“Lovely”

Kelly & Kyle, Cambodian-born twins raised just north of Seattle up in rugged Whidbey Island, WA, present a smoothed-out soul funk sound for a new generation. Multi-instrumentalists with a taste for the classic and the chaotic. They’ve been schooled in Stevie, Marley and Motown, sprinkled with gospel gold from their pastor father’s church, and whipped by the ghosts of grunge – courtesy of a passing psychedelic windstorm from the Pacific Northwest. A recent jaunt to legendary Sunset Sounds studio in Hollywood CA with producer Michael Binikos (Donna Summer, Snoop Dogg, Kanye West) reaped the Lovely EP – a 3 track salvo that promises great things. From that session, debut jam “Lovely” sips and gurgles into life over a Bootsy bassline. It’s a supremely confident party track that slips and slides into your summer playlist with barely a ‘”hello” – and promises to run all summer long.

“Trapped in Paradise”

Cal Stamp is an American singer-songwriter. Taking cues from enduring pop-rock icons like Tom Petty and Don Henley, Cal writes songs that showcase his fresh slant on a classic formula: vintage guitar work; sing-along choruses; and character-driven lyrics about lovers and losers. Nine tunes will appear on his forthcoming trilogy of EPs – NYLON (including “Trapped in Paradise”), DENIM, and LEATHER. Prior to his solo efforts, Cal was a guitarist and principal songwriter for the alternative rock band Spirit Animal, who signed to Atlantic Records in 2018. Cal has toured the U.S. extensively, sharing stages with acts like The Struts, Fitz & The Tantrums, Third Eye Blind, Incubus, and The Cult. In the studio, he has collaborated with Ricky Reed, Tim Pagnotta, Simon Wilcox, “Sir” Nolan Lambroza, and Kevin Rudolf, to name a few. He currently lives in Brooklyn, New York.

“Sinners” feat. Thomas LaRosa

Hailing from Brooklyn, New York, 20-year-old artist, Ari Abdul has forged her own brand of dark alternative pop. She combines the reverb-heavy swells of your favorite shoegaze artists such as The Neighborhood and Lana Del Rey. Combining an array of visual and stylistic influences, Ari has cultivated a mysterious edge to her artistic endeavors. Earlier this year, she released her debut single “BABYDOLL” followed by the sped-up version “BABYDOLL (Speed).” Both versions garnered viral success with over 83M global streams, 400M TikTok views, and 420K TikTok creations. Since then, she’s released the ethereal-pop “Stay,” and the shimmering-seductive “Taste.” Ari has been working in the studio on new music and this October, she will be supporting MIMI WEBB on her North American tour.

“Butterflies”

Based in Atlanta, Abe Parker has taken to TikTok and Instagram Reels to push his music effectively. Recently releasing his song “Live, Laugh, Love”, he posted TikTok videos teasing the audio that eclipsed 7M+ views. Additionally, his single “Butterflies” has amassed over 44M streams on Spotify since its release & the sound around the single on TikTok have surpassed 100K creates. Abe’s music has been featured on New Music Friday, Chill Pop, Fresh & Chill, sad hour, Pop Sauce and many more…

There’s a wise and eloquent spirit bouncing between moments of soulful expression, R&B energy, pop bliss, and alternative boundary-breaking at the heart of Hunter’s music. A storyteller packed with soul whose honesty rings out just as powerfully as her vocals do. After generating millions of views with show-stopping turns on YouTube live performance series, Scary Pockets, her voice powered covers of Bob Dylan, Adele, Marvin Gaye, Al Green, and more, making her one of the go-to voices on the program. After attracting a growing audience, she properly introduces herself on her 2022 independent debut EP, Hello My Name is Hunter. In 2016, Hunter was paying the bills modeling and acting and held down a year-long residency as house artist at the popular Los Angeles club and celeb hotspot, The Nice Guy. On one particular modeling trip, Hunter met GRAMMY® Award-winning recording artist, producer, and songwriter Lukas Nelson at the gate in the Austin, TX airport. Striking up an instant friendship, Lukas would enlist her to accompany him during various high-profile gigs such as sold out shows at The Troubadour and The Fonda, and an appearance on “Conan.” His father Willie even recruited her to join him during his performances at the Hollywood Bowl and Austin City Limits. Produced by John Alagia (Dave Matthews, Jason Mraz, John Mayer) Hello My Name is Hunter is six upbeat soulful tracks, with ’70s Motown-style melodies and a fun and flirty delivery. The single “Closer” is a quintessential summer jam that feels like a ride in a convertible.

