Though summer may be winding down and the days getting shorter, the festival scene is still turning up the volume. As music fans and the industry at large descend upon various festival grounds – San Francisco for Outside Lands, L.A. for Hard Summer, Bristol, UK for Forwards Festival, Atlanta for Music Midtown, Chicago for Riot Fest, Austin for ACL, Turin, Italy for C2C and many others – there’s a wide spectrum of artists who are making waves that are listed in the smaller print of each festival poster.
In recent years, we’ve seen many of the headliners of today hit stages early in the day, as they were just breaking into the festival scene. In 2015, Post Malone hit the stage at Riot Fest at 12:30 pm. And in 2018 festival goers witnessed Billie Eilish ATL’s Music Midtown performing a late afternoon set.
This summer, while Kendrick, Billie, SZA, and Odesza will deservedly draw huge crowds as headliners, we’ll lean into artists on the rise. This week we’re highlighting some of the artists making waves on SoundCloud – and potentially starting their journeys toward the top of major festival bills in years to come – many are already well on their way. We’ve put together a collection of tracks from artists worth showing up for, or adding to your playlist.
LISTEN TO THE FESTIVAL RADAR PLAYLIST
Outside Lands, San Francisco, CA, Aug 11, 2023 – Aug 13, 2023
Yaya Bey
With four albums and plenty of critical acclaim under her belt, the Jamaica, Queens native Hidaiyah "Yaya" Bey is set to make her Outside Lands debut. Bey’s signature blend of soul, r&b, jazz and reggae combines with her authentic stories about her life and experiences, partly inspired by growing up in a bedroom that doubled as a studio for her father, the late, legendary NYC rapper Grand Daddy I.U. Whether or not you can make it to SF, we’d recommend hitting play on “exodus the north star,” the sun-kissed, reggae-infused single that will bring you into Yaya’s world.
Holly Humberstone
As she prepares for Outside Lands, Holly Humberstone has not yet released her official debut album – that’s coming in October. But she’s already demonstrated more than enough talent, having earned the Brit Award for Rising Star last year. A violinist by training, she grabbed some early attention when she covered Radiohead’s “Fake Plastic Trees” in 2020, and she was soon invited to open select dates for Olivia Rodrigo. Check out “Antichrist” or “Room Service” for appetizers before the new album arrives.
HARD Summer, Los Angeles, CA: Aug 5 – Aug 6, 2023
Yune Pinku
Growing up in her Malaysian-Irish household, Yune was not exactly enamored with her mother’s music: Mum was a trance fan. So it came as a surprise to Yune herself when she began making electronic music. She realized her affinity for chilled-out sounds during the pandemic, and that set the tone for her breakthrough. She’ll bring her “angsty” EDM to Hard Summer in L.A. on August 5.
Yung Bae
The future funk and vaporwave producer Yung Bae first came to prominence with his innovative samples of 1980s Japanese city pop. Originally from Portland, OR, before moving to L.A., where he’ll play this year’s Hard Summer. Bae has collaborated with an impressive range of artists, from Nile Rodgers and Method Man to Jon Batiste, and the future looks even brighter.
Forwards Festival, Bristol, UK: Sept 1, 2023 – Sept 2, 2023
RAYE
The British songwriter Raye made her name by writing for Beyonce, Rihanna, Ellie Goulding, and a few other folks you may have heard of. Now she’s well on her way to the top with her own career: After a string of successful singles, she dropped her debut album “My 21st Century Blues” in February. She’s on the opening day bill for the new Forwards Festival in Bristol on September 1.
Yazmin Lacey
Hailing from East London, singer Yazmin Lacey got her start writing songs in her bedroom. After moving to Knottingham, she began breaking out on the scene with acoustic shows. Her dub-laden, jazz-infused stylings layered with her uplifting soulful vocals led her to acclaimed performances on BBC and Jazz FM. After three EPs, Lacey dropped ‘Voice Notes,’ her (partially) FlyLo inspired debut LP which features the feelgood and festival ready “Tomorrow’s Child.” Catch Lacey at Bristol’s Forwards Festival on September 2nd.
