More than 120 bands are set for New Jersey 's Bamboozle festival — April 29-May 1 at the New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford — but while mega acts like Lil Wayne, Motley Crue, Taking Back Sunday, the Gaslight Anthem, Bruno Mars, Wiz Khalifa, and Thirty Seconds to Mars hold down the headline spots, these 10 up-and-comers caught our attention. Find out why this mix of rock, folk, metal, dance, and hip-hop matters this year, and hear their music! BONUS: Download our FREE Bamboozle mixtape featuring these artists & more! Be sure to follow @SPINfestivals for Bamboozle news and coverage of the biggest music events, all year round. CLICK TO SEE OUR PICKS >> PREVIEW BY PETER GASTON

More than 120 bands are set for New Jersey 's Bamboozle festival — April 29-May 1 at the New Meadowlands Stadium in East Rutherford — but while mega acts like Lil Wayne, Motley Crue, Taking Back Sunday, the Gaslight Anthem, Bruno Mars, Wiz Khalifa, and Thirty Seconds to Mars hold down the headline spots, these 10 up-and-comers caught our attention. Find out why this mix of rock, folk, metal, dance, and hip-hop matters this year, and hear their music! BONUS: Download our FREE Bamboozle mixtape featuring these artists & more! Be sure to follow @SPINfestivals for Bamboozle news and coverage of the biggest music events, all year round. CLICK TO SEE OUR PICKS >> PREVIEW BY PETER GASTON

HOMETOWN: Cleveland, OH WHY HE MATTERS: While white rappers have veered more into the "frat rap" territory of Asher Roth in recent years, this 20-year-old MC feels like the real deal, a scrawny, rapid-fire flowing kid from a post-industrial Midwestern town. Look out, Detroit. YOU SHOULD KNOW: After a recent gig, MGK -- known to his family as Colson Baker -- was congratulated by Diddy, who greeted the young MC with a bottle of champagne. In a semi-adorable moment during an interview with The Source, Kelly struggled to pronounce the brand, Veuve Cliquot. Chances are that won't be the case for long. LISTEN: Machine Gun Kelly, "Chip Off The Block"

HOMETOWN: Grew up all over, considers herself English WHY SHE MATTERS: She's been hovering around the top of the charts for the past two years, co-writing songs with Ke$ha and 3OH!3. Now that she's collaborating with producer Benny Blanco (Katy Perry, Britney Spears) on her forthcoming debut album, expect household name status by year's end. YOU SHOULD KNOW: Neon Hitch is actually her real name, which she attributes to "hippie parents," with whom she traveled the world as a child street performer. LISTEN: Neon Hitch, "Am I Dreaming (Easy Does It Remix Ft. Liam Horne)"

HOMETOWN: Scranton, PA WHY THEY MATTER: Every year, while trolling the Bamboozle lineup, we inevitably discover a young band that feels worth rooting for, and this chipper quintet caught our attention. Singer Adam McIlwee's voice has enough of that wonderful, semi-nasal emo sound to be familiar, but the band's nuanced rock is less cocksure Saves the Day bravado and more akin to sidewinding indie rockers Cursive. YOU SHOULD KNOW: Our Bamboozle discovery of 2010, Title Fight, were labelmates of Tigers Jaw until recently, when Title Fight signed to SideOneDummy, the imprint that took the Gaslight Anthem and Gogol Bordello into the big time. Could Tigers Jaw be next? LISTEN: Tigers Jaw, "Windmills"

HOMETOWN: Saddle River, NJ WHY HE MATTERS: Hip-hop's in his blood -- his dad is the Run in Run-DMC. And while America watched him grow up on the popular reality show Run's House, Diggy is proving to be most capable of carrying on his father's legacy, with mixtapes and freestyles landing him a deal with Atlantic Records. YOU SHOULD KNOW: Diggy's already diversifying his portfolio. Besides his rap career, the young entrepreneur, 15, is working on a clothing line with Pharrell Williams. WATCH: Diggy Simmons, "Shook Ones" [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed]

