Hot 100 unsigned artists of 2016 - photo: Insect Surfers

2016's Hot 100 Live Unsigned Artists & Bands

The annual Music Connection Hot 100, listed below in alphabetical order, puts the spotlight on superior unsigned live performers across the U.S. who caught our eyes and ears over the past 12 months. Contributors to this list are not only MC staffers and freelance writers, but club bookers and other industry pro’s nationwide. Music Connection currently has reviewers in Los Angeles, New York, Minneapolis, Boston and Detroit. If you’d like to put yourself in the running for an MC live review, go to musicconnection.com/reviews/get-reviewed. It’s always free and always easy.

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

205
Rock/Funk Rock
Los Angeles, CA
205band.com


Afraid of My Neighbor
Rock/Punk/Metal
Los Angeles, CA
afraidofmyneighbor.com

Alexander Jean
Singer/Songwriter
Los Angeles, CA
alexanderjean.net

Alma Lake
Sassy Blues
Los Angeles, CA
fb.com/almalakemusic

Andrew Marks
Indie Pop
Los Angeles, CA
andrewmarksmusic.com


Beefheart Jr.
(feat. Robert Williams)
Multi Genre
North Hollywood, CA
beefheartjr.com

Big Mon
Jamaican Dance Hall Hip-Hop
Los Angeles, CA / Jamaica
fb.com/BigMonMusic

Black Diamonds
Pop-Punk
Haverhill, MA
blackdiamondsband.com

Blue Healer
Indie Rock
Austin, TX
bluehealerusa.com

Butterscotch
Beatbox/Pop/Jazz/Soul
Los Angeles, CA
butterscotchmusic.com


Camryn
Pop-Rock
Los Angeles, CA
camrynmusic.com

Chamberlain Tripp Band
Americana
Los Angeles, CA
fb.com/ChamberlainTrippBand

Cory Sipper
Singer/Songwriter
Santa Barbara, CA
corysippermusic.com


Dennis Dreith Band feat: Ellis Hall & Tata Vega
Big Band R&B/Soul/Jazz
Studio City, CA
dennisdreith.com

Derde Verde
Indie Rock
Echo Park, CA
DerdeVerde.net

Desert Tundra
Alt Rock
Los Angeles, CA
fb.com/deserttundra

Dig The Kid
Alt Pop-Rock
Los Angeles, CA
digthekid.bandcamp.com

Drool Brother
Psychedelic Fuzz Soul
Whittier, CA
droolbrothers.com


Flight 584
Jazz Band Big Band Jazz
Burbank, CA
[email protected]

Flight of Fire
Hard Rock
Boston, MA
flightoffire.com


Geronimo Getty
Country
Los Angeles, CA
GeronimoGetty.com


Honey and Jude
Indie Pop
Los Angeles, CA
honeyandjudemusic.com


Iration
Reggae Alt Rock
Santa Barbara, CA
irationmusic.com

Insect Surfers
Instrumental Rock
Los Angeles, CA
insectsurfers.com

In The Whale
Rock
Denver, CO
InTheWhaleSucks.com


Jackie Bristow
Pop-Folk Americana
Los Angeles, CA
jackiebristow.com

Jennifer Westwood & the Handsome Devils
Country
Detroit, MI
jwhandsomedevils.com

Jesse Blaze Snider
Blues/Rock/Pop/Country
Los Angeles, CA
jesseblaze.com

Jodie and the Normals
R&B/Pop
New York, NY
jodieandthenormals.com

J GRGRY
Dark Pop/Indie Rock
Seattle, WA
fb.com/JgrgryMusic


Kate Brown
Country/Americana
Pasadena, CA
KateBrownMusic.com

Kelley James
California Acoustic
Manhattan Beach, CA
kelleyjames.com

King Cotton’s Aggravation
Swamp Funk
Hollywood, CA
fb.com/King-Cottons-Aggravation


LaRissa Vienna & the Strange
Alt Rock
Denver, CO
fb.com/larissaviennamusic

Lauren Adams
Americana Roots-Rock
Los Angeles, CA
LaurenAdams.com

Lex
Pop Rock
Las Vegas, NV
LexRox.com

Lio Nicol
Pop Singer/Songwriter
Los Angeles, CA
LioNicol.com

Lisa Finnie
Torch Americana
Altadena, CA
LisaFinnie.com

Little Monarch
Pop-Rock Soul
Los Angeles, CA
littlemonarch.com

Los Goutos
Americana
Boston, MA
Losgoutos.com


Magnastic
Hip-Hop/Funk/Ukulele Pop
San Fernando, CA
fb.com/magnastic

Magnetico
Rock/Progressive Rock
Los Angeles, CA
rafaelmoreira.com

Mark Mackay
Country-Rock
Hollywood, CA
markmackayofficial.com

Melody Federer
Singer-Songwriter Folk-Pop
Los Angeles, CA
fb.com/MelodyFedererMusic