Songwriters: Hunter Elizabeth, David Ryan Harris

UMI leads with peace. With this intention, multidisciplinary artist Tierra Umi Wilson —who goes by the moniker UMI (which means ‘ocean’ in Japanese)— builds a space for healing in her music. UMI’s voice is soft and feather-like as her vocals gently call listeners to be reflective and embrace the range of their emotions. The 23-year-old Seattle native, who’s now based in LA, has been releasing music since 2017, finding early success with a string of EPs and songs like “Remember Me,” which has now surpassed 118 million streams on Spotify alone. Vogue offered an early cosign by naming UMI as one of the “young breakthrough musicians making noise in the music industry” and she has continued to raise the bar with consecutive projects, Introspection in 2020 and Introspection Reimagined, in 2021. UMI’s dedication, execution and ingenuity earned her recognition from Vogue, Interview Magazine, WWD and Refinery29, and support from the likes of Chanel and Nike. Throughout 2021, UMI brought her live show to festival stages including Governors Ball, Day N Vegas and Head in the Clouds, as well as joining Burna Boy for a performance at the iconic Hollywood Bowl. Now, with four years steadfast towards her first full-length album, UMI has arrived with Forest in the City. What began as a series of questions, including “Is the city our new forest? And how does the city impact our minds?,” evolved into sonic epiphanies and UMI’s proudest work yet. The album features moody slow jam “moonlit room,” the soul-awakening “whatever u like,” which was named best new music by Billboard, ESSENCE, Pigeons & Planes and more along with the dreamy track “sorry.” UMI will be on her first U.S. tour this summer with 23-dates including sold-out shows in San Francisco, New York, Chicago and more.

Songwriters: Tierra Umi Wilson, Theo Hoarau, Danny Parra, Veronica Verra

Poised to make a name for themselves is Avant Garde Club (AG Club for short), a 14-member group of creatives from the East Bay that is made up of musicians, directors, filmmakers, content creators, photographers, and designers.

AG Club was founded in 2017 after Baby Boy and Jody Fontaine linked up for a studio session through a producer friend. Jody started following Baby on Twitter after discovering one of his music videos he made and instantly became a fan. Before joining AG Club, Baby was making music videos for other local acts. So for Baby and Jody to have good chemistry off that session was a sign of things to come. They made their first song “want to,” followed by another called “flowersss” that were both uploaded on SoundCloud with the hashtag wavy and under a “nameless” collective. After brainstorming several names, they landed on “AG Club” because their brand of off-kilter music was nothing like what was coming out of Oakland and San Francisco.

“We kind of look at our existence as a network on television,” Jody says. “If you turn your TV to Nickelodeon or something, you’ll probably see within 24 hours like two or three movies. Like 12 TV shows and maybe a special or two. That’s kind of how we feel AG Club could operate one day. We are the place where you go to find everything.”

Songwriters: Damarcuz Henderson, Jahan Jayubo-Williams, Isaac Rose, Jackson Shanks, Greg Varteresian, Zach Michel

Even on four hours sleep, Emmy Meli would always journal. During her shifts at the coffee shop, the 22-year-old scribbled between serving tables. While delivering drinks on the golf course, she’d steal glances at her notebook. Then on her day-off, Meli would record the week’s writings; tackling in one such session an anthemic track inspired by a recent dream. The song soon to be heard around the world was titled, “I AM WOMAN.”  With Amy Winehouse and Lauryn Hill as idols, it was perhaps inevitable that Meli would feel most fulfilled as a

mouthpiece for contemporary feminism. Coupling a powerful message with hypnotic vocal stylings that straddle jazz, RnB, pop and funk, now, Emmy Meli just has one job, and the singer is poised for a pop takeover.

Songwriter: Emily Lomeli

Muni Long’s wide-eyed R&B is written with pure honesty. In recent years, Muni has come to bare all of herself in song, but that ability was honed across more than a decade making hits for the likes of Ariana Grande, Rihanna, and Mary J. Blige, among others. Success under her own name, through her own vision, hits different. In Muni’s eyes, her rise is proof that Black women are commercially viable in an industry that has traditionally said otherwise. “I want to be a catalyst for little Brown girls,” she says. “You can be whatever you want.”

Songwriters: Priscilla Renea, Kuk Harrell, Hamadi Aaabi, Dylan Graham, Justin Nathaniel Zim, Isaac Wriston

Carrying a bold blend of alternative, R&B, and pop, Alaina Castillo invites the sort of intimacy reserved for 3 AM texts between lifelong friends—or lovers. Named the inaugural Spotify US RADAR artist and streamed over 200 million times, the Mexican-American singer-songwriter builds a wonderful nocturnal world of her own design. Last year, Castillo released her EP parallel universe. Heading into 2022, she prepares for her debut Coachella performance, upcoming project, and support tour with Coldplay.

Songwriters: Alaina Castillo, Samuel Roman