Some people might think that if they want to have access to top-caliber up-and-coming music, they’d better live in New York. And if they’re going to be stuck in the South, then they need to locate to Nashville, or maybe even Athens, Ga., a veritable breeding ground for college bands and home of the famed music collective Elephant 6. Unless you want to talk hip-hop, Atlanta is rarely thought of as a great locale for finding the best of what’s next.

Like most stereotypes, this is largely untrue. Emory students can find proof of this tonight at WMRE’s Localsfest, a yearly event featuring bands from the Atlanta area. When it first formed, Localsfest was a traditional festival, showcasing several bands on multiple stages. The change in structure — one stage and fewer bands — that has taken place in the past few years allows for bigger-name groups, WMRE General Manager and College senior McLean Crichton said.

This year, the Performing Arts Studio (PAS) will host Ghostlights, The Shadowboxers and Sonen, three bands with disparate sounds but a similar dedication to improving the musical climate in Atlanta.

“[University of Georgia] has its own kind of scene,” Crichton said, “and we want Atlanta to have its own too. We think Atlanta is coming into its own. ... Possibly better than Athens.”

Likewise, Sonen guitarist Josh Guss referred to current state of the local music scene positively when he spoke with the Wheel.

“I think [the music scene] is growing, and hasn’t reached its full peak yet,” he said. More specifically, he sees a rise in bands with sounds similar to the self-described “indie-electro” sound of Sonen.

“I think bands like us, that are starting to incorporate some of the more electronic aspects, are starting to gain more recognition, more ground in Atlanta,” he said. And rather than be intimidated by any potential for competition, Guss and bandmates have embraced the electro community; in January, the trio will launch a monthly event at the Highland Ballroom that will feature regional electronica-spiked groups.

Stone Irvin of Ghostlights, a part-Athens, part-Atlanta-based group, cites electronica as an influence, but says the well of inspirational music in his life runs deep. “We’re loud,” he said in an interview with the Wheel. “What I would say is, hopefully [we’re] the best of the old and the new. ... I have so many influences that it’s hard to pin down one in particular. A blend of a lot of older hard rock and more ambient and electronica stuff.”

He mentioned that he thinks Ghostlights fits into the Atlanta scene, because unlike in Athens, where many local groups fit under “the broad umbrella of alternative rock,” Atlanta celebrates diversity.

WMRE Special Activities Chair and College sophomore Dasha Kirillova echoed this sentiment, saying that she sees this year’s bands speaking to the greater Atlanta music scene simply because they are so unlike each other.

College and Goizueta Business School junior Adam Hoffman of The Shadowboxers was quick to admit that his group’s pop-rock sound was different from Sonen or Ghostlights. Although previously known for pop-rock acts such as John Mayer and The Indigo Girls, Hoffman says, Atlanta has become more of an alt-rock hipster haven. The Shadowboxers are interested in starting a pop-rock resurgence, but for now, Hoffman and his bandmates are excited to join the Localsfest bill to help introduce Emory students to some music to which they may otherwise not be exposed. Even for those familiar with The Shadowboxers, Hoffman says tonight should show them a different side of the band, as they often don’t get to play in such a venue and with such professional equipment.

“We hope we can bring out a good Emory crowd and show people we can turn up our amps and really rock,” he said.

This idea of being exposed to music that is fresh but familiar will apply to the night in other ways, Kirillova said.

“A lot of people at Emory tend to listen to the same kind of music, for the most part,” she said. “I think that by coming to a concert like this, I think they can see, ‘Hey, this band is different, but they have the same kind of rhythm, the same upbeat sound [as other music I already like].’”

Tonight’s Localsfest should have a little bit of something for everyone, so head over the PAS for the free show — it sure as hell beats the cost of a plane ticket to New York.

— Contact Ani Vrabel.