Episode 029 - My Favorite 21st Century Acts

This week, I am addressing a comment made by a few members of the audience who point out that this podcast is focused on older acts and older music. I love new music, so I am taking this week to focus on my favorite acts that only started their careers in this new century. I go through the 9 acts that I like best, and note others that I didn't include but would have liked to. I would love to build up a broader list, so watch the episode and then please share your thoughts - what other 21st Century acts are making great music?? Let me know!

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Transcript

Alex Gadd: 0:00

Welcome to the Rock-N-Roll Show Podcast. I'm your host, Alex Gadd, and this week, I've got another list for you, but this isn't a top 10 list. This is a list of my favorite 21st century rock acts. I'm doing this because I got a few comments about how the acts and the music that I discuss on this podcast tend to skew to the older side, which hints at the slow decline of rock music in our popular culture over the past 30 years. And yet I'm listening to a lot of music released by bands who were only formed in the new century. So I wanted to take the time to call attention to these phenomenal acts today and hope that I'll turn you on to some new music. Now, this is my list based on my opinion, so before you get up in arms over bands that aren't mentioned here, I encourage you to post your own list in the comments below, I'd love to hear about more good new music and spread the word, which is really what this podcast is all about. So stick around for the list of my favorite 21st century rock-n-roll acts, here on the rock-n-roll show podcast coming up right now. Of all the bands that I've found that were formed in this century, my favorite so far is Blackberry Smoke, an Atlanta, Georgia based band that plays southern rock music that hits my ears just right. They got labeled as country at first, and then southern rock, and their last album was even categorized as Americana. But listening to any of their albums, you'll hear a little bit of Skynyrd in there, some of the Allman Brothers, some Stones, as well as a bunch of other influences that make this band an absolute blast to listen to. They're equally good playing hard rockin songs, mid tempo songs, ballads, and I find that doing all three of those things well is rarely done by a single band. But Blackberry Smoke can do it all, as well as cover the bands they're most influenced by on various EPs they've released over the years including an excellent cover of Midnight Rider and an amazing seven song EP of Rolling Stones cover songs. They're total road dogs. I see them as often as I can live, and they never disappoint. The musical focal point is their lead guitarist, also their singer and songwriter Charlie Starr, who has a great voice, killer chops. He's an amazing performer. The band's been together since just about 2000 and has expanded a few times to its current six members. But bassist Richard Turner has been there with Charlie Starr since the beginning, along with Richard's brother, the original drummer, Brit Turner, who just passed away this past February. But the band persisted and I saw them just a few weeks after Brit had passed away. They were so good, able to honor their fallen brother's memory while continuing to play knockout shows. They've released eight albums filled with great songs, so if you aren't familiar with them already, there's a lot to get into. I think that you might start by checking out their second album. It's called A Little Bit of Dixie If you do that first, I think it's the clearest statement of what they were reaching towards, and here's"Good One Coming On" from that album. Take a listen. If you start there, I believe the rest of their catalog makes a lot of sense, but do give them a listen and enjoy. Second on our list is Larkin Poe. Larkin Poe is a band made up of two sisters, Rebecca and Megan Lovell. Or is it Lovell originally they were a trio called the Lovell sisters with their older sister Jessica dropping out in 2010. The 2 remaining bandmates reformed as Larkin Poe named after their ancestor, supposedly, who had been a cousin of Edgar Allen Poe, at least that's what I found out when I read a 2022 interview with them in Provincetown magazine. In any event, they describe their music as roots rock-n-roll and it's certainly gritty and cool. I first discovered them in 2017, maybe 2018 when they released a cover of Ram Jam's Black Betty and I dug into their music and I've yet to be disappointed. Check out Wanted Woman from a tour stop they made earlier last year.

5:30

Come on, sister!

Alex Gadd: 5:39

Their latest release is the brand new song, Bluephoria, from their upcoming album, Bloom, which I believe comes out in January, and it's a serious groove, so Larkin Poe, give them a spin. Third band on my list is the Swedish band Ghost. Ghost is fascinating They really are other than what they appear to be. What they appear to be is a Nordic death metal band that dabbles in Satanism, complete with a lead singer that claims to be the Anti Pope, and a band of"Nameless Ghouls" that wear full head masks and play songs nominally about the devil. Now, that sounds like a lot, but what they actually are Is an arena rock band that performs a theatrical show complete with pyrotechnics, some church iconography, lots of guitar solos and 80s rock sound and a mythology that extends to a web series about the inner workings of their anti church, which are funny and underscore the unserious nature of their satanism. Their songs are catchy as hell, written with big choruses, loads of hooks. My favorites include"Square Hammer" and"Ritual," as well as their covers. They cover Genesis's"Jesus He Knows Me" and Rocky Erickson's"If You Have Ghost," which was on an EP of the same name that was produced by Dave Grohl. I first got onto them thanks to Justin Hawkins of The Darkness, who has his own YouTube show. Check it out, Justin Hawkins Rides Again. And he discussed them when they were releasing their last full length album and they had a single out called"Call Me Little Sunshine." That was in 2022. So I've only been onto this band for two years. And then they released a movie this past spring called Right Here Right Now that went into theaters for a week. It was half concert movie, half something else. I haven't seen it yet, but I'm looking forward to watching it soon. It's streaming as a pay per view on a platform called Veeps right now. There's a lot to consume there. A bunch of records, a bunch of web content, a bunch of EPs, but the songs are the main attraction and they're excellent. Check out"Square Hammer" here live and check out Ghosts if you like hard melodic rock-n-roll. Number 4 on my list, Kings of Leon. Kings of Leon released their first album, Youth and Young Manhood, in 2003. My friend Javier turned me on to them, and it caught my attention right away. The songs Molly's Chambers and Holy Roller Novocaine were the two that stood out for me then. They released two more records in 2004 and 2007, but it was 2008's Only By the Night that provided their mainstream breakthrough hits. Yes, not one, but two of them."Sex on Fire" and"Use Somebody." There were other really good tunes on this album including"Closer" and"Manhattan," but it was their sixth album, Mechanical Bull, that really is my favorite. Songs like"Family Tree.""Wait for Me,""Super Soaker." Here's a live version though, of"Molly's Chambers" from their first album done earlier this year in Nashville.

