At The Deli, we define “Alt Rootsy” or "Alt Folk" those artists that have a basis in American roots music yet manage to somehow veer off its traditional ways – hence the picture above.

Total submissions in this category: 38

Artists Qualified to the Poll’s Next Stage (starting around 01.15):

1. Great Elk – 7.833 (out of 10)
2. Sorcha Richardson – 7.33
3. Derrick and the Black Sea – 7.16

Honorable Mentions (scores about 6.5):

Ben Pagano, Howth, Robin’s Egg Blue, Tall Tall Trees, Everest Cale, Cole Williams, Nightmare River Band, XNY, Tess, Dan and Rachel, Erez and The End, Philip Lynch.

Jurors: Chrissy Prisco (Deli New England), Lucy Sherman (Deli Contributor), QD Tran (Deli Philadelphia)

The Deli’s Staff

Great Elk have a sound that seems to rise straight from the earth. Whether singer Paul Basile’s lyrics are down in the mud, or soaring through the sky, this is a reminder of open spaces the band left behind in their native Alaska. Tracks like ‘I’m Going to Bend" off debut LP ‘Autogeography’ are tell-tale reminders of how much we have in common no matter the landscape. See the band when they play Littlefield tomorrow night at 7:30 pm. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

If there’s one place where people keep their secrets locked away, it has to be our beds. Sorcha Richardson spends a lot of time here, whether ruminating on love, or attempting unsuccessfully to get out of bed to start her day. But mostly, she’s sleeping… where a certain poetry finds its way through her gentle steel-string guitar shapes and soothing alto that seems to reach out and beg you to confide in her. In ‘I Heart NYC’ Sorcha ponders how much the city loves her…. show her just how much when she plays Glasslands on Feb 24.

It can be hard to do the right thing. We all know you want to of course, but for Derrick & The Black Sea, they understand how some things are easier said than done. In ‘Mama,’ Brooklyn singer Derrick Karg wails: "trying to be a man, but I don’t know right from wrong." Poor guy… but, I can relate. The Brooklyn band struggles their way through these issues of growing up and letting go throughout the few scattered tracks they’ve so far released. The honesty is telling, and the lonesome guitars and sparse drums bring it all home. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

The entire universe often wonders what the difference is between Alt Rock and Indie Rock. Here at The Deli we call "Alt" that kind of Rock music that’s inspired to a more classic concept of Rock’n’Roll or Pop-Rock, or any rock genre that was commercially successful before the aughts – think about bands reminiscent of anything from Led Zeppeling to Aerosmith, Weezer or Nirvana. While Indie Rock tends to be a little more experimental and dark, Alt Rock is (at least in our vocabulary) more traditional and a little more accessible – without being just "pop".

Total submissions in this category: 38

Artists Qualified to the Poll’s Next Stage (starting around 01.15):

1. Apollo Run – 7.66 (out of 10)
2. BLACK TAXI – 7.33

Honorable Mentions (scores above 6.5):

Outernational, Late Cambrian, Viva Mayday, Wyldlife, Only Living Boy, Von Shakes, Raccoon Fighter, The Clox, Noble Hunter.

Jurors: Michelle Turner (Deli Nashville), Brandi Lukas (Deli Contributor), QD Tran (Deli Philly) 

The Deli’s Staff

When you listen to Apollo Run, you can easily get the impression that their music just keeps growing and growing to impossible heights, even when their harmonies are already lost in the clouds. In the space of just one song, John McGrew and crew take you up to a furtive hook, then proceed to throw in a trumpet, raise the harmonies up by a couple more octaves, and proceed to play everything again with only cardboard instruments… At least that’s what the video for new single ‘The Inevitable Small Rebellions’ (streaming below) from new album ‘HBDVIII’ would have us believe. See them live on Friday 01.11 when they play The Mercury Lounge and let me know how they do it yourself. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

If you haven’t seen Black Taxi live yet, then think about all the time you spent watching crappy films last year… for your own good, this band is here to show you a way out of this mess. This group belongs to an oft-ignored genre of music known as ‘Punchy Cinematic Rock,’ and seeing the band live is like watching performance art, a jukebox musical, and every single Nicholas Cage movie at once (so you don’t have to). In other words, this band isn’t afraid to try everything and get caught in the act looking good in tight costumes. Their new record ‘We Don’t Know Any Better‘ covers territories from punk, to 4 on floor dance, to orchestral synth pop jazz… whatever that is. Check out 2nd single ‘Hand’ (streaming below) from new record ‘We Don’t Know Any Better’ to get a feel for what you’ve been missing in their new POV video, and see the band yourself when they play at Public Assembly on Saturday, Jan 26th. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

Somebody might wonder why here at The Deli we bundle Hip Hop with other related or unrelated genres like funk, world music, ethnic etc etc. The answer is embarrassing: we are not very well connected with those scenes, and only cover them sporadically. As a consequence, we don’t get a lot of Hip Hop submissions (which is a good thing by the way… don’t ask!). The other genres are even less represented in our blog… So, rather than having to create seven different categories with a few acts each, we bundle them together with Hip Hop… understood?

Total submissions in this category: 22

Artists Qualified to the Poll’s Next Stage (starting around 01.15)

1. Hot Sugar – 7.5 (out of 10)
1. Melissa Czarnik – 7.5

Honorable Mentions (scores above 6.5):

b.FUNK, Deathrow Tull, Riot In Paris, C-Zar Van Gogh, SpaceLAB Recordings, Trillogy, O-Zi, MaG, brokemc.

Jurors: Brianne Turner (Deli Nashville), Brandi Lukas (Deli contributor), QD Tran (Deli Philly).

The Deli’s Staff

Who would’ve thought: the most badass thing a hip-hop artist can do right now is team up with a French jazz pianist and record at a residency from a 50 year-old Chateau? For Melissa Czarnik, it’s just one more notch in her boundary-busting belt. Recorded at Centre d’Art Marnay Art Center near France, ‘Non Merci’ is 13 tracks of hard-hitting hip-hop set to the cascading piano loops of pianist/composer Eric Mire. It’s as surprising a pairing as it is effective on killer tracks like ‘I Prefer’ and ‘Rummy.’ Hard-hitting and smooth at once, check out the artist when she plays tonight with Eric Mire, free at Brooklyn Stable. – Mike Levine (@Goldnuggets)

For anyone who wishes they could enjoy Neon Indian but is maybe looking for something that’s a bit more … I don’t know… lo-fi and crazy, then Hot Sugar’s ‘Muscle Milk EP’ is probably up your alley. A blend of all manner of exotic candies and fruits tossed together into an awesome hodgepodge mix of an instrumental album, listening to this record might very well awaken parts of your aural palette you didn’t know you had. Songs like ‘Charlotte Corday and ‘Hanna D’ make Dan Deacon and The Flaming Lips look like they’re not having enough fun with their music. With so many sounds condensed to a groove-bouncing mush, you’ll probably be bored to death once your headphones come off. – Mike Levine

We’ve tallied the results for the Open Submissions stage of our Austin Year End Poll. Deli Editors from other scenes ranked all of the submissions, and the list of acts that have advanced to our Readers/Fans Poll phase are below. We will also be releasing the list of nominees chosen by our local "scene expert" jurors very soon.

Thanks to all the acts who submitted their artistry to us. Our open submissions pool was truly a celebration of Austin&rsquos musical talent and diversity.

Total submissions from the Austin Scene: 27

Jurors: Q.D. Tran (Deli Philadelphia), Brandi Lukas (Deli Philadelphia), Paolo De Gregorio (Deli NYC).

The Deli Staff