Kickstart carry the true heart of rock'n'roll in their collective chests. They play roaring, contagious pub-anthems about drinking, gambling, rocking, drinking and drinking. DOWNLOAD: "Harmonica" from Kickstart(SBR12)
Secret Dakota Ring is the homemade indie-pop brainchild of Andy Ross. A candy factory! Symmetrical washes of electric guitars, sweet harmonies and tom-tom rolls. Hitsville chorii aplenty. DOWNLOAD: "The Fade to Black" from Cantarell (SBR26)
Benji Cossa makes sincerely beautiful homemade melodic pop with roots. Classic, mad-genius charm, ragged edges, and other-worldly singing. Direct, joyful, richly detailed music made by a very nice man who enjoys flying a kite. DOWNLOAD: "Sunset" by Between the Blue and the Green (SBR13)
The Gentlemen deliver original circus-country and dixieland-swing with plectrum banjo, string bass, dueling kazoos, foot percussion, & a triangle. Tight harmonies, matching suspenders, and good old Vaudevillian charm! DOWNLOAD: "William Howard Taft" from Heavy Petting (SBR 18)
Josh Kaufman makes songs that are hard to forget about. Ultra-melodic, lush, cinema-scope folk-pop about family, life, loss. Tinges of country, Dylan, big hooks. DOWNLOAD: "Run Away" from Off and Away(SBR16)