Fifteen Minutes of Fame: An Independent Artist Music Review Blog

Originally Published on June 13th, 2025 About the Artist I am getting more and more excited about the scene that is emerging out of the Minneapolis area. Home of legendary acts like  Prince  and grunge rock pioneers,  Soul Asylum , it is no wonder the Independent Scene is as impactful as it is. Fifteen Minutes of Fame have already covered musical releases of artists like  Lexie Modica ,  Fireside Shadow ,  Conzemius , and  Katy Tessman . Now, it’s time to introduce our readers to  Nobody From Nowhere . Nobody From Nowhere is a musical project organized by Michael Koppelman, a producer credited for contributing to works released by Prince in fact. It includes a diverse group of musicians, including Katy Tessman’s son; the talented guitar player, Louis Tessman Stonach, Oliver Osland, Myles Koppelman, and Marc Retish. Touted for inspiring live performances, Nobody From Nowhere are poised to becoming somebody very soon. Their multi-faceted group of ve...

Originally Published on June 13th, 2025 About the Artist Thousand Gardens  is a musical project out of New Jersey that was created by Derek Young. They have been releasing music since 2023. The project is an instrumental one, exploring early stages of Industrial (IDM), as well as some older more organic techno influences. There is a similarity to  Play  by  Moby , and Young references  Boards of Canada ,  Mouse on Mars , and  Black Moth Super Rainbow  as influences. In 2023, Thousand Gardens debuted with the release of their album,  Overgrowth ; a 10 song, 40 minute album of the same genres. What my first initial impression about their music in Overgrowth are three things: first, the percussion that is programmed is very organic sounding, very earthy. Second, they like to explore themed passages. Focus on a melodic idea. They rarely use full chord progressions. They introduce melody into a song like thought introduces an idea into a brain. Th...

Originally Published on June 12th, 2025 About the Artist In 2002, I was obsessed with  Live , I was just beginning to understand how important  Radiohead  was to me, and I was on a mission to tell as many people as I could about that band,  Coldplay ,  from England, with the song  Yellow ,  and how their  second album  would cement their legacy when it came out later that year. I was obsessed with alternative rock. My style was shifting at this point, I just wasn’t aware of it or not willing to accept it. I was a little bit of a “music snob” too. I wanted to control what was on my stereo and there was this small part of my brain that would get annoyed when a friend would sit in my car and say “have you heard this band?” I selfishly liked to be the person to say that and introduce some incredible and illuminating music into another person’s life. On the other hand, I was a people pleaser and I always allowed it and, on occasion, somebody would...

Originally Published on June 12th About the Artist I have observed that there is such a spectrum of talent, looking out at the sea of talented independent artists. A plethora of genres, styles within those genres; artists coming from all walks of life.  We are many artists, with many stories, and our experiences are drawn from many places.  Tom Whitevise , from Chicago, is an artist whose experience dates back to the 1980’s, when “DIY” was done with a “4-track cassette recorder,” in his words. He has drawn inspiration from blues, pop/rock, and progressive rock and has dedicated himself to learning new ways of expression through the study of music theory along the way. His earliest released work comes from 2021, where he released the song,  Coming Up . This bright, upbeat song has a diverse range of influence. Featuring heavy backing vocals reminiscent of  Queen , a community of instrumentation similar to  Prince and the Revolution , and leading vocals equivalent...

Originally Published on June 8th, 2025 Spotlights This publication will feature music released by artists on the date of June 6th.  Sleep Station  by  Zeynep Sophia ,  Makeup: After Midnight  by  Rockstar & Elise ,  Hypnotized  by  Isey , and  Maze in my Mind  by  Georgie Najar .  Sleep Station by Zeynep Sophia About the Artist Zeynep Sophia  didn’t actually submit for the June Campaign. She first submit for a review by Fifteen Minutes of Fame in September and I have been following her music since then. Sophia, out of Lancashire, is a pianist and her instrumental releases are often very ambient, imaginative, and create an entire plane of sound, in spite only incorporating the playing of one instrument.  Zeynep Sophia has had many releases in the last year. Dating back to April of 2024, she first released the single  Chambers  and would subsequently release 1-2 songs per month until September when sh...

Originally Published on June 8th, 2025 About the Artist I remember the first time in heard  Amity . He had just released his single  Bite Me!  and I remember just being down away by the vocal performance he turned in. I remember the song not sounding like I expected it to, given the title. The smooth, silky, and soulful R&B sound just settling over the keys and percussion. I remember being pulled from the melody to lyrical passages like, “And where do devils and damn gods begin? Where do you draw the line?” then being pulled back to a melodical line that forced me to stop analyzing and just listen. I was instantly hooked. Amity debuted at just 15 years of age. In just a short time, he had been featured in The Guardian, he has won an RBE music excellence award and he has been deemed a Royal Albert Hall’s Future Maker Artist. He has been featured in ASBO magazine as “one to watch,” and he has been a resident artist at London Soho’s Spice of Life. Bite Me! is Amity’s deb...

Originally Published on June 2nd, 2025 About the Artist “Trying to create something that feels good all around.” -  Jed Harrelson , via his Spotify Bio. Most of the time, when I review a new artist, I have recently heard about their music via a submission. Sometimes, I happen across their music through social media.  That is what happened a few months ago, while scrolling on TikTok. I came across a  video  where a guy, wearing a camo tee shirt was dancing in a field, holding an instrument and singing into a mic that were not plugged into an amp (this was done on purpose, intentionally noticeable), and he was singing and dancing to a song that did not match his image or voice.  As I continued to listen, the song got more and more impressive. Before I knew it, I was running over to Spotify to listen to  Bad Habits .  Harrelson, currently calling Nashville home, is a blues rock musician who has a soulful connection to the rhythmic and lyrical style of his...

Originally Published on June 1st, 2025 As I write this article, it has not escaped me that the next recap article I write will be on the anniversary of when I started Fifteen Minutes of Fame. I cannot believe it. I want to do something special next month to commemorate the anniversary. But, before we get there, we have to talk about what an great month May was! What Happened in May? May was an incredibly productive month for Fifteen Minutes of Fame as we published new articles, new recaps, new blind reactions, and our first two spotlight articles! The Fifteen Minutes of website doubled its views from last month, as we are currently at more that, 2,100 views, and more than 50 likes and comments on the website! We have also crossed into the double-digits with subscribers! I am happy to say that my vinyl collection has grown as I went crazy on my first ever Bandcamp Friday. I want to know if you are going to be releasing a vinyl record. I would love to add it to my collection! Since start...