The UnSigned Songs Substack
Welcome to the first post in our shared musical journey...
Dec 28, 2025
You may not like the kind of music I like. I may not like your music. But hopefully, if you’re here, it’s because we both like music. This Substack is as much for me as it for all of you: A place where I can keep lists and links to bands, artists and songs I like. To give you a sense of the bands that move me, here is a list of some artists that have shaped my tastes over the years (bolded bands/artists are particular favorites):
Bands with male lead singers: 10cc, Aerosmith, AOR, Ambrosia, Atlanta Rhythm Section, Bad English, Badfinger, Barns Courtney, Beach Weather, Benson Boone, Biffy Clyro, Billy Squier, Boston, Cam Cole, Chris Emray (from Vienna, Austria! song: “Heal”) Coldplay, David Mead, Deadeye Dick, Dean Lewis, Dirty Honey, Durry, Ed Sheeran, Electric Light Orchestra, Enuff Z’Nuff, Fleetwood Mac, Foo Fighters, Foster The People, Fountains of Wayne, Gerry Rafferty, Glass Animals, Goose, Goo Goo Dolls, Guster, Greta Van Fleet, half•alive, Jamiroquai, Jake Rose, Jelly Roll, Jellyfish, Jimmy Eat World, Jelly Roll, John Waite, Jon Brion, Journey, Joyful Wolf, Keane, Kiss, Lifehouse, Little River Band, Loverboy, Manchester Orchestra, Morgan Wallen, Matchbox Twenty, Matthew Sweet, Mother Mother, Muse, My Chemical Romance, New Medicine, Night Ranger, Nothing But Thieves, Pablo Cruise, Pearl Jam, Red Rider, Richard Marx, Rick Springfield, Ripley Alexander, Rival Sons, Sloan, Snow Patrol, Soundgarden, Stone Temple Pilots, Styx, Supertramp, Survivor, Switchfoot, TALK, The All-American Rejects, The Babys, The Darkness, The Daybreaks, The Eagles, The Fray, The Gaslight Anthem, The Get Up Kids, Tesla, The Killers, The Posies, The Script, The Spill Canvas, The Struts, Third Eye Blind, Theory Of A Deadman, Toad the Wet Sprocket, Tony Lucca, Train, Triumph, Twin Atlantic, U2, Uncle Kracker, Van Halen, Wayland, Weezer, Wig Wam, Wolfmother, Yellowcard, Young the Giant,
Bands/artists with female lead singers: Miley Cyrus, Heart, Blondie, Dua Lipa, BENEE, MotherMother, Lady Gaga, Adele, the bird and the bee, Cassette, Olivia Rodrigo, Lainey Wilson, Jain, Caroline Jones, GAYLE, more to be added.
Clearly, as an adult male (wow that sounded… clinical), I am drawn to male singers — but quite a few female artists rock my musical world, too. I will add more to this list shortly.
I spent the afternoon coming up with that list. It’s nowhere near complete. The bolded entries are particular favorites. And today I begin looking for and highlighting new bands that I feel are noteworthy, and consistent with these artists 0- undiscovered bands meaning: “Unsigned.”
Finding a new singer/band/artist is a little bit like discovering a unknown bottle of Cabernet — it feels special. Like you’ve found a treasure. I thought about naming this blog, undiscovered Treasures or just “Treasures” then I was reminded of the strip club in Las Vegas by the same name… ugh.. (lol). So, UnsignedSongs it is.
If you’re here now and want to hear a truly great song, representative of the hidden treasures I’m looking to find, listen to Chris Emray’s song, “Heal.”
If you like it, we’ll get along. If you don’t, you probably won’t like my musical taste, and I’ll wish you the best on your musical journey.