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Following our list of the Most Anticipated Tours of 2026<\/a>, we continue looking forward with the 16 bands and artists we\u2019re excited to see reach the next level in the months to come. Make sure to check out our most anticipated albums of 2026<\/a> as well, and revisit 2025 Annual Report<\/a> for the best of last year.<\/em><\/p>\n Explore all these artists\u2019 catalogs with three free months of Amazon Music Unlimited<\/a>. That\u2019s 100 million ad-free songs, HD and Spatial Audio, the most ad-free podcasts, and Audible\u2019s massive catalog of audiobooks free for three months by signing up here<\/a>. Now\u2019s the time, as this offer ends Friday, January 9th!.<\/em><\/p>\n A year can go by fast, so the moment a rising artist becomes a superstar is one to savor. 2025\u2019s breakouts<\/a> were especially intriguing, as many of them \u2014 like our Rookie of the Year Lambrini Girls<\/a>, KATSEYE, 2hollis, and Lola Young \u2014 epitomize this decade\u2019s irreverence for the limitations of genre and style. There\u2019s no way to connect with a new audience without unfiltered authenticity and fearless risk-taking, and each year, a new crop of musicians show up and show us what they\u2019re made of.<\/p>\n Now in the second half of the 2020s, the best new artists are finding clever ways to juggle the past, present, and future. Some are openly nostalgic, like the Y2K-era sparkle of After and the bewildering soul of Jalen Ngonda; some are so of-the-moment that they don\u2019t even have music out (see below for Omerta, a synth-punk band from London with notoriously chaotic shows). Others tap into timeless songwriting and music steeped in tradition, like Tennessee\u2019s Mon Rov\u00eea and the ever-charismatic Tyler Ballgame.<\/p>\n Of course, there\u2019s the very likely possibility that some of our favorite new artists of 2026 have yet to make themselves known to us, and happen to be sitting on some of the best music of the year. We\u2019ll be looking far and wide for them too, but in the meantime, here\u2019s a list of 16 artists that are poised to make a big impression in 2026.<\/p>\n \u2014\u00a0Paolo Ragusa
Live Music Editor<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n