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Matt Wertz is a singer/songwriter. Originally from LaVale, MD he now calls Nashville, Tennessee, home. Wertz’s interest in music started when he was young, but it was his interest in visual art that led him to the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign where he graduated with a degree in Industrial Design. It was while he was living in the dorms that his musical talents and ambitions grew. Cutting his teeth at Christian youth group Young Life concerts and tour dates with Jars of Clay, Wertz independently released Somedays in 2001, followed two years later by 23 Places.

Otis Clay is one of the premier deep soul and gospel singers working today. His raw, fiery vocals drive an energetic and danceable blend of soul, r&b and blues in the tradition of such deep soul singers as Otis Redding, Wilson Pickett and Solomon Burke. Born in Waxhaw, Mississippi, Clay began his career in gospel singing with groups such as The Pilgrim Harmonizers, The Gospel Songbirds and the legendary Sensational Nightingales. A long time resident of Chicago’s West Side, Otis Clay is actively involved as a board member of People For New Direction, a community-based non-profit creating economic initiatives to address a number of issues on the West Side.

Robinella’s career began with a sort of luck that rarely comes to most artists within their lifetime. What started out as a simple husband-and-wife duo fresh out of college quickly grew to a full-fledged band that blended Bluegrass, Country and Jazz. The combination of Robinella’s honey-sweet vocals with violin, mandolin, bass, drums and piano captivated audiences, thus creating the ever popular Robinella & the CC Stringband.

Atlas Sound is the solo moniker of Deerhunter frontman/provocateur Bradford Cox, so named since 1994, when a sixth-grade Bradford made recordings on a karaoke cassette machine bearing the words ‘Atlas Sound’. Citing the “ideas that I can’t make work with a five piece rock band” as the basis of his solo material, Cox’s work as Atlas Sound represents a feral and prolific musical voice. With its scorched beauty, stream of consciousness, and wonderfully cohesive pop narrative, Atlas Sound is another outlet for Cox’s relentless creativity, distinctly remaining the product of just one man’s vision.

Started by keyboardist/singer/songwriter Eric Stang, this band humbly began as a jam between Eric and studio drummer Mario Cerutti in the practice rooms of DePaul University. After Eric and Mario played together for years, honing their craft, they recruited singer Rob Knapik to join the band. Finally, bassist Geoff Shell, a veteran of the Chicago jam scene, joined the band. The members of Polarcode draw upon their collective experience of playing Rock, Pop, Blues, Jazz, Electronica and Hip Hop music. They are inspired by bands like Radiohead, Coldplay and Muse for their lush melodies, crunchy grooves and catchy hooks.

Caveman was born in New York in January of 2010, when a group of friends decided it was time to put aside their boyhood ways and start being men. The sound they crafted in that large, dark room is equal parts chamber pop, dreamscape, and horror film score. At a Caveman show you will hear four-part harmonies, spaced-out guitars, synths, and, yes, much drumming. The Brooklyn-based indie rock outfit is comprised of singer/guitarist Matthew Iwanusa, bassist Jeff Berrall, drummer Stefan Marolachakis, and guitarists Jimmy Carbonetti and Sam Hopkins.

Mixing the grand-scale guitar attack of Sonic Youth and My Bloody Valentine with a melodic sense and lyrical perspective that recalls Bob Dylan roaring down Highway 61, Philadelphia’s the War on Drugs are the creation of a pair of Dylan fans, Adam Granduciel and Kurt Vile, who met at a party in 2003. After several drinks, Granduciel and Vile discovered their shared fascination with the Bard of Minnesota, and began working on songs together. By 2005, the pair had enough material to launch a proper band, and the War on Drugs were born.

Daughter of legendary French poet and singer Serge Gainsbourg and the English actress Jane Birkin, Charlotte’s debut album, simply called ‘Charlotte Forever’, was a collection of songs written by her father. Lavishly received in France, the album hinted at the possibility of a long recording career. Instead, however, it was the cinema that gripped Charlotte’s attention. For her third album, Charlotte collaborated with Beck.

