WTMD has long championed the causes of up-and-comers in the indie scene and identified the musicians and acts that will capture the nation’s interest. The June 2022 iteration of First Thursday is no different, with the soon-to-be-massive Momma playing a massive set before the ascendant beabadoobee followed.

Momma

Momma has crafted a sound that recalls the mid-to-late 90s – think Belly – while maintaining a consistent connection to 2022. They edge comfortable into pop, with songs like “Rockstar” prophesying a near-certain future: Etta Friendman and Allegra Weingarten are stars. The sound bounces comfortably between pop, The Pixies, while the songs themselves reckon with the tensions of sincerity and intentional irony. Their upcoming album is likely to land somewhere on plenty of year-end best lists.

Beabadoobee

Beabadoobee – Bea Kristi – first hit it big as something like a TikTok star, her first album coming out some months later in the midst of the quarantine. That album soaked in angsty adolescence and the now-ancient college rock of many past (and current) selves. Live – and especially with her newer songs – the band leaned a little less into dissonance and a little more into the bubblegum pop rock of the late 90s and early oughts. Some songs and moments shown a bit brighter, especially when the largely-teen audience exploded into a singalong conflagration, and we are certainly excited to see the ongoing direction of beabadoobee’s sound.