Miike Snow formed in 2007 when Swedish producing team Bloodyshy & Avant teamed up with American singer Andrew Wyatt. Bloodyshy & Avant members, Christian Karlsson and Pontus Winnberg, had a lot of success working for Madonna, Kylie Minogue, Kelis, Sky Ferreira, and several others. They even won a Grammy Award for Best Dance Recording for Britney Spears’ “Toxic”. Later, Karlsson and Winnberg met Andrew Wyatt in Sweden in 2004 while they were working on a new album for Britney Spears.

Two years after officially forming Miike Snow, the group released their first album, ‘Miike Snow’, with Downtown Records after releasing a single track for “Animal” just a few months prior. They went on to win several awards and create a variety of remixes of tracks for Depeche Mode, Kings of Leon, and many others. In 2012 they released their second studio album, ‘Happy to You’, and also several music videos to accompany the album. After confirming the making of a third album 3 years ago, ‘iii’ will be released on March 4^th.

The Lumineers, founded in 2002, got their start when Wesley Shultz (lead vocals, guitar) and Jeremiah Fraites (drums, percussion) were looking for a way to cope with the loss of Fraites’ brother and Shultz’s best friend. After several years of performing together they put out a Craigslist ad looking for another musician in 2010. After responding to the ad, Neyla Pekarek (cellist, vocalist) joined the band. Then, Stelth Ulvang (pianist) and Ben Wahamaki (bassist) joined in 2012, completing the group.

Their self-titled debut album was released in April 2012, peaking at #2 on the Billboard 200 in January 2013, with the album certified platinum in the United States and Ireland, and gold in the UK, Australia, and Canada. Also in 2013, The Lumineers received two Grammy Award nominations for Best New Artist and Best Americana Album. Their much anticipated second album, Cleopatra, is due in April.

The Strumbellas is a Canadian 6 piece, often described as alternative country or indie rock. The band formed in 2008 with four members- Simon Ward (vocals, guitar), John Hembrey (lead guitar), Jeremy Drury (drums), and Darryl James (bass guitar)- who met while living in Lindsay, Ontario. David Ritter (vocals, keys) and Isabel Ritchie (violin) later joined the group after Ward posted a Craigslist ad seeking additional musicians.

In 2009 The Strumbellas released their self-titled EP, bringing them positive reviews on various media outlets and blogs as well as being labeled "an up and coming band to watch". In 2010 they performed at several landmark venues, and then released their first full length album, My Father and the Hunter, in 2012. They then signed on with Six Shooter Records and released their second album, We Still Move on Dance Floors, in 2013. Their third album, Hope, is set to be released on April 22, 2016.

Formed in 2004 in Franklin, TN, Paramore is down to only two of their founding members after the recent departure of bassist Jeremy Davis. Hayley Williams and Taylor York did say that he left on good terms. Davis had left the band for six months for personal reasons back in 2004, but then returned until the January 18^th announcement. His reasons for leaving the band now are unclear.

Paramore has released four albums and won a Grammy in 2014 for Best Rock Song with “Ain’t It Fun” from their album ‘Now’. And their journey is not ending there- Williams responded to a fan on Twitter confirming that they are working on a new album that will likely be more pop-punk than rock.

Saint Motel is a 4 piece indie group from Los Angeles, formed in 2009 when A/J Jackson, lead singer, and Aaron Sharp, lead guitarist, met in film school. After finishing up the band with Dak, bass, and Greg Irwin, drums, Saint Motel released their EP ForPlay, and they made a music video for all 6 songs.

In July of 2012 Saint Motel released their first full album, Voyeur, with On The Records. The album includes 11 songs, with 5 of them having been released as singles first. Saint Motel also released EPs 7"1 (2011), 7"2 (2013), and most recent, released in December 2015, is their EP My Type, with a full length album expected to come in the near future. Also in 2015, they performed on the mainstage both weekends at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, and are now getting ready for their North America tour.

Deatch Cab for Cutie have been together since 1997 and have since released 8 studio albums, with their newest, Kintsugi, released just last March with Atlantic Records. They recorded their album at Eldorado Recording Studios in Burbank, CA, and for the first time ever brought in an outside producer. While they were recording Kintsugi, Chris Walla, lead guitarist and founder member, announced that he will be leaving the band after the album was done.

Kintsugi is nominated for Best Rock Album at the 58^th Grammy Awards. The other nominees for the category are Chaos And The Calm (James Bay), Mister Asylum (Highly Suspect), Drones (Muse), and The Gray Chapter (Slipknot). This is Death Cab for Cutie’s fifth Grammy Awards nomination.

