Slingshot : NPR

Slingshot Public radio music stations have always broken new artists, but never quite like this.

Slingshot

Public Radio's Artist Incubator

Subscribe to NPR Music Newsletter

VOTE: Who Is Your Favorite New Musician Of 2018?

Who is your favorite new musician of 2018? Neha Dharkar/NPR hide caption

toggle caption

Neha Dharkar/NPR

VOTE: Who Is Your Favorite New Musician Of 2018?

November 1, 2018 • Slingshot, VuHaus public radio stations and NPR Music's emerging artist series, spotlighted 40 artists over the course of the past 10 months. Now it's time for you to tell us your favorite.

Raveena Explores The Facets Of 'Temptation'

Raveena's "Temptation" video. YouTube hide caption

toggle caption

YouTube

New Music

Raveena Explores The Facets Of 'Temptation'

October 23, 2018 • The New York-based R&B singer and NPR Slingshot artist offers a lush song about exploring sexual fluidity, with a visual that nods to Bollywood.

Courtesy of the Artist

Go Figure: Ruston Kelly Ice Skates In 'Son Of A Highway Daughter' Video

WMOT

October 22, 2018 • Yes, the rising country star can ice skate. And well.

Favorite Sessions

Watch Brent Cowles Perform A Stripped-Down Set Live In The Studio

WGBH Radio

October 22, 2018 • The NPR Slingshot artist didn't need more than an acoustic guitar and his aggressive, expressive voice to captivate the audience at WGBH.

Watch Lawrence Rothman's Beautiful And Brutal 'Decade' Video

Floria Sigismondi/Courtesy of the artist

New Music

Watch Lawrence Rothman's Beautiful And Brutal 'Decade' Video

WYEP

October 23, 2018 • Lawrence Rothman's latest music video, directed by Floria Sigismondi, is a mesmerizing and unsettling spectacle.

Watch Dermot Kennedy Perform An Acoustic Set Live In The Studio

Watch Dermot Kennedy perform four tracks live in the studio. Greg Shea/WGBH hide caption

toggle caption

Greg Shea/WGBH

Music

Watch Dermot Kennedy Perform An Acoustic Set Live In The Studio

WGBH Radio

October 3, 2018 • The expressive vocalist took a break from touring to perform an intimate, captivating set for WGBH.

Phoebe Bridgers, Live In Concert: Newport Folk 2018

Phoebe Bridgers performs at the 2018 Newport Folk Festival. Christopher Hall/Mixtape Magazine hide caption

toggle caption

Christopher Hall/Mixtape Magazine

Newport Folk Festival

Phoebe Bridgers, Live In Concert: Newport Folk 2018

September 28, 2018 • The 2018 Slingshot artist performed songs that unspool with a sonic ease that feel refreshing, even for an overheated festival audience.

Phoebe Bridgers, Live In Concert: Newport Folk 2018

55:00

Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/630619429/652531683" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Watch Hatchie Perform Candy-Coated Tracks From 'Sugar & Spice'

Watch Hatchie perform songs from her EP, Sugar & Spice. Dan Tuozzoli/WFUV hide caption

toggle caption

Dan Tuozzoli/WFUV

Studio Sessions

Watch Hatchie Perform Candy-Coated Tracks From 'Sugar & Spice'

WFUV On-Air: Music Discovery Starts Here

September 28, 2018 • Australian artist Harriette Pilbeam took time out of her U.S. tour to gift WFUV's studio these sweet tracks.

World Cafe Nashville: A New Music Roundup

Ruston Kelly performs live on the 2018 AmericanaFest's Day Stage presented by WMOT, NPR Music and World Cafe. Val Hoeppner/WMOT hide caption

toggle caption

Val Hoeppner/WMOT

World Cafe

World Cafe Nashville: A New Music Roundup

XPN

September 25, 2018 • The new music that's come out of Nashville in recent months is an embarrassment of riches.

Listen: Octavian Takes Off With 'SPACEMAN' Mixtape

Octavian's latest mixtape SPACEMAN is available now. Will Robson Scott /Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption

Will Robson Scott /Courtesy of the artist

New Music

Listen: Octavian Takes Off With 'SPACEMAN' Mixtape

September 10, 2018 • The Southeast London rapper drops off his first project since being named one of NPR's Slingshot artists, playing hopscotch with trance, alternative R&B and hip-hop all at once.

Heavy Rotation: 10 Songs Public Radio Can't Stop Playing

Ruston Kelly. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption

Courtesy of the artist

World Cafe

Heavy Rotation: 10 Songs Public Radio Can't Stop Playing

September 1, 2018 • This month's playlist includes 10 songs by Slingshot artists: public radio's favorite new musicians of 2018.

