Fender Next has unveiled its class of 2025, with the artist development programme’s alumni IDLES and Omar Apollo helping the Big F whittle a long list of nearly a thousand acts down to just 20, all of whom Fender says are “redefining what it means to be a modern guitarist”.
Now in its seventh year, the success of the programme is evident in some of the acts who have passed through its ranks over the years. Wet Leg, Sam Fender, Nova Twins, Japanese Breakfast and Phoebe Bridgers were all Fender Next artists, and those looking to follow in their footsteps – leveraging Fender’s marketing push, strategic partnerships with Apple Music etc – feature artists from rock and pop, punk-rock and indie to hopecore.
We should probably start with hopecore, the dreamy melancholy sound as pioneered by Flawed Mangoes, a project of Boston-based guitarist/producer Evan Lo.
Tracks such as Palindrome and Swimming offer a spiritual detox for the digital era. His electric guitar tones are meticulously processed and will send you back to your pedalboard to think again. But at least his compositions will leave your head clear.
As the global epicentre of indie-rock right now, Chicago is well represented. You’ve got Friko, whose debut studio album, Where We’ve Been, Where We Go From Here was released last year through ATO.
Then you’ve got the likes of Horsegirl, the Chicago indie-rockers signed to Matador, and featuring Penelope Lowenstein – whose little brother, Isaac, plays in the righteous Lifeguard – and London art-punk collective Man/Woman/Chainsaw, who sound as awesome as their name.
Other UK acts include Aziya and Brighton-based punks Lambrini Girls, who released a collective statement on how excited they were about all this. “Time to blast riffs and throw a TV out a hotel window,” it read. “Thank you to all involved, may the gods of rock smile down on you, amen.”
“Fender Next has always been about championing the artists who are redefining the role of guitar in music and culture,” said Jason Klein, Fender’s artist marketing lead. “What makes this year especially meaningful is that some of our past Fender Next alumni helped identify and recommend artists of the new class – proof of both Fender and the creative community’s belief in this artist development program and its ability to inspire next generation guitarists.”
Those players include Brandy Senki, the J-rock power-trio behind The End Of The F***ing World, and Chinese Football, the Wuhan-based indie-rock band with a neat line in spanky and immaculate Telecaster tones.
“We’re honoured to support these artists with the tools and opportunities they need to thrive and grow, including collaborations with partners like Apple Music and Lagunitas that help expand their reach and celebrate their artistry on a larger stage,” continued Klein.
Some of them might even end up with signature guitars; Christone “Kingfish” Ingram, Boygenius, Blu DeTiger and Tyler Bryant did.
The Fender Next Class of 2025 also includes Nashville country guitar phenom Maggie Baugh. You’ve got Balu Brigada offering some indie rock out of Auckland, New Zealand. Boston’s Fleshwater are serving up some soft-focus indie and shoegaze.
There’s indie-folk from Oracle Sisters (France), wavvyboi (Germany), Malcolm Todd, whom you might recognise for going viral on Tik Tok, Leon Thomas, whom you might remember from Kathryn Bigelow’s Detroit (he acts, too), Florida's R&B experimentalists Cruza, Latin pop courtesy of Darumas, and, last but not least, Mexican alt-pop star Renee.
You can check them out on Apple Music’s Fender Next: Class of 2025 playlist.
