Love the Stones, but Want to Diversify Your Music Portfolio? We Have Options

The Rolling Stones have been among my favorite bands since eight-tracks gave way to cassette tapes. Formats have changed a lot since then­ — now practically all the world’s music can be accessed with a few taps on a phone screen — and yet the Stones have kept me under their thumbs. In fact, at the end of 2022, Spotify notified me that I was among “the top 0.01% of The Rolling Stones listeners this year.” The streaming music app went on to tell me that Mick, Keith and I had “spent 6,655 minutes together.”

This gave me pause. Learning that I’d spent the equivalent of close to five full days listening to just one band made me wonder if I should diversify my musical portfolio — partly to get out of a bit of a decades-long habit, but also because there are reported mental benefits. “New experiences enhance cognition and mental flexibility,” says Concetta Tomaino, executive director of the Institute for Music and Neurologic Function. She encourages people over 50 to seek out and actively listen to unfamiliar music they might enjoy.

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And so I searched for contemporary artists who might make me feel like the Stones do. Perhaps they take inspiration from the classic rock I grew up with, but also from earlier generations of blues, soul and country acts — the same folks who once inspired Mick Jagger, Keith Richards and others to make music.

Here are five acts I found that you might like too.

Amythyst Kiah performs on the Palomino stage during the 2022 Stagecoach Festival on April 29, 2022 in Indio, California.

Timothy Norris/Getty Images for Stagecoach

Amythyst Kiah

This solo artist from Tennessee lists influences that include Jimi Hendrix, Dolly Parton and Sister Rosetta Tharpe. Pulling those diverse sources into a coherent whole is part of Kiah’s musical superpower, along with her thoughtful lyrics and a voice that can fill any room. Start with “Black Myself.”

(Left to right) Danny Wagner, Josh Kiszka, Jake Kiszka and Sam Kiszka of Greta Van Fleet.

Jeff Kravitz/Getty Images for P+ and MTV

Greta Van Fleet

These 20-something rockers from Michigan are often compared to Led Zeppelin, in part because lead singer Josh Kiszka has a vocal range as wide as the Great Lakes. Zeppelin’s Robert Plant has called Kiszka “a beautiful little singer.” No argument here. Start with “Highway Tune.”