PETER  BALDWIN HOMETOWN: Anchorage, Alaska INFLUENCES: Erykah Badu, James Brown, Michael Jackson ALBUM: Peter Baldwin in Vodville EP, out now WEBSITE: peterbaldwinrocks.com Peter Baldwin grew up singing in the church where his mother served as choir director. As a high schooler he eventually formed his own choir, and learned to play a variety of instruments. After graduation he headed for Orlando, Fla., to study recording at Full Sail University.... 

BREANNE DÜREN HOMETOWN: Minneapolis, Minn. INFLUENCES: Carole King, Joni Mitchell, James Taylor ALBUM: Sparks EP, out now WEBSITE: breannedurenmusic.com All four of the Düren children were compelled to take piano lessons, but Breanne proved a natural—soon she was playing by ear, teaching herself favorites like Joni Mitchell’s “The River.” By middle school she was writing her own songs, and by high school she was playing local coffeehouses.... 

HOPE WAITS HOMETOWN: Monroe, La. INFLUENCES: Tori Amos, Ani DiFranco, Billie Holiday ALBUM: Introducing Hope Waits, out now WEBSITE: hopewaits.com If the depth in Hope Waits’ soul-drenched voice suggests experience beyond her tender years, it’s no accident. Waits was born one of 12 children in a family plagued by poverty, neglect, her father’s alcoholism and her mother’s manic depression. “Basic needs were rarely met, and the abuse was astounding,”... 

KATIE COSTELLO HOMETOWN: Hermosa Beach, Calif. INFLUENCES: Fiona Apple, the Beatles, X ALBUM: Lamplight, out now WEBSITE: katiecostellomusic.com Katie Costello recalls that she was “deathly shy” until she discovered songwriting at age 13. By 17 she was self-releasing her debut album, Kaleidoscope Machine, which generated enough buzz in nearby L.A. to earn her songs spots on TV shows including 90210, One Tree Hill and Private Practice. Still,... 

AMBROSE AKINMUSIRE HOMETOWN: Oakland, Calif. INFLUENCES: Terence Blanchard, Steve Coleman, Wayne Shorter ALBUM: When the Heart Emerges Glistening, out now WEBSITE: ambroseakinmusire.com Trumpeter Akinmusire caught the jazz world’s attention by winning the prestigious Thelonious Monk International Jazz Competition, judged by the likes of Quincy Jones and Herb Alpert. He signed with the legendary Blue Note label last year and recorded When the... 

XIMENA SARIÑANA HOMETOWN: Guadalajara, Mexico INFLUENCES: Tracy Chapman, Ella Fitzgerald,  Paul Simon ALBUM: Ximena Sariñana, out Aug. 2 WEBSITE: ximenamusic.com Well-known since childhood in her native Mexico as a singer, songwriter and actress, Sariñana is preparing to introduce herself to a broader audience with her first English-language album. Ximena Sariñana, recorded in L.A. with producers Greg Kurstin, Dave Sitek and Natalia Lafourcade,... 

LAURA JANSEN HOMETOWN: Los Feliz, Calif. INFLUENCES: Joni Mitchell, Queen, Barbra Streisand ALBUM: Bells, out now WEBSITE: laurajansen.com Laura Jansen has done quite a bit of moving around in her life—from her birthplace of Breda, Holland, to Brussels, then Zurich, Connecticut, Tennessee and California. Along the way she studied at a music conservatory in Holland and at Berklee College of Music in Boston before finally launching her musical career... 

CARTER’S CHORD HOMETOWN: Los Angeles INFLUENCES: Fleetwood Mac, Emmylou Harris, Waylon Jennings ALBUM: Wild Together, out May 23 WEBSITE: carterschord.com Joanna, Emily and Becky Robertson grew up in the midst of country music history. Their parents, Barny and Carter Robertson, were members of the late Waylon Jennings’ 1970s band—he as keyboardist, she as backing vocalist. The sisters themselves made their debut singing on Jennings’... 

