World Cafe on The Gateway KWMU2

Few bands would categorize their sound as "mountaintop chamber music," yet The Last Bison's classical-influenced Southern folk-rock actually fits the bill. The septet emerged from the marshes of Chesapeake, Va., a couple years ago, and has since made a name for itself with its complex arrangements, refined lyrics and vocal harmonies. Singer-guitarist Ben Hardesty is the group's primary songwriter, and his style recalls the work of Mumford & Sons, The Decemberists and Fleet Foxes.

Kail Baxley is a young blues singer who grew up in the same South Carolina town as James Brown. Over the course of his childhood, he met the Godfather of Soul several times, and it had a profound effect on Baxley's development as a musician.

Cody ChesnuTT's debut album, 2002's The Headphone Masterpiece, was the result of two years spent recording alone in his bedroom. The double-length record is at once both sprawling and intimate; it encompasses a wide array of genres, but ChesnuTT sings and plays nearly every part.