indie music artists

It is increasingly typical of music to make itself available without a major label contract. Musicians have the technology and the means of distribution in keeping with today. Downloads, Spotify, etc. make it easy to be an indie music artist. By definition, not on a major label.

Irwin Finger

Irwin Finger

As Roaming the Arts followers may have already guessed, I support artists both known and overlooked. RTA especially supports artists seen or known from personal connections. Irwin Finger has delighted folk audiences for over fifty years. Most recently he has performed a “live song” every morning for all of us cranky shut-ins.

Along that line and the recent passing of John Prine check out his sweet rendition of “Hello in There.”

 

Postmodern Jukebox

Postmodern Jukebox

also widely known by the acronym PMJ, is a rotating musical collective founded by arranger and pianist Scott Bradlee in 2011. PMJ is known for reworking popular modern music into different vintage genres, especially early 20th century forms such as swing and jazz. Wikipedia

Breaking that down…PMJ takes songs you know, great singers and players, then performs them in an arrangement of an entirely different form than the original.

Check out the PMJ YouTube channel for a wide range of illustrations.

Amy Rigby

Amy Rigby

Amy Rigby has made a life out of writing and singing about life. With bands Last Roundup and the Shams in eighties NYC East Village to her solo debut Diary Of A Mod Housewife out of nineties Williamsburg; through a songwriting career in 2000s Nashville and during the past decade with duo partner Wreckless Eric, she’s released records on visionary independent labels Rounder, Matador, Signature Sounds and reborn Stiff Records as well as her and Eric’s own Southern Domestic Recordings.  The Old Guys, her first solo album in a dozen years, measures the weight of heroes, home; family, friends and time. Philip Roth and Bob Dylan, CD/cassette players, touring, the wisdom of age and Walter White, groupies, Robert Altman, egg creams and mentors are paid tribute. Twelve songs written by Amy and recorded by Wreckless Eric in upstate New York, The Old Guys is the sound of a good girl grown up, never giving up.

Now a memoir joins her music. Girl to City, out now.

Victoria Vox

Victoria Vox

Victoria has taken the artful sound of the ukulele into eclectic new directions. Her music ranges from upbeat and clever to honest and moving, while incorporating her signature “mouth trumpet” and occasionally singing in French. Her delightful songwriting uses a unique palette of sounds and beats that delight audiences of all ages.

For a taste of Victoria combining Mouth Trumpet and Ukulele check out this Video

Check out Jack & the Vox. Another dimension when Victoria and her husband hit the road.

2020 diversions – see facebook posts for over 100 mini-sets which kept us company during the pandemic.

 

Mike Zito

Mike Zito

He may be one of the most lauded artists in the contemporary blues arena today, and rightfully so, but for Mike Zito, the thing that counts the most is maintaining his honesty, authenticity and integrity. Those are the qualities that have steered Zito’s career since the beginning and continue to define every effort he’s offered since.

​“I have nothing to hide; it seems my honesty is what people relate to most,” he once told Vintage Guitar magazine. “Anders (Osborne) told me early on, ‘If you don’t believe what you’re singing, you’ll never be a good singer.’ I try not to write fluff; I try to make every word count.”

​That point became convincingly clear with his last record 2018’s First Class Life, a collection of songs that detailed his journey from addiction to sobriety and the subsequent success he achieved through his award-winning body of work. A multiple award winner and nominee, Zito has built his career on an ability to tap into tradition while maintaining contemporary credence all at the same time.

Flow Tribe

Flow Tribe

is an American funk rock band based in New Orleans, Louisiana. The group contains six members who are all natives of New Orleans. The band was founded in 2004, and was featured on Episode 11 of MTV’s The Real World: New Orleans, which aired September 8, 2010. Wikipedia

 

 

Ariella

Ariella (and Nicolaas)

Infusing Funk, Jazz and Samba with Blues Soul and Tango, Award winning International Touring artists Ariella and Nicolaas (video) have created a memorable ear-catching sound. Formed in September of 2013 they quickly became one of the top acts in their native Tampa Bay music scene, as evidenced by their nomination for best local group in Tampa Bay and Ari for best Jazz vocalist. 

Ari and the Alibi’s seems to be the full band alter ego.

Snarky Puppy

Snarky Puppy

After a decade of relentless touring and recording in all but complete obscurity, the Texas-bred/New York-based quasi-collective suddenly found itself held up by the press and public as one of the major figures in the jazz world. But as the category names for all three of the band’s Grammy® awards would indicate (Best R&B Performance in 2014, Best Contemporary Instrumental Album in 2016 and 2017), Snarky Puppy isn’t exactly a jazz band. It’s not a fusion band, and it’s definitely not a jam band. It’s probably best to take Nate Chinen of the New York Times’ advice, as stated in an online discussion about the group, to “take them for what they are, rather than judge them for what they’re not.” (website)

Snarky Puppy joins another Roaming the Arts favorite Mingo Fishtrap as a band formed out of the wonderful music program at the University of North Texas.

