Frances Quinlan has built an identity for herself over the past decade as the lead songwriter and front-woman of the Philadelphia-based band Hop Along, and her distinct voice is among the most recognizable and inimitable in music. While the band began as Quinlan’s solo project (originally titled Hop Along, Queen Ansleis), ‘Likewise’ is Quinlan’s debut under her own name.

“Empathy persists throughout the music of Frances Quinlan. The Philadelphia-based songwriter finds the humanity at the center of any story: some from her own life; some from historical figures, or something a friend told her, or a podcast she heard. It hardly matters if you can trace the exact narrative contours; you still end up with a powerful sense of what it feels like to exist inside of those experiences.” —NPR

GRLwood is a two-piece band of Kentucky fried queerdos, wailing at max capacity from Louisville, KY. We call it SCREAM-POP. Established August, 2017, GRLwood exploded onto Louisville's music scene, quickly earning them a cult-like following.

“Hooky, self-deprecating, surf-inspired punk… When guitarist Rej Forester and drummer Karen Ledford hit the refrain, you quickly understand why they call their cathartic and fun music ‘scream-pop.’” —NPR

Sen Morimoto is a multi-instrumentalist composer and songwriter born in Kyoto, Japan and currently based in Chicago. He moved to Massachusetts at a young age where he began a life-long study of jazz saxophone. Horn in hand, Morimoto cut his teeth as a songwriter in the DIY hip-hop community of Western Massachusetts. He eventually moved to Chicago where he refined his sound while maintaining a consistent presence in the music culture by producing for and collaborating with artists including Joseph Chilliams (Pivot Gang), KAINA, Qari, and Nnamdi Ogbonnaya. Morimoto’s powerful grasp of jazz composition, pop songwriting, and hip-hop styling are fully articulated as the extraordinary sound of an unrivaled talent on Cannonball!, an LP that he wrote, arranged, and produced by himself.

Tasha: On her debut album ‘Alone at Last,’ Tasha celebrates the radical political act of being exquisitely gentle with yourself. For years, the Chicago songwriter has dreamed hard of a better world — she's worked with the local racial justice organization BLACK YOUTH PROJECT 100 and has been on the front lines at protests around the city. But as she returned to the guitar, an instrument her mother first taught her to play when she was 15 years old, she began exploring the ways music can be a powerful force for healing. It might not fix a deeply broken world all by itself, but it can offer comfort and respite for those who, like her, dare to imagine a thriving future.

Snarls spent 2019 quietly blooming—two songs landed this Columbus, OH four-piece on Stereogum’s Top 100 Songs and Best New Bands honor rolls. 2020 is the year they blossom into a band to watch. Debut LP ‘Burst’ finds the next charming coming-of-age story in shimmering character drama (2019 standout “Walk in the Woods”), woozy indie-pop (“Hair”), and blue-eyed existentialism (“Concrete”). Snarls’ songwriting is as unfiltered and spectral as growing into one’s own should be, but it promises just as an enchanting listen for those outside looking in.

Sarob is a Columbus-based musician who blends hip hop and neo-soul with earnest self-reflection and radiant sensuality. A vocal style reminiscent of Dwele and D’Angelo and a rap proficiency inspired by J. Cole and Slum Village, Sarob’s engaging live performances are often accompanied by his band and background singers. In Sarob's words, "My music documents my journey to fulfillment and hopefully encourages people to pursue it as well, instead of accepting things that aren’t true to them. We don’t deserve anything less than a meaningful life — that’s what I want people to get from my art.”

Mukiss is a new solo project for artist and musician Caeleigh Featherstone of Columbus Ohio. She grew as a musician in the Columbus music scene playing in garage indie band West Virginia White and now currently plays in and tours with indie folk rock band Saintseneca. Her songs are personal poetry that explore life in its complexities.