Chris Bathgate is an American singer/songwriter originally born in rural Iowa, raised in rural Illinois, and currently residing in Pinckney, Michigan. He began drawing attention as a solo artist in 2005 upon the release of his first album, Silence is for Suckers, after a slew of self-produced EPs / Singles and a stint in the short-lived (but much loved) group The Descent of the Holy Ghost Church. After several years of struggle Bathgate has reemerged on the other side with a more realized version of his signature country-tinged gothic folk.

An enticing blend of indie pop hooks and crisp electronic beats in the style first perfected by Saint Etienne’s Foxbase Alpha, Little Dragon are a showcase for Swedish-Japanese singer Yukimi Nagano, a mainstay of the European downtempo and lounge scenes. Based in Gothenburg, Sweden, Nagano first broke through in 2000 and 2001 as the singer on several singles by Swell Session. Little Dragon, by way of contrast, is Nagano’s own band, featuring her close high school friends keyboardist Hakan Wirenstrand, bassist Fredrik Kallgren Wallin, and drummer Erik Bodin.

Guided by Voices (often abbreviated as GBV) is an American indie rock band originating from Dayton, Ohio. Beginning with the band’s formation in 1983, it made frequent personnel changes but always maintained the presence of principal songwriter Robert Pollard. Guided by Voices initially disbanded in 2004, though many of its former members remain musically involved in solo careers or other projects. They plan to return in 2012 with Let’s Go Eat the Factory. Noted at first for its lo-fi aesthetic and typically Portastudio four-tracks-to-cassette production methods, Guided by Voices’ music revealed influences from post-British Invasion garage rock, psychedelic rock, progressive rock, punk rock and post-punk.

Rubblebucket sounds like a kaleidoscope looks — a continually changing pattern of ebullient drum beats, harmonies and horn exclamations, led by the buoyant vocals and saxophone of Kalmia Traver and the hyperkinetic energy of trumpet player Alex Toth. The musical couple formed Rubblebucket in 2007 after finding like-minded players at an art opening in a defunct milk bottling plant in Burlington, VT. Discontent with playing the typical accompanying roles so often assumed by horn players, the two built an eight-piece band with a vision to create pop-friendly music that embraces skill, complexity and atypical arrangements.

“In his mercurial career Mr. Martin, 63, has gone from manic, rabbit-eared stand-up comedian to introspective memoirist. He has made movies for Carl Reiner (“The Jerk”) and David Mamet (“The Spanish Prisoner”) alike. Through his many incarnations a banjo has never been far from his reach, whether the instrument was an integral part of his act or a tool to help him unwind in private. [His two bluegrass albums are opportunities] to show off one of his less celebrated, least commercial skills, and to reimmerse himself in a musical genre he never fully gave up.” – New York Times, 2009

Nature Show is Calvin Marty, Wilam Tarris, Paul “Woodsy” Quaintance and Nevus Lotesto. Recognized for their live shows under their previous name, The Sunken Ship, Nature Show play rock music that is at once epic and intimate. The guitars may scream, the vocals soar, and the drums and bass pound, but Nature Show’s songs are driven primarily by strong melodies and heartfelt lyrics. By drawing solid crowds to Chicago venues, Nature Show has built a reputation for playing high-energy shows with a personal feel. With their debut album completed, they are eager to return to playing live.

James Morrison is a singer/songwriter from Rugby, Warwickshire, England. He says that his musical influences include Al Green, Otis Redding, Cat Stevens and The Kinks. At 13, Morrison began to learn guitar when his uncle showed him how to play a blues riff. After years of playing other musicians’ songs, he eventually started to write his own. He became the supporting artist for Corinne Bailey Rae on the tour supporting her debut album. In 2006, he debuted with his single You Give Me Something which became a hit single around Europe and Japan.

Mayer Hawthorne grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, just outside of Detroit, and vividly remembers, as a child, driving with his father and tuning the car radio in to the rich soul and jazz history the region provided. “Most of the best music ever made came out of Detroit,” claims the singer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist, who counts Isaac Hayes, Leroy Hutson, Mike Terry, and Barry White among his influences, but draws the most inspiration from the music of Smokey Robinson, Curtis Mayfield, and the legendary songwriting and production trio of Lamont Dozier, Brian Holland, and Eddie Holland Jr.

