The Hold Steady

You are free to insist that the Hold Steady are Springsteen-derived if you must, and that's true enough of singer Craig Finn's Heinekin-slurred delivery, but really there's also something else happening here lyrically that the Boss doesn't really do. Pretty hard to put your finger on it, though – almost like youth itself captured right before it grows old and starts listening to Wilco, or the sound of weariness, or the monologue from a late-night infomercial that sells you back your soul when you didn't realize you'd lost it in the first place. Regardless, everybody please be sure to lose your minds during "Party Pit," OK?

Singer-songwriter Justin Townes Earle and indie rock duo The Cinnamon Band make this an all-star lineup.