Indie Artists to Keep An Eye On In 2019

2019 is full of insane music...but let's put our focus on Indie Rock.

What new faces from the rock and alt worlds will populate 2019's year-end charts and best-of lists? We're making our predictions, and we truly believe you'll agree. Last year, Billboard tried their best and they actually did hit spot on with a few emerging bands and artists, that now appear to be sticking around for the long haul. Props to Billboard. What we love most about indie-rock is the goofiness and self-expression all the artists share in common...which is the only thing they share in common. Across alternative, punk, indie, folk, and beyond, here are 17 sure bets and deep cut candidates to level up significantly this year.

Angel Du$t

From a city that is driving distance from our offices in Delaware, Angel Du$t comes from the city of Baltimore, Maryland. The band features members of hardcore party-starters Turnstile and Trapped Under Ice and their last album, 2016's Rock the Fuck On Forever, was about as fun as its title suggests....so very.

​For 2019, the band signed up with Roadrunner Records -- and even better, enlisted producer Will Yip, who's introduced heavy bands like Turnstile, Code Orange, and Title Fight and brought them to a whole new level of stardom. "The songs are very much Angel Du$t, while the production is some whole other shit," the band said in statement late last year. We tend to agree.

Angel Du$t Restores the Baltimore Grunge Scene

Bleached

Bleached Has a Strange Diet for Tour

​Bursting with inspiration from the Ramones, the Wipers, and Blondie, this garage punk band deserves way more credit then they're getting. With these related artists in mind, they've been able to acquire their own sound, without being too retro or similar to any of those bands  -- largely thanks to the emotional urgency of vocalist-guitarist Jennifer Clavin.

Despite the latest album being largely slept on, Bleached kept the momentum with 2017’s Can You Deal EP, which came accompanied by a zine featuring words and art from numerous forward-thinking female musicians. Bleached would fit right in alongside Nalani and Sarina at Gable Music Venture's LadyBug Festival in Wilmington, Delaware. But they toured Europe with freakin’ Paramore. Like what? It's a weird spectrum the band is caught in, where they're not too popular but still popular enough to tour with huge bands.

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Dominic Fike

Dominic Fike and the Great Bid War

Florida-born Dominic Fike emerged out of nowhere last year. Some saw him playing guitar, writing some music, singing and such. You might have caught him on a Snapchat article literally titled, "Who Is Dominic Fike?" But when we say some people saw him, we really mean his selfie camera lens. This kid was incognito, and rumor has it, he was hiding away on an island. He sparked an (alleged) major label bidding war behind his debut EP, Don't Forget About Me. He ultimately landed a deal with Columbia, around the time his management at Tha Lights Global (who also rep Lil Pump) partnered with the label's parent company, Sony. So he's got some big fellas behind him. Given the fuss around the Soundcloud crooner's guitar chops and Apple logo face tattoo, don't let the hypebeasty ego fool you; Fike's hit single "3 Nights" is catching some noteworthy buzz on radio stations across the country. Some would say Dominic Fike is like Jack Johnson mixed with the attitude of Lil Pump, and I wouldn't say that's too far off, not to mention he's affiliated with Kevin Abstract...

FEVER 333

Did someone say Rage Against the Machine for 2019? It's been some time since the originals had a chance to defend that title, but their fellow rap-rocking Angelenos are coming on strong. With police brutality, white nationalism, and general inequality lurking all around this country, FEVER 333 blew up last year with their single "Walking In My Shoes" that went top 10 at Mainstream Rock Songs, and its follow-up "Made An America" followed as a staple on the chart, even earning a 2019 Grammy nod for best rock performance. Like Angel Du$t above, Fever 333 is signed to Roadrunner Records, and has the help of Travis Barker from Blink 182. ​I mean, c'mon, TRAVIS BARKER. Hell yes.

Fever 333 is the New Rage Against the Machine

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