Front Row Our favorite new bands, from the best seat in the house.
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Front Row

Our favorite bands, from the best seat in the house

The Lone Bellow performs at the 2013 Newport Folk Festival. Adam Kissick/NPR hide caption

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The Lone Bellow, Live In Concert

Formed as a creative outlet for singer Zach Williams as his wife recovered from an accident that nearly paralyzed her, The Lone Bellow performs with a sense of necessity.

The Lone Bellow, Live In Concert

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Jucifer performs at the Black Cat. Mito Habe-Evans/NPR hide caption

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Jucifer: NPR Front Row

The duo has been destroying ears and rattling bodies for 20 years. Somehow, the towers of amp stacks have gotten bigger and louder along the way. Watch Jucifer level the Black Cat in Washington, D.C.

Unknown Mortal Orchestra performs live at the Rock and Roll Hotel in Washington, D.C., on Feb. 27, 2013. Lizzie Chen/NPR Music hide caption

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Unknown Mortal Orchestra: NPR Front Row

Watch the band perform "No Need for a Leader," a tremendous cocktail of riff-rock and Black Sabbath-style psychedelia, recorded live at the Rock and Roll Hotel in Washington, D.C.

Chris Tomson (left) and Ezra Koenig of Vampire Weekend perform at Apogee's Berkeley Street Studio in Santa Monica, Calif. Brenda Janario/KCRW hide caption

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Vampire Weekend, Live In Concert

KCRW

For this performance, recorded for KCRW, Vampire Weekend took a night off from a West Coast tour to play for a small audience of eager fans at Apogee's Berkeley Street Studio in Santa Monica.

Iggy & The Stooges live from (Le) Poisson Rouge in New York City. Ryan Muir for NPR hide caption

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Iggy And The Stooges, Live In Concert

WNYC

NPR Music and WNYC's Soundcheck present a First Listen Live concert from Iggy & The Stooges. Watch the group rip through songs from its new album, Ready to Die, as well as a handful of favorites.

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Brainstorm

Watch the rock band Brainstorm blast punchy, post-punk-inspired rhythms at Austin's TenOak during the 2013 South by Southwest music festival. Here, the group performs the thrilling "Maybe a Memory."

Ivan & Alyosha win over new fans during a spirited performance at TenOak in Austin. NPR hide caption

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Ivan & Alyosha

The Seattle natives in Ivan & Alyosha possess cool charisma and an infectious sound that won over listeners at 2013's South By Southwest music festival.

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Blaudzun

Blaudzun made the trip from its home in the Netherlands to Austin, Texas, for the 2013 South by Southwest music festival. There, the group introduced its jubilantly beautiful songs to a new audience.

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Metz

Watch the noise-rock trio tear it up at the 2013 South by Southwest music festival. Recorded live at Bar 96, the band performs a heart-pounding version of "Wet Blanket" here.

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Bajofondo

Watch the eight-piece band perform "Duro y Parejo" to a huge crowd at Auditorium Shores for SXSW.

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Gashcat

The Louisiana band Gashcat makes fantastically catchy rock and pop songs. They returned to South by Southwest to give a thrilling, all-too-short performance. Watch them perform "The Morning Sun" live.

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Surfer Blood

Surfer Blood fans still have to wait a few months to hear its second album, Pythons, but the Florida band gave a preview of the record during shows at SXSW this year.

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Ducktails

This is a live band that thrives on experimentation, playing around and taking chances. Watch Ducktails on stage at Austin's Clive Bar as the band performs "Letter of Intent."

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Chvrches

Chvrches' bass-heavy pop sounds will be the soundtrack to many barbecues this summer. In the meantime, the Glaswegian trio got the crowd dancing at SXSW 2013. Watch them perform "The Mother We Share."