You already know that we’re planning to make a return trip to the beautiful Canadian province of Ontario for this year’s Gussapolooza. Canada’s premier indie music festival will take place this year August 21-23 at the Georgian Bay Steam Show Grounds in Cookstown, just an hour or so north of Toronto. Three days of camping, community, arts, culture, and incredible live music will ensue.
About that “incredible live music” part: you still have a chance to be a part of this year’s Gussapolooza lineup — but only if you apply by this Saturday, January 31 at 11:59 p.m. ET.
After that, submissions will be closed, and the festival braintrust will begin crafting this year’s lineup. If you want to be a part of the magic with us and the whole Gussapolooza family, we encourage you to apply here!
Last week, the UnderDogs had the pleasure of returning to New Orleans, where we attended Folk Alliance International for the first time. The four-day conference and festival brings 3,000 of the genre’s leading artists and industry professionals together from around the world for networking, panels, workshops and, of course, showcases.
If you’ve never been to Folk Alliance, let us set the scene. After connecting via conference programming during the day, attendees stayed put at the Sheraton in downtown New Orleans to enjoy multiple levels of official showcases curated by the Folk Alliance braintrust. After those wrap up around 10 p.m., the real fun begins!
Registered attendees are then invited to take the elevator up a few levels, where multiple blocks of hotel rooms have been repurposed as performance venues, hosted into the wee hours by a small army of curators from around the world. With so many musicians in one place, we had a lot of ground to cover — and rest assured, there was no shortage of talent walking those halls!
We were so inspired by the week’s many memorable performances that we compiled a short list of some of our favorite acts from this year’s conference. It was tremendously hard to narrow this list down to just seven amazing artists, but we feel this list gives you a good cross-section of what to expect when you join us in Chicago for Folk Alliance International 2027!
Although he’s based in Atlanta, Buddy Red showed up to Folk Alliance in true New Orleans fashion, serving up a deliciously timeless gumbo seasoned with blues, rock, funk, and more. Buddy’s live performances not only present him as a versatile songwriter, but as a charismatic frontman whose contagious energy and vast technical ability combine for an experience not to be missed.
At just 18 years old, the Fort Worth-based songsmith showcases advanced songwriting ability and a world awareness well beyond his years. Barksdale’s Dylan-esque stage quips are thoughtfully delivered between songs, and his deft technical skill – combined with inventive prog-folk arrangements – give the folk genre an exciting new star to watch.
We may be headquartered in the home of country music, but Tulsa can stake its claim as the hometown of the most authentically country artist we’ve witnessed in a long time. Deck – an elected official whose job description entails “listening to the people and telling their stories” – provides earnest anecdotes about everyday life. His powerful baritone voice adds color and weight to every story, painting a picture so vivid that you’d swear you were there as it unfolded.
Above all else, folk music is a vehicle best driven by the unfiltered truth, and Ashley Virginia is not afraid to get behind the wheel. Hailing from North Carolina, Ashley’s inventive lyricism lifts the veil to reveal their most personal thoughts and experiences, while their standout artistic flair commands attention in any room. A true performer, Ashley has a knack for audience connection, offering hope through vulnerability, and activism in the face of injustice.
Hailing from Dublin, Ireland, CAOIMHÍN’s songwriting maintains its roots in Celtic folk tradition, while his arrangements – rich with danceable grooves and otherworldly ambiance – take his music into a unique stratosphere. Futurist themes open up a world of exciting possibilities to the listener, while this innovative songsmith rips up the rulebooks to usher in a rich New Age of Irish music.
For a moment, let’s keep our focus on emerging acts from Dublin. In 2015, Sina Theil moved to The Fair City to pursue a career as a musician – even if it meant busking on the streets and earning her way to opportunities. Fast forward more than a decade, and Sina’s diligence, talent, and inspiring presence have helped her find incredible success – including 26 #1 songs on the Irish iTunes charts, and the ability to reach audiences an ocean away.
Bringing things back around to Louisiana, this Lake Charles native comes from a multi-generational family legacy in the world of Creole and Zydeco music. His own spin on the region’s musical traditions has birthed a unique genre he calls “Kreole Rock & Soul,” a fun and familiar sound that simultaneously dismantles genre barriers. This dynamic listening experience is turned up another notch during Ardoin’s spirited live performances, where his larger-than-life presence inspires people from all walks of life to get out of their seats. If you want a performer who will give you his all – and sound great doing it – Sean Ardoin is your guy.