Charlie Faye & the Fayettes

Charlie Faye & the Fayettes

“Musically, the group hearkens to Motown, Spector or the Brill Building: Charlie is emerging as a budding Carole King, and the songs are good enough to rate comparison to Goffin & King or Mann & Weil.” – Huffington Post 

“In a world of new soul singers who actually get what they’re talking about, enter the name of Charlie Faye and her unbeatable Fayettes to that list. They could go all the way.” – Bill Bentley, The Morton Report 

“The album stretches beyond the coy boundaries of ‘60s girl groups with the opener ‘Green Light,’ and though ‘Eastside’ could usher dancers down a Soul Train line, its Stax-styled groove and horn chart service a serious look at social gentrification.” – No Depression

“It’s impossible not to be enchanted by one of this year’s freshest, most delightful and all around grooviest releases.” – American Songwriter

Deanna Bogart

Deanna Bogart

When it comes to Deanna Bogart, everyone wants to claim her as their own — her hometown, her fans, her fellow musicians and even her instruments. She’s that good–and that good-natured.

Born in Detroit, Deanna spent her early years in Phoenix and New York City, climbing on any available piano bench to plunk and play with preternatural panache.  Around the age of six,  she was “gently removed” from the Brooklyn Conservatory of Music for playing piano by ear instead of learning to read music. While in middle school, Deanna yearned to play the saxophone. Typical of those times though, she was told, “Girls play the clarinet, not the sax.” Thankfully for us all, that tide has changed.

Today, Deanna Bogart is an award-winning multi-instrumentalist and multifaceted musician whose fans value the diversity of her genre-free zone.  As a bandleader/singer/songwriter/producer/pianist/sax player, Deanna combines the best of boogie-woogie, contemporary blues, country and jazz into a splendid blend she calls “blusion.”

Deanna’s fusion of blusion — spontaneous, sophisticated, fearless and fun — has garnered her three consecutive Blues Music Awards’ Horn Instrumentalist of the Year for 2008, 2009 and 2010 and an endorsement contract with Rico Reeds. She has won, at last count, more than 20 Wammies, the music awards for the hotly contested Washington, D.C. region.

Recognized for her dazzling keyboards, soulful saxophone, smoky vocals and cut-above songwriting, Deanna easily wins the hearts of fans on land and at sea on chartered cruises.  She is a featured player in the Legendary Rhythm and Blues Revue, jamming with Tommy Castro, Magic Dick (founding member of the J. Geils Band), as well as prominent guitar slingers. Deanna remembers well her early years as a budding musician and is an avid educator and mentor, sharing her insight and wisdom with students of all ages.

 

When you hear the word Indie, what picture comes to your mind? Maybe someone with long hair, calmly stringing an acoustic guitar and looking sad. They are easily seen as artistic, soft-spoken singers who recite poems in a gentle alto tone. This image of Indie music artists has a lot of historical steepness, but how do you describe music artists in Indie? With Roaming the Arts, all your confusion and controversy become a thing of the past. Read on to learn more about male and female indie pop artists.

Who Are Indie Music Artists

The term ”Indie” is used as an abbreviation to represent ‘Independent’. It implies that the producers of this music genre are independent of any commercial record label. Categorizing indie music artists as being independent singers of many genres is different from the ancient method of describing Indie, looking at musicians like Mac Demarco and Tame Impala. They are a group of alternative rock musicians, whose music genre has evolved into Indie rock. And although most Indie artists are classified as alternative rock, it has caused a bit of controversy whereby many independent rock artists don’t collaborate with independent labels. Many independent music artists don’t belong to a single music genre or style, and they also make categorized self-published music that you can categorize.

Why Is The Genre Called Indie?

Indie music is a product of strong common musical threads that has existed between many artists through the years. This music genre is poetic and introspective and this background dates back to frontiers like Bob Dylan the Nobel Laureate and other similar musicians. Although the music artists in Indie are termed independent, they often do not have a streamlined music genre. Other musicians like Nick Drake gave Indie music the dreariness it is characterized with. The demure and subtle disposition of Indie music was the formative aspect of the business.

Popular Indie Music Artists 

There are lots of singers in Indie music that define the genre and music style. Dylan and Drake belong to a group of Proto-Indie experts and they paved the way for new musicians who expanded the genre to what it is today. Musicians like Elliot Smith, Nirvana, and other first-hand Indie singers still set the pace. The likes of Foals, Coldplay, Frank Ocean, Radiohead, Pavement, The Maccabees, Wiz Khalifa, The Cults, and Billie Eilish. The list is endless, and you’ll be amazed at some music artists in Indie. In the end, whether your favorite artist is Indie or not, music is about the soul. When you don’t have words to express yourself, music does it. But with a deeper understanding of the historical aspect of Indie music, you’ll better appreciate the songs.

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