Why Not Y

Earlier this week, All Songs Considered shared our favorite music from debut albums released in the first half of 2015. The NPR Music team also got together to make epic lists of albums and songs we already think might make our year-end lists in December. Now it's your turn.

Last week we asked you to tell us about your favorite new artists of the year so far. Your picks span genres from folk to rap to gospel (and beyond), and highlight some established artists and some performers just getting their start this year. There's overlap between your picks and ours — great minds, etc — as well as lots of suggestions for the All Songs team to explore.

We've compiled a sample of the results in a Spotify playlist, which you can stream below. If you didn't get a chance to submit to the survey, let us know what music you've loved this year in the comments. - NPR Music

The band Why Not Y started in a dorm room at Florida State University, but singer Kelley Kessell, violinist Pio Molina, and drummer/keyboardist Ryan Raines all call South Florida home. Kessell and Molina both grew up in Cutler Bay, and Raines is originally from Key Largo. Together as Why Not Y, the trio creates pop music infused with jazz modes, classical precision, and R&B beats. Last summer, the band released its debut, the EP The Why Not Y, led by the radio-friendly single “High and Mighty.” As part of the South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center’s Neighborhood Nights Series, Why Not Y will take the stage at the Black Box Theater for a cabaret-inspired performance. The trio is traveling home from Tallahassee with two additional friends and musicians in tow — keyboardist Daniel Tenbusch and bassist Alex Mayweather. And according to the band’s Facebook page, “lights, sounds, and flashy extravagant gold sparkles await you” at the concert. Showtime is 8:30 p.m. Saturday at the South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center (10950 SW 211th St., Cutler Bay). - Miami New Times

This summer, South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center will present several local artists for evenings dubbed Neighborhood Nights as part of the Center’s Cabaret Series. The intention of Neighborhood Nights is to highlight the artistic excellence of local artists, some established and others at the very beginning of their careers.

First in the lineup is Why Not Y featuring Kelley Kessell (Cutler Bay), Ryan Raines (Key Largo) and Pio Molina (Cutler Bay). These are three talented musicians who grew up in South Florida and formed their outstanding pop trio while at Florida State University.

Kelley studied at New World School of the Arts, Pio attended Coral Reef High School and Ryan went to Coral Shores High School before meeting up at FSU where they are still students.

With a blend of vocal, violin and percussion the group creates a refreshing new spin on the pop music genre. Check out their music video which was filmed recently at South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center: www.youtube.com/watch?v=4L6NFYNUayw. - Cutler Bay News

The band Why Not Y started in a dorm room at Florida State University, but singer Kelley Kessell, violinist Pio Molina, and drummer/keyboardist Ryan Raines all call South Florida home. Kessell and Molina both grew up in Cutler Bay, and Raines is originally from Key Largo. Together as Why Not Y, the trio creates pop music infused with jazz modes, classical precision, and R&B beats. Last summer, the band released its debut, the EP The Why Not Y, led by the radio-friendly single “High and Mighty.”

As part of the South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center’s Neighborhood Nights Series, Why Not Y will take the stage at the Black Box Theater for a cabaret-inspired performance. The trio is traveling home from Tallahassee with two additional friends and musicians in tow — keyboardist Daniel Tenbusch and bassist Alex Mayweather. And according to the band’s Facebook page, “lights, sounds, and flashy extravagant gold sparkles await you” at the concert. - Miami New Times

The South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center presents Why Not Y on Saturday, June 13 at 8:30pm. Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 day of show and can be purchased online at SMDCAC.org or by calling 786-573-5300. The Center is located at 10950 SW 211 Street, Cutler Bay.

This summer South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center will present several local artists for evenings dubbed Neighborhood Nights as part of the Center’s Cabaret Series. The intention of Neighborhood Nights is to highlight the artistic excellence of local artists, some established and others at the very beginning of their careers.

First in the lineup is Why Not Y featuring Kelley Kessell (Cutler Bay), Ryan Raines (Key Largo) and Pio Molina (Cutler Bay). These are three talented musicians who grew up in South Florida and formed their outstanding pop trio while at Florida State University.

Kelley attended New World School of the Arts, Pio attended Coral Reef High School and Ryan went to Coral Shores High School before meeting up at FSU where they are still students.

With a blend of vocal, violin and percussion the group creates a refreshing new spin on the pop music genre. Check out their music video which was filmed at South Miami-Dade Cultural Arts Center recently https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4L6NFYNUayw - South Miami Dade Cultural Arts Center

Her Campus (HC): When did you guys officially form as a band?

Kelley Kessell (KK): Probably when we recorded the video for Young. That was when we started coming up with band names.

Ryan Raines (RR): Yeah, that song came out May of last year and we started working on it around March, so officially we formed in March of 2014.

HC: How did you all meet?

Pio Molina (PM): Well Ryan was my suitemate, randomly.

KK: Yea and Pio and I went to middle school together.

PM: But Kelley and I weren’t friends in middle school, it was my roommate who was good friends with her and he was the one who brought up the idea that she should sing and I thought it was a great idea.

HC: Outside of the band, do you guys hang out and keep in touch?

RR: We are together too much probably (chuckles). Pio and I live together now off campus, and Kelley lives somewhere else, but we all still hangout all the time.

KK: We see each other everyday, if not every other day.

PM: It wasn’t always like that though, in the beginning.

