You're driving down to South Beach for the night to catch Steve Aoki smash cake in someone's face and press mad buttons, when you press play yourself, but on your iPod. West Palm Beach native Will Brennan's Prodigal Son release comes up first. And lo and behold, Brennan's also heading south on 95 in the early verses of the opening track, "RNR." The whole album has both mainstream radio appeal and a delightful enough edge to keep it interesting and memorable. Brennan is one of the few hip-hop artists signed to Aoki's Dim Mak Records. Since this free full-length, Brennan's continued to create songs influenced by South Florida — with themes like humping in the ocean and hating his job. With or without a substantial label behind him, we think Brennan's got enough flavor and skill to break the sunny glass Florida ceiling.

West Palm Beach's New Coke released a frenetic three-song EP this February that's packed with negativity and punk hysteria, and we love it. It's hypnotic, and yeah, it makes you want to sort of barf. But in a totally good way. The Slovenly Recordings recording can be downloaded online, or you can order a seven-inch vinyl for your casa. Songs include "Duct Tape Your Mouth," "I'm Not a Fan of Your Romance," and "I Am Drunk, I Have a Gun, I Want Names." This is the band's first release in two years, and the PBC trio killed it — like they strapped it to a chair and then beat the shit out of it until it died. And now the world has this incredibly intense product that was recorded in Miami with Torche's Jonathan Nunez. Slovenly's little album disclaimer says to expect a full-length this year, so we'll just sit here, hold our breath — maybe duct tape our noses too — until the LP hits the web and our record player.

West Palm Beach's beloved Surfer Blood gives us the warm and fuzzies. The band made us proud on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. They made us proud touring with the Pixies. But what we really love is how the band has stuck to its roots; the band members' sunny, palm-tree-laden upbringing left an impression. This was made perfectly clear with the premiere of "Say Yes to Me," from their sophomore album, Pythons. The clip takes the locals home to Howley's, an essential diner that has always been close to landmark status for those in the know. Now, a little piece has been shared with the world. The video is a solid look into the band's lifestyle: Its fun side shows through, and there are tater tots. Even rock stars love tater tots. "Say Yes to Me" is a breezy jam, and the weird costumes and trippy story line make for a video worth watching. Say yes to Surfer Blood; say yes to tots.

Lake Worth's Wake Up is riding high on a big old indie awesome wave. The band is hot right now, and yet it's also as cool as can be. It's on tour with Surfer Blood, played CMJ, and hasn't even put out a full-length album yet. It does, however, have an impressive grungy and power-pop-heavy EP, Forever Home, out on Decades Records. The disc even got some love from the omniscient blog Brooklyn Vegan. It's got, among other things, a touch of Built to Spill, a tiny taste of Weezer, and a lump of Pavement. Singer and songwriter Evan Mui is a scene vet in these parts. He's played with other worship-worthy bands like Guy Harvey and the Dewars. The bandmates are the best of friends: There's Mui, guitarist Bobby Yapkowitz, bassist Austen Bemis, and now Suede Dudes' unfortunately named singer Bryan Adams as drummer. This band is gripping rock 'n' roll by the nuts right now and is sure to coast its way to stardom, and soon.

If you don't appreciate Devalued, chances are good you're an asshole. It's like all those people who didn't like Little Miss Sunshine. They're awful people. Straight up. The three guys from Broward who compose this D-beat band are absolutely charming. The music they make is as heavy as it gets, but at least two of them really enjoy Jamiroquai — Conor Barbato and Nico Suave, not drummer Matt Stoyka. Their album Plagues starts with a song called "This Town Is Full of Goobers" and includes two others titled "Crack Money" and "Coke Dick" — and of the three, only Suave isn't straightedge. You loving them yet? OK, here's one more. On their Facebook page, they describe their sound as "salsacore." Adorbs! As a group, they also have the power to deeply anger with their dark-as-fuck metal sound. They don't perform nearly enough, but you may have seen them at Churchill's opening with Holly Hunt for Jucifer or at our Green Room's County Grind Night. Last year, they toured the country with Suave's other project, Nunhex, showing 30 cities in the U.S. that brutal music can enrage and keep you smiling with glee at the same time.

