Ready for some new music in your life? Look no further than North Texas

No matter where you are in the state, it’s always fun to discover new music – someone who’s going to be the next big thing or at the center of a scene that takes music in a completely unexpected direction.

North Texas is home to a growing music scene, one being watched closely by Amy Miller, on-air host for public radio station KXT.

“I’ve seen a lot of musicians move here recently, from places like Austin where they’re maybe getting priced out a little bit, and tons of venues to play here,” Miller said. “I mean, there’s a great music school in Denton, UNT, a lot of great talent coming out of there. It’s a lot of house shows that people are playing there, but also traditional venues all throughout the North Texas metroplex and a lot of new venues popping up as well.”

As KXT celebrates Homegrown Music Month, Miller shared some of her hot picks from North Texas.

Slow Joy

Slow Joy – the one-man band of Esteban Flores – is one of Miller’s favorites at the moment. She describes the music as a mix between emo and indie rock.

“Last time I saw them was at a small club in Deep Ellum, and the place was completely packed out. The crowd knew the lyrics to most of his songs already,” she said. “And I believe it was the Dallas Observer the next day [that] compared it to like this legendary show that Nirvana played in the ’90s at a small club here, right when they were blowing up, that if you talk to any music fan in Dallas, they still talk about it to this day.

“And it just had that vibe. There was an energy in the room that I hadn’t seen in a long time.”

Midlake

Denton band Midlake has been around for over 20 years and has a new album, “A Bridge To Far,” out Nov. 7.

“The band is just a group of incredible musicians. The singer Eric Pulido, he started a side project called E.B. the Younger, who we’re huge fans of at KXT,” Miller said. “And then the guitarist [Joey McClellan], seriously one of the best guitarists I’ve heard. He’s played with everyone from Elle King to Rufus Wainwright to Daniel Johnston.”

Corina Grove

The singer-songwriter does a lot of covers on social media, Miller said, and also has a new album coming out next month.

“She is just an amazing artist. Her recorded music, I just love the sound,” Miller said. She “also incorporates some indie pop and a lot of synths into her music.”

Cure for Paranoia

The Dallas hip-hop collective incorporates a lot of different genres, including jazz, funk and R&B, Miller said.

Frontman Cameron McCloud is “super prolific with his lyrics. He’s actually doing something this year where he’s dropping a verse a day every day,” she said. “And if you head over to his social media, you can watch some of those. I mean, you can go down a major rabbit hole doing that.”

Jackson Scribner

Jackson Scribner, raised in Melissa, Texas, has a new album out, “Depression Kids.”

“I’ve been excited about this guy. Such a great songwriter, you know, just kind of straight up singer-songwriter, folk music,” Miller said. “He performs with his brother Levi a lot, who’s also an amazing songwriter and guitarist. But yeah, keep your eye on Jackson as well.”

Abraham Alexander

Alexander got his start with fellow North Texan Leon Bridges, Miller said, and sang backup vocals on Bridges’ 2015 debut album, “Coming Home.” His collaboration with Adrian Quesada on the song “Like A Bird” from the movie “Sing Sing” earned an Oscar nomination this year.

“Abraham’s had an amazing year. He was nominated for an Academy Award, Best Original Song, performed on Jimmy Kimmel,” she said. “I know that he is almost done with his new album, which will hopefully be released at some point in 2026. But he always has something going on and really looking forward to hearing more from him.”

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