guitar, Jon Deitemyer (drums), Emma Dayhuff (Bass), Aviva Jaye and Sara Lim (additional vocals), Chihsuan Yang and Maria Storm (violins), Oana Tatu (viola), Katinka Kleijn (cello), James Davis (trumpet), and Steve Duncan (trombone). Plus, string arrangements by Matt Ulery.

Watch the music video for “Seven Years” via Audiotree Live.

In 2008 Santos’ world had undergone a drastic change with the international success of his “Superstar” collaboration with Lupe Fiasco. After the world-wide success of the Grammy-nominated song, Santos willingly stepped back from the flash and bang of the lime light and returned to the Midwest to become grounded again in his grass roots, soul-infused, indie-folk-rock project that had been put on hold for almost a year of constant touring. Santos released two records, This Burning Ship of Fools (2010) and Quickly Disappearing (2012).

Six years later, Santos has six records and two Grammy nominations under his belt; over 300 live performances world-wide; appearances on David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel, Ellen, Craig Ferguson; and multiple performances at Lollapalooza, Coachella, Glastonbury and Bonaroo. Currently independent, Santos is working on his seventh official release entitled Into The Further with a new trio based in Chicago, and in collaboration with Candy Rat Records. He continues to tour the world over with his unique style of beat-boxing and looping — achieving a massive sound to accompany his renowned voice and heart-felt, soulfully crafted songs.

Additionally, Santos has started an exciting new collaboration with fellow Chicago creatives from bands Hey Champ and Gemini Club to make up the dark RnB, 80’s electro-synth-pop-rock group called MONAKR. Their debut EP is set for a summer 2015 release.

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“Into The Further” by Matthew Santos

Ethereal and spacey pop-rock gem, Lindsay Murray, is the mastermind behind the truly exciting project, Gretchen’s Wheel (a reference to a beautiful and timeless musical composition by Schubert). Featuring Ken Stringfellow of The Posies, R.E.M. and Big Star, as well as Ira Elliot of Nada Surf on drums, Murray was able to pull together something very special on her new record Fragile State (released January 27).

Speaking to the delicate place of mankind in the world and the difficulties that we face on a daily basis, Gretchen’s Wheel is the music of hope for a better future. Reminiscent of Matthew Sweet and Nada Surf these wonderfully sad songs will guide you towards inner peace and a sense of belonging in what is too often a turbulent world.

You may stream the album via Bandcamp and Soundcloud.

For Murray it was the melodic, hook-filled power pop sounds of Matthew Sweet that provided her a formal entrance into the music world. At the age of fourteen, she discovered Sweet’s 1995 album 100% Fun and was immediately compelled to pick up a guitar for the first time.

Although born and raised in rural Tennessee, she moved in a different direction from the well-worn musical traditions of nearby Nashville, finding herself altogether more at home alongside independent, forward-thinking musicians of the 90s. Later, she developed an interest in classical music. This interest led her to explore vocal training and opera repertoire.

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“Second to Last” by Gretchen’s Wheel

New Jersey-based indie-pop act Bitter’s Kiss is teen singer-songwriter Chloe Baker (vocals, guitar, piano), backed by the musical talents of her father, Michael Baker (guitar, piano, bass, drums).

Reflecting on the emotional aspects of suburban life and the deeper meaning within day-to-day experience, Baker shows us a little bit of our own fragile humanity with her self-titled debut (released on March 31, 2015). Together, Baker and her father arranged, recorded and produced Bitter’s Kiss over the past several months. It gives us a chance for self-reflection through the eyes of a young girl.

Baker currently attends High Tech High School, an arts academy in North Bergen, New Jersey. She has been serious about writing music for about a year. She uses songwriting as a diary and a means of exploring the world around her. For example, the track “The Rope” examines her feelings about the suicide of a distant cousin from a very religious background and the importance of staying true to one’s identity and finding one’s own path in life.

Stream the music video for The Rope via Vimeo.

