Sewing Club
Over the past quarter-century, high-profile rock acts — both homegrown artists such as Kings of Leon and Paramore and transplants like Jack White and The Black Keys — have helped Nashville shed the long-standing image of being just a country town. As a byproduct, the local rock scene has grown progressively bigger and better, and 2026 promises to be another banner year.
Looking ahead, a number of Nashville rock artists have already announced plans to release new music in the coming year. Kings of Leon have confirmed a new album for early 2026, as has new local rock supergroup Million Dollar Emperors. The Chefs, another rock supergroup primarily based in Nashville, will release their third album this year. Robyn Hitchcock will release the follow-up to his brilliant 2022 album Shufflemania!, which he recorded at Alex the Great Studios with producer Brad Jones. Hitchcock’s wife Emma Swift has a new EP coming in the spring, as does RobinAugust. In addition, The Black Crowes will release their second album recorded in Nashville with producer Jay Joyce.
But what about lesser-known artists who are poised to break out in 2026? To get some perspective, the Scene talked with four members of the local rock community who are in the trenches: Jared Corder, Mike Grimes, Angela Lese and Will Shepherd. Interestingly, they all touched on one theme in particular: There are currently a lot of cool and interesting rock bands in Nashville.
“I feel like Nashville has changed so much over the last couple of years, and I feel like it’s evolved,” says producer-artist Corder, a member of the indie-rock outfit *repeat repeat and owner of Polychrome Ranch studio. “One thing that’s really struck me as interesting going into 2026 is I see a lot more bands.”
Grimes, who is founder and co-owner of The Basement, The Basement East and Grimey’s New & Preloved Music, agrees. “The rock scene in Nashville is amazingly healthy, band-wise,” Grimes says. “I’ve never seen the depth of talent like we have right now.”
Power Clinic
“There are so many great bands here, and I think the greatest bands are always flying under the radar,” says Lese, a drummer and former member of The Dead Deads who is one-half of the rock duo Lips Speak Louder.
According to Lese, not only are there a lot of great bands, but also there is more diversity among them.
“I think the tides are changing in the sense there’s a bigger stage for people to say what they want to say in this town and sing about what they want to sing about — and more and more people are allowed to come to that stage,” she says. “I see a lot more female musicians, trans musicians, nonbinary musicians taking the front. And it’s great because that’s what music is about. It’s about community and accepting all of us weirdos as we are.”
Shepherd, who is a booker for Drkmttr and bassist for Human Shield, likes what he sees for the city’s indie rockers.
“I feel like rock is in a really good place in Nashville, especially in DIY,” Shepherd says. “With the rise of TikTok and smaller DIY interests [becoming influential] in a more accessible way … some more fringe windows of rock — punk and hardcore, noise rock, shoegaze — have all kind of come to head in a really cool way.”
We got an array of recommendations for groups to keep an eye on. Grimes mentions four: punk outfit Gremlins; Iguanahead, a three-piece that combines elements of alternative rock, psychedelic rock and doom metal; Power Clinic, which features heavy riffs and driving rhythms; and alternative rockers Abbdavv, fronted by singer-songwriter Abby Davis.
Molly Martin
Three acts have especially caught Lese’s ear. Winona Fighter, which is led by multi-instrumentalist Coco Kinnon, released their debut album on Rise Records in February. Lese says they’re “punk as fuck” and “make you want to jump up and down and party with the stranger next to you.” She also mentions power-pop quintet Flight Attendant, fronted by Karalyne Winegarner, and singer-songwriter Molly Martin, who Lese says would blow up in another city, “but it’s so saturated here.”
Shepherd points to four groups on the DIY scene he expects more from in 2026: self-described twangle popsters Impediment, experimental trio Baby Wave, metal-tinged hardcore band Gorge and a younger punk outfit called Catacomb. He also singles out shoegaze duo Total Wife, known for their artful and melodic use of noise, as leaders in the DIY community. “They have a small label called Ivy Eat Home [releasing cassettes] out of their house,” he says. “They are giving a home to a lot of the slowcore, shoegaze … and they’re really doing a good job nurturing that.”
Cherry Vance
Corder thinks a few of the artists he’s worked with recently are poised to ascend, including all-girl punk band massie99, pop rockers Cherry Vance and shoegaze-schooled group The Sewing Club. He also mentions Shanny & The East Men, Bluphoria and Really Regular as bands “on the come-up.”
