Every year since 2021, we’ve ended December with a countdown of the year’s best local songs, celebrating the artists who give the Triangle such a vibrant and thriving music scene. In 2021 and 2022, we counted down the top 25 songs of the year – but when we started looking back on 2023, it quickly became obvious that a mere 25 wouldn’t cut it. There was just too much great music.
So we did the only thing it made sense to do: we doubled it.
Here’s our countdown of the 50 best local songs of 2023.
First, some ground rules. We define a “local” artist as anyone currently based in Orange, Durham, or northern Chatham counties – 97.9 The Hill’s coverage zone, roughly. That means no artists here from Alamance or Wake, though it’s worth shouting out Alamance-based The Collection and Big Something, both of whom released great music this year. (We’re also leaving out artists who have temporarily relocated, like Durham’s VJDAMUSICMAN: Vybhav Jagannath is currently in New York for grad school, but his “Chaos On A Canvas” was my favorite track of the summer.)
And we’re only considering originals for this list, no covers – though as always, we heard a lot of great cover songs in 2023. Just to name a few: Dex Romweber’s “Shape of Things to Come,” just one of many classics covered on his best-in-a-decade album Good Thing Goin’; Owen FitzGerald’s slowed-down version of Everclear’s “Santa Monica”; Jodi Jones’ “Rust Belt Refugee,” a Pennsylvania twist on a Woody Guthrie standard; Evening Pines’ “It’ll Take A Long Time,” reviving a 50-year-old Sandy Denny hit; and Mighty Poplar’s “Up On The Divide,” the debut single (covering Martha Scanlan) from a supergroup that includes Watchhouse’s Andrew Marlin amidst four other bluegrass superstars.
Even within those strict rules, there was still a veritable avalanche of amazing music in 2023 – so much that we couldn’t include it all in one countdown, even after doubling the length. Among the many deserving artists not included here: Durham rockers Hammer No More The Fingers and hip-hop icons Little Brother, both of whom returned with great music after years-long hiatuses; Michael Daughtry, whose “Nothing Special” rose up the national Billboard charts; Pierce and Nnenna Freelon, whose album “AnceStars” is now a Grammy nominee; and 89-year-old Bluegrass Hall of Famer Alice Gerrard, who triumphed again this year with her new album “Sun to Sun.” It was a pretty good year, y’all.
And now, without any further ado: here’s this year’s Live & Local Top 50.
One of the best pure love songs of the year, with soaring vocals from an R&B goddess.
The first of several songs on this list to feature an artist wrestling with ominous feelings about the state of the world today. (Weirdly, many of those songs are upbeat. Not sure what’s up with that.)
I don’t think he really believes you.
47 (tie). Anjimile – Animal
47 (tie). No One Mind – Covered In Roses
Because even a top 50 is too limiting, I’m cheating here and there with a couple ties – including these two tracks, very different in many ways but both propelled by their evocative background soundscapes. (Honorable mention also to a longform soundscape piece, Frank Tomorrow’s “Veronica Never Knows.”)
Something tells me this narrator is unreliable.
45 (tie). Brother Kent – Murder of Crows
45 (tie). River Otters – I Could Use A Friend
Twangy vocals drive these two observational country tracks – one set mostly in nature, the other mostly in the bar.
44. The Sheeps – Sit Down Jams
The shortest, simplest, and bounciest song on the countdown, “Sit Down Jams” will make you feel good in less than two minutes.
The best of a dozen singles the prolific rapper released in 2023 alone.
42. It Had To Be Snakes – Florence
Soaring hard rock from a band that emerged this year with their debut album “Fates.”
Debuting last year and hitting new heights with this track, Bonies joins BANGZZ and the Muslims (among others) to make Durham an epicenter for femme-driven punk.
40. Wye Oak – I Learned It From You
The standout new track from Wye Oak’s 2023 compilation album “Every Day Like the Last.”
39. Hiss Golden Messenger – Nu-Grape
Still the most consistently great songwriter in the area, MC Taylor kept going this year with his twelfth full-length album “Jump For Joy.”
38. C. Albert Blomquist – You Couldn’t Give A Care
The versatile Blomquist goes country with this bitter send-off.
