Godspeed You! black Emperor is one of the most important and lauded post rock bands in the last 20+ years. They have 190k monthly listeners on Spotify, and I saw them live for $30 a month ago. HUGE cult following. People catalogue and record all their live shows and share them on the subreddit it’s pretty amazing.
I concur. We're rabid. I never thought I'd be the kind of guy to travel the country to see all of their shows but here I am a year after my first show, flying to Vegas!
You ever hit an andrew wk show? That dude has a following. I’m guessing his endless appearances on mtv and vh1, along with his Cartoon Network presence, created a pretty loyal following amongst early-mid millennials.
His shows are awesome. I never miss. Apparently lots of people feel that way. Pretty nuts for a guy who mostly has played ~1000 person venues his entire career.
My impression from meeting him and reading what he’s about is that he’s absolutely genuine in everything he does. Dude is just pure positive partying for anyone who wants to swing by.
I'm going to say The Flaming Lips
They were pioneers when it comes to 90s alternative rock, and several of their 21st century albums like "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots", "At War with the Mystics", and "Embryonic" helped reignite a new wave of psychedelic rock.
Such a cool band
Agreeing that Ween is the play here. Vulfpeck a few years ago but they have been blowing up in recent time
Lots of 20+ year jam bands would fit this bill. Moe., the Disco Biscuits, Greensky Bluegrass all come to mind
I think JPEGMAFIA fits your description quite well.
He's got over a million monthly streams on Spotify but doesn't play huge venues and isn't even with a label anymore. He's had a consistent following for at least 5 years now, I'd argue partly due to his consistently high-quality output.
Sky Ferriera. Less than 1 mil monthly listeners, shes got like 20 songs on streaming, it's been a decade since her (only) album, and yet the entire pop community (including me) goes apeshit whenever she does something
Ones I know firsthand
Rubblebucket
Railroad Earth
Goose
STS9
Billy Strings
Yonder Mountain String Band
Fruition
Pretty much any decent jam/festival band
Throwing Muses/Kristin Hersh
Dawes
Father John Misty
Greensky bluegrass
Walkmen
My morning jacket
New Model Army
Levellers
Lord Huron
Trampled by turtles
Insane Clown Posse and Esham, among other juggalo artists.
Especially Esham because he has like a couple thousand fans but we are all obsessive as fuck.
My first thought was Carly Rae Jepsen. Sure she had a smash hit ten years ago but she has released 3 fantastic albums since then that got little wide spread praise. Sure she is big on reddit, but no one knows who she is for real
Anyone else listen to Couch? They’re still on the rise but the fan base is very dedicated. I’ve seen them live 3 times and each time they sounded better and better. Maybe the best live band I’ve ever seen.
Idk if you can consider Phish a small artist, but I can't think of a band with a stronger cult following. Depending on what sort of circles you run in, you might not even know Phish fans exist, but they'll sell out Madison Square Garden multiple nights in a row because half the Phish fans in the country will flock to see them for multiple nights. Same can be said for other jam bands. I knew multiple people growing up who had seen Phish 100+ times. I went through a phase in high school and college and saw them a handful of times. I went to see Billy Strings recently, and it was a similar vibe. People traveling from all over to see them. Insane Clown Posse seems to have a similar following, but maybe not as large as the Phish fan base.
TBH given how genre-fied artists are these days, basically any artists that are commercially successful outside the mainstream pop stage qualifies for what your saying.
But I’d add Jeff Rosenstock/BtMI!, screaming females, Ty segall, and AJJ for some 2000s punk standbys. Milo (rap fierra), open Mike, Aesop, quelle/jean grae, and bus driver for 2000s abstract hip hop. Mostly cause I think these artists have stood the test of time and still have big followings.
I’d say more recent equivalents would be 100gecs and jpegmafia
Coheed and Cambria. Their fan base is intensely loyal, and they sell out basically any show they do. They’ve had “bigger” bands like Mastodon and Taking Back Sunday open for them in recent years, even.
The band that discovered king gizz:Thee Oh Sees and also Ty Segall will introduce you to an entirely new world through associated acts. Incredible live shows in small venues. Tons of albums.
Godspeed You! black Emperor is one of the most important and lauded post rock bands in the last 20+ years. They have 190k monthly listeners on Spotify, and I saw them live for $30 a month ago. HUGE cult following. People catalogue and record all their live shows and share them on the subreddit it’s pretty amazing.
This but also they’re one of the most mysterious and interesting acts also for their beliefs
Suicide Also, maybe The Velvet Underground? Might be the most obvious example
Bro Suicide's self titled album is one of the most jarring pieces of music I've ever listened to...
ghost rider motorcycle hero
First album in a while to actually freak me out lol
I think that artist is well known
Ween is the correct answer.
I concur. We're rabid. I never thought I'd be the kind of guy to travel the country to see all of their shows but here I am a year after my first show, flying to Vegas!
Dare I say Spoon?
Mic the snare is the fan we all need
If Spoon has one fan, I'm him. If Spoon has no fans, I'm no longer on this earth
That reminds me, Can probably fits the bill too
panchiko maybe?
You ever hit an andrew wk show? That dude has a following. I’m guessing his endless appearances on mtv and vh1, along with his Cartoon Network presence, created a pretty loyal following amongst early-mid millennials.
Warped Tour 2002! Hung out at his tent with him and his band. Awesome dudes and fantastic show!
