best new voice [music] (sofa awards 2012)

December 19, 2012

tags: Alabama Shakes, Brittany Howard, Hold On, You Ain't Alone

The ninth annual sofa awards… keep coming back as more recipients are revealed throughout the rest of the year…

The best place to learn about new music is on this site. But, the second best place to learn about new music is by finding out who your favorite artists are listening to themselves. In an interview this past spring, American Idol’s Haley Reinhart mentioned Alabama Shakes. I immediately checked them out and within seconds of pressing play, was sold. With a voice that is a reminiscent of both Minnie Ripperton and Janice Joplin – yeah, I know – Shakes’ frontwoman, Brittany Howard, is a guitar-playing, rabble-rousing, roof-raising blues/rock/soul gift from God. The buzz started building around time for the South By Southwest Festival and only exploded after Shakes’ fiery showing there. And fiery it is; there’s nothing pretty about the way Howard attacks the stage, getting downright gritty when she sings, the raw emotion dripping like sweat from every pore. Culminating in a well-deserved Grammy nomination for Best New Artist, Alabama Shakes has the momentum behind them to stay in the forefront for years to come.