RR: Yea over the summer, Pio went to a summer camp thing, and I was in the keys, where I’m from, and we couldn’t get a hold of Kelley for like, four months.

KK: Yea, I was here at school taking classes, and I didn’t have a phone for a while. But other than that summer, we all hangout all the time.

HC: Where did the inspiration from your first single Young come from?

PM: Well, after spring break, Ryan called me up and was like “Dude, we gotta get on the radio.” And we had produced stuff on our own for a pretty long time, and then we said “okay we gotta make this one really hot.” And I honestly didn’t know what we were gonna do with it before we had Kelley on the track, we had the instrumental part down, but no vocals. So as soon as my old roommate had mentioned Kelley, we knew we had to get her on with us so we could get some vocals on this track.

RR: Yea, so Kelley joined us and then we all kind of pulled ideas, but Kelley wrote most of them. It got done in like an hour

KK: We recorded it right there, and the rest is history.

Why Not Y's first music video: Young.

HC: Where do you guys get inspiration from other songs that you’ve written and from songs that will come in the future?

PM: It’s actually pretty random!

RR: We definitely have a style, and the process we undergo determines the style of our songs. We all have super different musical backgrounds.

PM: Yea, I’m in the Tallahassee symphony, I’ve played orchestra stuff, all my life.

RR: I’m a Jazz major and I play mostly Jazz.

KK: Yea and I’ve grown up on R&B, Jazz, Pop, really everything.

HC: Where do you guys get your funds from that keep everything going?

RR: Donations.

KK: Yeah from some really, very nice people.

PM: We have made some money (not nearly as much as we have from fundraisers and donators), but we’ve made some money from sales. We use Tunecore, KickStarter, and we just put up a GoFundMe.

HC: How do you feel your different music styles help you to collaborate into one band?

PM: I’ve always felt like I can’t come up with any cool lines or anything, so Ryan lays down the stuff that’s “hip.” And I really don’t know anything about lyrics or vocals and, I mean, Kelley’s the master at that. But I think that because I’ve played in so many orchestras, and everything is so part orientated so it’s all about trying to “fit in” with the other sounds, I’ve always felt like my specialty was knowing what else the song needs or what is missing. And so, in that way, we each have our “thing” that contributes to the song.

HC: What’s been your most exciting thing that’s happened to you as a band/ what’s been your most exciting experience as a band?

RR: Our most exciting experience as a band is winning a Grammy… next year.

KK: (chuckling) Oh, please!

RR: I’m sorry! That was the only answer that I had in my head.

PM: The High and Mighty music video shoot! Come on! That was awesome.

KK: Yea, we felt like freaking superstars. We got there, the dancers were already there waiting for us, the crew was setting up, and we didn’t do anything!

PM: Oh yea, we were like running things in this fancy space. And don’t get me wrong it cost us like a ton of money, but it was worth it.

Why Not Y's music video: High and Mighty

HC: What are all of your favorite bands/artists?

KK: I like Earth, Wind and Fire. Kimbra.

PM: Oh yea I think we can all agree on Kimbra. And I mean, I don’t know if you’re looking for like, separate answers here but—

KK: Pio likes Kanye West, so let’s just get that out of the way!

PM: Haha yea I’m a big Kanye fan.

RR: I think we all share Vampire Weekend, Sam Smith, Beyonce. And then of course Jazz and Miles Davis.

HC: What are you currently working on?

RR: Well, the big thing right now is we have single that has been in the works, production wise, since September. And we just now put up a GoFundMe to get donations so we can get it mixed by some pretty experienced, expensive mixing engineers. So we have that up now, it’s on www.gofundme.com/ynymixing, and that’s where people can help us raise money for it, we need to reach ten thousand dollars.

PM: That’s for the first song that will be apart of our first album.

Why Not Y will be playing a show at The Warehouse on Gaines street this Wednesday, February 25th. Check them out! - Her Campus

Why Not Y is an oddly named and especially promising up-and-coming pop act out of Florida, and “High and Mighty”—a track taken from their debut EP—is their best song to date. Delightfully simple and instantly memorable, it demonstrates that the bunch has a good grasp on one of the fundamental rules of songwriting: less is more, and, for sure, their sparse musical approach has definitely paid off.

Without question, Why Not Y’s strongest sonic suit rests with vocalist Kelly Kessell, and she’s the kind of clear, compelling voice and exceptional songwriting that instantly attracts attention. To be sure, her performance on “High and Mighty” is one that’ll be sought over by all who experience it, and, despite the presence of a few cliche drums and a somewhat-irritating, synth-infused bassline, “High and Mighty” indicates a band with a lot of potential going forward.

Find Why Not Y’s aforementioned EP on SoundCloud. - Hilly Dilly

Why Not Y recently released their first single with great reviews and a plan to release an EP on Aug.27th. Their track, 'Young,' leaves the listener with a pleasant feeling of happiness and an aftertaste of catchy Pop. Check out their Facebook page to learn more about the group here. - Ladywood Music

Originally from Miami and now playing their music in Tallahassee, this Florida band recently released a single entitled "Young". The killer vocals, awesome violin, and intricate rhythms that come through this bands music are extremely pleasing. You can find links to their single on iTunes below! Their rare instrumentation is just one thing that sets them apart from other musicians. This trio is a powerhouse, that's a TempoTrader promise. - Tempo Trader