Owen

The Kinsella family has been associated with the "emo" buzzword for nearly two decades at this point, whether it be referring to older brother Tim (Cap'n Jazz, Joan of Arc, Make Believe) or cousin Nate, who assists Tim in many of his projects' live incarnations. But Mike Kinsella is by far the most talented of the three. He cut his teeth in the short-lived jazz-emo group American Football before going solo as Owen in 2001. Over the course of eight years and five full-lengths, Kinsella's indie-folk has become significantly lusher, starting with the ambitious string arrangements found on 2006's At Home with Owen. He tends to use a full band on recording but only a lone acoustic guitar live, which makes his sets hit or miss. However, he recently played his first-ever full-band Owen shows in Chicago, so hopefully he'll realize what he's been missing out on all these years.