5 Independent Artists to Soundtrack Your Summer

With warm weather, more free time, and perhaps some travel plans, summer is the perfect time to refresh your playlist and find some new music to make memories with. And in the digital age, it’s never been easier for talented and unique artists to get their music onto streaming platforms and into your headphones without […]

May 29, 2025 - 17:20

5 Independent Artists to Soundtrack Your Summer

With warm weather, more free time, and perhaps some travel plans, summer is the perfect time to refresh your playlist and find some new music to make memories with. And in the digital age, it’s never been easier for talented and unique artists to get their music onto streaming platforms and into your headphones without signing to a major label. Check out these five exciting artists from all over the map, musically and geographically, that have released great music independently in 2025 that deserves to be on your summer playlist.

1. PJ

Paris Jones, a singer-songwriter from North Carolina and based in Atlanta, has made moves in the music industry for a decade, recording an EP for Atlantic Records, guesting on tracks by Common and Ty Dolla Sign, appearing on the soundtrack for the HBO series Insecure, and earning writing credits on songs by Kevin Gates and Fantasia. But PJ has really found her voice as an independent artist, and singles like “NMN” and “Birthday” are playful and modern while still placing her in the same lineage as her ‘90s hip-hop soul heroes like Mary J. Blige and Lauryn Hill. PJ’s recent self-released single “Day One,” produced by Grammy-winning producer Nascent (SZA, Chance the Rapper), is a motivational anthem about her journey to doing things on her own: “If I ever change it won’t be money or fame, it’s me just wising up to how they’re playin’ the game.”

2. BRONCHO

Tulsa, Oklahoma has produced a long line of artists like Leon Russell and the Flaming Lips that put their own idiosyncratic spin on American musical traditions, and the indie rock quartet BRONCHO are steadily building a catalog that lives up to the legacy of Tulsa’s other hometown heroes. Returning from a long absence with their first album since 2018, Natural Pleasure finds BRONCHO stretching out with relaxed psychedelic grooves on songs like “Think I Pass,” where singer/guitarist Ryan Lindsey’s voice almost feels like an instrumental texture. Since their 2014 breakout hit “Class Historian,” which has been featured in TV series like Reservation Dogs and Looking, BRONCHO’s five self-released albums have racked up over 100 million streams.

3. SAULT

The British collective SAULT have thrived by breaking all the rules, building a passionate following and collecting enthusiastic critical acclaim simply by releasing lots of music, often through unconventional channels, without giving interviews, making music videos, or touring. With producer and multi-instrumentalist Inflo leading a rotating lineup of musicians, SAULT has surprised fans again and again with bounties of music blending soul, gospel, and funk, and alternative rock. In November 2022, SAULT released five albums simultaneously, including 11, which won the prestigious Ivor Novello Award for Best Album. The first SAULT release of 2025, 10, is another collection of jazzy, sumptuous grooves, with collective member and breakout solo star Cleo Sol taking the spotlight on songs like “R.L.” and “K.T.Y.W.S.”

Ruby Haunt (Photo by Collin Schlesinger)

4. Ruby Haunt

Slowcore, a style of indie rock defined by hushed tones and crawling tempos, first found a following in the mid-‘90s with the work of bands like Low and Bedhead. And with ten self-released albums by their L.A.-based band Ruby Haunt since 2015, childhood friends Victor Pakpour and Wyatt Ininns have created one of the most formidable catalogs in the contemporary slowcore resurgence. “Sunfish” opens Ruby Haunt’s latest album Blinking in the Wind with a playful shout of “yeehaw,” but then the track quickly settles into a lush bed of brushed drums, heavily reverbed guitar, and a gently insistent piano melody.

Petite League (Photo by Cullen Blanchfield)

5. Petite League

Petite League frontman Lorenzo Cook and drummer Henry Schoonmaker formed the band as students at Syracuse University, living the DIY lifestyle in the house venue Scarier Dome. Since relocating to New York City, Petite League has created a proudly lo-fi discography full of shimmering chorus pedal riffs and baseball-themed album titles like 2015’s Slugger and 2016’s No Hitter. The lead single “Paradise Park,” sets the tone for Petite League’s seventh album Dead Star City Tours, with synths pushed to the front of the mix and lyrics inspired by a decade of NYC nightlife.

To see our running list of the top 100 greatest rock stars of all time, click here.