8:40

This is what you've been waiting for.

Alex Gadd: 9:22

Now the band just wrapped up their tour. I saw them last week on their second to last date, and I will be reviewing that next week. So come back for that, but check out their music and look for them to go on tour again, hopefully in the next year or two Number five, you can't do a list of 21st century bands without including the Killers. The Killers were founded by singer Brandon Flowers and guitarist Dave Keuning in Las Vegas in 2001, and after writing and shopping their demo around, they finally got signed in 2003 and exploded onto the scene in 2004 with what has to be considered one of the best debut albums ever, Hot Fuss. With songs like"Mr. Brightside,""Somebody Told Me," and"All These Things I've Done the band combined alt rock, new wave, and pop into an undeniably catchy sound that has propelled them to becoming one of the biggest bands in the new century, releasing albums and mounting big tours, headlining all the top arenas. As with many bands these days, their album sales have decreased with every release, even as each of their albums has made the top 10 in the U S and every one of their albums has gone to number one in the UK. I'm going to guess that's due to the decline in album sales overall in the industry... still, albums like Sam's Town and Wonderful Wonderful have great songs on them, and while it may be hard for the Killers to reach the heights of their debut success again, wouldn't put it past them. And with their last album, 2021's Pressure Machine, having been released three years ago. And then last year, they announced that they were canceling their next album, and Brandon Flowers is planning to release a solo album next year. The only new music we can expect from the band in the next year or so is a new single they just released two months ago called Bright Lights. They're still on tour in Mexico and heading to Australia before they wrap up the year, so that'll have to tide us over for now. But let me give you a taste of what they're like live. Check it out.

11:14

Ready, let's roll, this is it, dude He's taking his time, I'm here to set my place I can't breathe when somebody's holding me You got a voice that can move my picture I got potential

Alex Gadd: 11:56

Now there are still seven LPs worth of music for you to catch up on. So make sure you put the Killers on your playlist and give them a listen. One of my favorite new bands is number six on my list. Mammoth WVH. Mammoth really has been at least to date a Wolfgang Van Halen solo project in the studio. He recorded all the music for both of his albums himself. And that's pretty incredible unto itself. And then he brought a band together to tour behind those records. I saw them open for the Foo Fighters ever so briefly this past summer, and they were awesome. The name's a reference to his dad and his uncle's band prior to starting Van Halen, they called their first band Mammoth The music is straight ahead hard rock and is good pretty much across the board. Songs like Distance, which was a tribute to Wolfie's father, Don't Back Down and You're to Blame from the first record and then from Mammoth 2, Another Celebration at the End of the World, Take a Bow, and I'm Alright. Those are all the high points for me. Here's a 2023 performance of Don't Back Down.

12:57

Now you know what you want to do

Alex Gadd: 13:40

Now Wolfie's supposedly preparing to record Mammoth 3 right now, so that hopefully will come out sometime in 2025. And the band is out on tour through the beginning of December, opening for Creed along with the band Three Doors Down. So go check out this music either live or in recordings. Number seven on my list, Chris Stapleton. Now, Chris Stapleton is a country music artist who's also one of the best songwriters out there right now, which makes sense, given that he started out as a songwriter in Nashville and he's written some amazing songs for acts like Kenny Chesney, Luke Bryan, and George Strait, among others, but he was also a performer starting out as a singer for a bluegrass band called the Steeldrivers with whom he played and had some success in the bluegrass world from 2007 to about 2010. He then tried a more Southern rock sound with a band called the Jompson Brothers, but that didn't seem to really break or happen for him. In 2013, he signed as a solo artist and released his first LP two years later, 2015's Traveler. That's an incredible album. Since then he's released four more albums. He's won a bunch of CMAs and a bunch of Grammy awards, and he's collaborated with people like Justin Timberlake, Ed Sheeran, Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave. Now, Chris Stapleton's a great singer and a great guitar player as well. I first really got hip to Chris Stapleton in 2018 when he played Saturday Night Live and did an amazing version of his song"Midnight Train to Memphis" from the Steeldrivers days that he re recorded for his third solo album. I can't show you that because SNL locks down the presentation of their performances as they have a right to do, but you can certainly find it on YouTube on his channel. And it includes a guest appearance by the amazing Sturgill Simpson as well. It's well worth the watch. In the meantime, take a look at"Midnight Train to Memphis" from last year, right here.