Artists are ready for change. Artists are ready for action.
Artists are tired of having their voices suppressed by an algorithm. By a gatekeeper. By a tech company and its “robots.”
Artists want what they’ve always wanted: to create, connect, and inspire. To impact change, and leave the world a better place than the one they found.
Artists don’t want to “optimize the creative process.” They embody the creative process.
And somehow, in this hyper-automated, “profits before people” type of world… that became a bad thing?
We’re booking them shows. We’re bringing them to industry events across state and country borders. We’re celebrating their milestones. In the process, we’re connecting with artists and industry changemakers from all over the world because we believe that, if enough of us can get on the same page, we can change the game for the better.
We can create an ecosystem built on sound moral and business principles; one which allows space for art so rich and diverse in scope that it becomes the new standard.
We’re here to create a new music industry: one where Creators Have the Power.
There is no art without artists. There is no music industry without musicians.
It’s time to give them their rightful seat at the table.
Any time music makes its way to us from the Jersey Shore, we can’t help but stand up and pay attention. There’s something so timeless and exciting about the unbridled energy of the region, and many of its acts have the talent to match our enthusiasm.
With that, we found a submission from Asbury Park’s The Band Palm in our backlog. After having a couple listens, it appears that our faith has been rewarded yet again!
The band’s debut single, “Doves (Hey You),” was released last July. Born from a spiritual awakening, the punchy alt-rock anthem reflects a moment of clarity shared by bandmates Brooke Riso (vocals/rhythm guitar) and Shayna Bay (bass/vocals) — and is credited by Bay as “the catalyst that allowed The Band Palm to come to life.”
“Brooke and I had a shared experience in which we felt under spiritual attack. We were confused, scared, and our only way to understand what was happening was to channel our feelings into music,” Bay recalls. “We rushed home and instantly got to work. The verse progression was one that Brooke had in her ‘unfinished/writers block’ collection. She knew right away to bring this progression to the forefront, but expressed to me that she was unable to continue it. Upon hearing, with inspiration in my mind, I instantly got pulled into the zone. I wrote the chorus progression almost instantly and, from there, The Band Palm was born.”
The duo then recruited lead guitarist Mike Ortlieb and drummer Matt Veiga to round out their lineup, which they’ve already begun taking on the road in advance of their forthcoming second single. The band performs across the tri-state area regularly, with a special date coming up at Musikfest — you know, that Bethlehem, PA-based festival that is at least indirectly responsible for UMC’s very existence — in early August.
There’s plenty of excitement to come. For now, immerse yourself in “Doves (Hey You)” by The Band Palm!
This past Sunday, January 18 marked 10 years since we officially launched.
Things looked a bit different back then. For one thing, Nashville was not yet a twinkle in our eyes. We were based in Bethlehem, PA, where we opened our digital doors to little fanfare as the plucky upstart, Lehigh Valley Underground.
I had just moved back to Bethlehem, my college town, the previous spring. I had worked as Event Staff for ArtsQuest since Musikfest 2014, and secured a PR & Marketing Coordinator job right next door at PBS39 by year’s end. After relocating from New Jersey in May 2015, The Quinn Spinn had gone into hibernation, and our entire fledgling platform faced an uncertain future, amid my and the group’s collective life changes.
I knew that I wanted to keep going, but I felt like the show would function better as part of a greater whole. That’s when I decided to try my hand at starting a music review blog. The first iteration was a short-lived Tumblr blog under The Quinn Spinn banner.
Then, after a night out on the scene in early September, it clicked.
I looked around at my surroundings. Bethlehem — and the Lehigh Valley as a whole — has long had a talent-rich music scene. And, with ArtsQuest playing host to the nation’s largest free, ungated music festival since 1984, it even had more industry infrastructure than most markets its size. There were even a handful of independent media outlets promoting local happenings. It felt like the right time to add a new voice to the region’s music landscape.