A deceptive slow-burner that starts quiet and folksy before an unexpected turn two minutes in. Let this one simmer till it boils.
It’s pure coincidence that Sluice and Fust are side by side on this countdown, but it’s fitting: Sluice’s Justin Morris and Fust’s Avery Sullivan worked on each other’s respective albums.
35. SiBANNÄC – No Borders (f. Cubanito)
Powerful, radically leftist ska punk from a band that called it quits in 2023, but not before going out with a bang with “Closing Statement,” their final album. (For now.)
This artist with the punny name debuted in a big way with a prolific 2023. “On My Own” was the title track on his first album, but he’d release a second before the year was through.
33. Django Haskins – Man In Sea
With lyrics referencing Charles Lindbergh’s surviving son, “Man In Sea” is the star of “Lost World,” a Kurt Weill-esque, piano-driven cabaret album from the Old Ceremony’s longtime leader. (Game idea: drink whenever a Django Haskins lyric includes the word “disappear.”)
32. Riggings – A Girl With Range
Alex Riggs’ first recording as Riggings, about the superpowers that come with being trans.
31 (tie). Sadie Rock – The Summer That Took Me Down
31 (tie). Fool In Utopia – Gemini
Our own Silver Springses: two songs that were originally left off the albums they were written for, only to get their own triumphant releases later.
The best recorded song yet from one of the liveliest live bands in the Triangle.
Smooth and raspy at the same time, “Halflight” is Finch’s celebration of that person you know you ought to stay away from, but can’t and won’t.
28. Red October – Wasting All My Time
Listen to this hard-rocking industrial post-punk snarl right after “Man In Sea,” and try to tell me you’re not surprised Chase Davenport has studied under Django Haskins.
27. Mellow Swells – I Don’t Mind the Wait
Like “Good Love” three spots above, a new high for a band that’s also one of the area’s best live acts.
26. Rakeem Shabazz (w/Furious Stylez et al) – Shine
One of several great tracks on “Wise the Dome,” one of the best hip-hop debuts of the year.
25. Rissi Palmer + Miko Marks – Still Here
An anthem of empowerment and resilience from two artists who’ve been repping Black women in country music since way before Luke Combs came along.
24. Cameron Stenger – Coastal Range
Proving the depth of his five-song EP “Return,” Stenger’s first release in nine years: the powerful “Coastal Range,” my favorite, isn’t even one of its two singles.
23. Kamus Leonardo – Alchemy (f. Neem the Animist & Jerm Scorsese)
Did I say ElBart was prolific? Kamus Leonardo dropped two EPs and six singles in the last 12 months – including “Alchemy,” one of the best local hip-hop tracks of the year.
22. SkyBlew + Scottie Royal – The Royal Blew Majestics
As a wise man once said, “De La Soul is alive.”
21. Kevin Goodwin – Best Damn Time
Wait, does it even count as Eighties nostalgia if you’re referencing Stranger Things? This might have to be an all-new genre: Eighties nostalgia nostalgia.
Upbeat, uptempo psychedelia from an artist whose music sounds retro but always feels timely.
Tre. Charles followed up his breakout 2021 single “Stressin” with “Currently,” an EP that continues his rumination on the mental pressure of just trying to live in the present day.
Bouncy yet melancholy, “Green Feelings” anchors “In Color,” the first album in four years from a group that’s still going strong amidst lineup shifts and international relocations.
17. Slow Teeth – Still You Speak
From Clockwork Kids to today, Justin Ellis remains the master of the slow-building eruption.
Lemmy lives! And so does Pipe, Chapel Hill’s hardest rockers, back and better than ever with their first album in 26 years.
15. Jess Klein – Never Gonna Break Me
Pro tip: after your next breakup, get in your car, roll down the windows, and cruise down the highway with this self-empowerment track blasting at full volume.
Apocalyptic synth from Jesse Ainslie, frustratingly refusing to resolve – like love itself, I guess.
13. The Consequences Of Our Own Actions – Forget How This Feels
Fun fact: TCOOOA is the only artist to make our top 15 in each of the last two years.
So much great music is made on that razor’s edge between staying and leaving.
