Alex G is The Deli Philly’s Best Emerging Artist of 2015! 2nd: Kississippi, 3rd: Queen of Jeans

Deli Readers,

Our Best of 2015 Poll for Emerging Philly Artists has been – as usual – a lengthy and painstaking journey which took us through prairies of numbers, horizons filled with band names, and a dense, (mostly) joyous rain of music, but we have finally arrived at our desired destination. We can now announce the final results!

And the winner is…

1. Alex G

Alex Giannascoli gives hope to nice, normal, loner dudes everywhere who waste inordinate amounts of time recording solo jams in their bedroom. He unassumingly seeped into the Philly music community’s subconscious with a slew of honest, lo-fi recordings. After winning The Deli Philly’s Readers’/Fans’ 2013 Poll for Best Emerging Artists, Alex G eventually went on to sign to Domino Recording Co., and released Beach Music, which was also our November 2015 Record of the Month. So this victory might not be such a surprise to some of our Deli faithfuls.

—
2. Kississippi

We discovered Kississippi after being intrigued by Shari Heck’s cover of "Dogmas," which appeared on the original track list of Cyberbully Mom Club‘s Amy Locust Whatever. We were instantly smittened by Zoë Reynolds’s endearingly candid lyrics and wispy lilt, highlighted by the stripped-down, acoustic version found on I Can Feel You in My Hair Still. On the group’s label debut We Have No Future, We’re All Doomed (Soft Speak Records), the band hooked up with Modern Baseball‘s Jake Ewald, who produced the album. 2015 is definitely only the begining for Kississippi.

—
3. Queen of Jeans

The ladies of Queen of Jeans challenged you to "get off your ass" and make them dance with their debut single, but we think that it might’ve been pulling a little reverse psychology. Featuring former members of The Interest Group and Work Drugs, the group enchants like sirens on its self-titled debut EP, which can found via Third Uncle Records and the UK’s Super Fan 99. Queen of Jeans are certainly already drawing crowds.  

—

Honorable Mention: The Spirit of the Beehive

The Spirit of the Beehive definitely won the nod from our Deli writers for their work in 2015. With a new full-length album coming out later this year via Jade Tree, it’ll be interesting to see if they’ll win over the rest of our panel of jurors next year. 

Take a gander at the rest of our Best Emerging Philly Artists list below, and we hope that you find some rad new artists that you weren’t aware of!

BEST OF 2015 POLL FOR EMERGING PHILLY ARTISTS ****** FINAL RESULTS ******

ARTIST J OS W R TOT   1 Alex G 11.5   2 0.03 13.53 2 Kissisippi 10.5   3 0.009 13.509 3 Queen of Jeans 9.5     0.006 9.506 4 The Spirit of the Beehive 2   6 0.01 8.01 5 Palmas 6.5   1 0.004 7.504   Lithuania 5.5   2 0.004 7.504 7 Thin Lips 6.5   1 0.003 7.503 8 YJY   3 2 1.5 6.5 9 Girlpool 5.5     0.006 5.506 10 The Writhing Squares 5.5     0.005 5.505 11 The City & I 2   3 0.012 5.012 12  Suburban Living 2   3 0.001 5.001 13 Howlish 3     2 5   Hurrican Hoss 3   1 1 5 15  Abi Reimold 4.5     0.021 4.521 16 Shannen Moser 4.5     0.017 4.517 17 Air is Human 4.5     0.005 4.505 18 Tunji Ige 4.5     0.002 4.502 19  Blood Sound 3   1 0.005 4.005 20 Hello Shark 3   1 0.004 4.004 21 Cheerleader 3   1 0.003 4.003 22 Petal 3   1 0 4 23 The Up Up Ups! 3     0.017 3.017 24 Palm 3     0.012 3.012 25 Nik Greeley 3     0.011 3.011 26 Friendship 3     0.006 3.006 27 Shelf Life 3     0.005 3.005   Year Of Glad 2   1 0.005 3.005 29 Ecstatic Vision 2   1 0.004 3.004 30 The Stammer   2 1 0.002 3.002 31 The Bul Bey 3     0.001 3.001 32 Silverton 2     0.5 2.5   I Think Like Midnight 2     0.5 2.5   Man About A Horse 2     0.5 2.5 35 VoirVoir   1 1 0.015 2.015 36 Weekender 2     0.003 2.003 37 Aunt Dracula 2     0.002 2.002   God Root 2     0.002 2.002 39 Joie Kathos 2     0.001 2.001 40 GrandeMarshall 1   1 0 2 41 Museyroom   1.5   0.001 1.501 42 Josh Miller 1     0.029 1.029 43 Motherwhore 1     0.021 1.021 44 Scantron 1     0.016 1.016 45 Dogs on Acid 1     0.01 1.01 46 R.R. Perkins 1     0.009 1.009 47 Mercury Girls 1     0.007 1.007 48 Madalean Gauze 1     0.005 1.005   Pine Barons 1     0.005 1.005 50 Needle Points 1     0.004 1.004 51 Vita and the Woolf 1     0.003 1.003 52 Lazy Salon 1     0.002 1.002   The Captain The Pilot The Driver 1     0.002 1.002   Tango Leopard   1   0.002 1.002 55 Steep Leans 1     0.001 1.001   Bondage & Discipline 1     0.001 1.001   Sad Actor 1     0.001 1.001   Sandcastle 1     0.001 1.001   Oldermost   1   0.001 1.001   RFA   1   0.001 1.001 61 Throbbing Chakra 1     0 1   Rosemary Fiki 1     0 1   Armani White 1     0 1   Straw Hats 1     0 1   TJ Smith and the Wild North 1     0 1 Legend: J = Jurors, W = Deli Writers, R = Deli Readers, OS = Open Submissions

—

If you wonder how this chart came into existence, here is how it all went down: First, we let the local bands submit their music (for free), and got our Deli editors to pick the nominees. Then, we polled a list of 20+ Philly music enthusiasts (our jury), and asked them to nominate 3 more bands of their choice each (3 points for the top choice, then 2 and 1). Then, we polled our readers. We tried to keep things open to the genres that we cover, from indie rock to roots music, from electronic to hip hop (no jazz, no seriously experimental music).

If you are a geek who is interested in all the subtelties related to how this poll works, you can read its rules HERE (happy reading!). But if all you care about is the awesome new music Philly produced in 2015, this list is what you are looking for. Enjoy!  

Many Thanks to Our Jurors:

Dan Bisogno (Choice Tasters Selectors), Jeff Blinder (Goldilocks Gallery), Gabrielle Bonghi (Philly.com), Kate Bracaglia (Freelance Writer), Eric Bresler (PhilaMOCA), Jessica Craft (Rock to the Future), Shana Hartzel (Swell Tone, Y-Not Radio), Kevin Horn (Underground Arts), Ellei Johndro (Shadowscene), Kevin Kennedy (The Swollen Fox), Colin Kerrigan (Out Of Town Films), David Kiss (Kung Fu Necktie), Josh T. Landow (Y-NOT Radio), Carolyn Lederach (Sofar Philadelphia), Jesse Lundy (Point Entertainment), Gordon Mays (MilkBoy Philly), Jeff Meyers (Boot & Saddle), George Miller (Jump Philly), Stephanie Seiple (Tri State Indie), Jon Solomon (WPRB), Q.D. Tran (The Deli Magazine), John Vettese (The Key, WXPN), Allie Volpe (Freelance Writer), Nikki Volpicelli (Urban Outfitter), Chris Ward (Johnny Brenda’s), Bruce Warren (WXPN, The Key)

Much love,

The Deli’s Staff