Mike Moody
Soul Rock
Los Angeles, CA
mikemoodymusic.com

Moondreamzzz
Shoegaze Psychedelic Punk
Los Angeles, CA
moondreamzzz.com

Mozzy
Hip-Hop Rap
Sacramento, CA
mozzyfoundation.com


Ol’ Silver Tongue
Garage Rock
Oakland, CA
olsilvertongue.com

Only on Tuesdays
Indie Pop
Los Angeles, CA
fb.com/onlyontuesdaysmusic

Oops
Alt Punk/Hard Rock
Chicago, IL
fb.com/OopsTheMusic


Peter Prince
Rock/Funk/Soul
New York, NY
peterprincemusic.com

Polaris Rose
Alt Indie Rock
Los Angeles, CA
polarisrose.com

Porno Wolves
Rock
Minneapolis, MN
fb.com/pwolvesmusic
[email protected]

Primitive Finks
Surf Rock
Southern New Jersey
theprimitivefinks.bandcamp.com


Rayssa
Indie Alt/Folk Rock
Los Angeles, CA
rayssamusic.com

Reeve Carney
Alternative Rock
Los Angeles, CA
reevecarney.com

Rev. Norb & The Onions
Garage Punk Rock
Green Bay, WI
fb.com/revnorbonions

Richie Stephens & The Ska Nation Band
Reggae Ska
Kingston Jamaica
skanationband.com

Riders Against The Storm
Hip-Hop/R&B
Austin, TX
rashiphop.com

Rolan Bolan
Rock/Soul
Los Angeles, CA
fb.com/Rolan-Bolan

Ruby Chase
Organic Dance Music
Los Angeles, CA
missrubychase.com

Ruby Friedman Orchestra
Alt. Americana, Rock, Roots, Soulful
Los Angeles, CA
fb.com/Ruby-Friedman-Orchestra


Sad Robot
Indie Electronica/Cine-Pop
Los Angeles, CA
mysadrobot.com

Sam Williams
‘60s Pop
Los Angeles, CA
samwilliamsmusic.net

Shahed Mohseni Zonoozi
World Fusion
Los Angeles, CA
shahedmohseni.com

Shattered Systems
Progressive Metal
Los Angeles, CA
fb.com/Shattered.Systems

Sikora
Electronic Pop-Rock
Los Angeles, CA
sikoraband.com

Slant
Hard Rock/Progressive Metal
Los Angeles, CA
slantmusic.net

Slope114
House Electronica
San Francisco, CA
slope114.bandcamp.com

Small Town Scoundrels
Alt Rock/Indie Hip-Hop/Funk
Hillsborough, NJ
smalltownscoundrels.com

Son & Thief
Indie Rock
Athens, GA
SonandThief.com

Space Lemon
Alt Rock
Hollywood, CA
spacelemonmusic.com

Spatial Relation
Electronica
Brooklyn, NY
fb.com/spatialrelation

Stage 11 
Alt Rock
Los Angeles, CA
stage11music.com

State Line
Syndicate
Pop-Punk
Los Angeles CA
statelinesyndicate.com

Stitches
Rap
Miami, FL
fb.com/StitchesTMI

Summer Wars
Pop-Punk
Raleigh, NC
fb.com/summerwarsnc


Tall as Trees
Indie Rock
Los Angeles, CA
wearetallastrees.com

The Absolute 
Alt Rock
Los Angeles, CA
theabsolutemusic.com

The Alternatives
Alt 60’s Rock
Farmington Hills, MI
fb.com/thealternativesband.detroit

The Amatory Murder
Alternative Rock
Brooklyn, NY
amatorymurder.com

The Ceremonies
Art Pop-Rock
Los Angeles, CA
theceremonies.com

The D/A Method
Progressive Rock
Karachi Pakistan
fb.com/TheDAMethod

The Devil’s Twins
Alt Punk Rock
Boston, MA
thedevilstwins.com

The Millenium
Titanic Alt Pop
Eau Claire, WI
themillenium.net

The Other Side
Punkadelic Rock & Roll
Los Angeles, CA
fb.com/theothersidemusik

The Podunk Poets
Honkytonk Country
Los Angele, CA
thepodunkpoets.com

The Terpsichords  Funk
Los Angeles, CA
theterpsichords.com

The Vansaders  
Rock/Punk/Country
Asbury Park, NJ
thevansaders.bandcamp.com

The Vaughns
Indie Pop/Garage Rock
Springfield, NJ
fb.com/thevaughnsnj

The Walcotts
Roots/Soul/Country
Los Angeles, CA
thewalcottsmusic.com

The World Record
Power Pop Rock
Los Angeles, CA
TheWorldRecord.net

trioKAIT
Jazz
Los Angeles, CA
KaitDunton.com

Two Friends
Dance Music
Los Angeles, CA
twofriendsmusic.com

Ty Waters
Pop/Soul/R&B
Vancouver Canada
tywaters.com


Valley Shine
Roots-Rock Americana
Los Angeles, CA
valleyshineband.com

Vapors of Morphine
Psycho-Delta Low Rock
Cambridge, MA
Vaporsofmorphine.com


Westerner
Psychedelic Electronic Funk
Los Angeles, CA
westernerband.com

White Shag
Stoner Glam Garage Rock
Detroit, MI
whiteshag.com

Wild Domestic
Indie/Alt Rock
Charlotte, NC
WildDomesticMusic.com