| Band | Song | Next area appearance | Why them | |
| 01. | The New Pornographers | Crash Years | I’m a sucker for harmonies, and as soon as I heard this for the first time, said “I must see them live” (and it was great). | |
| 02. | John Butler Trio | One Way Road | I knew they’d be performing at the Arias, and this groove is just killer. | |
| 03. | Todd Wright | With You | 2/3/11 Jammin’ Java | The end of 40×40 (40 songs in 40 weeks by his 40th birthday, all proceeds go to The American Diabetes Association) and still going strong. |
| 04. | Josh Ritter | Change Of Time | 2/14/11 9:30 Club | What a gorgeous chorus. |
| 05. | Birds Of Tokyo | Plans | Another Australian band, good rock anthem. | |
| 06. | Court Yard Hounds | The Coast | 2 of 3 Dixie Chicks, no Natalie, but not a problem with a song as good as this. | |
| 07. | Luke Brindley | We Go Together | His new album is quiet, but powerful. | |
| 08. | Dala | Levi Blues | Female duo from Canada, great voices. | |
| 09. | Mumford & Sons | Little Lion Man | English folk group with a lot of buzz. Language warning on this, though. | |
| 10. | US Rails | Rainwater | 4 of the 5 guys from 4 Way Street reunite with Tom Gillam with rootsy harmonies. | |
| 11. | Jukebox The Ghost | Empire | The piano pop phenoms return with a new song that’s just as catchy as the last couple. | |
| 12. | Shiny Toy Guns | You Are The One | Best ’80s throwback (think Animotion). | |
| 13. | Slash | Beautiful Dangerous | I would not have thought Slash would go well with Fergie until I heard this. | |
| 14. | The Blackjacks | Queen Of The Night | Local blues rock roughnecks. | |
| 15. | Grace Potter & The Nocturnals | Paris | 3/12/11 9:30 Club | If you haven’t heard this on the radio, you probably will soon. |
| 16. | The Rescues | Break Me Out | They got a lot of attention with their cover of Teenage Dream, but this song shows why the could be around for a while. | |
| 17. | Middle Distance Runner | The Sun & Earth | Local faves and Herndon Festival vets. The best song on their new one. | |
| 18. | The Verses | Running Away | Yet another Australian band, from the brother and sister that brought you Killing Heidi. | |
| 19. | Gandalf Murphy & The Slambovian Circus Of Dreams | Trans-Slambovian Bi-Polar Express | The prog-rock-jam-band-hippie-good-time extravaganza returns. | |
| 20. | Gaelic Storm | Rum Runners | 3/21-22/11 Ram’s Head | For all you Great Big Sea fans. |
Leftovers (in no particular order):
Alain Johannes – Return To You
Angus and Julia Stone – Big Jet Plane
Barenaked Ladies – You Run Away
Blitzen Trapper – Heaven And Earth
Coheed And Cambria – World Of Lines
Crooked Still – The Golden Vanity
Dum Dum Girls – Jail La La
Exit Clov – Kindest Creatures
Fistful Of Mercy – Fistful Of Mercy
Foxy Shazam – Bye Bye Symphony
Gomez – Little Pieces
Great Big Sea – Wandering Ways
Justin Jones – Little Fox
Lissie – Everywhere I Go
Liz Phair – Miss September
Local Natives – World News
Muse – Uprising
My Chemical Romance – Na Na Na
Red Molly – The Last Call
Robert Plant – Harm’s Swift Way
Rodrigo y Gabriela – Hanuman
Sara Bareilles – King Of Anything
Shawn Mullins – No Blue Sky
She & Him – Thieves
Steven Page – Indecision
The Decemberists – Down By The Water
The Gaslight Anthem – American Slang
The Mynabirds – Numbers Don’t Lie
The Smashing Pumpkins – Freak
The Sword – How Heavy This Axe
These United States – Great Rivers
Visqueen – Hand Me Down