Editor’s note: This is the ninth post in a series covering the best talent at the fest. Listen to these artists-to-watch now, and get them on your festival schedule. This list comes from @SXSWISLIFE.
Hippo Campus
Hippocampus is a self proclaimed “kinda pop” band from Woodbury, Minnesota. They blend jazz, blues, and pop to form an American sound reminiscent of Phish and Dave Matthews Band. Whether they play for 10 people or 1,000, Hippocampus is known for their stage presence, high-energy live shows, happy vibe, and musicianship.
ILoveMakonnen
Makonnen Shera, better known by his stage name ILoveMakonnen, is an American Hip-Hop recording artist from Atlanta, Georgia. He rose to prominence in 2014 after having Drake remix his song “Tuesday”.
GusGus
The Icelandic band Gus Gus has been acclaimed as an avant-garde collective of musicians, producers, filmmakers and performers. They mix together different mediums to create a unique mixture of sound and vision. Their trademark style is combined with funky bass, streamlined synths and the intelligent use of technology and art.
Silk Rhodes
Off-center soul and post-disco revivalists Silk Rhodes features vocalist Sasha Desree and producer Michael Collins. The duo is from Baltimore, Maryland.
Lowell
Lowell (real name Elizabeth Lowell Boland) is a singer-songwriter living in Toronto, Canada. As expressed in her album’s first single, “Cloud 69,” Lowell is like dynamite: ferocious, unrelenting, and determined.
Sam Hunt
Sam Hunt is an American country music singer-songwriter and former college football player. He is known for writing singles for Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, and Billy Currington. In 2014, Hunt signed with MCA Nashville and released his debut album Montevallo, which includes the number 1 Country Airplay hit “Leave the Night On”.
New Beat Fund
Los Angeles four-piece New Beat Fund don’t fit neatly into one genre, instead they covers all the bases. They mix surf-rock, dub-heavy vibes, hip-hop beats, and garage pop.
PRhyme
As supergroups go, it doesn’t get much more super than the hip-hop duo Prhyme, featuring legendary producer DJ Premier (Gang Starr) and Eminem protégé Royce Da 5’9″ (Bad Meets Evil, Slaughterhouse). The effect is pure hip-hop gold.
Willow Smith
Willow Camille Reign Smith, who has released a recording as Willow, is an American child actress and singer who is the daughter of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith. With the release of her singles “Whip My Hair” and “21st Century Girl”, she signed to her current mentor Jay-Z’s record label Roc Nation, becoming the youngest artist signed to the label.
SOAK
SOAK aka Bridie Monds-Watson, is a singer/songwriter from Derry in Northern Ireland. Her Facebook says that she is a super cool Musician who writes songs about creatures from the sea.
You can hear all these ‘Must See Artists’ and many more here. Listen to @SXSWISLIFE‘s master playlist to get acquainted with ALL of the music at the festival. For your partying needs, check out the#SXturnt playlist, the #SpotifyHouse playlist, and the #CultureCollideOnRainey playlist.