For the second year in a row, DCist/WAMU has selected singers, songwriters, composers, rappers, and bands who are on the rise and represent the region’s creativity and style. It’s a relatively short list, but we curated it to include artists who are consistently putting out new music, doing something unique in their slice of D.C.’s music scene, or have cultivated a particularly dedicated fanbase. These are the local acts we recommend you add to your playlist or see perform live in the new year.

Alma Laprida

When musician Alma Laprida moved from Buenos Aires to Bethesda two years ago, she decided to bring along only one instrument: her cherished trumpet marine. The medieval-era string instrument, also known as the nuns’ fiddle, was the one that made Laprida feel truly connected to sound and music.

“It makes my chest resonate,” Laprida tells DCist/WAMU. “There’s like this physical [nature] that’s so interesting to me.”

The Argentina-born Laprida is known for soundscapes, unconventional music, and improvisation performances. She can be seen playing at Rhizome DC in Takoma and has taught workshops at the Corcoran School of Arts and Design. And she’s fully committed to an instrument that was at the height of its popularity 500 years ago. Laprida is currently working on an album featuring only the trumpet marine that she hopes will debut in mid-2024.

“There’s something about exploring the matter of sound,” Laprida says, adding that she looks “for the limits of sound and what new possibilities I can invent with this instrument.” — Matt Blitz

Be Steadwell 

Born and raised in D.C. (with an MFA in film from Howard University), Be Steadwell is a musician, filmmaker, and storyteller known for composing “queer pop” — music that is, in her words, for fellow “Black girlies, introverts, and weirdos.” Her lyrics are deeply personal, sensual, and often political, and for Steadwell, the sensual and political are directly intertwined. Take “Gay Sex” for example — which frames queer sex and love as a way to protest racism and white supremacy: “Let’s go home and have gay sex/We’ll do it for the president/The sons of the Confederates/They wish they had love like this.”

One of Steadwell’s most notable projects is A Letter to My Ex, a musical she wrote and toured in 2019 after an especially heartbreaking breakup. Featuring an all-BIPOC and queer cast, the musical explores it all — “self love, addiction, twerking, sex, life, and death.” If you missed it on stage not to worry: In May, Steadwell will be releasing an album with live and studio recordings of the musical. — Sarah Y. Kim

Beau Young Prince

In a city known for underappreciated rappers, Southeast D.C’s Beau Young Prince is on a mission to boost the entire city’s hip-hop output. The rapper works part-time as an artist consultant, helping others navigate the industry he knows well — he was immersed in the Los Angeles music scene for three years while on iconic hip-hop record label Def Jam before he moved back to D.C. and went fully independent in 2021. His hard work has paid off in streams (over 11 million this year) and at home: The Wammie Awards, the region’s local music honors, hired him to curate a 50 years of hip-hop tribute at this year’s show.

Born Beau Young (he added “Prince” because he’s a fan of the late icon), he learned classical upright bass as a student at St. Albans School, performed pop covers for guests at local amusement parks, and even landed a role as the understudy for Simba in The Lion King on Broadway. “Any stage I could get on, I performed on,” he tells DCist.

As a solo artist, he’s put out singles that blend pop-heavy vocals and rapping with groovy beats — his 2018 debut, Groovy Land, is a prime example. A song he wrote about the death of his uncle (“Let Go”) wound up on the Spiderman: Into the Spider-Verse soundtrack, earning him a Grammy nomination and a multi-platinum record. The rapper says he never discloses his age, but adds, “I’m old enough to know the roots of hip-hop, and I’m young enough to know where it’s going.” Whatever his age, BYP has the wisdom of a hip-hop sage. Dates for a forthcoming tour with GZA of the Wu-Tang Clan, which will include a stop at The Fillmore in Silver Spring, will be announced soon, he says. — Elliot C. Williams

DuPont Brass

You’ve been warned: Expect something a little different next year from DuPont Brass. The group, which mixes R&B, hip-hop, and brass-forward jazz, is getting ready to release a project that features a wider range of the 10-member group’s talent than their listeners have experienced. Brent Gossett, the group’s manager and sousaphone player, calls it “an album of growth.” Typically, two of the band’s members produce most of their songs. But on this new album, as many as seven band members are taking turns in the producer role, Gossett says.

“I think the sounds are going to be pretty different,” Gossett says. “Each producer in the group has their own unique style.”

