Singer/songwriter, Travis Hayes is celebrating the release of his new three track album entitled, Love Songs. The album features the vocals of Emily Whitehurst (mainly known for her work in Tsunami Bomb and The Action Design) and paints a vivid picture of Hayes' personal experiences with love. Hayes is a refreshingly traditional folk artist who doesn't need to add too many frills to his music. He can capture an emotion or idea with his guitar and voice, but certainly takes the time to add simple elements that extenuate his overall artistic atmosphere. Love Songs features the cello and of course, Emily's lovely voice, making the collection of songs very beautiful and very to point.

Hayes makes some classy music. You can check him out live tomorrow night at Doc's Lab in San Francisco with Lauren O'Connell.

Fine eared SF Bay Area-ers,

We are proud to announce that The Deli’s Best of 2012 Emerging SF Bay Area Band is... DRMS!

This young and talented female fronted indie pop quartet won a really tight race mostly because of a combined jury vote. Americana fiddlers and Readers' Poll winners The Brothers Comatose secured second place (just 0.023 points away) also thanks to 2 point gathered from the jury. Kudos also to intriguing songwriter Lauren O'Connell and surf pop masters Ash Reiter who tied on 3rd.

Please take a look at our chart of 40+ SF Bay area emerging artists below. The highest value of votes came from our jurors, who included individuals directly involved in the local music scene, including promoters, venue owners, press, DJs and other music experts. The remainder of the votes was compiled by The Deli SF readers, and open submissions voted on by national Deli editors.

BEST OF 2012 POLL FOR EMERGING NEW ENGLAND ARTISTS - FINAL RESULTS -

ARTIST J R OS TOT   1 Drms 4 0.023   4.023 2 Brothers Comatose 2 2   4 3 Ash Reiter   0.5 3 3.5   Lauren O'Connell   1.5 2 3.5 5 Permanent Collection 3 0.057   3.057 6 Major Powers & the Lo-Fi... 3 0.009   3.009 7 Terry Malts 3 0.007   3.007 8 Forrest Day 3 0.006   3.006 9 Stillsuit 3 0.005   3.005 10 Social Studies 3 0.004   3.004 11 Trails and Ways 3 0.003   3.003 12 Girrafage 3 0.002   3.002   Some Ember 3 0.002   3.002 14 Shock 3 0.001   3.001   Siddhartha 3 0.001   3.001 16 Elephant & Castle 3 0   3 17 Guy Fox 2 0.134   2.134 18 Seabright   0.053 2 2.053 19 Buzzmutt 2 0.041   2.041 20 Big Long Now 2 0.04   2.04 21 Sam Flax 2 0.021   2.021 22 Midi Matilda 2 0.004   2.004 23 No Babies 2 0.003   2.003 24 Veil Veil Varnish 2 0.002   2.002 25 Standard Poodle 2 0.001   2.001 26 Deaf Heaven 2 0   2   Planet Booty   1 1 2   Painted Palms 2 0   2 29 Tumbleweed Wanderers 1 0.5   1.5 30 Heather Normandale   0.085 1 1.085 31 French Cassettes 1 0.076   1.076 33 A White Hunter 1 0.052   1.052 33 SFPD 1 0.048   1.048 35 Speak Friend   0.044 1 1.044 35 Coo Coo Birds 1 0.034   1.034 37 Chance's End   0.02 1 1.02 37 Foxtails Brigade 1 0.017   1.017 39 Big Tree   0.016 1 1.016 39 Steer the Stars   0.014 1 1.014 40 Oceanography 1 0.008   1.008 41 Eddie Roberts' The West Coast... 1 0.006   1.006 42 Bill Orcutt 1 0.004   1.004   Kapowski 1 0.004   1.004 44 DaVinci 1 0.003   1.003 Legend: J = Jurors, W = Deli Writers, R = Deli Readers, OS = Open Submissions

The Deli SF Staff

We've tallied the results for the Open Submissions stage of our SF Bay Area Year End Poll. All of the submissions were ranked by Deli Editors from other scenes, and the list of acts that have advanced to our Readers’/Fans’ Poll phase are below. We will also be releasing the list of nominees chosen by our local "scene expert" jurors very soon. 

Lauren O’Connell began writing songs at fifteen in her home in Rochester, New York. Today, at twenty-four, the alt-country artist has completed three full-length albums, one collaborative EP, and a 3000-mile move across the country to San Francisco. Her passionate songwriting and gentle twang have earned her comparisons to Neil Young, Wilco, and Neko Case.