50 Arkansas artists who made good noise in 2020
50 Arkansas artists who made good noise in 2020
December 29, 20207:43 pm
(top left to top right) Bazi Owenz, Bailey Bigger, Joshua Asante, (bottom left to bottom right) The Eulogy Brothers, Elise Davis, DOT
Creators are going to create, and whether the upheaval of a year like 2020 stifles or fuels that process probably depends on the artist, and on the day. Many, undoubtedly, made music in 2020 at their own expense, investing time, money or both into projects they couldn’t support or promote with live performance, at least not for the foreseeable future. A good number of them, especially those who make music for a living, have spent the year devoted to an industry — and to a live music landscape — that may well emerge from Post-Pandemic Times looking very different than it did in 2019. But I’m willing to bet that by the time some of this quarantine-crafted music reaches the stage, congregants’ ears will be clamoring for it with newfound fervor. (And, at the risk of some wildly unfounded optimism, maybe such a time would see sturdier and more comprehensive arts funding at the state and federal levels?) Here’s hoping. Meanwhile, here — in no particular order — are 50 Arkansas artists/musicians/podcasters who, thankfully, didn’t keep quiet this bizarro year. Tell us what we missed [UPDATE: already, it strikes us that the amazing Rachel Ammons’ debut EP came out Jan. 2, before 2020 got so … 2020-ish], find something you like, throw in the artist’s coffers what you can to support that work, and pray like hell they’ll muddle through to a time when they can perform it for you in person.