Small artists who made my Spotify Wrapped 2024
Spotify Wrapped is here, and I want to celebrate the indie artists who made my year extra special.
Hey everyone, it’s been a while.
The last time I wrote a music newsletter, it was to say a few words about Charli XCX, who deservedly won Rolling Stone’s album of the year. But as my Spotify data reveals, I didn’t have much of a Brat Summer after all.
Would you believe my top artist was Bleachers after I essentially wrote them a love letter back in March? It may have been considered criminal if Rainbow Kitten Surprise didn’t make my top five, after they so graciously invited me to their listening party in Nashville.
Now that the long-awaited Spotify Wrapped is here, it’s important we remember those Spotify couldn’t exist without: Artists. Of the 1,417 artists I’ve listened to this year, I want to highlight some smaller ones whose tracks were in my Top Songs of 2024 this year:
Sarah Gross
I’ve followed Sarah Gross since her time at Syracuse University. While our alma mater introduced me to her, it’s not why I’ve kept listening. She blends the energetic, main character folk pop sound of Maggie Rogers with the whimsy of Stevie Nicks. More importantly, she’s everything I look for in a lyricist: authentic, heartfelt, and imaginative.
IG: @sarahgrossmusic
TT: @sarahgrossmusic
Sydney Ross Mitchell
Another fearless songwriter, Sydney Ross Mitchell doesn’t shy away from divulging all the gritty details of young love and heartache in her music. But “Fast Cars and Faster Horses,” heavy on Lana Del Rey-like Americana imagery, depicts a different kind of longing, for a life so well lived that Heaven can’t compete.
IG: @sydneyrossmitchell
TT: @sydneyrossmitch
Erin LeCount
Discovered from a cinematic TikTok I can’t stop watching, Erin LeCount’s mashup of Frank Ocean’s “White Ferrari” and Phoebe Bridger’s “I Know The End” brings out the best of both songs, creating a sense of nostalgia in the fearsome face of what comes next.
IG: @erinlecount
TT: @erinlecount
OSTON
If you happen to have a playlist titled “Songs to sprint down a long empty road to,” here you go. Spotify Wrapped is usually just my reminder of all the songs I forgot about from the spring. “Burton St.” by OSTON was once a key part of my routine, particularly my walk from the subway to work at the Business Insider office.
IG: @ostonmusic
TT: @ostonmusic
With that, a quick thanks to everyone who’s still subscribed. Though I’ve taken a break writing about music the last few months, this newsletter remains a much-needed creative outlet for me, and I’m happy so many of you support still my writing, music-related or otherwise.