Sophie Buskin is an alt-folk artist based in New York City, crafting songs that live at the intersection of memory and transformation.
Her debut EP Sweet Creature topped the Roots Music Report’s Alt-Folk chart in 2019, and was praised for its lyrical depth and emotional honesty. Sophie’s first full-length album is set for release in early 2026 and marks a bold new chapter in her evolving sound.
Sister Speak is the recording alias for Sherri Anne Nyberg. With roots stretching from Canada’s west coast to Sweden, Sherri Anne is currently exploring a deeper connection to her homeland and cultural roots through her upcoming EP, Coming Home.
Sister Speak is known for powerful live performances and socially conscious lyrics. She has a dedicated fanbase and has gained popularity through her stage presence, raw authenticity, songwriting and recordings. Sister Speak has toured extensively throughout the United States, Canada and Europe, in support of her first four albums, each of them “a result of moments of extreme vulnerability transformed into music,” says Sherri Anne.
Her upcoming release, Coming Home, marks a significant milestone in her artistic journey as it represents her first intimate acoustic EP. This is also the first time Sister Speak performs a song almost entirely in French, as heard in duet “L’amour partout” recorded and translated with BC artist Matt Stern. Collaborating with award-winning Canadian engineers Elisa Pangsaeng and Erik Nielsen, the album and music video for Coming Home is a heartfelt homage to her roots in British Columbia, a theme that resonates deeply with Sherri Anne as she reflects on her experiences and yearning for home amidst her travels. She is currently spending time in Montreal, learning French.
During her travels Sister Speak was named “Best Pop” at the San Diego Music Awards, “Top Ten Rhythm Guitarists” by NBC, and was regional finalist of CBC Searchlight. Sister Speak has performed at many iconic venues like Belly up in San Diego, Troubadour Los Angeles, and shared the stage with music legends of various genres including The Doobie Brothers, Air Supply and reggae artist Don Carlos. Her music has been featured on CBC, BBC, CFNR, NPR, commercial stations, “California Roots Presents” playlists and various radio stations around the world. The song “Will it Ever” from the Love For All album is featured in the John Travolta/Kristin Davis movie Cash Out. At the heart of her musical pursuit, Sherri Anne aims to share message-driven music and support the authentic expression of the woman’s voice.
Cuddle Magic is Benjamin Lazar Davis, Christopher McDonald, Dave Flaherty, Alec Spiegelman, Kristin Slipp and Cole Kamen-Green–a six-piece avant-pop band located between Brooklyn and Philadelphia. All six musicians are in-demand collaborators in New York’s musical community and work with a wide array of artists, from pop superstars like Beyoncé to critically lauded independent musicians like Will Sheff (Okkervil River) and Amanda Palmer (Dresden Dolls), as well as with respected figures of the avant-garde like Fred Frith and Ran Blake. The members of Cuddle Magic met as students at Boston’s New England Conservatory.
It’s been a few years since the New Yorker labeled Cuddle Magic’s music “high concept chamber-pop.” At the time, that was a fair statement about a band known to utilize 12-tone rows, odd meters, and extended techniques; a band which had collaborated with new music pianist Phyllis Chen. But with Ashes/Axis, the band’s new full-length record, listeners are less likely to hear echoes of the academy. All sorts of heady compositional devices, both musical and literary, are still present, but the members of Cuddle Magic have learned to bury those influences deeper in the substrate of the music.
June Isenhart is a songwriter who records music at her house in Somerville, MA. She enjoys playing the guitar and drums, and sings in local rock-and-roll band Miss Bones. She has two cats, and there is a good chance she is already showing you pictures of them right now. If you ask her to mix your album she will probably do it.
Drawing from many musical traditions, almost olive explores heartfelt themes through their catalog of original music balancing groove and heart. Fresh off the release of their debut EP, award winning fiddler and multi-instrumentalist Jacqui Armbruster and multi-style cellist Karl Henry create a dynamic and lush tapestry of sound and voice any listener will enjoy.
Becks is a queer scholar and musician, focusing their work on community engagement and placemaking through music and agriculture. As a musician, Becks works to create events that bridge the divisions in communities. Their scholarship focuses on the inherent queerness of Appalachian music and the importance that music traditions hold, both in Appalachian communities and the queer community. They also work hands-on in local food systems, working on farm projects and learning about small-scale farming in mountain communities.
Becks is also the Project Manager at Plaid Dog Recording Studios in Boston, MA managing crowdfunding and marketing for artists who record at the Studio. Plaid Dog’s crowdfunding model allows artists who are typically unable to access studio spaces to record quality music without accruing any out-of-pocket costs. Becks uses this platform to empower artists from all backgrounds to record and release music while simultaneously pursuing their Master’s Degree in Appalachian Studies at Appalachian State University, focusing their thesis on Queer Music Traditions in Appalachia.
Clover-Lynn, also known as hillbillygothic, is an American bluegrass and gothic country musician and TikToker. She is the banjoist of the band Clover-Lynn and The Hellfires.
Clover-Lynn grew up in rural Franklin County, Virginia. Her family has lived in the Appalachia region of the Virginian Blue Ridge Mountains for over two-hundred years. She was raised in the Baptist tradition.
Clover-Lynn grew up listening to country and bluegrass music, citing The Stanley Brothers, Flatt and Scruggs, and Rhiannon Giddens as early influences. She worked in the tech industry on the west coast before moving back to Virginia to pursue a career in music.[1] She is the lead of the band Clover-Lynn and the Hellfires, formerly called the Laurel Hells Ramblers. In 2024, she performed at the Floyd Country Store music venue in Floyd County, Virginia.
Clover-Lynn amassed a large following on the social media platforms TikTok and Instagram, under the username hillbillygothic, where she posts videos of herself playing the banjo and combatting misognyist and anti-LGBTQ content.
Miki Fiki is an alt-pop project by artist Ted Hartog, founded in 2017 in a ranch-style house in West Nashville. From the debut self-titled EP to the danceable single “Stranger”, Miki Fiki has been influenced by artists as varied as Anderson .Paak to Ben Folds. Jazz/funk instrumentals combine with lyric-heavy verses and expansive harmonies to create a sonic landscape of “indie-pop brilliance” (Lightning 100), a sound that has made fans and friends in sweat-soaked basement shows from Mobile, AL to Amsterdam, NY.
Amelia Day is a queer folk rock powerhouse entering the conversation with mainstays like Brandi Carlile, the Indigo Girls, and Melissa Etheridge. Underscoring her carefree melodies with gritty, confessional lyricism and raw, heartfelt delivery, she performs with an intimacy that makes even new listeners feel familiar. Amelia mixes elements of her adolescent Seattle mixtapes of folk, rock, and jazz in music that plays freely with genre, while still being undeniably “Amelia Day”.
Without a label, manager, or agent, Amelia has sold out venues like Seattle’s iconic The Triple Door, played festivals like Seattle PrideFest, Capitol Hill Block Party, and CHOMP!, been featured on popular stations like KEXP and 107.7 The End, and independently amassed over 4M streams and 120K monthly listeners on Spotify. Amelia Day recently completed her debut, self-booked West Coast tour and is hard at work recording her next project!
Cinamon has been writing music for over 40 years, using it as a powerful form of self-therapy and personal healing. In 2017, they earned an MA in Expressive Therapy with a focus on music therapy from Lesley University. Their journey of recovery continues through the transformative power of creative expression, where music remains at the core of their healing process.