The pivot comes after nearly 13 years of making music for the D.C. area. The band began as a group of five Howard University students busking at Metro stations for tuition money; it’s since turned into an ensemble of 10 that tours the country. The group is headed into 2024 fresh off the release of A DuPont Holiday — the highlights of which include a go-go inspired, percussion-forward version of “Frosty the Snowman” and a groovy rendition of “Christmas Time Is Here.” It’s the group’s second release this year; they put out a live version of their 2020 album Music Education in February. — Jenny Gathright

Flowerbomb

Ring in the new year with the city’s best rock band, as declared by this year’s Wammie Awards. Flowerbomb, the D.C. group fronted by singer and guitarist Rachel Kline, is kicking off 2024 with the release of Gloom Scroll Vol. 1 on Jan. 19. To celebrate, they’ll be taking the stage at Pie Shop alongside grunge pop locals Cherub Tree for an EP release show.

If its first single is any indication, Gloom Scroll will be a triumph. “Do It Again” starts off with sharp drums and a seductive guitar lick, paving the way for Kline’s alluring voice before it crescendos into a melodic cacophony. It’s a slick, effective song that proves Flowerbomb still has indie rock mastery they exhibited on their 2020 album, pretty dark. Shortly after, they proved it again with breakup banger, “I Don’t Wanna Know,” Gloom Scroll’s sophomore single in a year-long release schedule that’s building up to the band’s second album, per Kline. If you like what you hear, grab those tickets: Flowerbomb has a lot more in store. — Ella Feldman

Massie

It’s not uncommon for a fan to rip off their shirt and pour beer on themselves at one of Massie’s shows around D.C. “Sometimes, they do get crazy,” lead singer and guitarist Emily Yaremchuk says of the band’s dedicated fans. And it’s no wonder: The woman-led rock trio has landed on a near-perfect mix of pop and punk reminiscent of D.C.’s ‘90s bands that came before them. On tracks like “Never Live Without You Again” and “TV” from their debut EP, Grady Says Serotonin, Yaremchuk’s melodies glide seamlessly over Will Salzmann’s gritty bass and Samantha Collings’ uptempo drums. They recorded it at Capitol Hill’s Ivakota studios and released it independently in October, and say they have more music coming in 2024.

Formerly known as Grady, the Northern Virginia-based bandmates changed their name last summer to avoid any potential lawsuits or awkwardness from similarly named acts. (Both Grady and Massie came from street names in Charlottesville, where Yaremchuk went to college.)

And the new name is fitting. After a year in which they had a month-long residency at DC9, played shows at every local venue you can think of (and some in Baltimore, Richmond, and Philly), and released their first recorded projects, Massie feels like a fresh, more polished band on the rise. See their live show — and maybe pour a beer on yourself — when Massie plays Dec. 30 at Comet Ping Pong or Feb. 17 at Union Stage. — ECW

Noochie

It’s rare to see a braggadocious rapper cede the spotlight to other artists, but that’s exactly what D.C.-area rapper Noochie does on a near-weekly basis from his front porch. The 28-year-old rapper pays homage to the city’s musical roots by inviting some of the area’s best-known R&B, hip-hop, and go-go artists — from legendary go-go group Backyard Band to smooth crooner Kenny Lattimore — to perform for his “Live From the Front Porch” series. And Noochie is never afraid to grab the mic and show off his tongue-twisting, street-certified raps over just about any beat he can find.

There’s a clear strategy behind his Front Porch activity: “If you want the world behind you, you’ve gotta get your area behind you,” he told DCist in a September profile. He seems to have support from both; the son of ‘90s rap legend Boobe, Noochie receives love from big-name rappers like Snoop Dogg and is treated like a celebrity at Wizards home games. He ended 2023 with a brand new mixtape, Sneaky Tape 2 and has yet to reveal what’s next on his plate. But through his music and interviews, he’s made one thing clear: “I’m where I’m at right now because of family, music, and street shit.” — ECW

Oh He Dead

Fun fact: The band Oh He Dead’s manager, Claire Newbegin, was also lead singer Cynthia “CJ” Johnson’s former high school teacher. It was Newbegin who told Johnson after class, “You need to sing. People need to hear you,” Johnson recalls. Johnson and guitarist Andy Valenti started Oh He Dead as a folk duo in the summer of 2015.

They slowly began experimenting with jazz and rock, adding drums, piano, and bass to their repertoire. (And Johnson brought her 3-year-old son on tour!) The now five-piece band’s energetic sophomore album, Pretty, was released in September — including the upbeat and catchy melodies on “California” and the synth jam “The Night Shift (9-5).” They’ve got a New Years Eve show coming up at Union Stage. — Chris Remington 

Perro Sombra

It was a busy year for Hispanic American rock band Perro Sombra. The group won “Best Music Video” at the 2023 Wammies for “Perdiendo” — a hard-hitting tune with an equally enchanting Western-themed video (for which singer Dan Gomez says he took horseback lessons).

