A guide to New England’s best bands
By The Howl Street Team
Nemes
Always fun. Aways inventive. This indie band with a rockin’ violin are a nonstop thrill ride of genre-bending songs that reinvent the game.
nemesband.com
Bad Rabbits
Electrifying and fun pop-funk guaranteed to move you to the dance floor.
badrabbits.com
Dwight & Nicole
This duo’s infectious and soulful blues can take a room from simmer to boil in less than 60 seconds.
dwightandnicole.com
Sarah Borrello
Sometimes you’ve just got the pipes. Borrello’s powerhouse vocals have surprising depth and range, and she’s a firecracker on stage.
sarahborrellomusic.com
Waylon Speed
These Yankees couldn’t be more drenched in southern rock influences and we love it. Blues-fueled rock guitar, sweet harmonies and a supercharged stomp out of Burlington, VT.
waylondspeed.blogspot.com
Love in Stockholm
Snazzy horn lines, satisfyingly twitchy rhythms and perfectly in-tune harmonies lend to a great big sound that makes rock seem like gospel.
loveinstockholm.com
Reks
Indie hip-hop at its best. Reks’ 2013 Revolution Cocktail is on fire with ill beats and socially conscious lyrics that make us think.
rekshiphop.com
Tall Heights
These kinds of instantly compelling voices don’t come around often. Haunting harmonies and ambient soundscapes layered over strings alternate between bouncy and melancholic.
tallheights.com
Black Eskimo
Dark and danceable synth pop with sumptuous melodies.
blackeskimo.bandcamp.com
Tan Vampires
Neither tan nor vampires, this indie folk rock band will suck you in with soaring melodies and clever song writing.
tanvampires.com
Deer Tick
Thoughtful alt rock with an intimate intensity that can break your heart and give you goose bumps.
deertickmusic.com
President Soup
Hypnotic jazz that drums up psychedelic soundscapes and assembles to full-fledge 70‘s style groovy house jams.
nicebassproductions.com/artists/president-soup/
The Mallett Brothers Band
High octane alt-country rock that will make you want to drink moonshine and dance with strangers.
mallettbrothersband.com
Ula Ruth
Good, strong guitar-laden pop blending humor, hooks and heart.
ularuth.com
Spose
Fly beats and a flow as smooth as buttah from this rapper with highly quotable and sometimes hilarious confessions.
pdank.com
Coke Weed
Slow and dreamy psych rock with purring vocals by Nina Donghia lulls us to laid-back places.
cokeweed.com
Della Mae
Bluegrass from a powerhouse female quintet out of Boston.
dellamae.com
Gentlemen Hall
A six-piece band named after a speakeasy, blending interesting synth-pop and electro alt rock.
gentlemenhall.com
Kingsley Flood
Hard-rocking folk punk with an outlaw spirit and a hint of The Kinks.
kingsleyflood.com
Erika Van Pelt
This Season 11 American Idol finalist delivers dance pop in the vein of Christina Aguilera
erikavanpelt.com
Gang of Thieves
This is how Vermont gets it done. Funky, punchy, catchy and absolutely dance-worthy.
thegangofthieves.com
The Low Anthem
Moody, ethereal and swelling epics laser pointed at the heart.
lowanthem.com
You Won’t
Dreamy harmonies, mellow, measured, but oh so beautiful. Check out their videos on
youwontmusic.com.
Violent Mae
Spacey low-key pop sets the mood for quiet nights and a bottle of red courtesy of singer Becky Kessler’s deep and breathy vocals.
violentmae.bandcamp.com