11. Kym Register + Meltdown Rodeo – Maureen
Technically a cover, but a self-cover in this case, sped up a bit from their earlier version on 2019’s “Lez Dance” – back when KR+MR had a sliiightly different name. (Honorable mention to another 2023 re-recording that improved on the original: Charles Latham’s “Last Great Never Was.”)
10 (tie). Libby Rodenbough – Easier To Run
10 (tie). Joseph Terrell – Persimmon
The standout tracks from the Mipso bandmates’ respective solo efforts, Rodenbough’s “Between the Blades” and Terrell’s “Good For Nothing Howl.”
(Side note: Terrell’s visit to 97.9 The Hill’s studio was a highlight of the year – because he arrived just as University Place was evacuating due to a gas leak. We ended up recording his live performance on two folding chairs in the parking lot, after a comical trip to Walgreens to replace my handheld recorder’s dying batteries. It sounded great.)
9. Chessa Rich – Sleeping Is Easier
Rich’s album “Deeper Sleeper” was inspired by living with a sleep disorder, but this hit turns that around – and explores how even disordered sleep can sometimes be more enticing than the crap you have to deal with when you’re awake.
8. Magic Al + Lou Hazel – Party For One
Undeniably, Alex Bingham was the epicenter of local music this year: besides playing for Chessa Rich (no. 9) and touring with Hiss Golden Messenger (no. 39), his album “Good Grief” features contributions from Viv & Riley (no. 2) as well as Mipso (no. 4) bandmates Joseph Terrell (no. 10) and Libby Rodenbough (also no. 10) – whose sibling MK is now part of Bombadil (no. 18).
Which track from the album should I highlight? One standout is “Hello,” featuring Viv & Riley – but V&R are already represented further down, so I’ll go with “Party For One,” which features Lou Hazel (aka Chris Frisina, no. 17 on our all-time top 100) and Amelia Meath of Sylvan Esso (no. 18 on our all-time top 100). Seriously, everybody works with this guy.
7. Darren Jessee – Wild Ascending Blue
The best of “Central Bridge,” a beautiful album from the former Ben Folds Fiver. Jessee himself says “Wild Ascending Blue” is about connecting with nature; I also hear it as a reflection on life and death. Which is kinda the same thing, come to think of it.
6. G Yamazawa + Wreck-N-Crew – Where Do We Go?
G Yamazawa and Wreck-N-Crew joined their formidable forces for a supergroup project called Durham High, the best local hip-hop album of 2023. (Honorable mention, by the way, to Weston Estate – who also released a solid track this year with the exact same title.)
5. Me Oh Myriorama – Southbound
Devyn Smith ditches his earlier moniker Coin Locker Kid and sweeps in from out of nowhere with this unclassifiable, extraterrestrial track that’s nothing like anything you’ve ever heard before.
4. Mipso – Broken Heart/Open Heart
Album-of-the-year contender “Book of Fools” was a striking new musical direction from Mipso, but this lovely bittersweet rumination on grief would have fit just as comfortably on Dark Holler Pop or anything in between.
3. Dasan Ahanu – Medusa
Ahanu’s catchy earworm of a tragedy about wasted potential, straddling the (nonexistent?) line between hip-hop and spoken-word poetry.
2. Viv & Riley – Is It All Over
GOOFUS writes a straightforward protest song about how late-stage capitalism is dehumanizing us and destroying the planet. GALLANT channels that same sentiment into a subtle meditation on tragic resilience, exploring our all-too-human ability to adapt and survive – hopeful, because it means we can soldier on even in the face of dystopia; tragic, because it also means we’re less likely to fix that dystopia, which we’ve brought upon ourselves in the first place.
(Also, I will never look at Warby Parker the same way again.)
1. Jphono1 – Fuzzy Peoples
From the Comas to North Elementary, John Harrison has been making great music for a quarter century – but “Fuzzy Peoples” is his masterpiece, a soaring and timeless track that can stand with any of the best rock songs of the ‘70s.
What was your favorite local song of 2023? Comment and let us know!
Click here for 97.9 The Hill’s Top 97.9 Songs of 2023!
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Fun list! Regarding the Fust/Sluice thing, it wasn’t just working on each other’s albums. All three members of Sluice are also in Fust.