Shneal isn't just a rapper in the local Kalamazoo hip-hop scene — he's also an ambassador for the genre. The 24-year-old artist puts arguably as much sweat into growing the scene as he does his personal endeavors, and it has paid him back with an already fruitful résumé.

• Kalamazoo
• Shneal
• The Prequel
• Papa Pete's
• Drama AKA Treason
• Konspiracy Rekords

It's no secret that the best metal bands are apt to get rowdy both on and off stage, but in the '90s, New Orleans-based sludge metal outfit Eyehategod put other bands to shame.

• Grand Rapids
• The Pyramid Scheme
• Eyehategod
• Ringworm
• Enabler
• Mike Williams

Voluptuous Panic knows how to keep a nice thirst for new music good and quenched. Featuring the Grand Rapids duo of Brian J. Bowe and Gretchen DeVault, the group is steadily releasing new, whimsical tunes online over the course of the year.

• Voluptuous Panic
• Brian J Bowe
• Gretchen DeVault

For many, summer festivals are a road trip occasion. You pile in someone's car, have little to no leg room (you don't care, though, because the destination is WORTH IT) and belt out songs at the top of your lungs. As long as you're in good company, the details don't really matter. But it's the details, however, that help make a road trip less than a trip and more of an adventure. Here is what you need for a successful road trip:

Buzz Osborne (aka King Buzzo) is an artist who has certainly earned his royal moniker. For 30 years he's been the frontman and principal songwriter for legendary sludge-rock outfit The Melvins, a band famous for its unpredictability genre-defying sound and heavy riffs. What's more, Osborne has embarked on his first truly solo project, King Buzzo, this year.

• Grand Rapids
• The Pyramid Scheme
• King Buzzo
• Buzz Osborne

So you’re sitting out the music festivals this year because although your heart is telling you yes, your wallet is crying no. Music festivals are expensive, so you’re not the only one staying home.

• Pitchfork Music Festival
• Lollapalooza
• Electric Forest
• Movement Detroit
• Common Grounds Music Festival

Preparing for a music festival is somewhat of an art form. The festival should be looked at as a marathon, not a sprint and you need to employ some key survival tactics if you plan on making it through the weekend without dehydration dry heaves. (Trust me, it happens.) Here are some essential items for festival survival:

Festivals can be overwhelming events. You want to fit in but also stand out. Here are some dos and donts that will help you acclimate and keep your individuality.

In one of the most popular plays of all time, Juliet Capulet asked, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet."  Though it is doubtful if Juliet were around today, she would have asked that same question about Nashville punk rock outfit Diarrhea Planet.

• Kalamazoo
• Shakespeare's Pub
• Diarrhea Planet
• Jordan Smith
• Belmont University

Today's hardcore music features a fairly common formula, but one that so many bands miss the mark on. It's all about brutal breakdowns and insane, barking verses that give way to more melodic choruses with some nice clean vocals. Either a band is on the money with their clean vocals and then wusses out on everything else or vice-versa. I'm William Cutting blends both rather seamlessly.

• Royal Laraway
• I'm William Cutting
• Nick Ploof