Happy New Year, Deli-rious seekers of new, exciting, emerging music!
If you’ve been following us for a while, you should know that January is the month when our regional Year End Polls for Emerging Artists are in full bloom!
The first leg of our poll is called "Open Submissions," and, in it, we allow all local artists (in this case NYC ones, since you are reading the NYC blog) to submit their music for consideration. After a screening process involving three of our editors or writers, we pick a few per genre – here are the first results for the Songwriter/Rootsy Pop category!
Total submissions in this category: 18
Artists qualified to the next stage (i.e. the Readers’ Poll, starting around 01.20):
1. Pam Steebler – 7.87
We are rarely entranced by bluesy pop/rock, maybe because – to be pulled off properly – the genre requires monstrous chutzpa, as in… "the balls of those who are really good at something." But we’ve got to concede to Pam Steebler that her "Give In" EP’s two opening songs are… "da bomb." "Mind Reader," in particular (streaming below), has the power and the beauty to light a flare of soulful passion even in the heart of the most unflappable of indie rockers.
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2. Laura & Greg – 7.5
Curiously enough, the second placed band in this chart couldn’t sound more different from the first – how are these two acts in the same category? The answer is in the word "pop" and "roots" – elements these artists shares, but with different approaches. Laura & Greg’s folk pop is gentle, intimate, sparse and DIY. Their peaceful harmonies and placid atmospheres refer back to the folk-pop explosion of the ’60s, revising and adapting it to our DIY days.
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2. Afternoon Men – 7.5
Afternoon Men’s song and video for single "Parking Lots and Basements" (streaming) has an edge that screams "Manhattan" – you know, that borough offering the "bourgeois" kind of fun. (Oh yeah, you can say that about Williamsburg too!). Whoever wrote that song, certainly knows how to navigate that scene, where sophistication and charm can go farther than good looks – at least with the smart ladies who can support a broke musician! This (besides their obvious talent) is why this band may have a future.
Honorable Mentions: Caitlin Mahoney, The Next Great American Novelist, The Bone Chimes, Ashni, Bill Bartholomew, Diana Zinni, Frank Bell.
Jurors: Michael Colavita (Deli Philly), Cody Wright (Deli Toronto), PDG (Deli NYC)
Stay tuned for more results, and then for the readers’ poll!