It's over. Finally.
Whatever anyone's got to say about the year 2016 — and plenty of people have had plenty to say — the one thing that can't reasonably be said of the last year is that it was uneventful. And while most of the events that prevent that categorization were some combination of tragic and surreal, there were still a handful of bright spots for St. Louis's music makers.
Here are ten artists who had a pretty alright year, and are poised to make 2017 a great year for St. Louis music.
Jack Grelle
While the rest of us were trying to keep our heads above water in the never-ending deluge of bad news that was 2016, Jack Grelle was hard at work writing, recording and playing nearly 100 shows around the country.
Benefitting from the recent resurgence of interest in a more honest and organic strain of country music — a trend evidenced by the enormous popularity of artists like Chris Stapleton and Sturgill Simpson — Grelle's mix of traditional country sounds with decidedly non-traditional subject matter has earned him a lot of attention in the past year. The 29-year-old south St. Louis resident was the subject of pieces in national publications including Impose Magazine, The Bluegrass Situation and the quarterly roots music journal No Depression — in addition to receiving an Independent Music Award for the best album in the "country" category for his 2014 release Steering Me Away.
After closing out the year with a pair of dates alongside Pokey LaFarge at Delmar Hall, Grelle says he plans to head out in support of his most recent release, Got Dressed Up to be Let Down, with performances throughout the U.S., Europe and possibly Canada.
Bloom
2016 has been a whirlwind for St. Louis singer-songwriter Kalyn McNeil. Though she'd been singing and recording her own songs since she was thirteen, McNeil relegated music to hobby status in order to pursue her career as a makeup artist.
That all began to change around a year ago, when McNeil started an open mic to perform covers of Jill Scott songs. Soon after, she was offered a spot opening for R&B singer Monica, and not long after that she took on the moniker of Bloom. In July, Bloom released her first single, "Raindrops," which has already garnered 66,000 plays on Soundcloud. The follow-up single "XCHXO!" currently has around 18,000.
On November 13, the 26-year-old Bloom put on her first show — the official release of her debut EP [SIN]SES to a sold-out crowd at the Thaxton Speakeasy, followed by a Sofar Sounds performance at Central Print.
In 2017, Bloom says she intends to continue performing in and out of St. Louis, as well as finishing her EP in progress, Psychedelic Bloom, a concept album inspired by "peaceful protests against war, violence and hate in the 1960s."
In her own words: "This project will provide alternative forms of mind expansion outside of drug use. Psychedelic Bloom will introduce an alternative addiction: music. Through the music, listeners will be able to escape and find their own internal empowerment. Music is the psychedelic."
Miistro Freeyo
Rapper, singer, producer and keyboardist Miistro Freeyo was first attracted to music as a child, when he saw his father playing piano and decided to teach himself the instrument. In time, he added singing, rapping and music production to his autodidactic skills.
This year, Freeyo released his debut EP Freeyo, including the single "Change Up," which landed him a place on DELUX Magazine's list of "St. Louis' top 5 independent artists to watch." Though he's been playing around town for awhile, Freeyo, now 23, says that 2016 was the first year he was able to be selective about gigs. The year also saw him doing more traveling, including shows at New York City venues SOB's and Village Underground, a performance at Kentucky State University's homecoming and a birthday party for St. Lunatic Murphy Lee in Chicago. He plans to continue releasing music and videos, as well as doing a larger-scale tour, in 2017.
Arshad Goods
Named a "rising star" by the St. Louis Post-Dispatch in August, Arshad Goods is a standout member of a thriving St. Louis hip-hop scene that's been in the national spotlight lately thanks to the success of Mvstermind's "Mali Moolah."
The 28-year-old Goods had only spent about a year and a half developing his musical abilities before releasing his debut EP, Black Sunday, in February 2015 — a short turnaround that seems almost unbelievable given the level of polish and depth displayed on the EP. On Black Sunday Goods — despite his limited musical and lyrical experience — sounds mature to a fault, expertly expressing desires and aspirations diametrically opposed, oftentimes poignantly contradicting himself in the course of a single track. Nowhere is this better exemplified than on the track "Marginalized Monday," with lines like "Sometimes I wanna be famous/Other times I wanna be nameless," and "I be all of the above/ Jew, Gentile and Christian."
As you might expect of the first release from an unknown artist, the EP garnered little attention. Since its release, though, Goods has continued to perform, steadily gaining a loyal following thanks to his charismatic on-stage presence and top-notch five-piece backing band.
Goods plans to continue performing in support of Black Sunday throughout 2017, in addition to releasing an as-yet untitled album that is currently in progress.
The Sleepy Rubies
As individuals, both Emily Wallace and Ali Ruby have long been fixtures in St. Louis' singer-songwriter scene, playing all over town from bars to farmers markets and living rooms to listening rooms. There's hardly a performance scenario that one or both members of the vocal duo haven't encountered.
Growing up in Winfield, Missouri, the two became best friends in high school — and then sisters when Ruby's parents adopted Wallace. And though Wallace, 33, and Ruby, 31, have been playing music together since their teens, they didn't make an earnest try at combining their talents until about year ago.
After spending some time perfecting their arrangements, the two enlisted the help of engineer Jason McEntire of Sawhorse Studios along with a backing band of veteran St. Louis musicians (Tony Barbata on drums, Shawn Hart on bass, Jim Peters on guitar and Mark Hochberg on strings) to record their debut, Great Big Love. The Sleepy Rubies released the album to a packed house at Off Broadway in July, then kicked off this year's LouFest, performing to a surprisingly large crowd given their early slot.
