One of the complaints I hear most often when I recommend new music is “I don’t know where to find any of this stuff on my own.”

When we were kids, it seemed like everything was curated and manageable — we had MTV, magazines, local radio stations (with actual variety), and physical mixtapes. The world of good music was always vast, but manageable.

Now, streaming has made that vast world seemingly infinite. In a time when music is more accessible than ever, I get how it can feel more overwhelming than exciting, or like it’s too much work to sort the bad from the good.

That’s exactly what New Bands for Old Heads is for.

I spend an unreasonable amount of time listening to new music and connecting it to the stuff we grew up with.

I find unknown new artists making music inspired by your favorites, but still clearly doing their own thing. I make curated playlists to keep the constant new music onslaught manageable. I fight algorithms tooth and nail.

Think of me as the newsletter version of the record store clerk with all the great new music recs… minus the judgy attitude.

What You’ll Find Here:

• Recs for new bands that sound like bands you already love

• Discussion about music — where to find it, why it matters, how to make it a bigger part of your life

• Genre guides, pop culture commentary, and other assorted yappery

• Playlists. So many playlists.

• All killer, no filler!1

Extras for Paid Subscribers:

• Best album of the month roundups, with playlists

• Vinyl and concert ticket giveaways

• Access to the New Bands for Old Heads Discord community (with listening parties + a book club!)

• An indexed directory of every band I’ve ever recommended

• 20% off merch

Prefer to subscribe without supporting Substack directly?

(It’s $5 cheaper!)

Support NBfOH, not Substack

Getting in Touch:

If you’re a musician…

You can submit your music to me. If it’s my thing, I might add it to one of my playlists or write about it. If it’s not, don’t worry; I don’t roast anyone here.2 Please be patient if I don’t respond right away. I promise I’m getting to it!

If you’re a writer or other “creative” …

I’m always looking for folks to do deep dives on genres I’m not as well-versed in or to play Guest DJ at a listening party. Other article pitches are welcome, too.

Time permitting, I’m also happy to consider co-writing, podcast spots or any other collaborations you might have in mind. Please reach out with ideas.

If you’re a record label/PR…

E-mail me, especially if you’re interested in coordinating record/ticket giveaways. I don’t do pay-for-play, but I do love to hype small artists.

If you’re anyone else…

The chat is active. The comments are lively. I discover a lot of music from readers. Stop by and say hi.

My Whole Deal:

I’m Gabbie. Hi. I live in Philly. I’ve been writing about music for 21 years. It’s my passion, and New Bands for Old Heads is my headquarters. It now reaches 19,000+ readers and is one of the bestselling music publications on Substack (dang!).

I foster a strong community of likeminded “old heads” (regardless of age) who love to talk about music, make music, share music, and shine a light on small artists of all genres.

This newsletter is where all my music obsessions live: the decade-hopping connections, the tiny-band evangelism, the rabbit-hole playlists. I’m basically just a nerd you’ve handed the aux to and now I’m interrupting you every 5 seconds to say “omg you’ve gotta hear this.”

I hope you love it here as much as I do.

xo

G