The following week, I began brainstorming. It didn’t take me long to come up with the name; we were in the Lehigh Valley, and we’d be giving shine to the original (i.e.; Underground) music scene. I went to work on a logo, and the early sketches involved designing the letters “LVU” entirely out of sewer pipes. You know… because pipes run underground.
Fortunately, I wasn’t a talented enough graphic designer to pull that off, so the idea never gained steam. I needed something simpler and text-based, and it needed to be gritty. So, I opened up Illustrator and, lo and behold, found the perfect typeface — Almaq Rough. From there, I pulled up a stock image of an acoustic guitar, put a sketch filter over it, and we had THIS beaut…
…which I immediately recognized looked terrible and was difficult to read. So, I changed the text to all white against the grey backdrop.
Still not my prettiest work to date, but it would do!
I would spend the next couple months building the backend of the website — yes, this very site that you’re currently visiting! I started contacting artists whom we had featured throughout The Quinn Spinn’s run, offering them the opportunity to be among the first featured on our new blog. I also decided to hold off on our official launch until January. After all, the holidays aren’t typically the best time to launch a new thing, and I was just beginning to process the sudden loss of my mother that September. I had spent much of the fall easing back into everyday life, and wanted to be sure that I didn’t overload myself. Work on the project resumed in November, after the Cubs had been eliminated from the playoffs in quick and hilarious fashion by the Mets in the NLCS. I no longer had a distraction, so it was once again time for an outlet.
Finally, on January 18 — Martin Luther King Jr. Day, because I had the full day off from work — I lifted the veil. We published our first features. Lehigh Valley Underground was live!
Immediately, I started venturing out onto the scene. I started connecting with artists and independent other media outlets. I also began observing the climate of the local ecosystem and one of its landmark events, the Lehigh Valley Music Awards (LVMAs). I worked the 2016 event in my Event Staff role at ArtsQuest, and I came away impressed with the production. However, I was disappointed with the behavior of those who came up short that night, who let their vitriol fly in seemingly every comment section in the region after the show.
So, I did what any complete unknown with a six-week-old music blog would do.
I took a deep breath before hitting “Publish,” knowing that one of two things would happen: it would establish LVU as an emerging voice in the local music landscape, or it would get us blacklisted from everywhere.
To my delight, it was the former. The LVMAs shared the post and, a few months later, invited us to take part in their official showcase at Musikfest. I started to hear my co-workers and the leadership team at ArtsQuest begin to talk about this new Lehigh Valley Underground thing. The region’s prominent artists began submitting their music and inviting us to cover their gigs. I found myself at more events all over the Valley, I continued improving as a photographer, and all of a sudden, we had a local music movement on our hands.
The rest, as they say, is history — and I’m excited to take a deeper look at that entire history throughout UMC’s 10th Anniversary year.
In the spirit of everyone on the internet talking about 2016, there’s no better time to look back on our roots. They tell the story of where we’ve been, and hold many important keys that we’ll need on the road ahead. 2016 marked a new beginning, and those early days, the lessons learned, and a decade’s worth of twists and turns have led us to the point where we’re still standing, 10 years later, and once again ready to travel the world, as we work to connect independent creatives everywhere.
We hope you enjoy the ride alongside us. 10 years of The Blog, and we’re still just getting started.
A weekend trip to the Smoky Mountains has resulted in the latest collaboration between UnderDogs.
Nicólas Soul teamed up with fellow hip hop artist and UMC Academy Faculty member Foundation Mecca on “smoky blues,” from the former’s latest full-length project, RISE OF THE LOST. Last weekend, the duo drove to eastern Tennessee to bless us with some visuals to go alongside the contemplative single.
“smoky blues” is dedicated to the memory of Bryce Evans, whose body was found in a remote location within Smoky Mountain National Park after going missing for five days. The verses recall the ways we experience and cope with pain in today’s society — whether through the news, or in our everyday lives. Through it all, the message is clear: every single one of us has scars. The bravest among us face them once they are brought to light.
“smoky blues” was produced by mangiiia, with the chorus performed by vocalists Shelby Conquest and Gianni Cashtro. Watch the video below!
UPDATE: As of press time, Foundation Mecca’s other most recent collaboration with Stefan Heuer on “I’ve Done Wrong” has eclipsed 44,000 streams across platforms, less than two weeks after release. In addition, Foundation’s monthly Spotify listener count has skyrocketed to more than 24,000 since release.
