This conversation was written by Grace McLaughlin, KCtoday’s editorial intern.
Turn it up. It’s no secret that KC is home to insanely talented musicians. From slow jazz in the 1920s to electric pop in 2021, we do it all around here. We’re spotlighting a few of our favorites — the old, the new, and the now + sharing our Spotify playlist with you.
🎶 The Old
Big Joe Turner is a blues shouter turned rock-and-roller born in KCMO. He was known as “the singing barman” around Kansas City nightclubs. The artist started gaining popularity in 1954 with his iconic version of “Shake, Rattle and Roll.”
🎶 The New
KC breakout group, The Greeting Committee was formed while attending Blue Valley High School in Overland Park. They’ve rolled in 21+ million streams on Spotify with “Hands Down.” Most recently, the indie rock band was featured in the Netflix original, “To All The Boys: Always and Forever.”
🎶 The Now
Indie rock band Hembree is making strides. The group has been in Netflix originals, “13 Reasons Why” and “Outer Banks.” You may have also heard them in a 2018 Super Bowl commercial for Apple. On Spotify, the band has more than 40,000 monthly listeners.
Did we strike a chord? You can add your favorite KC bands, or even songs that make you think of The City of Fountains, to KCtoday’s Spotify playlist. Simply create a free Spotify account (if you don’t already have one), open the collaborative playlist, add the playlist to your library + input your favorites.
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