GRAHAM STOOKEY HOMETOWN: Littleton, Colo. INFLUENCES: Lenny Kravitz, John Mayer, Stevie Ray Vaughan ALBUM: The Basement Tracks, out now WEBSITE: stookeymusic.com Graham Stookey took piano lessons as a child, but he truly found his calling when at age 13 he saw a show by acoustic guitar master Phil Keaggy. “After that I decided I wanted to play the guitar,” he remembers. “I enrolled in guitar lessons from an excellent teacher, and my journey... 

KINA GRANNIS HOMETOWN: Mission Viejo, Calif. INFLUENCES: Jason Mraz, Alanis Morissette, Vertical Horizon ALBUM: Stairwells, out now WEBSITE: kinagrannis.com In 2007, Kina Grannis decided to upload her performance of her song “Message From Your Heart” to YouTube in hopes of winning a contest. Win it she did, earning the clip a televised airing during the Super Bowl—and an internet following that has since grown into the millions. “One of... 

FRANCESCA BATTISTELLI HOMETOWN: New York City INFLUENCES: John Mayer, Nichole Nordeman, Stevie Wonder ALBUM: Hundred More Years, out now WEBSITE: francescamusic.com When she wrote and recorded her debut album, 2008’s My Paper Heart, all New York native Francesca Battistelli had to worry about was the task at hand. When she went to work on the new follow-up, Hundred More Years, she had quite a bit more on her mind. “This time,” she says,... 

HENRY WOLFE HOMETOWN: Los Angeles INFLUENCES: Paul McCartney, Randy Newman, Harry Nilsson ALBUM: Linda Vista, out now WEBSITE: henrywolfe.com He may be the only musician in his immediate family, but Henry Wolfe clearly has creativity in his DNA: His father is respected sculptor Don Gummer, his mother is movie icon Meryl Streep and two of his three sisters are actors as well. Wolfe began channeling his own artistic impulses into music after receiving... 

PLAN B HOMETOWN: London influences: Eminem, Michael Jackson, the Prodigy ALBUM: The Defamation of Strickland Banks, due out in April WEBSITE: time4planb.co.uk Plan B (born Ben Drew) began singing and playing guitar as a teenager before he turned his attention to rap, inspired by the example of the similarly hued Eminem. “He was brilliant, he changed the whole game,” says Plan B. “He didn’t just influence white rappers, he influenced everyone.”... 

ANNA CALVI HOMETOWN: London INFLUENCES: Jimi Hendrix, Robert Johnson, Django Reinhardt ALBUM: Anna Calvi, out March 1 WEBSITE: annacalvi.com Anna Calvi began playing guitar at age 13, but it wasn’t until four years later that she began learning to sing. “I’d always wanted to be a singer, but it was hard for me because I’m so shy,” she says. “But I just worked on it—five or six hours a day. I was very secretive about it. It was the... 

FUNERAL PARTY HOMETOWN: Whittier, Calif. MEMBERS: Chad Elliott (vocals, keyboards), James Torres (guitar), Kimo Kauhola (bass, vocals) ALBUM: The Golden Age of Knowhere, out now WEBSITE: funeralpartymusic.com California rock band Funeral Party was born from its members’ boredom and disillusionment with their hometown of Whittier, Calif., a sleepy suburb of Los Angeles. “It was the perfect name for a band like ours, because we come from this jail... 

STEEL MAGNOLIA HOMETOWN: Nashville MEMBERS: Joshua Scott Jones (vocals, guitar), Meghan Linsey (vocals) ALBUM: Steel Magnolia, out Jan. 11 WEBSITE: steelmagnoliamusic.com In March 2006, Joshua Scott Jones walked into a karaoke club in Nashville. There he met and sang with Meghan Linsey for the first time, belting out a version of the Air Supply hit “All Out of Love” together. The two hit it off and began dating, but were determined to pursue... 