Homelife is not a definite entity. It’s hard to pin down their sound, how many people are in the band or even which band they are in! Nearly every Homelife track has a different line up. Less of a collective, Homelife is more of a pool of musicians whose talents are marshalled by reluctant foreman Paddy Steer. There’s a do-it-yourself ethos evident in Homelife. All material is recorded at Paddy’s house with musicians doing their bit in small groups. Whilst the majority of the co-operative are Manchester based, male vocalist Faron Brooks lives on Vancouver Island, Canada and key member Simon King is based in London.

Butcher the Bar is the nom de plume of indie folk singer/songwriter Joel Nicholson. Based in Rotherham, United Kingdom, his thoughtfully crafted melodies are augmented by his gentle vocals, reminiscent of a more hopeful Elliott Smith. He began writing songs for Butcher the Bar in 2007, debuting that year with a 7" including the song “Get Away,” later featured in an episode of the action-comedy TV series Chuck. Full-length debut Sleep at Your Own Speed followed in 2008, finding Nicholson on guitar, melodica, banjo, and accordion to address coming-of-age themes. For sophomore recording For Each a Future Tethered, released in 2011, the addition of horns, reeds, and piano culminated in lush arrangements in the vein of Australian indie pop trio the Lucksmiths.

Trombone Shorty is the best-known moniker for Troy Andrews. He was born into a well-known New Orleans musical family in 1986. Andrews began playing music at a very early age and was playing professionally at the age of five. He mastered trombone, trumpet, and drums, eventually choosing the trombone as his principal instrument and thus picking up his nickname. So advanced was he that, at the age of eight, a club in the city’s Tremé district, where he was born and raised, was named Trombone Shorts in his honor. Andrews became a member of the New Orleans Center for the Creative Arts’ (NOCCA) musical education program for high school students. At NOCCA, Andrews took music theory, ear training, and instrumental instruction courses under Clyde Kerr, Jr. and Kent Jordan, among others. In 2003 he was one of five young musicians chosen as the subject for a PBS television documentary, and also performed on the network’s nationally broadcast tribute to Louis Armstrong, directed by Wynton Marsalis.

Raised by musicians, Janalee Swain has spent most of her life as a student of sound. Although the majority of her background is as a Jazz pianist, in 2001 her musical spectrum expanded when she began collaboration with the brothers Heneghan forming the band soon to be known as MayaVada. Since that time, Janalee has used music as a medium for self discovery. Her more recent collaborations with socially conscious hip-hop artist Momo Smitt and her simultaneous induction into the passionate world of Argentine Tango are the inspirations behind the release of her new solo E.P. “Learning To See In The Dark”.

Daniel was born in Montreal and has been writing songs and leading bands there all his life, from very early teenaged days in the Harry Rags, to his later endeavors with Shoot the Moon and Percy Farm. He signed to Secret City Records in 2010 to record his first solo album, High Twilight. Daniel is also an award-winning filmmaker, and is just as likely to draw inspiration from Federico Fellini or Ingmar Bergman as Leonard Cohen or Lou Reed. His 2008 short film, Three Mothers, won the A&E Short Filmmaker Award in 2009, and his latest, L’homme qui se croyait l’eau, recently screened at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival.

Joseph Arthur’s music has been described as “a dynamic swirl of noise that somehow appears magically around him” (NPR), “emotional (but tuneful) exorcisms” (Entertainment Weekly), and “lush, poetic, squalling, spiritual, and strange. Just like life” (Boston Globe). Vanity Fair has hailed him as “one of our most emotionally revealing and talented singer-songwriters.” Michael Stipe once told the Los Angeles Times, “Jo is one of those rare writer-performers where you get the sense, whatever you believe, that something greater is being channeled through his music and voice…It touches something very deep and universal.”

Blue October isn’t just your average, everyday rock band from Texas. The group was formed in Houston in the late ‘90s by lead singer/songwriter/guitarist Justin Furstenfeld, his drummer brother Jeremy, multi-instrumentalist Ryan Delahoussaye, and later joined by guitarist/vocalist CB Hudson and bassist Matt Noveskey. The group’s epic live shows and exploration of subjects like mental depression, drug use, love, betrayal, forgiveness, and cathartic transcendence have helped them amass a strong, loyal following through five albums, three of which have been released by Universal Records. That brand of intensity is welded to wide screen sound that evokes an array of eclectic influences such as prog-rockers Peter Gabriel, Pink Floyd, Flaming Lips, U2, and Coldplay, attracting a hardcore following who not only relate, but ardently sing along with the band’s songs.