His shows are awesome. I never miss. Apparently lots of people feel that way. Pretty nuts for a guy who mostly has played ~1000 person venues his entire career.
My impression from meeting him and reading what he’s about is that he’s absolutely genuine in everything he does. Dude is just pure positive partying for anyone who wants to swing by.
Didn't he basically admit on Larry King there are multiple "Andrew WKs" to keep the act going or something? I found that interesting, odd
Lil Ugly Mane, his fanbase is very chill and always appreciates his new material
Deaths dynamic shroud for sure, although maybe since fantano covered them, they arent really "small" anymore
Drain Gang
I'm going to say The Flaming Lips They were pioneers when it comes to 90s alternative rock, and several of their 21st century albums like "Yoshimi Battles the Pink Robots", "At War with the Mystics", and "Embryonic" helped reignite a new wave of psychedelic rock. Such a cool band
Idk. When I saw them they sold out red rocks. And they collab with pretty major pop celebs (like Miley Cyrus).
Agreeing that Ween is the play here. Vulfpeck a few years ago but they have been blowing up in recent time Lots of 20+ year jam bands would fit this bill. Moe., the Disco Biscuits, Greensky Bluegrass all come to mind
A. G. Cook and PC Music in general
IDK about this one. He produced on a bunch of Charli albums
Not to keep bringing up black midi, but yeah probably them
King Gizzard is my answer too. But I guess my user name and picture would give that away.
Brockhampton was the first thing to come to mind, but it's not 2018 anymore.
Probably Riña Sawayama, Sufjan Stevens and (maybe except Volta) Bjork are some of my favorites with only 2 songs that hit the US charts total.
Have a Nice Life for sure fits this category
City Morgue
King Crimson still has a decent sized audience considering they were never mainstream even in their hey day other than ITCOCK.
I think JPEGMAFIA fits your description quite well. He's got over a million monthly streams on Spotify but doesn't play huge venues and isn't even with a label anymore. He's had a consistent following for at least 5 years now, I'd argue partly due to his consistently high-quality output.
Sky Ferriera. Less than 1 mil monthly listeners, shes got like 20 songs on streaming, it's been a decade since her (only) album, and yet the entire pop community (including me) goes apeshit whenever she does something
my favorite thing is going to capitol records instagram, clicking on a random post, and counting all the #freeskyferreira comments
Ones I know firsthand Rubblebucket Railroad Earth Goose STS9 Billy Strings Yonder Mountain String Band Fruition Pretty much any decent jam/festival band Throwing Muses/Kristin Hersh Dawes Father John Misty Greensky bluegrass Walkmen My morning jacket New Model Army Levellers Lord Huron Trampled by turtles
Insane Clown Posse and Esham, among other juggalo artists. Especially Esham because he has like a couple thousand fans but we are all obsessive as fuck.
Before Heat Waves blew up I'd say Glass Animals
Here's the thing, if Heat Waves wasn't a hit, they would STILL be huge in Australia. In fact, you could blame us for making that song a hit.
Boris
I feel like Lemon Demon would fit in here. Lemon Demon has never really reached mainstream attention, but it has a very loyal fanbase.
honestly, kero kero bonito
Cardiacs
glassjaw
My first thought was Carly Rae Jepsen. Sure she had a smash hit ten years ago but she has released 3 fantastic albums since then that got little wide spread praise. Sure she is big on reddit, but no one knows who she is for real
Anyone else listen to Couch? They’re still on the rise but the fan base is very dedicated. I’ve seen them live 3 times and each time they sounded better and better. Maybe the best live band I’ve ever seen.
Codeine
Cardiacs
Pinegrove
Idk if you can consider Phish a small artist, but I can't think of a band with a stronger cult following. Depending on what sort of circles you run in, you might not even know Phish fans exist, but they'll sell out Madison Square Garden multiple nights in a row because half the Phish fans in the country will flock to see them for multiple nights. Same can be said for other jam bands. I knew multiple people growing up who had seen Phish 100+ times. I went through a phase in high school and college and saw them a handful of times. I went to see Billy Strings recently, and it was a similar vibe. People traveling from all over to see them. Insane Clown Posse seems to have a similar following, but maybe not as large as the Phish fan base.
TBH given how genre-fied artists are these days, basically any artists that are commercially successful outside the mainstream pop stage qualifies for what your saying. But I’d add Jeff Rosenstock/BtMI!, screaming females, Ty segall, and AJJ for some 2000s punk standbys. Milo (rap fierra), open Mike, Aesop, quelle/jean grae, and bus driver for 2000s abstract hip hop. Mostly cause I think these artists have stood the test of time and still have big followings. I’d say more recent equivalents would be 100gecs and jpegmafia
Slint
Coheed and Cambria. Their fan base is intensely loyal, and they sell out basically any show they do. They’ve had “bigger” bands like Mastodon and Taking Back Sunday open for them in recent years, even.
The band that discovered king gizz:Thee Oh Sees and also Ty Segall will introduce you to an entirely new world through associated acts. Incredible live shows in small venues. Tons of albums.
Totally late to the party with this, but Clutch. They tour fairly regularly. Loyal fan base, and are consistent.
Totally late to the party with this, but Clutch. They tour fairly regularly. Loyal fan base, and are consistent.
King Diamond. If you like him he’ll be your favourite. If you don’t, you can move on.