15:33

Well, now, there's a blowin sun comes up Head of the floor, pick up in my cellar Eat your breakfast on the ground In the middle of the sun goes down Forty pence, not a dollar, but Oh, oh

Alex Gadd: 16:16

Chris Stapleton is more than just country, more than rock-n-roll, he's just an excellent all around artist that can do most anything, including covering Metallica's"Nothing Else Matters" as well as anyone ever has. Check that out if you can find it. Easy to find. He's done songs like"Say Something" with Justin Timberlake,"Blow" with Ed Sheeran and Bruno Mars, and has many excellent songs of his own including"Broken Halos,""Second One to Know,""Millionaire,""White Horse,""Arkansas," and many more should be enough to keep you going back for more Chris Stapleton. He's a great musician and worthy of your time and your ears. Number 8 on my list, Lake Street Dive. Lake Street Dive got off to a slow start in the first decade of the new century as their members were in other bands, as well as Lake Street Dive, and they were just trying to find their sound. But by 2012, they had all committed to this band, and in 2013, they recorded their fourth album. And it was the first that had any record company support. They released it in early 2014. It's called Bad Self Portraits and it included the song"You Go Down Smooth," which I first heard on SiriusXMs The Spectrum channel, and it caught my ear right away. Four years later, they had a hit with the song"Good Kisser," a fantastic track, and I really locked in on Lake street Dive. 10 years later, just last month, they played Madison Square Garden for the first time. Take a look at"Good Kisser" from that show.

17:57

If you. I don't know why it's you, but I, I, I messed up. That's what it's like to suck!

Alex Gadd: 18:23

I don't know why there's a soft focus effect on the video, but I thank Alex Iwanicki for sharing the recording Now, this is a different vibe from some of the other acts I'm sharing with you today, but I like a lot of different music. So give Lake Street Dive a listen and get into it. It's worth it. Number nine on the list, the Turnpike Troubadours. These guys play country and roots rock influenced songs that sound amazing. I don't know a ton about this band's history, except I know that they did do a hard reboot of their band and shut it down between 2019 and 2021, spun it back up, and came back after some personal things were addressed. Don't know what they were, but I first caught up to them much earlier back in around 2013, when I found the song"Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" from the 2012 album, Goodbye, Normal Street. That album also had the amazing song"Good Lord, Lorrie" on it among others. And I went back and found their 2010 album, Diamonds and Gasoline, and the song"1968," which is another powerful song. I went to see them for the first time last year, 2023, and was absolutely blown away a really impressive show. Here they are playing"Before the Devil Knows You're Dead" at Stagecoach in 2023.

19:38

And he put the goal cross And there were five feet All the kids were screaming Through the midnight Till they came down again By the front side of the bar It's just a game And it don't begin Here's another round Let's be thankful for today You're no last And as indeed the world Will end And when our Tears are red May we all Get to heaven

Alex Gadd: 20:15

So go see the Turnpike Troubadours. They have a few more dates this year, spread out all over the U S California, Arizona, Indiana, Michigan, and Texas. And then they already started booking dates into the next year. So I hope I get to see them again soon. Meanwhile, they have six albums worth checking out. So please do. Now, there are so many other bands that I like from this century, including Velvet Revolver, Zac Brown Band, Brandy Carlile, The London Souls, Audioslave, Wolfmother, Kaleo, Struts, Black Keys, The Raconteurs, The Hold Steady, And the best named band of the century, uh, or is it the worst named band? King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. I couldn't cover all of them in this episode, but please let me know if you want a follow up, and I'll cover those bands. It's also worth calling out some of my favorite bands that had their first releases in the late 90s. Queens of the Stone Age, Eagles of Death Metal, the Donnas, and Muse come to mind there. And certainly there are a bunch of bands I left out because they're not my style. I don't love them, but I know how popular they are. Bands like Hozier, Florence and the Machine, Fallout Boy, My Chemical Romance, Imagine Dragons, and more. No disrespect intended. This is my list of my favorite acts. There's plenty of room for other opinions on the Rock-N-Roll Show Podcast, and rock-n-roll is a pretty broad term, so let me know what you think in the comments. Well, that's it for this week's episode. Thank you for joining us. We'll be back next Tuesday, and if you like what you heard today, we'd appreciate it if you would subscribe or follow to make sure you get notified about each new episode. And please tell your friends. Also, a reminder that we release a playlist for every episode. Look for the Rock-N-Roll Show Podcast Playlist on Spotify every week, this week featuring the songs from the bands I mentioned here today. So check that out. Additionally, we want to know what you think. Please leave us a comment. We'll try to respond to every one of them, or at least every one of them that's shared respectfully. The Rock-N-Roll Show Podcast is a World Highway Media production. I'm your host, Alex Gadd. And until next time, remember that life is short, so get those concert tickets.