Ava Franks is an indie pop artist based in New York. She released her first single in 2021. In the years since, her catalog has grown into upbeat, hook-driven indie pop that draws on singer-songwriters across several decades, especially the 1990s.
Ava writes about falling in love and growing up. She's figuring out her early twenties: one song at a time. "Sweetless Surrender," a co-release with Young Rising Sons, is her first collaboration. The single is a folk rock drenched indie pop banger all about the intoxication of love. She shares, '“Sweetless Surrender” was so much fun to create.
I loved channeling the kind of 90s indie alt energy you’d hear at Lilith Fair. And the fact that Young Rising Sons could be a part of the song just makes the whole thing more special. I’ve been a fan of theirs for a while, from back when I heard “High” on the radio for the first time. This collab feels completely full circle to me, and I’m super grateful!"
About Young Rising Sons: Unapologetic honesty is their thing. That’s what makes Young Rising Sons so captivating and relatable. The Jersey band warmly invites audiences into their personal and creative journey, sharing the highs and lows of life in pursuit of dreams through rich, transcendent, indie pop n’ roll. They’ve accumulated well over 100 million streams, thanks to irresistibly vibrant songs like “SAD (Clap Your Hands),” “King of the World,” “Carry On,” “Tomorrow,” and “Sunday Sunshine.”
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Montreal's of Shapes are introducing themselves with “Mantis,” the first single from their upcoming self-titled EP. Formed in early 2026, the four-piece brings together Melissa Charbonneau on vocals, Alex “Speechless” Savard on guitar, Tom James on bass and Charles-André Chamard on drums, united by a shared love of ’80s new wave, post-punk and goth.
Their sound pairs the darker urgency of post-punk with a strong pop sensibility, drawing inspiration from foundational artists like Siouxsie and the Banshees, Killing Joke and The Cure alongside contemporary acts including IDLES and Amyl and the Sniffers. It’s a meeting point between old and new, but one the band intends to make distinctly their own. of Shapes - Presskit 2026
“Mantis” is the first glimpse into that world and opens the band’s forthcoming four-song EP, alongside “Cathedral,” “Limbo” and “Playhouse.” Recorded by Sam Gemme (credits include Corridor, Population II and Choses Sauvages) at Montreal’s Gamma Studio, the EP reaches back to the raw, restless post-punk sounds of the late ’70s while deliberately pushing beyond nostalgia. For of Shapes, the goal is to take those influences and carve out a space of their own: dark, immediate, melodic and intentional. With “Mantis,” the band sets that vision in motion, offering the first taste of a new Montreal group finding its voice while keeping one foot firmly planted in post-punk’s shadowy past.
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Yesterday the new single and creative music video from the award-winning singer-songwriter (Grand Prize in the John Lennon Songwriting Competition) Antje Duvekot was released. Entitled "NO", the single details the beginning of personal agency: no to shrinking, no to appeasement, no to being endlessly palatable, and no to the idea that a woman’s value depends on how comfortable she makes everyone else.
Originally born in Germany and transplanted to the U.S. as a young teen, Antje Duvekot began honing her observational skills through a lens of biculturalism when she picked up a guitar in high school. Some years later, the confessional folk of Dar Williams and Ani DiFranco gave her license to share those observations, no matter how personal, in her first emerging songs. She has never let go of the tenet of vulnerability, building a celebrated career around songs that transform deeply personal experiences into something universal.
Antje has released six studio albums, including her latest, No, produced by Seth Glier, as well as five previous albums produced by Mark Erelli, Seamus Egan of SOLAS, Richard Shindell, and Scott Petito. Her recordings feature support from Anaïs Mitchell, Dar Williams, Rose Cousins, Heather Maloney, John Gorka, Meg Hutchinson, Lucy Kaplansky, Sean Mullins, Liz Longley, and others.
