We reveal our pick of artists expected to be the next big thing in the new year

IT’S the time of year when we gaze ahead and reveal which artists are likely to make their musical breakthrough in 2017.

Here, JACQUI SWIFT picks seven great acts to look out for over the next 12 months.

Rag 'n' Bone Man

Winner of 2017’s Brits Critics’ Choice, soul and blues singer Rory Graham, earned his nickname from his love of Seventies comedy Steptoe and Son.

The tattooed, gentle giant from Uckfield near Brighton, grew up in a musical household with a dad into blues and reggae and a mum who used to sing.

Graham started his career on pirate radio and at hip hop open-mic nights, in particular Slip Jam B at Brixton’s Jamm bar. After forming The Rum Committee there, he went on to support hip hop acts at Brighton’s Concorde 2.

After meeting Bastille and Wombats producer Mark Crew, he was signed to Columbia Records and began to hone his sound.

He said: “I can just do what I want now, so if I just do something that sounds good, I’m not gonna worry about what genre it is. That’s why there’s one track on (upcoming album Human) that sounds like Bon Iver, one that’s proper hardcore blues-rock, and one that’s more of a hip hop/soul sound. .”

Single Human can be heard everywhere. The album arrives in February.

Black Honey

The Brighton four-piece of Izzy B Phillips Chris Ostler, Tommy Taylor and Tom Dewhurst kick 2017 off with new single Hello Today, out in February.

With a huge fanbase on the back of previous singles Madonna, Corrine and All My Pride, and live support slots for Catfish & The Bottlemen and Slaves, they were a big success at their home city’s Great Escape music festival.

Frontwoman Phillips has been compared to Lana Del Rey and young Debbie Harry.

Talking about her songs, she said: “I can be really heartbroken and forlorn about something and then the next, I can be just really empowered.

“Life isn’t just happy or just sad; life’s up and down. It’s not a perfect picture – it’s a big weird and wonderful mess and the songs reflect that.”

Cabbage

Described as “Manchester’s most exciting new band” this neo post-punk five-piece from Mossley are Lee Broadbent (lead vocals), Joe Martin (vocals, guitar), Eoghan Clifford (guitar), Stephen Evans (bass) and Asa Morley (drums).

The band sing about everyday issues with a sense of humour and no subject is out of bounds. One song Necroflat In The Palace is even about dead bodies and Buckingham Palace.

They recently released Terrorist Synthesizer EP on The Coral frontman James Skelly’s Skeleton Key Records, where Blossoms started off.

Tracks such as Dinner Lady and Kevin have already earned them a cult following on the festival circuit over the summer and support slots with their heroes The Fall and The Coral.

And their dreams for 2017 are, according to Martin, “to stay alive and extend the live shows with performance artists or fire breathers”.

JP Cooper

A self-taught musician and singer who you might recognise from the Jonas Blue single Perfect Strangers, which has more than 240 million plays on Spotify.

Of the single, he said: “It’s a lot to get your head around, the number of people who have bought and streamed the single is bananas.”

The dreadlocked singer says he’s influenced by soul although his first musical heroes were Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder and Soundgarden’s Chris Cornell.

He is signed to Island Records who say his forthcoming debut album features “elements of hip hop, stand-up soul and country-inflected guitar, with unexpected twists and turns.”

His song Birthday features on the Fifty Shades Darker soundtrack.

Muna

Female trio compared to Haim with catchy pop songs such as I Know A Place from forthcoming debut album About U, out in February.

The three friends Katie Gavin (lead vocals), Naomi McPherson (guitar/synths/vocals), and Josette Maskin (lead guitar/vocals) met at the University of Southern California and they started recording songs in 2013.

All three describe themselves as “queer’ and say they hope to inspire others to be comfortable with their sexuality and gender.

Inspired by Fleetwood Mac, Prince, The Smiths, Talking Heads, Massive Attack and Cocteau Twins, their songs are “confessional”, backed by their synth pop sound.

Maskin said: “The purpose of art is to comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable.”

Declan McKenna

Teenage singer songwriter who’s been described by iD magazine as the “musical social conscience of gen z”.

He was discovered at 15 after writing a demo called Brazil about the corruption of Fifa which he posted online, and that year he went on to win the Glastonbury Unsigned competition.

His songs cover a variety of topics.

For instance, Paracetamol, about the misrepresentation of transgender teens; Bethlehem, about religion used as an excuse for violence; and Isombard, about US news anchors who spread false headlines and get their words mixed up.

McKenna also played Later . . . with Jools Holland wearing a ”Give 17-year-olds the vote’” T-shirt.

His debut album is nearly finished and should be released in late spring.

He’s toured the UK and Europe supporting Blossoms.

Louis Berry

An acoustic-guitar strumming singer songwriter with a lot to say.