Hear New Music From Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, Lucy Dacus' Supergroup Boygenius

Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus are boygenius. Lera Pentelute/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption

Lera Pentelute/Courtesy of the artist

New Music

Hear New Music From Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker, Lucy Dacus' Supergroup Boygenius

August 21, 2018 • The three songwriters share a musical sensibility and a friendship, so it's only natural they combined their superpowers for a collection of aching, intimate songs.

George Li performs a Tiny Desk Concert on July 31, 2018 (Eric Lee/NPR). Eric Lee/NPR hide caption

toggle caption

Eric Lee/NPR

Tiny Desk

George Li: Tiny Desk Concert

August 31, 2018 • Watch the young Harvard grad dispatch some of the most "knuckle-busting" piano repertoire with uncommon panache and precision.

Dermot Kennedy performs a Tiny Desk Concert on July 27, 2018 (Eslah Attar/NPR). Eslah Attar/NPR hide caption

toggle caption

Eslah Attar/NPR

Tiny Desk

Dermot Kennedy: Tiny Desk Concert

August 24, 2018 • Backed for the first time ever by members of the Howard Gospel Choir, the Irish singer-songwriter shows off a voice built to fill stadiums in more ways than one.

'Keep The Evenings Long': Dermot Kennedy Shares His Go-To Playlist

Dermot Kennedy at NPR's Tiny Desk. Eslah Attar/NPR hide caption

toggle caption

Eslah Attar/NPR

'Keep The Evenings Long': Dermot Kennedy Shares His Go-To Playlist

August 15, 2018 • 2018 NPR Slingshot artist Dermot Kennedy shares an intimately curated playlist he created for late nights on the tour bus.

Haley Heynderickx performs a Tiny Desk Concert on July 2, 2018 (Eric Lee/NPR). Eric Lee/NPR hide caption

toggle caption

Eric Lee/NPR

The Colorado Sound

June 20, 2018 • The Colorado singer revisits an emotional breakup that he carries sonically with encapsulating harmonies and tear jerking guitar melodies.

Bedouine performs a Tiny Desk Concert on April 16, 2018 (Bob Boilen/NPR). Bob Boilen/NPR hide caption

toggle caption

Bob Boilen/NPR

Tiny Desk

Bedouine: Tiny Desk Concert

April 30, 2018 • Bedouine is Azniv Korkejian, a singer and guitarist who echoes sounds from the 1960's North American folk songwriters, but with vocal inflections closer to Leonard Cohen than to Joni Mitchell.

Brent Cowles Experiencing 'Cold Times' In Hot Texas

Brent Cowles performs "Cold Times" for KUTX. KUTX hide caption

toggle caption

KUTX

Music Videos

Brent Cowles Experiencing 'Cold Times' In Hot Texas

KUTX 98.9

July 4, 2018 • Colorado singer Brent Cowles performs a bare-boned rendition of "Cold Times."

Watch Gracie And Rachel Play 'Only A Child' And 'Go' Live In The WFUV Studio

Joanna LaPorte/WFUV

Studio Sessions

Watch Gracie And Rachel Play 'Only A Child' And 'Go' Live In The WFUV Studio

WFUV On-Air: Music Discovery Starts Here

May 9, 2018 • Gracie Coates and Rachel Ruggles write songs that ebb, flow and fly with ethereal tension and release. The 2018 Slingshot artists perform 'Only A Child' and 'Go' at the WFUV studios in New York.

Watch Jade Bird Perform 'If I Die' Live In The Studio

Jessica Hanley/KCRW

Favorite Sessions

Watch Jade Bird Perform 'If I Die' Live In The Studio

KCRW

May 3, 2018 • Jade Bird has a country flair that belies her native England. The 2018 Slingshot artist performs her stripped-down piano ballad, "If I Die."

Chris Coomey/Courtesy of the artist

Goat Yoga Helps Brent Cowles Be 'Okay Alone'

The Colorado Sound

June 8, 2018 • All musicians have their own ways to prepare for performances. Colorado-bred singer Brent Cowles chose to work on his core with some baby goats before performing his single "How To Be Okay Alone."

Hatchie Takes Fans Along For The Ride With An Intimate Tour Diary

Band member Joe Agius using tour equipment. Courtesy of the artist hide caption

toggle caption

Courtesy of the artist

Music

Hatchie Takes Fans Along For The Ride With An Intimate Tour Diary

WFUV and Folk Alley

July 31, 2018 • The Australian band's sound is riddled with early 2000's vibes reminiscent of Beanie Babies and low rise jeans. A reemergence of that sound is exactly what the band's homeland of Australia needed.