Favorite New Artists Of 2023 (So Far)

On this edition of All Songs Considered, we asked NPR member stations to pick their favorite new artists of 2023. We begin with Matt Shaw from WJCT in Jacksonville, Fla. He chose the grunge-inspired music of Blondshell. Justin Barney from WNXP in Nashville is obsessed with the music of Hannah Jagadu, who recorded her debut as a student at New York University. Kara Manning with WFUV in New York is fascinated with how Abraham Alexander turns his pain into light and joy on his album SEA/SONS. From Dallas, KXT’S Benji McPhail got turned on to Nat Myers during a visit to Dan Auerbach’s Easy Eye Studios. Nat Myers is a musician from Kentucky with a Korean heritage playing music steeped in American roots music.

Ayana Contreras, content director at Chicago’s Vocalo, plays a cut from Madison McFerrin‘s debut album, I Hope You Can Forgive Me. Madison, the daughter of jazz artist Bobby McFerrin, makes music that’s both deep and effervescent. I pick the final cut from a man that may not perfectly fit the definition of a new artist. Peter One was a famous artist in his home of Côte d’Ivoire in the 1980s. He left the political unrest over 30 years ago and put music aside to work as a nurse. Now living in Nashville, Peter One has released a gorgeous new album, Come Back To Me, and I play the song “Cherie Vico.”

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1. Blondshell: “Olympus,” from Blondshell

2. Hannah Jadagu: “What You Did,” from Aperture

3. Nat Myers: “Yellow Peril,” from Yellow Peril

4. Abraham Alexander: “Tears Run Dry,” from SEA/SONS

5. Madison McFerrin: “Stay Away (From Me),” from I Hope You Can Forgive Me

6. Peter One: “Cherie Vico,” from Come Back To Me

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More new favorite artists from around the NPR Music network:

• WUNC (Chapel Hill, N.C.): Pale Jay
• WNRN (Charlottesville, Va.): Hotspit
• WMOT (Nashville, Tenn.): Jobi Riccio
• WTMD (Baltmore, Md.): Tianna Esperanza
• KUTX (Austin, Texas): LP Giobbi
• WXPN (Philadelphia): Al Olender
• KCRW (Santa Monica, Calif.): Brittany Davis