The Band: Maria Taylor
The Buzz: One half of dream-pop duo Azure Ray takes off for the country, turning in grand, galloping folk songs.
Listen If: You wish Taylor Swift were a little less chipper and chirpy.
Key Track: "Cartoons & Forever Songs," a bright, bounding love song that sports simple, moving lyrics and guest vocals by Michael Stipe.
The Band: Love Language
The Buzz: North Carolina group proffer broke-down folk music, constructing songs from slack acoustic guitars imagine a kind of Romper Room Appalachia.
Listen If: You whiled away your childhood strumming away on a tiny plastic, nylon-stringed guitar.
Key Track: Ultimate crowd-pleaser (and lone rocker) "Lalita," whose searing guitar brands itself across the brain instantly.
The Band: Laura Gibson
The Buzz: Think of her as Maria Taylor's shyer, quieter sister: pastoral acoustic songs topped with Gibson's miniature voice.
Listen If: You need a new soundtrack for your next long hike through the enchanted forest.
Key Track: The lonesome, loping "Spirited," where Gibson's breathy coos bounce across twinkling finger-picking.