HOMETOWN: Meonstoke, Hampshire, England WHY HE MATTERS: He's the UK's answer to Dashboard Confessional: a witty, earnest-as-hell singer-songwriter with work ethic galore. But his songs are distinctly English, with flourishes of mandolin and pub-ready choruses. YOU SHOULD KNOW: While he's still making his way in America, Turner's already a big name at home. He was nominated for Best Solo Artist at the NME Awards, opposite Florence Welch, Laura Marling, Kanye West, and Paul Weller, and is set to perform on the mainstage at this summer's massive Reading & Leeds Festivals. LISTEN: Frank Turner, "I Am Disappeared"

HOMETOWN: Los Angeles / Chicago WHY THEY MATTER: Bamboozle is the festival where pop punk's kings held court for the better part of a decade, among them Fall Out Boy's Pete Wentz. Now he's back (but far from the headliner slot) with Black Cards, his dub-inflected synth-pop outfit, fronted by singer Bebe Rexha, whom Wentz plucked from total obscurity — and from Staten Island, no less. YOU SHOULD KNOW: The band calls their fans "enzymes," riffing off an idea suggested by ... an actual fan! "The idea is that enzymes are catalysts," Wentz told Buzznet. "They make things happen." LISTEN: Black Cards, "Club Called Heaven"

HOMETOWN: Washington, DC WHY THEY MATTER: "Virtuosic" isn't an adjective thrown around lightly in rock'n'roll circles, but when it comes to this three-piece, it's entirely fitting. Sure, they play heavy, but all three members -- guitarists Tosin Abasi and Javier Reyes, and drummer Navene Koperweis -- are musicians of stunning talent, weaving mind-blowing prog tangents into their instrumental rock epics. YOU SHOULD KNOW: While they're planning to record a second album this year, the band's 2009 debut is about to be reissued on vinyl and comes with 3-D glasses so you can view the trippy artwork on the packaging! LISTEN: Animals As Leaders, "CAFO"

HOMETOWN: Austin, TX (via California) WHY HE MATTERS: The Grammy-nominated DJ and producer is one of dance music's rising stars, and with Black Eyed Peas' main man will.i.am guesting on his next single, 2011 could be Wolfgang's year. Born Joey Youngman, his sound draws heavily from the French-inflected house vibe of Justice, and even Daft Punk. YOU SHOULD KNOW: Gartner matched his oft-'80s-sounding vibe with a cool, graffiti-style logo, which he had custom-made by Eric Haze, a street artist who went on to design logos for Public Enemy, EPMD, LL Cool J, and the Beastie Boys. WATCH: Wolfgang Gartner, "Illmerica" [videoembed size="full_width" alignment="center"][/videoembed]

HOMETOWN: Toms River, NJ WHY THEY MATTER: In the face of Bamboozle's more common assault of guyliner, straightened hair, and screamo, this octet will absolutely stand out, with horns, strings, and an acoustic guitar-led folk sound. At their deepest, they channel the spooky, backwoods sounds of the Avett Brothers, but they're also capable of pretty, joyous pop that would make Edward Sharpe devotees take notice. YOU SHOULD KNOW: If you're watching this band at Bamboozle, be sure to stay until the end. At nearly every show, they leap out into the crowd, instruments and all, for one final performance. LISTEN: River City Extension, "Something Salty, Something Sweet"

HOMETOWN: Brisbane, Australia WHY THEY MATTER: They were big-upped by Tegan and Sara, who discovered them Down Under in 2009 and took them out on the road. But Kate Cooper and Damon Cox expanded their guitar-vocals-drums sound exponentially on their sophomore album, Walls. Cooper's raised her game, too, unfurling one dizzying, diary-like tale of romantic drama after another. YOU SHOULD KNOW: The band's grammatically awkward name dates back to an argument between Cooper and her book editor sister, about whether "horse" should be preceded by "a" or "an." Cooper's sister made a sweatshirt emblazoned with An Horse, and friends began to ask whether it was a band name. It stuck. LISTEN: An Horse, "Dressed Sharply"