THE MEMORIALS HOMETOWN: Berkeley, Calif. members: Viveca Hawkins (vocals), Nick Brewer (guitar), Thomas Pridgen (drums) ALBUM: The Memorials, due out Jan. 18 WEBSITE: thememorialsmusic.com After parting ways with prog-rock band the Mars Volta in late 2009, drummer Thomas Pridgen immediately set about putting a new group together. He reached out to singer Viveca Hawkins and guitarist Nick Brewer, both of whom he had met while attending the Berklee... 

HOPE HOMETOWN: Woodstock, N.Y. INFLUENCES: Mariah Carey, Sade, Sting ALBUM: Hope, due out early 2011 WEBSITE: followhope.com In a way, Hope’s destiny in music was preordained by the bittersweet circumstances of her birth: Her twin sister, Faith, died just days after both were born. “Sometimes I feel like half of me is not here,” she says. “Music has become a huge part of that other half. I rely on the music to give me sanity and inspiration.”... 

LAUREN PRITCHARD HOMETOWN: Jackson, Tenn. INFLUENCES: Aretha Franklin, Marvin Gaye, Al Green ALBUM: Wasted in Jackson, out now digitally; CD release due in February 2011 WEBSITE: laurenpritchard.com Lauren Pritchard came to Los Angeles from Tennessee as a teenager, determined to make her name in the music business—but before long found herself broke and resigned to returning home defeated. Then a friend’s mother intervened, convincing her to... 

THE SECRET SISTERS HOMETOWN: Muscle Shoals, Ala. influences: The Everly Brothers, Simon and Garfunkel, Don Williams ALBUM: The Secret Sisters, out now WEBSITE: secretsistersband.com Sisters Laura and Lydia Rogers grew up singing together in a town famous for music—but they never intended to perform as a duo. An impromptu audition for veteran producer Dave Cobb in the fall of 2009 changed all that. A few days later, Cobb had them on a plane to... 

MATT WHITE HOMETOWN: New York City INFLUENCES: Elton John, Led Zeppelin, Bruce Springsteen ALBUM: It’s the Good Crazy, out now WEBSITE: mattwhitemusic.com On his 2007 debut album, Best Days, Matt White built his sound around piano and guitar equally. On the follow-up, it’s all about the ivories. “This is really my first record,” he says. “Best Days was essentially chasing a time, and I experimented with a lot of nuances, like playing the... 

JASON REEVES HOMETOWN: Iowa City, Iowa INFLUENCES: Bob Dylan, Radiohead, Sufjan Stevens ALBUM: The Lovesick, due out this winter WEBSITE: jasonreeves.com Jason Reeves fell in love with music as a teenager, and eventually dropped out of college to head for California in 2005 and pursue a career as a singer and songwriter. “All songs exist in the atmosphere,” he says, “and artists are on a romantic search to pull them down and give them life.”... 

BRENDAN JAMES HOMETOWN: Derry, N.H. INFLUENCES: Simon and Garfunkel, James Taylor, Stevie Wonder ALBUM: Brendan James, out now WEBSITE: brendanjames.com After the release of his 2008 debut, The Day Is Brave, singer and pianist Brendan James toured relentlessly for 18 months. Along the way (by his count), he performed in 40 states, stayed in 210 hotels and ate at 330 restaurants. The goal was to build a fan base the old-fashioned way, one convert... 

ESPERANZA SPALDING HOMETOWN: Portland, Ore. INFLUENCES: Cannonball Adderley, Ron Carter, Dave Holland ALBUM: Chamber Music Society, out now WEBSITE: esperanzaspalding.com Jazz bass player and singer Esperanza Spalding has accumulated a lifetime’s worth of accomplishments at age 25, in part because she knew from a very early age what her destiny would be. She was only 4 when she saw classical cellist Yo-Yo Ma make a guest appearance on the kids’... 

