Six Artists That Should Be On Your Playlists This Fall

I'm not a musical gatekeeper by any means. I don't control what music gets popular or gets released out into the world. What I say about music, to be quite honest, probably doesn't matter. Still, that's not going to stop me from talking about six artists that I think deserve a spot on your playlists this fall.

I'm a fan of popular, Top 40 music. But for a long time, I refused to listen to anything that a standard person with very little interest in music would listen to. It was pretty pretentious of me, truly, but in its own twisted way, it gave me a sense of appreciation for more types of music and all kinds of artists.


1. Jacob Early

Jacob who? This would have been me until he popped up on my Spotify Discover playlist. Sometimes I listen to my playlist a few times and don't listen to any of it after that. Some songs, however, like "Worth My While," deserve a spot in the saved playlist. In fact, Jacob Early is the artist that inspired this blog post. It's been quite a few months since the last time I tried to showcase artists that weren't necessarily mainstream, but deserve more attention than they have.

There's not a lot about Early on the internet, so really all I can tell you is that he's a singer/songwriter from Charlotte, North Carolina. You can find a few live videos of his on YouTube, but if you want to listen to him, you'll have to check him out on Spotify and iTunes. His debut album Honeybaby, Keep Going Under is up on both so you can pick your poison in regards to where you'd potentially want to listen.

2. Pale Waves

Okay, so they technically only have two songs on Spotify right now, but Pale Waves absolutely deserve a spot in your daily listening. Their two songs kind of sound similar, in the way that songs by The 1975 start to run into each other. We can call it cohesion, yeah? This would explain why they opened for The 1975 on tour. Their sounds are pretty similar, though more self-titled 1975 and not so much their newer album, which makes sense considering The 1975 produced their lead single "There's A Honey." They have that same electro-pop indie sound that makes you want to be in the middle of a dance floor at their show with your drink in the air as you swing your hips in sync (somewhat) to the beat.

3. Kylie Spence

I cannot believe Kylie Spence is only 16. It makes my 16 accomplishments (or lack thereof) seem incredibly weak compared to this debut single. "Lying Eyes" is a brooding alternative pop song that just makes you want to dress in all black and sulk around. It has that haunting quality to it without being too eerie or calming. I would hop onto the Kylie Spence train now before she releases something else, just to say you were here first. Or, you know, just so you can add another great song to your daily listening.

4. Jake McMullen

Does everyone have a cover of "Dancing On My Own" now? All jokes aside, his cover of the Robyn hit was the first song of his that I had heard. Since I'm such a massive fan of the original, I hold the multitudes of covers to different standards. Considering I listened to more of his music after the initial listen and added McMullen to this list, I'd think it's fair to say that he passed the unofficial test to earn a spot on my Spotify.

McMullen is a songwriter from California, but it's clear that his relocation to Nashville has influenced his music. It has a glorious southern twang, giving it a dose of folk and country laced in with the indie acoustic base.

5. Terence Ryan

Terence Ryan combines pop, R&B, a little bit of rock, and indie into one strange combination that works. It has grit and rawness to it and I can appreciate that it's hard to pinpoint exactly what genre Ryan is producing. His album Don't Panic is something that I would want to cruise to at dusk, windows down as I ponder about my life. Sounds fake deep, but that's just the vibe that the album gives me.

6. Priests

Priests are definitely the group that is unlike anything else featured on this list. They're considered a punk band, but there's something more southern and twangy than a traditional punk band. Despite being formed within the past five years, they have an old-time sound to them, reminiscent of music decades prior to their inception. Sometimes you just need those songs that you can thrash your head around to and blast in an attempt to drown out the rest of your thoughts!

What artists have you been listening to recently?