Picture the opening car ride in Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas, but let's imagine things go a little differently. What if Hunter and the good doctor had smoked those two bags of grass, dropped those five sheets of acid right there, and left a couple dozen empty cans of beer on the side of the road? Things might have started to look a lot more like Heavy Metal, and the music playing in their desert-heat delirium would quite possibly be All Them Witches. They award-winning band  just released a video for "Open Passageways" from last year's Dying Surfer Meets His Maker, and it's a doozy. Between the twitchy, raw animations and the disintegrating portal-jumper of a main character, it's a far-out match for a solid track. -Austin Phy

Deli Readers,

Our Best of Nashville Poll for Emerging Artists has been - as usual - a lengthy and painstaking journey which took us through prairies of numbers, horizons filled with band names, and a dense, (mostly) joyous rain of music, but we have finally arrived at destination: we can announce the final results. This year we heave a very eclectic chart - at least for the top positions.

Once all the votes were tallied (you can find out more about our methods below), All Them Witches emerged as the clear winner. Winning the contest will earn them not only serious bragging rights, but also a nod in our SXSW print edition. We first covered All Them Witches way back in the long-forgotten year of 2013, and we're thrilled to see them getting some love from our jurors. Their 2015 Sweet Release EP is a journey and a half filled with long jams and tasty riffs that'll have you doing that weird air guitar impression people do where they wiggle their fingers in front of their nipples for a couple seconds. The band shows no signs of slowing down in 2016, having already announced an overseas tour as well as a handful of US festival appearances.

Coming in second are local 70's groove revivalists Savoy Motel, though to place them in a neat genre like that is a bit of a disservice. Their music is less of an old style in a modern context and more like an alternate universe, "what could have been" trip into uncanny valley. It's all kinds of groovy and catchy, but there's a certain unease that separates it from the pack. These guys don't have a lot of material online yet, but we encourage you to dig on what's available.

In third place is electro-pop songstress REMMI. Her recently released New America EP is up there with the best of what you'll hear on any top 40 station with its crisp production and sad-dancing overtones. 

Check out our poll's top 15 below, and don't forget to get even deeper, exploring all the finalists organized by genre:

ALT FOLK - ALT ROCK - AMERICANA - 
ELECTRONIC - INDIE POP -INDIE/PSYCH ROCK - 
REVIVAL ROCK - SINGER-SONGWRITER

BEST OF 2015 POLL FOR EMERGING NNASHVILLE ARTISTS ****** FINAL RESULTS - TOP 15 ******

ARTIST J OS R TOT   1 All Them Witches 6.5   0.008 6.508 2 Savoy Motel 5.5   0.001 5.501 3 REMMI 4.5   0.042 4.542 4 The Gills 4.5   0.006 4.506 5 Steelism 3.5   0.004 3.504 6 The Nearly Deads 3   0.068 3.068 7 Twiggs 3   0.068 3.068   Soft Bodies 3   0.052 3.052 9 Cappa 3   0.022 3.022 10 Organ Stills 3   0.016 3.016 11 Sheep Shifter 3   0.013 3.013 12 Hot Tub Club 3   0.003 3.003 13 Elliot Root 3   0.003 3.003 14 The By Gods 3   0.002 3.002 15 Step Sisters   3 0.002 3.002 Legend: J = Jurors, W = Deli Writers, R = Deli Readers, OS = Open Submissions

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If you wonder how this chart came into existence, here is how it all went down: first, we let the local bands submit their music (for free), and got our Deli editors to pick the nominees. Then we polled a list of 15+ Nashville scene expert (our jury) and asked them to nominate 3 more bands of their choice each (3 points for the top choice, then 2 and 1). Then we polled our readers. We tried to keep things open for each single genre, from Indie Rock to Roots Music to Hip Hop.

If you are a geek interested in all the subtelties related to how this poll works, you can read its rules here (happy reading!). But if all you care about is the awesome new music Nashville produced in the year 2015, this list is all you need. Enjoy!

Many Thanks to our Jurors: Ron Brice (3rd and Lindsley), Brendan Donohue (Pureform Media), Staff, (Lockeland Springsteen Music Blog), Staff (Grimey's), Jay Gregory (Sad Spaceman Promotions), Steve Cross (Concert Photographer), Jared & Kristen Corder (East Nashville Underground), Robert Bragdon (Break on a Cloud ), Andrew Minske (Show This ), Brian Waters (DJ/Lightning 100), Tyler Walker (Queens Art Collective), Michael Eades (We Own This Town), Stephen Tragdser (Nashville Scene), Wes Davenport (Mercy Lounge), Crying Wolf, Christopher Paxton (Event director), Mistaa Gattii ( ACME Feed & Seed), Jesse Baker (Exit/In), David Oakleaf (The Building). Many other jurors were asked to send us their preferences but chose not to do so.

Hope you'll find some awesome new artists you weren't aware of!

The Deli's Staff

Get tipsy off pumpkin beer? Check.
Watch Hocus Pocus and re-realize how awesome it is? Check.
Stress over the whole couples-costume thing? Check.
 

Create a totally badass Halloween playlist featuring some of my favorite local bands? CHECK.

Get in the spirit and give it a listen! -Caroline Bowman

Usually when I hear the phrase, “They sound a lot like the Black Keys,” I take it as a red flag and exit the conversation as fast as possible, but this time I’m glad I stuck around. All Them Witches’ 2012 release, "Our Mother Electricity," tastefully weaves swamp-blues with a foreboding metal aesthetic. Check out the single “Charles William” off the new album, "Lightning At The Door," here. “Charles William” some pretty sweet slide guitar and back-round “Oohs” and “Aahs” that’ll make you want to do black magic in the woods. You can catch All Them Witches on their November tour at the Springwater on November 9th! -Michael Perry

If you somehow missed all of the hype surrounding one of Nashville's biggest indie events, you may need to check your hearing and keep your ear a little closer to the ground so you aren't missing the coolest part about living your best life in Nashville, Tennessee. East Nashville Underground brought their A-game and a seemingly endless supply of free booze to The East Room on Friday and Saturday nights, selling out their weekend event for the first time in ENU history.

Though we could make it to only the Friday night show at the Underground (as we had a date with the mainstream over at The Ryman on Saturday night), East Nashville Underground's place in the Nashville indie community is undeniable. Highlighting independent bands just as heavily as the independent music community itself, Kristyn and Jared Corder have created an event that defines the romance of being involved in the local music scene in Music City. From new fans to OG Undergrounders to industry folk, it's safe to say that no venue in town housed as many sweaty hugs and eyeball kisses as The East Room did over the weekend.

On Friday, doors opened at 9 and the stage featured the likes of Cult Logic, Vinyl Thief, All Them Witches, Alanna Royale, Machines Are People Too, and Magnolia Sons. All of the bands were predictably stellar, and it was especially thrilling to finally catch Machines Are People Too live. Each set made trying to plan a bathroom break feel like the ultimate music fan's predicament, the easiest solution being just resolving to hold it and concentrating on dancing.

Though we all try our best to broaden the scope of this tight-knit music community that is on the precipice of incredible things at an amazing time, the Corders have created something that is simultaneously intimate and all-inclusive. From their understanding of how to run a solid music event as business owners to their clear love of music as fans themselves, the payoff is something we all benefit from with each passing season of East Nashville Underground. We attempted to live tweet the vibe from The East Room on Friday night, but it's difficult to capture that kind of energy in just 140 characters. But if you missed out on the chance to make it inside or didn't catch a hug from the guy who was giving them to, seriously, just everybody, mark your calendar; East Nashville Underground's doors will re-open on May 10th-11th, and we intend to see you there.