WHO’S NEXT: CHRISTINA PERRI HOMETOWN: Philadelphia INFLUENCES: The Beatles, Beth Hart, Jason Mraz ALBUM: As yet untitled EP, due out soon WEBSITE: christinaperri.com Christina Perri began singing at a very early age, both in her school choir and for customers in her parents’ barber shop. By 15 she was so devoted to the music of the Beatles that she had the members’ names tattooed permanently on her wrist. Her older brother Nick Perri made... 

WHO’S NEXT: CHIEF HOMETOWN: Los Angeles MEMBERS: Evan Koga  (vocals, guitar) Danny Fujikawa (guitar) Mike Moonves (bass) Michael Fujikawa  (drums) ALBUM: Modern Rituals, due out Aug. 17 WEBSITE: chieftheband.com Frontman Evan Koga and his fellow L.A.-born members of Chief formed the band as students at New York University. They made the move back to California last year, guitarist Danny Fujikawa leaving school to do so. “I had faith in... 

WHO’S NEXT: RYAN STAR HOMETOWN: Dix Hills, N.Y. INFLUENCES: Leonard Cohen, Nine Inch Nails, Pearl Jam ALBUM: 11:59, out now WEBSITE: rstar.net Ryan Star inherited his big brother’s barely played guitar as a teenager, and was soon writing songs and making demos on a four-track recorder. By 14 he was selling recordings to classmates, and by his late teens he and some friends had formed a band called Stage. The group played local New York City... 

WHO’S NEXT: ELI ‘PAPERBOY’ REED HOMETOWN: Boston INFLUENCES: Ray Charles, Sam Cooke, Otis Redding ALBUM: Come and Get It, due out Aug. 10 WEBSITE: elipaperboyreed.com EVERYTHING CHANGED FOR YOUNG ELI REED THE DAY that his father bought a Ray Charles box set, which the family listened to again and again over the course of a summer vacation. Reed was already a fan of vintage rock ’n’ roll and country music, but when he heard... 

WHO’S NEXT: NIKKI YANOFSKY HOMETOWN: Montreal, Quebec INFLUENCES: Ella Fitzgerald, Aretha Franklin, Billie Holiday ALBUM: Nikki, out now WEBSITE: nikkionline.ca THINGS HAVE MOVED QUICKLY FOR NIKKI YANOFSKY-AT 12 she was singing in front of 100,000 people at the Montreal International Jazz Festival, by 13 she had been nominated for a Juno award (Canada’s equivalent to the Grammys), and at 16 she’s just released her debut studio album,... 

WHO’S NEXT: SONS OF SYLVIA HOMETOWN: Rocky Mount, Va. MEMBERS: Adam Clark (mandolin, guitar, vocals) Ashley Clark (lead vocals, guitar, fiddle) Austin Clark (Dobro, lap steel, vocals) ALBUM: Revelation, out now WEBSITE: sonsofsylvia.com ADAM, ASHLEY AND AUSTIN CLARK are Three of 11 children born to traveling ministers Freddy and Sylvia Clark (hence the name of the group), who taught them to play instruments as kids. The three were all working... 

WHO’S NEXT: LAURA BELL BUNDY HOMETOWN: Lexington, Ky. INFLUENCES: Pearl Bailey, Patsy Cline, Willie Nelson ALBUM: Achin’ and Shakin’, out now WEBSITE: laurabellbundy.com FOR LAURA BELL BUNDY, THE ROAD TO NASHVILLE BEGAN in New York City. She had been performing country music for several years, but caught the attention of Music City as the Tony-nominated star of Broadway musicals like Legally Blonde, Hairspray and Wicked. She set aside... 

WHO’S NEXT: BERTELL HOMETOWN: Houston, Texas INFLUENCES: Marvin Gaye, Luther Vandross, Stevie Wonder ALBUM: Goin’ Hard, out June 22 WEBSITE: bertellonline.com R&B NEWCOMER BERTELL (BORN BERTELL YOUNG) got his start in his grade-school cafeteria, where he regularly took over the piano and sang to entertain his classmates. He attended college in new Jersey on a basketball scholarship, and through his team’s coach got to know music... 