Riot Fest, Chicago, IL: Sep 15, 2023 – Sep 17, 2023
Fade 'Em All
Isaiah Rusk, Oscar Santander, and Cory Williamson are Fade ‘Em All, a genre-bending punk rock group from Houston. They went viral early on for a particular mosh pit the group inspired – an all-girl mosh pit. Isaiah and Oscar were hip-hop kids until they discovered the Ramones. Now they’re set to play the last day of this year’s Riot Fest, on a bill topped by the Cure, the Mars Volta, and the Gaslight Anthem.
Music Midtown, Atlanta, GA: Sep 15 – Sep 17, 2023
Destroy Lonely
21-year-old Atlanta rapper Destroy Lonely signed with Playboi Carti's Opium label in early 2021. Inspired by his dad, former Ludacris signee I-20, his influences are wildly diverse, and exactly what you might expect from a generation raised on the internet - from Crystal Castles, whom he name-checked on his track “CRYSTLCSTLES,” to the Deftones, whom he may have sampled on “SWGSKOOL.” Catch him waxing nostalgic on the latest PinkPantheress single “Turn Your Phone Off.” Destroy Lonely will hit the Music Midtown stage on September 16th.
BigXthaPlug
BigX is only 24, but he sounds like he’s been around the block forever. Once a football prospect, he’s now marching up the hip-hop field at a brisk pace, with over 100 million streams worldwide. On “Texas,” one standout from his new debut album “AMAR,” the big fella mixes down-home guitar (it’s a Shuggie Otis sample) with sure-handed couplets about his home state: “I’m from Texas/Where we still ride in swangas and put diamonds in our necklace.”
Skaiwater
Though he’s been busy dropping tracks on SoundCloud since 2018, the British producer Skaiwater has purposefully kept a low profile on the Internet and beyond. He’s been called “a new wave Swiss army knife,” which is an apt way of saying the guy can do it all. Having worked with Lil Nas X, Skai cites Drake and Kanye as influences, so you know he’s destined to move up the festival bill.
Sueco
The pop-punk song craftsman Sueco (real name William Schultz) often says that all he wants is for his listeners to “feel something.” Given the crazy range of sounds on his viral singles and his 2022 album debut, “It Was Fun While It Lasted,” there’s a lot to feel. The remix of his single “fast” features verses from Offset and A Boogie Wit Da Hoodie, so… yeah. He’ll take the stage on Saturday, Sept. 16, the middle day of Midtown Music in Atlanta, on a bill headlined by Billie Eilish.
Austin City Limits, Austin, Texas: Oct 6, 2023 – Oct 15, 2023
d4vd
Add this young Houstonian’s music to your growing playlist of new indie-pop dreamers from the gamer generation. A veteran of the esports organization Team Limit, d4vd (pronounced “David”), he leveled up in the music world last year with his gorgeously woozy single “Romantic Homicide.”
Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul
Though they hail from Belgium, this provocative electropop duo are true children of the whole wide world, and all its contradictions. On “Ceci n'est pas un cliché” Adigery repeatedly sings the line “I want to make you feel” in a robotic monotone, as if she herself isn’t convinced. We’re feeling it.
Michigander
Michigander aka Jason Singer first lit up the Detroit music scene when he opened for Flint Eastwood at the Motor City’s historic Fisher Building. Since then Michigander has been dropping a steady stream of singles and EPs of soaring pop-laden alternative tracks, including a collaborative EP with Manchester Orchestra. Michigander now calls Nashville home but has been criss-crossing the country touring relentlessly appearing at major festivals where it is not uncommon to hear the crowd singing back the lyrics “'Cause I've got high hopes, I got high hopes,” from his song “Let Down.” Michigander hits Austin City Limits both Sundays of the festival in October.
CLUB 2 CLUB, Turin, italy: Nov 2, 2023 – Nov 5, 2023
Two Shell
This mystery duo – they’re often masked, as if the pandemic hasn’t ended – don’t hide their love for catchy techno beats and weirdly memorable vocal clips. The uptempo earworm, “Love Him,” will get the C2C Festival crowd moving.
LISTEN TO THE FESTIVAL RADAR PLAYLIST
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