Dudes Who Rock

I promise that not every post is going to be about music. I will absolutely talk about other things on this blog in the future.

But not yet. Because this one is a direct followup to the last one.

After the previous post with the list of musical artists that Past Steven (2021 Edition) wanted to see, my good and dear friend Jenny pointed out that the entire list was roughly 80% female artists and 20% bands, with no solo male artists. I replied back with a very long list of male artists that I’ve seen in the last few years.

A very large portion of that list was made up of established artists, many from the 1980s. I’ve gone out of my way to see the likes of:

Gary Numan – Most folks know him from Cars, but he’s been making new music for decades and it’s awesome. Samples: Intruder, My Name Is Ruin
Howard Jones – You’ll probably know him from No One Is To Blame or New Song.
Alice Cooper – His live shows are over the top and amazing, just like his music.
Tom Jones – This Welsh crooner has been doing his thing for decades, but did you know he did a collaboration with The Cardigans of Burning Down The House?
Andy Bell – Yes, he’s half of Erasure, but he also has some pretty great solo stuff.

The list goes on and on for the legacy artists from past decades, but I have to admit that Jenny made a good point- the style of music I gravitate toward in newer artists is usually done by female vocalists. There are definitely exceptions, though, so here’s a list of five newer artists I’ve seen and enjoyed since I moved up to the DMV.

Jake Wesley Rogers – Rogers recently opened for Cyndi Lauper on part of her North American tour, but I saw him headline his own show at Union Stage, which holds about 250 people. He’s got a very dramatic style in the same mode as icons like Elton John and Lady Gaga.

Spencer Sutherland – Sutherland opened for Big Time Rush a few years ago, but I also saw him headline his own show at Union Stage. That place books some really great musicians.

Declan McKenna – McKenna is a British singer who first gained recognition for winning the Glastonbury Festival’s “emerging talent” competition with a protest song about the Fifa World Cup, and he makes bops that often have social commentary.

JP Saxe – Saxe is our first Canadian on this list, and his most well known song is a duet with Julia Michaels, but he’s got a few of his own albums out in the world.

Dermot Kennedy – Kennedy is Irish, and he started busking as a teenager, and was even asked to open for Glen Hansard at one point.

And that’s a wrap on five newer artists who have played shows here over the last few years. Because I am indecisive, here are two bonus artists to check out:

Marc Broussard – Broussard sings Bayou soul, which is a sort of funky Southern rock/blues type of music.

Daði Freyr – Finally, say hello to the most well known Icelandic singer who is not named Björk or Laufey. I first became aware of him when I was first learning about Eurovision while living in Germany.