Pictured: The Toronto skyline from the top floor of Hotel X — one of the many places we traveled throughout 2025 as a result of trusting the process.
True depth and meaning cannot be manufactured. It must be developed in the process.
The process of creating. The process of being. The process of experiencing life with no attachment to outcomes. When we try to force the meaning, or control the result of each moment and interaction, we lose something very important: the opportunity for a beautiful, unique story to weave itself out of the ether and into the fabric of our existence.
Think about moments when things have gone well. Did you take those moments in stride, as positive feedback that the journey you’re on is the right one? That the process you’ve put into place is working? Or, did you see those moments as the ultimate triumph; the finish line you’ve been waiting to cross, only to find that life still goes on, with or without us.
Even in moments when our dreams come true, the sun still rises the next day. Don’t get caught dreaming too long, or you’ll miss what’s next.
The same goes for our unfavorable outcomes. Do you dwell on them? Do you resent people, places, or situations for not giving you what you want? Were you so attached to the outcome that you forgot to savor the experience or learn the lesson? Or, did you take *those* moments in stride as evidence that it might be time to try something different?
Did you regret trying those different things, or did they lead to cherished memories, aligned and supportive new relationships, and amazing experiences — all of which you’d never have had, had you gotten what you wanted in the first place?
No matter the outcome, there is beauty we can only see once we’ve learned to trust the process.
There is great humility (and opportunity for personal growth) in the realization that you’ve messed up.
Stefan Heuer investigates his side of the conflict on “I’ve Done Wrong,” a slick, gorgeous piece of modern pop featuring a verse from UMC UnderDogFoundation Mecca.
Produced by Fabian Balz and Porter Hall, “I’ve Done Wrong” is a contrite mid-tempo tune which calls to mind the sleepless nights we’ve all spent, ruminating on things unsaid and the ways we’ve fallen short. Heuer — with an assist from the Heal Hop architect — provides us all with an opportunity to reflect, while acknowledging that accountability, self-reflection, and forgiveness are all necessary stops on the road to reconciliation.
At press time, “I’ve Done Wrong” has already accumulated nearly 10,000 total in just four days after its release. Once you listen, we have a feeling you’ll want to run those numbers up even more!
More instructors. More subjects. More opportunities to learn, grow, and connect with the music industry.
We’ve had the opportunity to travel all over the world, learning from independent artists and industry professionals alike. A common thread in these conversations? While there are countless people with talent across the musical landscape, talent is only part of the equation.
The modern creative landscape makes being an independent artist so much more complex than write-record-release-perform-succeed-repeat. Embarking upon a career in the music industry requires us to challenge ourselves in new and evolving ways. We must learn how to communicate our messages, foster genuine relationships, and create opportunities. Building a career as an independent creative means keeping an open mind to possibility, a willingness to learn new skills, and the ability work in community with others moving in a similar fashion.
We’ve built that community — and it’s full of professionals who are ready to equip you with everything you need, as you scale the mountain toward your creative destiny!
Introducing UMC Academy 2.0
Our revamped UMC Academy gives you the power to build your own curriculum, based on your needs at this point of your creative journey. Our Faculty is skilled, well-versed, and successful in a variety of disciplines across the entertainment landscape — and they’re here to pay their knowledge forward!
Each UMC Academy Faculty member gives you the option to join them on a free discovery call, giving you the opportunity to share what you’re working on, while helping them understand how they can best serve you. From there, you and your Faculty member work together to decide your best path forward, developing a roadmap for greater success and visibility in the greater creative landscape.
Click the image below to meet our new UMC Academy Faculty!
One of Greater Nashville’s most exciting opportunities for emerging hip hop artists is back for another year.
Barz in the Boro — a monthly showcase held at Cedar Glade Brews in Murfreesboro — returns tonight (Jan. 3) with an all-new lineup featuring some of Nashville’s most notable emcees.
The showcase, hosted by Nashville hip hop veterans E.T. and Raw Proof, is “designed to shine a light on performers, build connections within the culture, and bring something fresh and exciting” on the first Saturday of each month. Barz in the Boro features a curated lineup of performers, a freestyle cypher, and DJ Know Name on the 1s and 2s.
