Picture this, it is a Monday morning and you are on your way out the door to go to school or work. You open your car door, turn the key and instantly you are greeted by your local top 40 pop station. There is seemingly no escape from that Imagine Dragons song that the radio DJ can't seem to get enough of as if you didn't already hear it nearly three TIMES yesterday on your commute to and from work! Slowly but surely music becomes gray and lifeless and barely worth listening to let alone spending your hard earned money on thanks to radio overplay. If you feel like this, it means you are completely unaware of the thousands of small underground artists across the United States who are constantly releasing AMAZING music every single month. Unlike today's top billboard artists, you do not need to empty your wallet or wait in long lines to see them live, nor do you need to have a backstage pass to get to know them. They are right in your hometown, shopping where you shop, working where you work, they might even be your neighbors!! And best of all, the music these small bands have to offer is incredible! I would go as far as to claim their music far better than the chart-topping artists. It is all honest, raw, and totally free of the pretense we see in the Grammy winners on TV.
I have chosen five of these local bands to highlight in this article and my hope is that you will look them up, listen to them instead of top 40 artists, and go to their shows. They are not rich or basking in the glory and fame of their music because they are undiscovered. They are struggling with car payments, rent and day jobs just like the rest of us, and when you listen to their music on Spotify or go to their shows you are helping make their dreams come true!
1. Mascots
Energetic and honest pop punk hailing from Cincinnati OH, Mascots released their Debut EP in 2016 titled "Nothing to Lose" and they haven't slowed down at all. They quickly followed up with their sophomore release EP in 2017 called "Good in Me" and have recently left us with two new songs called "On the Fence" and "Time to Time". They conquered their hometown Warped Tour date in 2017 and are now preparing to release more new music this year. If you like the new age of modern pop punk then Mascots is for you. Their music is entertaining, impressive, and full of feeling.
2. Minor 'Love
This Dayton Ohio band is extremely unique and amazingly talented. Minor 'Love's most recent release "A Place You Don't Know" takes you on a journey through melancholy verses and memorable choruses executed in a way that is familiar yet fresh and new simultaneously. Additionally, their catalog includes a full-length album titled "Insults" which is built and written using the same kind of self-reflection and emotional depth that we find in bands like Sorority Noise and Tiny Moving Parts.
3. Miller and the Hunks
These Columbus Ohio natives offer rock music that perfectly utilizes spacey effects and digital audio to express the beautiful and wild mind of singer and songwriter Collin Miller. Having seen them live on multiple occasions I can't write this without commending them on their fun, energetic, and spunky live performance. Listen to their new EP "And Jeff, Pt 2" and check out their new music video for "Sex Ain't Love".
4. Beesly
These days people are always bickering about what "true rock n' roll" is. Ladies and gentlemen look no further, this talented rock quartet from Dayton Ohio is bringing Rock and Roll back in full force. Guitar solos, groovy drums, four-part harmonies, and funky bass lines come together in a perfect amalgamation creating all the elements that made 80's and 90's pop and rock music so incredible. Rumors report that they are currently in the studio recording the best rock album the world has ever seen.
