Dick Stusso is a character—as in, a fictional person. Nic Russo, on the other hand, has been crafting melodies and songs and successfully entertaining close friends and families for years. They took notice of an obvious talent, collecting live performances and stems and eventually was coerced into completing the albums Nashville Dreams and Sings the Blues. In the two years since, Russo's Stusso project has garnered lots of attention and in January 2018, the Oakland, CA based musician was signed to Sup Pop Records' Hardly Art imprint. Check out the first single from his upcoming record, In Heaven, below. Stusso plays Thursday, March 08 in Santa Cruz, CA at The Catalyst Atrium and his tour worms its way to Austin for SXSW in two weeks. - Joshua Huver, Photograph by Cara Robbins

SXSW gains another up-and-coming singer-songwriter -- as well as another filmmaker -- in Courtney Farren. The Bay Area-based artist, who now lives in Brooklyn, will play CU29 on March 14th at midnight. That performance will add another to the string of incredible experiences Farren has chalked up over the past year, including a European mini-tour, a six-track album called "Nothing Like It", a write-up and interview by Kodak about her love of Super 8mm film, and a handful of new films, some of which act as music videos for her songs.

To sum up Farren's sound: The subtle indie-romance flicks shown at short film festivals -- perhaps at SXSW -- could gain from a soundtrack of her soothing vocals and swirling arrangements. You can stream her music film for one of her latest tracks, called "Go Easy", below. - Will Sisskind

Late in 2017, NYC based singer-songwriter (and vocalist for Wilder Maker) Katie Von Schleicher came out with a poignant and plaintive album with the not-so-poetic title Shitty Hits. From the very beginning, opener The Image treats the listener to Von Schleicher’s unusual, yet elegant melodies, supported by an unexpectedly noisy production based on a new, intriguing approach to loud/quiet/loud. The results are spectacular. The perfectly controlled, vaguely industrial clangor keeps coming in the following tracks, together with Katie’s incredibly beautiful vocal lines, forging a record that’s as unique as it is enjoyable and moving. Perhaps it’s true, these songs aren’t hits, but, on the other hand, they are definitely art.

Katie is touring the US and Europe this spring, don't miss the 4.06 show at the Music Hall of Williamsburg and her performances at SXSW.

 Not many of us keep on the path we stepped foot on in middle school, but SeaTac's Huey P. definitely did, and it's worked out for him greatly so far. At such a young age he learned that hip-hop and rap can and should be used for the greater good, and that's something Huey P. has always tried to do.

Since his debut album Did You Get the Message came out in 2016, Huey P. has been using his rhymes to try and spread positivity, particularly around those he interacts with in his neighborhood and the local music community. Although he was encouraged to leave the Pacific Northwest in pursuit of bigger cities like Los Angeles and New York because of his talents, his allegiance to his city and the people in it are real. "Having someone from the more urban culture in a positive manner, in the right light. It hasn’t been done yet,” he told Bellingham-based What's Up Magazine. 

Huey P. devotion, and flair, aren't going unnoticed. 

We stumbled upon the name Barrie while browsing through the list of artists participating in the 2018 edition of SXSW. This is a very new SXSW quintet with only one single under their belt, entitled "Canyons" (streaming below), an intriguing blend of lounge and dream pop with airy female vocals and a bass line that, at times, ventures into groovy disco fluorishes. The band seems to have hit the ground running, since they will be performing at SXSW this March and, the following week, at Baby's All Right.