When you think folk music, it's easy to go right to James Taylor daydreams or rewatch A Mighty Wind. There's a whole lot more folk than these sensitive classics, and it swims through genres in ways you have to feel to believe. When it comes to folk music in South Florida, it has an edge, it screams, it lights fires, and its home is in Lake Worth. No one exemplifies the crusty, punkabilly scene with more pride or tattoos than Everymen. The often-shirtless gaggle of string-toting dudes brings the grime to what was once an elegant scene and finally turns it into something worth listening to. More than just an interesting look, the Everymen crew knows how to play and has emerged as one of the most important bands in Lake Worth, which makes it one of the most important bands in South Florida. The guys take their craft and position in the scene seriously, but their sharp recordings and videos don't do justice to their live performance. An Everymen show is a full-body experience that involves as much theatrics and crowd participation as it does musicianship and smiling faces. This primo live-show guarantee is why they are a touring machine, road-tripping around the country and proving to everyone else what we already know: Folk has changed for good.

It's all about the string. In an area where reggae reigns and indie bands rule the night, it's been incredible to watch the rise of string music in South Florida. The true bluegrass sound being emitted by banjos, upright basses, and fiddles throughout our bubble has been startling in the best way possible. Why simply jam when you could "jamboogiegrassicana"? That's what the Short Straw Pickers call their funked-up and homegrown style of bluegrass. They've earned the right to coin their own subgenre, considering this über-talented gang grew out of the orchestra program at Boca Raton's Lynn University. Lead singer and guitarist Jack Schueler has been around the local scene and is happy to reach peak performance with the Short Straw Pickers. Their debut album, Upon That Hill, was a huge gift from the band to the world and is propelling them to the road for a string of festival gigs. Whether it's at a festival or elsewhere, these pickers take pride in physically taking their music to as many people as will listen, which is a lot. The Short Straw Pickers bring style and incredible musicianship to the genre, respecting its pure state while flipping it on its head — as every band should.

Not all local jam bands are created equal. Some seem to run laps between the Funky Buddha Lounge & Brewery and the Funky Biscuit, which is solid. We need them — they make the scene what it is. But some local jam bands break through and travel the country delivering their slice of South Florida style to every corner of the U.S. No one does it better than Fort Lauderdale's the Heavy Pets, jamming their way through your most dancetastic live music outings. Whether it's a New Year's show, full-on festi, or random run-in, the Pets always make their way back home and into your hearts, no matter how far they tour. Your friend may have watched the Heavy Pets slay it in the middle of a sweaty mob at Bonnaroo, but you get to see them up-close and personal on a breezy Saturday night at Guanabanas. What makes the Pets extra special? They have side projects aplenty, cutting up the lineup to share the love so there's constantly music coming from the guys. This divide-and-conquer technique shows that the true passion of the band is to get music out in the open and to create with one another. Fact is, when the Heavy Pets, Fat Mannequin, Lather Up!, or the Sugar Dicks announce a show, the community comes out. And the community is everything when it comes to jam.

Move over, Taylor Swift, in a totally not-Kanye way. There is a newer, younger, fresher, potentially more motivated country singer/songwriter making power moves. Fiddle prodigy Maggie Baugh is slowly but surely taking over the local country scene. A mainstay at festivals and events, Baugh picked up her first violin at 6 years old and never looked back. Now the fresh-faced teen is proving she has the chops to make it as an artist. With the release of her first album, Only Good Things, Baugh showed that country music doesn't have to just be about losing your truck, wife, and dog. She wrote a song about middle school called "Middle School" — how adorbs. The songwriter isn't just in it for the street cred — she has a good head on her shoulders too. Baugh often raises money for Glycogen Storage Disease, a genetic liver disease her two brothers have. It's endearing to see so much talent stay on a kind and generous path. Her rise is still fresh but well-established. Baugh was invited onstage to fiddle her little heart out along with the Charlie Daniels Band for its megahit "Devil Went Down to Georgia." She killed it. Did we mention she's 13?

Spin around and point — did you find a reggae band? Tends to be the case on the live music scene in South Florida. And while we embrace everyone from the Sublime cover bands to 4/20-friendly acoustic solo artists as part of our beloved scene, some bands find a way to tip the scale in their favor. Fort Lauderdale-based Army Gideon has worked its way through the rest, emerging as a reggae force from Miami to Jupiter. Throwing down monster four-hour sets, the mammoth, seven-piece band (whose members have nicknames like "Cabbage" and "Spice") leaves it all on the stage, especially its message. Playing music with a purpose comes with the territory in reggae music, but Army Gideon finds a way to make universal love and Rastafari awareness the centerpiece of every show, song, and conversation. An authentic reggae experience in a sea of "I think this is a reggae band" knockoffs.