If you like popular music, check out America's next big band, The Nepotist (www.thenepotist.com). My son Chris, 24, is their guitarist, and my son Hayden, 21, is their bassist. Drummer Owen Erickson rounds out the trio. For a while, they played together as The Brothers Frank. In that incarnation, they won NYU's highly competitive Battle of the Bands in both 2008 and 2009. Earlier, Chris helped found the band IY (subsequently New Neighbors), which played together for almost 10 years, while Hayden had a five-year run with The Sauce.
Here are three of their songs: "Shortlist", "Twenty-Third Hour" (Chris's compositions and performed by IY with Chris on guitar and lead vocals), and "Nevermind" (Hayden's compositions performed by The Sauce, with Hayden on bass and lead vocals). They're about to record their first album together.
Chris recently recorded a solo EP (The Spring EP), which you can download for free here.
The Nepotist plays mostly its own material and performs mostly in clubs in the NYC area. Like me, you may find it easier to judge a new band by listening to them play something familiar. Check out IY's cover of "Such Great Heights", recorded live at a show in Ithaca. The recording isn't studio quality, but it nicely captures the feel of their live performances. Another song that's easy to evaluate on one hearing is this cover of Bill Withers' "Ain't No Sunshine," by The Sauce, with Hayden on bass and lead vocals.