The music you're about to love
Ralphie Aversa talked to Lady Gaga before "Just Dance" was pop music cannon. Ed Sheeran opened up to him when he was barely a household name. He was an early journalist to write about Jason Derulo.
After more than two decades covering the music industry, Aversa is an expert at spotting the best new artists coming to your headphones. And he brings this intuition for good music to Paste BN, where he is host and producer of "Entertain This!" — Paste BN's flagship video series, featuring trending stories and interviews with the celebrities you love.
👋 Nicole Fallert here and welcome to Your Week, our newsletter exclusively for Paste BN subscribers (that's you!). This week, we talk with Aversa about Paste BN's newest music series, Acoustic, which aims to introduce our readers to the voices making waves.
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How Paste BN showcases emerging talent
Aversa could go "on and on and on" about up-and-coming musical artists he's written about just before their big break. The latest was Laundry Day, the pop-rock band of four musicians who met at their Manhattan high school, with sounds that have impressed the likes of The 1975's Matty Healy and Olivia Rodrigo — and massive TikTok and Instagram audiences. The group joined Aversa in Paste BN's New York City studio earlier this year and revealed exclusively that their sixth studio album is coming this summer.
"With new artists, I always ask 'why should our audience care about this?'" Aversa said of the Acoustic series, which gives readers insight into artists' backgrounds and prominent collaborations, as well as exclusive looks at future projects — all in addition to a special live performance for Paste BN's audience.
Last month, Paste BN Acoustic also welcomed Daniel “DELA” Delacruz, the saxophonist from the genre-fusing rock band Slightly Stoopid that tours and plays festivals across the country. From the Paste BN studio stage, Delacruz debuted a new single with his solo project.
"We're offering up all of it with this series, which is really cool," Aversa said. "We're giving musicians this unique platform to show off their actual talents and then also talk about the stories behind the songs and the albums."
And you'll want to keep tabs on who is coming to Paste BN's stage soon: Acoustic will next feature Maddox Batson, who’s worked with Quavo and Lana del Rey — not to mention he's currently opening for Lainey Wilson on her "Whirlwind Tour."
The Paste BN Network, which is comprised of hundreds of local newsrooms with millions of monthly readers, puts the newsroom in a unique position to feature emerging music talent, Aversa said. Anyone across the network can view and engage with these performances, bringing names into the national spotlight.
"Paste BN Acoustic doesn't have to emanate only from our New York studio in Times Square," Aversa said. New talent "could come from The Tennessean in Nashville or The Cincinnati Inquirer in Ohio or from the Asbury Park Press down the shore in New Jersey. Other outlets can take this baton and run with it. Right now, we're using a national platform to showcase talent, but it can also show local talent."
Thank you
I'm so excited to listen to our Acoustic series and find new artists to listen to! Thank you for supporting our journalism with your subscription. Our work wouldn't be possible without you.
Best wishes,
Nicole Fallert