Louis had a difficult upbringing growing up on a council estate with a father addicted to heroin and music was his escape.

He signed a publishing deal after just one gig and a record deal after his second.

His track .45 was Radio 1’s Hottest Record In The World and his track Restless has been a radio hit.

He’s been in Nashville with Kings of Leon and You Me At Six producer Jacquire King recording his debut album.

Inspired by his grandad and Johnny Cash, he’s been compared to George Ezra and Jake Bugg.

Berry said his songwriting has to mean something: “There’s got to be some depth, especially with what is going on in the world at the moment.

We are in troubled times and I want to reflect that in my lyrics and songs”.

Best of the rest newcomers

CREEPER: Compared to My Chemical Romance, this “horror punk band” from Southampton release their debut album Eternity, In Your Arms on March 24.

DUA LIPA: You’ll know the smoky-voiced Londoner for singles Hotter Than Hell and Blow Your Mind (Mwah). Debut album in February.

FICKLE FRIENDS: Former Brighton students who have been likened to The 1975 for their synth-pop sound. Look out for single Brooklyn then their album later in the year.

MAGGIE ROGERS: Folk singer from Maryland discovered after a chance encounter with Pharrell Williams. Her debut EP is out in February.

TOM WALKER: Scottish-born, Manchester-bred singer and multi-instrumentalist with a knack for writing soaring anthems like Fly Away With Me. You might have seen him in the summer playing festivals.

...And many happy returns

Some big names are returning next year with new albums, among them U2, Arcade Fire, Take That and Paul Weller. Here POPPY COSYNS reveals what’s coming in 2017.

U2: Thirty years on from their seminal album Joshua Tree, 2017 looks set to be a big year for Bono and co. They will follow up 2014’s Songs of Innocence with Songs of Experience.

ELBOW: After a three-year break, the Mancunian Mercury Prize winners are set to return with seventh album Little Fictions. Its lead single Magnificent (She Says), is out now.

GORILLAZ: Seven years since Damon Albarn’s virtual band released their fourth album The Fall, it has been confirmed that their fifth – as yet untitled – will be dropping in 2017.

ARCADE FIRE: The Canadian indie rockers aim to match the success of 2013’s Reflektor with their next release. Frontman Win Butler has hinted that it will be out in the spring.

FLEET FOXES: After the huge success of their first two records, this most beardy of bands went into a lengthy hibernation. It is rumoured they’ll re-emerge with their third album in 2017.

BECK: Another project that’s been stuck in the pipeline for a while is Beck’s tenth album, which has been years in the making. The genre-defying singer-songwriter has apparently been inspired listening to The Beatles and Prince.

RYAN ADAMS: Adams’ last record was a track-by-track cover of Taylor Swift’s first bonafide pop album 1989. His 16th album Prisoner, which is slated for release in February, is ­comprised of strictly original material.

TAKE THAT: And then there were three . . .  Following the departure of Jason Orange the middle-aged manband will be releasing new album Wonderland in March before hitting the road with the recently re-formed All Saints.

THE XX: The monochrome-loving doom-merchants will release their third album I See You in January and have promised it will be a more upbeat affair than their previous records.

THE FLAMING LIPS: These psychedelic eccentrics haven’t released a record since 2013’s The Terror. The new album Oczy Mlody, out in January, features the imaginatively titled Listening to the Frogs with Demon Eyes.

AMY MACDONALD: Five years after her last album, the Scottish singer-songwriter will return with Under Stars. She gave a glimpse of what to expect in November with the beautiful Down By The Water.

JESUS & MARY CHAIN: The Scottish band return after nearly two decades with their ­seventh album Damage and Joy. Killing Joke’s Youth has taken on production duties and plays bass on the record.

NELLY FURTADO: The Canadian pop star will release her sixth album The Ride in March. Judging by its lead single Pipe Dreams, it takes a more alternative path than previous work.

LIAM GALLAGHER: For the first time in a 23-year career, Liam Gallagher is releasing a solo record. We’re still waiting on a title and a release date but the ex-Oasis and Beady Eye frontman has hinted all will soon be revealed.

KATY PERRY: Anticipation for Perry’s fifth album continues to grow, nearly four years on from her chart-topping Prism. She’s said she doesn’t want to rush the writing and recording process but our bets are on a 2017 release.

KYLIE MINOGUE: Kylie has hinted that her next record will drop in 2017. She has recently been spotted in the studio and has said she’d love to tour new material in the coming year.

PALOMA FAITH: Not only has the singer just become a mum, she also has her fourth album set for release next year. She was busy in the studio earlier this year and her new material is inspired by Seventies psychedelic rock.

GOLDFRAPP: 2017 will see the release of Into The Future, which will follow 2013’s gorgeous sixth album Tales of Us.