tUnE-yArDs is the moniker and musical project of Merrill Garbus. Influenced by her experience and travels in Africa, she became interested in Afrobeat. Combined with her new Sony ICD-TK digital voice recorder and a new laptop, Garbus began recording melodies, noises, and lyrics which led to the release of her first album BiRd-BrAiNs, which she recorded on recycled cassette tape.

Major contributors to the roots-based musical hotbed that is the Twin Cities, Pert' Near Sandstone fuel the flame with their high energy old-timey tunes.

Oasis has always been taken to task for their generous lifting of hooks and sounds from some of rock's biggest groups. Interestingly enough, this has never bothered me. Maybe it's because I too love the Beatles, the  Rolling Stones and The Stone Roses.

Mike Doughty led the influential band Soul Coughing in the 1990s known for its idiosyncratic sound rooted in improvisation. At the turn of the last decade, he made his way into the solo scene, soon signing to Dave Matthews' label ATO Records.

Late last August, TV on the Radio were in the Twin Cities for a couple of shows at First Avenue.

L.A.-based Dawes has only been around a few years, but in that short time they've skyrocketed to the top of the folk-rock scene, especially with the release of their second album "Nothing Is Wrong." As an artist on ATO Records, they have harnessed plenty of inspiration with labelmates like My Morning Jacket, Drive-By Truckers and Gomez by their side.

Dessa played a very sold-out show at the Fitzgerald Theater in St. Paul in support of her newest release, "Castor, the Twin," a reworking of mostly older songs from her extensive catalogue. Enjoy audio and video from the event.

Led by singer, guitarist, and main writer Matthew Murphy, The Wombats formed at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts back in 2003. While the debut saw limited success in the States, the band hit the Top 10 in the UK and found themselves at Glastonbury and other festivals, setting the stage for their second album, "This Modern Glitch."

For me, the success of Florence + the Machine was one of the biggest musical surprises of last year. It wasn't because she's not talented of course, but because her version of epic pop, with quirky twists and turns has never really sold as well before.