Then, the rockeros played shows throughout the local circuit, New York City, Philadelphia, and Puerto Rico. The latter tour was captured in a short documentary by director Nestor Bravo, garnering more than 150,000 views on YouTube. To top it off, the group dropped a new head-banging single, “Algoritmos,” along with an accompanying music video.

But in 2024, the group plans to “lock” themselves in a studio to work on a new record — which they hope to promote in the second half of the year. Although they’ll be light on live shows during that time, you can catch them at Pie Shop on Jan. 28 before they hunker down. — Héctor Alejandro Arzate

PinkyThaRapper

Southeast D.C.’s PinkyThaRapper is a problem. That is, she’s a problem for less talented rappers and naysayers who want to get in her way, as she explains on tracks like the aptly named “Problem.” In the video for that song, she sits in a Rolls-Royce effortlessly spitting bar after bar, emulating the confidence of rappers like Rick Ross, Nicki Minaj, and Eve — some of the 25-year-old’s biggest inspirations. It was Pinky’s cover of the latter artist’s “Love is Blind” in 2021 that racked up more than 25,000 views and put her on the map for rap fans nationwide. She made a habit out of the covers and gave her quickly growing fanbase what they wanted: vivid storytelling over recognizable beats, a series she called “Freestyle Fridays.”

Pinky (born Chartia Lauren Williams) announced in July that she’d signed with Equity Distribution, an ownership platform for independent artists based out of Jay-Z’s Roc Nation label. She’s added to her resume a sold-out show at DC9 and endorsements from established rappers like Fabolous and D.C. rap hero Fat Trel. As she raps on a freestyle posted to her Instagram page, “If they can’t see the bigger picture, get the camera then / Music cover my damages / I ain’t never cry ‘bout struggling / I just handled it.”

Her storytelling continues on a forthcoming album, in which she feeds listeners raw lyrics about maneuvering through street politics, surviving abusive relationships, and climbing music industry hurdles. And Pinky is ready for more. — ECW

Spring Silver

On an October night at Black Cat with Pile headlining, Spring Silver — you can guess where they’re from — opened the show. When the nimble and inevitable power pop/rock group fronted by K Nkanza started playing, a sleepy crowd started headbanging like their lives depended on it.

They’re not quite emo, not really metal or punk, and more than shoegaze or alternative; they’re something else entirely. “In this era, you can just make a genre. I’m going to call this ‘queer metal,’ I’m going to call this ‘they/them-core,’” Nkanza told the Washington Post last year, nodding at the band’s sonic fluidity.

At turns sparkling, haunted, and outraged, Spring Silver’s music interrogates what it means to care for a world that appears desperate to break us. From the wonderful 2022 LP I Could Get Used to This, Nkanza observes on the thrumming, melancholy “I Saw Violence:” “I saw a man engage / In the civil debate of a fist to the face / And the police struck while the iron was hot / They struck it right from the record.” On the band’s newest single, “Gold Star,” Nkanza torches the attention economy, lamenting: “I don’t know what’s beautiful anymore / I only know what’s loud.”

It’s music that both acknowledges and soothes. Nkanza sees you, and they care, too. — Morgan Baskin

You and Me and You

Take a mental vacation from this winter weather and cue up Just to Keep Them Happy, the magnificent debut album from local folk-rockers You and Me and You. Released in June, the nine-song record is warm and languid, like summer itself. Drenched in sunny guitar licks and lush harmonies, it traces the contours of modern life and romance with a sharp eye for detail and a charming sense of humor.

“This mask is really driving me nuts,” guitarist Reed Doherty croons on “If Only For a Minute,” an upbeat anthem about yearning to party during the pandemic. “My fashion glasses keep fogging up / I paid $150 for what,” he adds, singing directly into the hearts of the District’s many Warby Parker-wearing millennials.

Along with Doherty, You and Me and You consists of bassist and vocalist Emily Mann, drummer Pat Gunning, and guitarist and vocalist Dani Zessoules. A product of D.C.’s open-mic scene, the group has been writing music and playing local venues since 2018, releasing their first EP, the tender Living Room, in 2021. This year, they graced local stages at Black Cat and Songbyrd Music House. Keep an eye out for more local performances in 2024. — EF

Looking for more local artists? Our friends at Listen Local First compiled a playlist of more than 400 artists and bands that released new music this year. Check it out!