Awolnation is a 5 piece American group formed by frontman Aaron Bruno in 2009. In the past Bruno was part of Under the Influence of Giants, Home Town Hero, and Insurgance. Awolnation signed on with Red Bull Records, released their first EP on iTunes in May 2010, and then their first studio album titled “Megalithic Symphony” in March 2011. From the album, their song “Sail” peaked at #17 on the Billboard Hot 100, #4 on Billboard’s Rock Songs chart, and #5 on Billboard’s Alternative Songs chart. “Sail” is certified 6x as platinum with over 5.5 million copies sold. Also from the album, “Not Your Fault” is certified 2x as gold. As of December 2014, the album as a whole is certified gold.

Awolnation’s second studio album titled “Run” was released on March 17, 2015 and included 2 songs, “Hollow Moon” and “I Am”, which were previously released as singles.

Cage the Elephant released their fourth studio album, Tell Me I’m Pretty, on December 18^th. Lead singer Matt Shultz said “With this record, we wanted to be more transparent”, and to do so, most of the 10 song album was recorded on the first shot while they tried to capture their onstage energy as much as possible. And, they went back to their roots for some inspiration by recording Tell Me I’m Pretty at Easy Eye Sound Studio in Nashville, TN, near their hometown of Bowling Green, KY.

Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys helped produce the album along with the Cage the Elephant members, and according to Rolling Stone, “These guys aren’t just reliving classic sounds, they’re giving them a frantic sense of dread that’s perfect for our own dislocated, paranoid times.”

Their record release pushed their single, ‘Mess Around’ to #3 on the Billboard Alternative Songs Chart, up from #4.

Congratulations to Elle King for her Grammy nominations! She’s in the running for Best Rock Performance and Best Rock Song, both for the song “Ex’s & Oh’s”.

Elle King was born in 1989 in Los Angeles, CA, and grew up in Southern Ohio. Her father is former SNL star, Rob Schneider, and her mother is London King. Around the age of 13, she was most inspired by the music of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Etta James, Aretha Franklin, Johnny Cash, and AC/DC- who she has tattooed on her arm. King spent most of her teenage years in New York City and Philadelphia, and she now resides in Bushwick, Brooklyn.

Released in February 2015, her latest album is called "Love Stuff," You can also check out her EP "Good to Be a Man" which features "Catch Us If You Can" and "American Girl" from the movie "Hot Pursuit."

The Struts are an English rock group formed in 2010 by Luke Spiller and Adam Slack. The two started recording together after their own separate bands fell apart, and after 3 years, they brought mutual friends in as drummer and bassist to finish the group. They came up with the name “The Struts” after a comment was made backstage that Spiller “struts around a lot”.

They released their first single “I Just Know” in 2012, followed by “Could Have Been Me” in 2013. In 2014 they released two singles, “Kiss This” and “Put Your Money On Me”, and their first full album titled “Everybody Wants”.

“Could Have Been Me” made a comeback this year alongside “Kiss This” and 2 other songs from “Everybody Wants” with their EP “Have You Heard”, released this past August.

Foo Fighters formed in 1994 by David Grohl, former Nirvana drummer, after Kurt Cobain’s death. Over the years they have released 8 albums, won 11 Grammys, and earned various titles of recognition. Recently, Foo Fighters were looking for a way to show their gratitude to their long lasting group of fans, so they put together a new, free EP titled Saint Cecilia, named after the hotel where they recorded it in Austin, TX. Grohl says he and some friends sat around and went through old riffs to create new music. The EP includes 5 songs- Saint Cecilia, Sean, Savior Breath, Iron Rooster, and The Neverending Sigh. The EP was released on November 23^rd and dedicated to the victims of the Paris attacks.

Nothing But Thieves is an English 5 piece, formed in 2012. They started with a single titled “Itch”, which quickly gained speed and was picked as Hottest Record and Track Of The Day on Radio 1. After that, they were chosen by My Chemical Romance’s Gerard Way and Awolnation to support their Europe tours. Nothing But Thieves later supported Arcade Fire and George Ezra, played at the NME Awards show, and then toured with Twin Atlantic, Darlia, and Young Guns on separate nationwide tours.

They signed on with RCA Records in 2014 and then their debut, self-titled album hit the Official UK chart at #7, peaked at #3 on iTunes, and was #1 on the vinyl albums chart this year. Nothing But Thieves’ single “Trip Switch” was released in June, but the full album is set for a February 2016 U.S. release and is currently available for pre-order.

Their sold out “Ban All The Music” UK tour started in October, and they announced a second British tour “Under My Skin” for April 2016.