Ani DiFranco’s career as a singer, songwriter, and guitarist is proof positive that “alternative rock” can mean much much more than a group of guys with electric guitars and a hefty record contract. In a culture where multinational corporations sing the praises of the “indie” aesthetic, Ani has created a truly provocative means of producing music on her own terms and getting it to listeners. She has broken just about every rule of the music industry, and in the process has paved the way for other artists, emerging and established performers alike, seeking real alternatives to corporate control.

Boyce Avenue, a Florida-based band popular for its strong acoustic roots and melodic rock sound, consists of the three brothers Alejandro, Fabian, and Daniel Manzano. The band first came together in 2000, when Alejandro (lead vocals, guitar, piano) and Fabian (guitar, vocals), then 14 and 16 years old, respectively, started playing guitar. Within 3 months, Alejandro and Fabian took to the stage with their older brother Daniel (bass, percussion, vocals), then 20 years old, to perform before an audience of over 350 at a Pine View High School show. This would be the first of many public performances for the band at the school where its members had all been students together throughout their childhoods.

Native Chicagoan, Eleanor, is part of the indie rock duo The Fiery Furnaces with her brother Matthew Friedberger. In the band she contributes the majority of the vocals both on record and during their live performances. Eleanor grew up singing with her grandmother, Olga Sarantos and family in a Greek Orthodox Church. Eleanor Friedberger is an exceptional songwriter herself, playing a variety of instruments and crafting the very sorts of choruses that made you fall in love with The Fiery Furnaces in the first place. Nowhere is all of this more apparent than on her very first solo album, Last Summer, out on Merge Records on July 12th, 2011.

There has to be some credit given for this band’s name alone — co-founder John Gourley once explained it as an attempt to create a demi-mythic entity bigger than the individual members. Formed in Wasilla, AK, Portugal. The Man (yes, there’s a period in the middle of their name) grew out of the ashes of Anatomy of a Ghost, a post-hardcore band whose vocalist and guitarist — Gourley and Zach Carothers, respectively — opted to continue working together. Rounding out the new band’s lineup was keyboardist/singer Wes Hubbard, himself a veteran of other Alaskan groups, and the trio eventually relocated from Alaska to Portland, OR.

Incubus rose to become one of the most popular alt-metal bands of the new millennium, setting themselves apart from a crowded field with a somewhat less-negative outlook and tireless touring. Formed in 1991 in the San Fernando Valley suburb of Calabasas, CA, group members Brandon Boyd (vocals, percussion), Mike Einziger (guitar), Alex Katunich (aka Dirk Lance; bass), and José Pasillas (drums) were all tenth grade classmates when they got together. Their early funk-metal sound was heavily influenced by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but broadened over the next few years to incorporate thrash, rap-metal, post-grunge rock, and grinding alt-metal à la Korn or the Deftones. By the time the group graduated from high school, they had already been playing all-ages shows around southern California on a regular basis.

Gillian Welch first appeared on the folk scene as a young singer/songwriter armed with a voice and sensibility far beyond her years, earning widespread acclaim for her deft, evocative resurrection of the musical styles most commonly associated with rural Appalachia of the early 20th century. Welch was born in 1967 in Manhattan and grew up in West Los Angeles, where her parents wrote material for the comedy program The Carol Burnett Show. It was as a child that she became fascinated by bluegrass and early country music, in particular the work of the Stanley Brothers, the Delmore Brothers, and the Carter Family. — CMT.com

Justin Vernon is Bon Iver. His Anglicized nom-de-disque is a play on the French for good winter, bon hiver, and it reflects the time in which his project was born. Recorded in a snow-bound log cabin in Northwestern Wisconsin, Vernon’s debut record For Emma, Forever Ago is indivisible from its romantic, Thoreau-esque back-story. The resulting record, is a set of sad, sad songs crackling with the low-fidelity feeling of the first Iron and Wine album, the cabin’s natural reverb granting Vernon’s soulful music an eerie, charmed, ‘alive’ air.