Calvin Johnson

One of indie rock's most indefatigable figures, Calvin Johnson has made a major impact on underground music as an artist, producer, and label owner. With the influential twee band Beat Happening, he upended notions of what a rock band should sound like with their purposefully spare and primitive approach to pop. He went on to refine his passionate but highly individual vocal style and melodic approach with a number of subsequent projects, including the slightly fractured dance music of Dub Narcotic Sound System, the beat-friendly pop of the Halo Benders, the semi-acoustic folk-leaning rock of the Hive Dwellers, and the indie rock sound and show-biz enthusiasm of the Sons of the Soil. And as a solo act, Johnson has shown a willingness to pursue many different sounds, ranging from the stark acoustic approach of 2002's What Was Me to the fractured rock & roll of 2023's Gallows Wine.