WHO’S NEXT: TRUTH & SALVAGE CO. HOMETOWN: Los Angeles, Ca. MEMBERS: Joe Edel (bass), Adam Grace (keyboards), Tim Jones (vocals, guitar), Scott Kinnebrew (vocals, guitar), Bill “Smitty” Smith (vocals, drums), Walker Young (vocals, keyboards) ALBUM: Truth & Salvage Co., out May 25 WEBSITE: truthandsalvageco.com TRUTH & SALVAGE CO. FORMED IN 2005, GROWING OUT of late-night jam sessions at Hotel Café in Hollywood, where singer... 

WHO’S NEXT: KATE MILLER-HEIDKE Kate Miller-Heidke HOMETOWN: Brisbane, Queensland, Australia INFLUENCES: Joni Mitchell, Queen,  Regina Spektor ALBUM: Curiouser, out now WEBSITE: katemillerheidke.com ESTABLISHED AS A POP STAR IN HER NATIVE AUSTRALIA since 2007, singer and keyboardist Kate Miller-Heidke is poised to make a similar splash in the u.s. she recorded Curiouser over more than two months in Los Angeles, collaborating with guitarist... 

WHO’S NEXT: PAPER TONGUES Paper Tongues HOMETOWN: Charlotte, N.C. MEMBERS: Aswan North (vocals), Devin Forbes (guitar), Joey Signa (guitar), Cody Blackler (keyboards), Clayton Simon (keyboards), Danny Santell (bass), Jordan Hardee (drums) ALBUM: Self-titled debut out this summer; Ride to California digital EP out now WEBSITE: papertongues.com PAPER TONGUES’ MEMBERS GREW UP IN NORTH Carolina listening to rock, electronica... 

WHO’S NEXT: IMELDA MAY Imelda May HOMETOWN: Dublin, Ireland INFLUENCES: Billie Holiday, Luke Kelly, Gene Vincent ALBUM: Love Tattoo, out now WEBSITE: imeldamay.com MANY WHO TUNED IN DURING JEFF BECK’S TRIBUTE TO the late Les Paul on the Grammy Awards earlier this year found themselves wondering about the identity of the intriguing young woman singing “How High the Moon” alongside the guitar great. Those listeners were getting their fi... 

WHO’S NEXT: SALVADOR SANTANA Salvador Santana HOMETOWN: San Francisco, Calif. INFLUENCES: Bob Marley, Thelonious Monk, McCoy Tyner ALBUM: Keyboard City, out Feb. 2 WEBSITE: salvadorsantana.com THE SON OF GUITAR LEGEND CARLOS SANTANA AND grandson of blues pioneer Saunders King, Santana has music in his DNA. He began playing piano at age 6, and studied at San Francisco’s School of the Arts as well as Cal Arts in Valencia, Calif. He co-wrote... 

WHO’S NEXT: N’DAMBI N'DAMBI HOMETOWN: Dallas, Texas INFLUENCES: Betty Davis, Mahalia Jackson, Nina Simone ALBUM: Pink Elephant, out now WEBSITE: ndambionline.com N’DAMBI GREW UP IN A STRICT BAPTIST HOUSEHOLD where the only secular music allowed was country, but was drawn to classic soul from the moment she began discovering music on her own. She established herself in the music business working as a backup singer with fellow old-school... 

WHO’S NEXT: DANIEL MERRIWEATHER Daniel Merriweather HOMETOWN: Melbourne, Australia INFLUENCES: D’Angelo, Otis Redding, Stevie Wonder ALBUM: Love & War, out Feb. 23 WEBSITE: danielmerriweather.com DANIEL MERRIWEATHER WAS FIRST DRAWN TO MUSIC at age 4, when he discovered his mother’s violin. Soon he was playing Vivaldi and Bach concertos, but at 10 he was nudged toward R&B music by his discovery of Boyz II Men’s Cooleyhighharmony....