6 Tampa Bay music artists to follow in 2026 

From brooding post-punk to Afro-fusion, Tampa Bay’s music scene has no interest in sticking to one lane. 

As 2026 kicks off, a new crop of homegrown artists is pushing past “up-and-coming” and into something more solid: sold-out shows, official releases, and a growing sense that Tampa Bay isn’t just incubating talent–it’s exporting it. From sweaty club stages to vinyl bins and festival lineups, these six acts are shaping the sound of the city right now. 

Miller Lowlifes

The Miller Lowlifes are the beer-sloshing uncle at the backyard barbecue of pop-punk. Born from the brains of Richie Schnellbacher (guitar/vocals), Mario Framingheddu (bass/vocals), Joseph Paez (drums) and Matt Shumate (guitar), this band leans into punchy guitar hooks, driving tempos and a slightly scrappy punk attitude.

The Lowlifes’ full-length album, Pinch Hitters, dropped on storied Tampa punk label A.D.D. Records in April 2025, flirting with nostalgia, punk DNA and overall ridiculous energy. A single, “Airport Beers,” was crowned a WMNF Song of the Day for tapping into the band’s core–lighthearted, yet mosh-worthy. 

Beyond vinyl stocked at Microgroove, Daddy Kool Records and Planet Retro Records, the band stays visible through live shows. With multiple Tampa gigs lined up–Feb. 15 at New World Tampa and March 11 at The Potion Portal–Miller Lowlifes are torchbearers for a revived, emotionally honest rock sound to power the new year.

Jupiter Bloom 

Fresh off a debut single, “Water Lilies,” which dropped last September, Jupiter Bloom is the indie rock crew Tampa didn’t know it needed. Fronted by Ash Griffith (vocals/bass) with Dominic Fonseca (rhythm guitar/vocals) and Doug Jaramillo (lead guitar), this trio evolved from students singing in parking garages to professionals with a vision.

Its sound leans indie, melodic and just a little edgy, perfect for dancing in tight quarters or staring at the ceiling in existential angst. Jupiter Bloom’s releases and live shows alike feel youthful without being naive, tapping into the same lineage of melodic, festival-ready indie that’s shaping the current scene. The group cite influences from Flipturn and Boygenius but have their own flair.

Between a new release on the way, opening for Oceanic two nights in February, and performing at Crowbar’s final Indie Night, Jupiter Bloom enters 2026 as a band primed to move from local buzz to broader recognition.

Pusha Preme

A Tampa-centric, self-proclaimed Afro-fusion artist, Pusha Preme blends rap with electro-soul, layering storytelling, smooth basslines and subtle West African influences. The masked artist has spent years building traction through sharp lyricism and a strong sense of identity, with recent work favoring a head-nod, rap-along sound that feels raw, yet polished. 

His approach to the rap scene has earned real traction: in 2021, Money In the Grave, a compilation featuring Preme’s track “Heaven At Night,” peaked at No. 18 on Billboard’s compilation albums chart and hit No. 1 on the iTunes Top 40 US Hip-Hop Albums chart. His immersive live performances also won “Best In-Public Therapy Session” in Creative Loafing’s Best of the Bay 2023. 

Beyond the stage, Preme has upcoming community-centered collaborations, including a Black History Month fusion with 1920 Ybor and WuzHere Coffee tied to his nonprofit, Nawlaj Is Power, and a partnership with the University of South Florida, bringing students their first Afro symphony, signaling a seasoned artist still building momentum.

Social Wreckage 

Social Wreckage blends melodic vocals with heavier, hard-driving instrumentation, landing somewhere between indie rock and punk without fully committing themselves to either. The result is weighty but accessible, songs that hit a large audience hard, without losing a unique sense of identity. 

This band has made its home right at the intersection of melody and abrasion. There’s a weight to the sound–it’s indie-rock that isn’t afraid to scuff its knees, music that thrives in your angsty teen daughter’s bedroom. 

The band, led by Maren McTague, with Ella Fair on vocals and guitar, Preson Phillips on Bass and Arrow Enfinger on drums, released its first single, “Eyes Everywhere,” in December 2025, immediately establishing momentum. Social Wreckage has already opened for Underoath and is set to hit the road as part of the Silhouettes tour in February 2026, including a stop at Will’s Pub alongside Halation, Evershock, and No Clue.

Sleeping Pills 

Sleeping Pills sounds like crawling out of a foggy beach town at midnight. Darker and more jagged than your average post-punk outfit, the band blends murky guitar lines, punk rhythms and brooding melodies into songs that feel lived-in. 

The Tampa trio, fronted by Phil Taylor with Zack Strickland and Nate Irizarry, fuses jagged post-punk with garage-y surf riffs and new-wave hooks, forging a hybrid that gives their music a sense of drifting motion. 

Tracks like “The Lighthouse” preview an upcoming album, remaining grim and hypnotic but with an oceanic twist. That energy will come to life on Feb. 13, when Sleeping Pills celebrates the release of their new album, Patterns in the Sea, at The Bends, joined by Merchandise frontman Carson Cox and Nic Hamersly’s 808-driven synth project Ortrotasce.

Ortrotasce 

Rooted in darkwave and gothic post-punk, Ortrotasce’s sound is driven by layered synths, basslines, and hypnotic beats. It’s music that doesn’t ask for permission; it dares the listener to sit with it. 

Tampa Bay producer Nic Hamersly’s most recent release, “Muscle Memory (Malfunctioning),” leans fully into that ethos. The track feels otherworldly, capturing human complexity through a dystopian lens. Its repeated electronic riffs are mesmerizing, driving the composition forward without ever fading into the background.

In a local scene often dominated by approachable guitars, Ortrotasce stands out by committing to an analog, and sometimes uncomfortable, sound. He’s not just committed to the genre; he is building an entire world within it. 

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This article appears in Jan. 22 – 28, 2026.