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Midwest Made: New Local Music to Add to Your Playlist 

by Amy Felegy

Silhouette of a singer against a colorful abstract background
Photo Credit: OPLIAM Facebook
Chicago-based musician OPLIAM, a self-described “alter-Native rock” and “Native Americana” artist.

We asked y’all for local band recommendations, plus a few favorites from staff here at Arts Midwest. Listen up!

If you had an embarrassingly meager number of Midwestern artists on your year-in-review playlist, this one’s for you. We scoured the internet (and your hot tips) for the best new Midwest-made music to listen to in 2025.  

Here’s a sampling of artists from the Dakotas to Ohio. Be sure to listen to the half-hour-long playlist and tell us who we’re missing! 

  • Chayla Hope: If the color pink had a sound, this would be it. This Cleveland, Ohio, based artist’s sound is sparkly,strong, and guaranteed to boost your mood. Come January 24, her newest EP Delusional hits soundwaves everywhere.
  • Double Winter: Aptly named for what often feels like excessive winter in the Midwest, this group hails from Detroit, Michigan. Their sound is psychedelic and playful with a perfectly deep vocal track to keep you coming back for more. We recommend ICU from their album, Hourglass.
Two musicians perform and sing on a dark stage.
Photo Credit: Kat and the Hurricane Facebook
Kat and the Hurricane
  • Kat and the Hurricane: Synth much? This Madison, Wisconsin, trio certainly does. An all-queer and trans indie-pop group, it’s hard to pinpoint exactly what year their music sounds like. 2014? 2024? All of the above? Perhaps—though the band has only been releasing music since 2017. Swimming II is a high-energy bop from their latest album.
  • KennyHoopla: Ohio (or Wisconsin, where he grew up) really won with this one. Making waves in the scene, KennyHoopla is ready for you to start a gentle mosh pit. The musician’s latest single, ONE TULIP//, raises the bar with its emotive, punk-indie handshake of a sound.
  • Kit Pines: We’re waiting for Sharon van Etten and Fiona Apple to announce North Dakota musician Kit Pines is actually their daughter. The “wild prairie punk” artist just released a New Year’s Eve album with some songs you’d be hard pressed to forget, including one of our favorites: Potatoes (Midwest, anyone?)

  • Lady Revel: It’s sweet, it’s snappy, it’s Des Moines-based indie rock band Lady Revel. Its latest single, Spilling My Guts, is bright but shoe-gazey with relatable lyrics for any emotional season. 
  • OPLIAM: The Chicago-based musician is a self-described “alter-Native rock” and “Native Americana” artist—and it shows in his live recordings. Pinning this to one genre isn’t it, but we’ll call Lungs On Fire 2 from his newest, delightfully buzzy EP. 
  • The Penny Peaches: These two Minnesota sisters perfectly capture Americana bliss. Don’t Ask Questions is such a sing-along song on one of three (what?!) albums released in 2024. Let’s go, girls (and dad on rhythm). 
  • Stella Standingbear: The ultimate confidence boost has arrived with Keep It Burnin’ from her EP Bear Spirit. The Lakota hip-hop artist lives in the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation, exploding with hits in 2024. 
  • Thundergoat: If metal music were underwater, it’d be Thundergoat’s music. Well, at least Etherean Scales from its latest EP. From Tomah, Wisconsin, the band goes subtly hard—a great intro to folks new to metal (it’s fun, we promise!) 
  • Wishy: Get those shoes out, it’s time to gaze upon them! Someone on Reddit called this Indiana-based band “fuzzy dream pop” and we couldn’t have said it better. Give Planet Popstar a listen. 
One more for the list – we’re loving Minnesota artist papa mbye!