THE YEAR IN MUSIC, 2024: Breakout Artists of the Year

JELLY ROLL

For the past 20 years, this genre-jumping, heavily tattooed, Nashville-based musician has steadily built a following. In 2024, as he blasted into the mainstream. He sold out arenas, dazzled at TV awards shows and festivals such as Stagecoach and CMA Fest, and collaborated with stars from Lainey Wilson and Eminem to Falling in Reverse and Wiz Khalifa. The cherry on top was his album Beautifully Broken, a potent brew.

DK

SABRINA CARPENTER

Carpenter’s sold-out tour in support of her album Short n’ Sweet proved why she’s risen to the vanguard of pop performance. The show’s ingenious set design revolved around the interior of a retro-cool penthouse apartment, complete with a three-story window, two spiral staircases, a fireplace and, of course, a fur-covered, circular bed on which she belted out “Bed Chem.” Add in a heart-shaped conversation pit, one song performed while sitting on a toilet and clever interstitial videos evoking the Playboy channel and old-school infomercials, and it’s clear why Sabrina quickly leapt from headlining clubs to leading entire sports arenas in cheeky, profanity-laden singalongs.

JC

FAYE WEBSTER

Painfully shy and wielding self-deprecation as her artistic métier (some with biting humor, some with bitter sorrow), Atlanta’s daughter didn’t seem poised for a big breakout. But as youngsters (and not-so-youngsters) flocked to the post-breakup wit and sadness of her recent Underdressed at the Symphony album and appreciated her musical flair, she unexpectedly blossomed as a live performer, earthier than Taylor or Billie and, for the time being, more intimate.

SH

CHARLES LLOYD

At 29, sax and flute player Lloyd had a breakout year for the ages, establishing him a one of jazz’s true stars. Of course, that was 1967. He’s had another one now, at 86, with his The Sky Will Still Be There Tomorrow album and concert appearances showing him to be as freshly and affectingly creative as ever. It’s part of a remarkable, perhaps unprecedented run of breakouts in recent years, with acclaim and honors piling up. He’s still got that rookie-of-the-year spirit.

SH

READ THE REST OF THE YEAR IN MUSIC!

2024: an overview

Don’t call it a comeback (but it is)

Musicians of the year

Thing of the year

Please go home (we’ve had enough of these people)

Albums of the year

Songs of the year

The year of the CD

The Fyre Award: crappiest festival of the year

10 albums you should have heard but didn’t

The year in EDM

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