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“The Rope” by Bitter’s Kiss

The popadelic outfit from Copenhagen, Denmark, The New Investors, has a long lasting love for west coast sixties pop. Add to this a splash of breezy wistfulness à la Cass McCombs and Real Estate.

At the moment the band is in the studio producing songs for their debut album which is going to be released in August 2015. The New Investors are: Kristian Karup (drums), Fredy Kaalhauge (bass, vocals), Søren Tiemroth (guitar, keys, vocals), Glenn Müller (vocal, guitar).

“Atún” is the new single, which serves up a somewhat bizarre mixture of Copacabanian surf and psychedelic Americana. Have a listen to “Atûn” and other tracks via SoundCloud.

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“Atûn” by The New Investors

Folk singer-songwriter duo CommonUnion59 is made up of Steve McKenzie (vocal, guitar, banjo) and Laura Malasig (vocal, piano, glockenspiel). They write and perform original music that is both personal and universal, expressing the emotions and experiences of life in an intimate lyrical and melodic style. Kevin Hayes lends drums and percussion. And Jake Leckie plays bass.

Songs of love, hope, dreams, happiness, and heartache, inspired by their
own lives and the world around them. The results of their musical union can be heard on their debut release, Magnolia Waltz. 2014 has been an exciting year for CommonUnion59. As they continue to write songs and perform live, they have recorded brand new songs for their latest release, Heartbeat Serenade. It was released on February 11. You may stream the full album via Soundcloud.

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“It’s Alright” by CommonUnion59

Raised on the east side of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, acid-folk jazz-rock singer-songwriter, Arthur (Art) Fowler, keeps mining his sound from his long time interests in Wes Montgomery, Jimi Hendrix, psychedelic icon Jerry Garcia, and Latino megastar Carlos Santana. His songwriting may evoke Neil Young, or James Taylor, but his vocal style also draws on classic sounds like Nat King Cole and Billie Holiday.

In college town cover bands and jazz jams, while studying literature and languages, Fowler collaborated with the likes of band leader Mark Schlaefer. He joined acclaimed vocalist Eva Denia’s first jazz ensemble as she was beginning her career in Valencia, Spain, and neighboring resort cities on the Mediterranean coast. In Valencia, Fowler also studied with one of Spain’s top jazz guitarists, Joan Soler.

Fowler is now playing jazz, blues, and pop in Tokyo (Shinjuku) in various settings including the acoustic folk and rock band AJA with one of Tokyo’s foremost Irish fiddlers, multi-instrumentalist Jim Ediger, and bassist Alan Gleason.

His album What’s Keeping Me Going was released on February 14, 2014. Have a listen to the original tracks via SoundCloud.

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“Please Try” by Arthur Fowler

Orange County, California-based singer/songwriter, Nate Paladino, released his Good Boy EP on November 7, 2014. His lyrical approach lies on the dark and introspective side with his blues, ballads, rock, and 50’s-60’s pop influences looming large in his songwriting. Members include, Nate Paladino on guitar and vocals; Jon Hyrkas on drums; Frank Fermi and Anthony Shadduck on bass; Steve Maggiora and Danial Kirkpatrick on keyboard; and Lauren Anderson, Sydney Endicott, and Madeline Bukaty on background vocals.

“I’m Nate Paladino and I sing sad songs that sometimes sound happy. I have ballads, I have blues, I have pop, and I have a song about choking down the hair of the dog on a rusty plane over the Pacific. I try to capture some of the intimacy that Roy Orbison had in abundance, I draw on the energy of Howlin’ Wolf, and I’m constantly chasing the lyrical standard that people like Leonard Cohen or Nick Cave set … my bread and butter is bar gigs in Orange County and Los Angeles. I don’t have a dance routine, but I can make a crowd shut up and listen.” ~ Nate Paladino

Streaming of Good Boy EP is available via SoundCloud.

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“Buy Your Heart” by Nate Paladino