With No, Duvekot enters a striking new chapter, one fueled by midlife confidence, self-discovery, and a long-overdue refusal to make herself smaller for the sake of keeping others comfortable. The album emerged from a deeply personal period of awakening in her 50th year, when the physical and emotional upheaval surrounding a uterine fibroid and perimenopause brought a lifetime of suppressed anger and frustration to the surface.
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Shooter of Truth marks Lyal Strickland’s first full-length album in ten years, and it arrives with the weight of a life fully lived in the years between. After the death of his father and a string of hard miles on the road in 2016, Strickland went through an emotional breakdown that left him questioning not only his place in music, but his ability to keep writing honestly. In the decade that followed, life did not stand still. He got married. He became the father of two young daughters. He stayed tied to the land and the cattle that have shaped his family’s story for generations. And in one weekend the songs returned.
The breakthrough came during a Southwest Folk Alliance conference, where Strickland wrote a batch of songs with a new kind of clarity: brutally honest, unguarded, and unwilling to dress up the truth. Those songs became the foundation of 'Shooter of Truth', an album that looks directly at alcohol, depression, old relationships, present love, failure, survival, and the strange grace of still being here.
Across its ten tracks, Shooter of Truth moves between solo acoustic performances ("Another Place And Time" and "Hellbent On A Heartache"), an acoustic guitar and cello backed duet ("Birds"), a couple irreverent fast paced songs and a collection of mid-tempo tunes rooted in country, folk, and Americana. The record is earnest and raw without being polished smooth. This is the Lyal that hasn’t been captured fully on record before. The musicians on the album all hail from the Ozarks, lending the album a sound that feels tied to place: unpretentious, and lived-in. The sound that results is shaped by the same hills, highways, churches , barrooms, and back roads that run through Strickland’s writing.
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Katie and the Bad Sign are a Manchester England based rock band known for their punchy guitar sound, bold attitude, and high-energy live performances. Rooted in the city’s rich alternative and indie heritage, the band mixes gritty riffs with catchy melodies and sharp, honest lyrics.
Overall to describe them as riff based in your face bluesy rock, with powerful, husky female vocals, seems only reasonable.
Fronted by Katie’s distinctive vocals, their music balances raw rock intensity with moments of emotional depth, creating songs that feel both powerful and relatable. As they continue to play venues and build momentum in the UK and Europe, Katie and the Bad Sign are gaining attention as a band to watch in a new generation of rock acts.
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Growing Pains is a bittersweet reflection on growing older and the strange shift in perspective that comes with it. Moving beyond the literal aches of childhood, the song explores nostalgia, uncertainty and the feeling of watching once-fixed ideas begin to change. Growing Pains captures the vulnerability of getting older as new experiences and ambitions begin to challenge the certainties of youth.
Kate Prendergast is a young, rising Irish multi-instrumentalist with a gift for crafting deeply evocative songs, blending indie folk, blues, country and alternative rock. Her music is a raw and soulful mix of personal reflection and sharp storytelling, shaped by influences ranging from Bob Dylan to Radiohead and Hozier.
She burst onto the scene in 2024 with her debut single ‘Past Letters’, quickly followed by Undergrowth, Lavender Country, Ignition, Retold Tale, Glass and Glue and Exhale produced in collaboration with producer Declan Legge at Big Space Studios under the Stray Dog records label. Her songs have become staples on Irish, UK and International radio, resonating with listeners for their emotional depth and rich sonic textures. Whether performing solo or with a band, Kate captivates audiences with her haunting voice and magnetic stage presence.
Kate has been selected by international jury as an official showcase artist at Folk Alliance International 2027 in Chicago. This follows hot on the heels of an appearance at Your Roots are Showing – Ireland’s Folk Conference 2026, grassroots artist of the week by RTE 2FM, and nominated by Radio Wigwam for Best Folk and Acoustic Act 2026. With two EPs in the works and a rapidly growing list of live performances from Your Roots are Showing to Galway Folk Festival and opening for acts such as Aslan, Mundy, and Lorraine Nash, Kate Prendergast continues to carve out her place in the music world – fearless, introspective, and impossible to ignore.
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