Looking ahead to 2017, Wallace and Ruby already have a set of material they plan to record this spring, in addition to filming a music video for one of their songs.
18andCounting
For enigmatic rapper, producer and visual artist Stan Chisholm, a.k.a 18andCounting, 2016 was a year of growth, despite the fact that he only performed for live audiences a handful of times. Chisholm spent the first few months of the year writing and arranging music, which he eventually performed with frequent collaborators Sarah Vie and Patrick Boland (on violin and drums, respectively), backed by acclaimed new music ensemble Alarm Will Sound.
As the year progressed, Chisolm and his core group of collaborators, TheOnlyEnsemble — comprising Vie and Boland, along with drummer Ian Quarttrocchi and Brennan England on his custom homemade didgeridoo — hosted a string of late-night improv sessions, inviting guest musicians from St. Louis's DIY community. These gatherings inspired Chisolm's latest release, TheBirdsAtThisHour, a self-produced collection of songs and soundscapes, which he released over the course of three multimedia events from October through December. Chisolm calls TheBirdsAtThisHour "a brooding, paranoia-induced, sultry culmination of tracks collaged from collaborative and isolated recordings ... built from the mutated moments of analog gear, acoustic instruments, drum machines, electronic-tinged vocals, guest players and ghosts in the air."
While he has few concrete plans for the coming year, Chisolm, 30, says he sees more out-of-town performances as a significant possibility, and hopes to engage in more collaborations with other St. Louis artists.
The Leonas
In addition to her work with Chisholm in 18andCounting, vocalist and classically trained violinist Sarah Vie comprises half of acoustic folk duo the Leonas alongside vocalist, guitarist and banjo player Steph Plant.
While the two played frequently around town since forming the Leonas, the summer of 2016 marked the duo's first time touring. They traversed the Midwest from Kansas to Minnesota and back, playing songs from their 2015 EP Peace, along with tunes from their then-unreleased full-length album, Forbidden Fruit.
A concept album examining the Biblical tale of humanity's origins in the Garden of Eden, focusing on the marginalized and oft-demonized Eve, Forbidden Fruit got its digital release in August. In December, the Leonas released a music video to accompany its first single, "Girl." The CD version of Forbidden Fruit will be released January 31 with a performance at the Sheldon; the duo plans to continue performing and promoting the album throughout 2017.
Dracla
Ray Kannenberg has been around the St. Louis DIY scene for awhile, performing in punk acts Dad Jr. and Boreal Hills in addition to letting out his less-aggressive impulses in indie-pop outfit Men Working in Trees. Never one to settle down, Kannenberg's latest project is a significant departure in numerous ways.
In it, Kannenberg, 25, dons cape, blouse and whiteface to become Dracla — not to be confused with Dracula, whom Dracla explains was an imposter who attempted to take his place during an "extended rest in the noontide of [his] 800s." Kannenberg/Dracla provides vocals and fuzzed-out bass, syncing up on sludgy unison riffs with guitarists Nick Kempen and Jake Jones (who also plays in Bug Chaser) and keyboardist Nathan Dick, while drummer Kevin Insinna (also of Bug Chaser) provides a rock-solid rhythmic foundation. The result is something akin to the stonery proto-metal of early Black Sabbath, only with a centuries-old vampire replacing Ozzy Osbourne.
Dracla released its self-titled debut EP in March, followed by a brief fall tour of the Midwest with Shitstorm. Kannenberg plans to start recording an LP this spring, in addition to a few more regional tours.
The Chimps
The sometimes dry and often absurd humor of St. Louis trio the Chimps belies the seriousness of the group's musical endeavor, which features beautifully written songs arranged into ultra-tight three-part vocal harmonies. A case in point is the title of the group's yet-to-be-released album, Play No Evil, which Native Sound Recording owner, engineer and producer David Beeman calls "the best album" he's ever worked on.
Composed of three longtime St. Louis singer-songwriters — John Krane, Jesse Irwin and Dave Werner — the Chimps operate differently than most acts when it comes to booking. The trio only plays a handful of shows each year, preparing a totally unique hour of material for each. According to Krane, "Because our music is so focused on harmony and songwriting, people don't talk at most of our shows, and we want to give them a show that's worthy." Because of that, they seek out listening rooms instead of bars or concert stages.
Thanks to the infrequency of their live performances, Krane says, "it's as exciting every time as something like an album release. We've had packed audiences for every show we've played so far, and we might start issuing the recordings of those shows at some point."
The Chimps plan to continue playing sporadic but uniquely programmed performances in 2017, as well as release Play No Evil.
Danté Wolfe
Maybe you haven't heard of rapper Danté Wolfe, but you probably know of his work. Born Kelly Petty Jr., Wolfe is a member of hip-hop collective M.M.E., which has gained greater recognition in the last year thanks to fellow member Mvstermind's ascent to national fame.
Though he's been a member of M.M.E. since the collective's founding and appeared on numerous collaborative efforts, January 2016 was the first time that Wolfe, 24, released a full album of his own material, calling his debut The God Complex. Wolfe partnered with New York-based radio promotions company Crowd Control Music, which resulted in the album's debut at No. 35 on CMJ's weekly hip-hop charts. His second album, Carlton Ave, quickly followed in November. (Its single, "Temp Tags," debuted two months earlier.)
In 2017, Wolfe's top priority is creating videos to accompany his existing recordings, though he still plans to work on new music: "I'm going to use the videos to really break down the music and add a new level of understanding. I will be working on something new in the meantime. I'm just going to be really patient with releasing it."