Cage the Elephant has their fourth studio album, Tell Me I’m Pretty, coming out on December 18^th. Their Melophobia (2013) was nominated for a Grammy for Best Alternative Album, and they are using their advancements with that album to further push themselves, while also going back to the initial inspirations that sparked them to start making music. They also went back to their roots when they recorded Tell Me I’m Pretty at Easy Eye Sound Studio in Nashville, TN, near their hometown of Bowling Green, KY.

Lead singer Matt Shultz said “With this record, we wanted to be more transparent”, and to do so, most of the 10 song album was recorded on the first shot. They really wanted to capture their onstage energy in the record, and this has brought them their most focused songs yet.

Coleman Hell is a Canadian musician, originally from Ontario. In the early 2010’s Coleman Hell spent some time with Joey Burnz as part of Burnz N Hell, a Thunder Bay hip hop duo. He later co-founded Sideways, the Toronto artist collective, including Shan Vincent de Paul, La+ch, and Michah. During this time he released a free mixtape titled Stark Raving in 2013 and the Vera EP in 2014.

In February 2015 Coleman Hell released his debut single “2 Heads”. He signed on with Columbia Records this past spring, with his debut full album titled Srry Bout Last Nite expected to be released by the end of 2015.

Atlas Genius is an alt rock band of two brothers from Adelaide, Australia. Keith Jeffrey sings and plays guitar, and Michael Jeffrey plays drums. At one point, their other brother Steven was on bass, but he backed out very early on. Michael came up with the name ‘Atlas Genius’, saying it came to him in a dream.

The Jeffrey brothers started their career playing steady gigs at a local pub in 2009, and then their music took off from there with their debut record When It Was Now (2013). And, their songs “Trojans” (2011) and “If So” (2013) were in the top 10 hits of 2013. Their new album titled Inanimate Objects was released earlier this year.

Foals is an English Indie Rock band that formed in 2005 in Oxford, England. Back in 2008, the band released their first album “Antidotes”, and after success with 2010’s “Total Life Forever” and 2013’s “Holy Fire” they signed on with Warner Bros. Records.

Foals then started touring internationally, were featured at several festivals including Coachella, and have won “best live act” at the 2013 Q Awards. Foals frontman Yannis Philippakis is known for jumping off the stage and crowd surfing, and even got into an argument with a security guard who was trying to stop him. Philippakis’ last words to the crowd that night were, “I want to say a massive thank you to you and f*** that security guy.”

Nathaniel Rateliff grew up in rural Missouri with a passion for music. He learned to play the drums at 7 years old, taught himself guitar as a teenager, and then starting writing his own songs. Rateliff released his first album with Nathaniel Rateliff & the Wheel, titled ‘Desire and Dissolving Men’ with Public Service Records in 2007. He later released ‘In Memory of Loss’ with Rounder Records in 2010 in the US and later with Decca in 2011 in the UK. ‘In Memory of Loss’ caught Amazon.com’s attention, and received a 4 star review from The New York Times. In 2013, Rateliff quietly released ‘Falling Faster Than You Can Run’ with Mod y Vi records, and then set out on tour with The Lumineers and Dr. Dog.

Just this past June, Nathaniel & the Night Sweats released a self-titled album with Stax Records, with S.O.B. coming out on top as their lead single and one of the fastest rising songs in the country. The album sold over 21,000 copies in the first week, which put them at #17 on Billboard’s Top 200 Album Chart. And, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats have only been gaining more popularity since their performance early last month on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon.

Dan Auerbach, best known from The Black Keys, has ventured into a new genre as a side project with his group called The Arcs. Their debut album “Yours, Dreamily” is different from The Black Keys’ music. The Arcs take on R&B soul, with everything from funky beats to seductive instrumentals. “Yours, Dreamily” goes through emotional stages in the songs, creating characters of love and commitment, relationships gone bad, loneliness, and even romance. Auerbach says that he has around 75 songs together for The Arcs, and with what we’ve heard already, we can only hope that at least a few of them come to be.

Elle King was born in 1989 in Los Angeles, CA, and grew up in Southern Ohio. Her father is former SNL star, Rob Schneider, and her mother is London King. Around the age of 13, she was most inspired by the music of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Etta James, Aretha Franklin, Johnny Cash, and AC/DC- who she has tattooed on her arm. King spent most of her teenage years in New York City and Philadelphia, and she now resides in Bushwick, Brooklyn.

Released in February 2015, her latest album is called "Love Stuff," You can also check out her EP "Good to Be a Man" which features "Catch Us If You Can" and "American Girl" from the movie "Hot Pursuit."