The Top 100 Local Songs of 2015.

Andy Pickett Happens To Be No. 9.

The North Texas music scene has really come into its own the past 12 months. There hasn't been a year in recent memory when so many local artists appeared on the Billboard charts, played Saturday Night Live and other late night television programs, or otherwise appeared in the national spotlight. Here, as we've done in years past, we're highlighting what we think are the 100 best songs locally-tied of the year. The thing is, as far as this list is concerned, we're judging the quality of the songs irrespective of the popularity of the people putting them out — meaning, you're just as likely to have a song by a Grammy-winning act sandwiched between a couple of high school bands. Hey, it's just more interesting that way. Also keeping with tradition, we'll be rolling out the list in smaller, more digestible portions every weekday through the end of the month, complete with embedded streams of each. We think that gives each of these more than deserving acts a little more shine, and it also gives you a little more time to really check out each of these high quality tunes — including, presumably, a few that you may have missed upon their initial release.

They say to write about what you know. And, this year anyway, that formula seemed to work well for Andy Pickett.

After years spent working the door at one of Fort Worth's most notoriously soused-up dives, that same big bearded face that's kicked most of us out of The Chat Room at least once surprised most everyone this year by releasing his inspiring debut LP, It Happens Every Night.

“I don't think many people really knew that I played the piano,” Pickett told us earlier this year. “I started playing at Live Oak, and that was part of the draw; they wanted to see the big hairy door guy from the Chat Room: 'What? He plays piano!?' It turns out I do.”

See Also:
• The Top 100 Local Songs of 2015. // Counting Down From 100 to 81.
• The Top 100 Local Songs of 2015. // Counting Down From 80 to 61.
• The Top 100 Local Songs of 2015. // Counting Down From 60 to 41.
• The Top 100 Local Songs of 2015. // Counting Down From 40 to 26.
• The Top 100 Local Songs of 2015. // Counting Down From 25 to 16.
• The Top 100 Local Songs of 2014.

Does it well, too. His Leon Russell meets R. Stevie Moore approach to piano-playing and song-writing made for one of the most pleasant surprises of the year, and one the most refreshing local releases front-to-back that we listened to all year.

And all those colorful characters from the bar? They're all over the thing, too, first bro-ing Pickett in the No. 28 song on this list, and then doing all sorts of hood rat shit in the album's title track, “It Happens Every Night,” which they might as well go ahead and adopt as the official anthem of The Chat's surrounding Near Southside neighborhood already.

Steadily plodding away on the keys, Pickett gently and soulfully croons away about his crack-smoking neighbor, his Natty Light-drinking pals and some of Near Southside/Fairmount's other colorful characters in such a nonchalant manner that it gives off the impression that he's been releasing albums for the better part of a decade. The repeated refrain of “It happens every night to me” only bolsters that same idea, representing that familiar shoulder shrug that says, 'I've pretty much seen it all.'

That's something Pickett probably has in common with most of The Chat Room's regulars. Anyone who's spent even a couple of late nights at that bar probably has some wild tales to say the least.

But even at a joint where you kind of learn to expect the unexpected, I'm not sure that anyone knew Andy Pickett was quietly working on one of the year's best local releases — let alone some of our favorite songs of the year, from anywhere.

100. Terrence Spectacle — “King's Cup”
99. Tunk — “Scarface The Rapper”
98. Lil Ronny MothaF — “Circle”
97. Denim Wonder — “I Love My City”
96. Sin Motivo — “Sintomas”
95. Kevin Aldridge — “Winner Leaves Town”
94. Sarah Jaffe — “Vision”
93. Coach Tev — “Omens (ft. Drugs, The Model Citizen & Rei Altru)”
92. Bummer Vacation — “Silver Hands”
91. Danny Cainco — “In My Bed”
90. Dove Hunter — “Dream Catcher”
89. GHETTODSKO — “It's Like That”
88. Toadies — “In the Belly of a Whale”
87. 87. Sad Cops — “Allen Road Park”
86. Essay EyE — “Day Da Day”
85. Astronautalis — “Sike”
84. The Azealia Project — “Chameleons”
83. Rhett Miller — “Most in the Summertime”
82. Botany — “Jotu”
81. Ghoulfive — “Materialistic”
80. VIDEO — “New Immortals”
79. No Touching — “Any Minute”
78. Damaged Good$ — “FCKBOY JIHAD PT. 1”
77. Jarvis Hodges — “Ball Out”
76. Hate Your Friends — “Whooda Thunk?”
75. Blessin' — “Eileen”
74. Birds of Night — “Asleep in the Pine”
73. Parquet Courts — “No, No, No!”
72. Bobby Sessions — “Black Neighborhood”
71. Larce Blake w/ Masego & BeMyFiasco — “SwingInLove”
70. Sudie — “Van Morrissey”
69. Buffalo Black — “High Noon”
68. Zane Williams — “A Song tor the Folks That Stole Our Van and Trailer”
67. Colton Carlyle — “Stalker”
66. Smoke Paint — “Chastity Belt”
65. Pinkish Black — “Brown Rainbow”
64. KoolQuise — “Cupid's Handgun”
63. Nick Jonas — “Jealous”
62. Skagg Philips — “Problems in Japan”
61. Brave Young Lion — “Girls”
60. Plain Jane Francis and Tony Q — “Silent Sounds”
59. Valise — “Charlie Gray”
58. Siamese — “Savage High”
57. Vandoliers — “Runaway Sons”
56. Claire Morales & Jena Pyle — “Strange”
55. Rhett Miller & Madison King — “Feel Like Fallin' in Love”
54. Nervous Curtains — “Devastator”
53. The Outfit, TX – “All Bills Paid” ft. Devy Stonez
52. These Machines Are Winning — “Kuru”
51. St. Vincent — “Bad Believer”
50. Snow that Product — “AyAyAy”
49. Kacey Musgraves — “Pageant Material”
48. Neon Indian — “Slumlord”
47. War Party — “Nolo Mori”
46. Conner Youngblood – “The Badlands”
45. Radioactivity — “Silent”
44. Birds of Night — “Dark”
43. A.Dd+ — “The Rhyme and The Rhythm”
42. Color TV — “Cadillac”
41. LUWUM — “The Band”
40. The Outfit, TX — “Wild Turkey”
39. Doug Burr — “White Night — Black Light”
38. Jake Paleschic — “When it is Played”
37. Party Static — “Mr Sexypants”
36. Pearl Earl — “Karaoke Superstar”
35. Lower Dens — “To Die in L.A.”
34. Selena Gomez — “Good For You”
33. Brack Cantrell — “Corpus Christi”
32. Demi Lovato — “Confident”
31. Herrick and Hooley — “Skeletor vs He-Man”
30. Dripping Wet — “She's Not Mine”
29. Maren Morris — “My Church”
28. Andy Pickett — “Don't Bro Me”
27. Post Malone — “Tear$”
26. Leon Bridges — “Smooth Sailin'”
25. Pyramids — “In Perfect Stillness, I've Only Found Sorrow”
24. War Party — “Teenager On Drugs”
23. Vincent Neil Emerson — “East Texas Blues”
22. Shaun Martin — “One Big Party”
21. Telegraph Canyon — “Why Let it Go”
20. Felix — “Ain Afraid”
19. Neon Indian — “Annie”
18. The Warden — “Our Town”
17. St. Vincent — “Teenage Talk”
16. Erykah Badu — “Cel U Lar Device”
15. Dead to a Dying World — “The Hunt Eternal”
14. LEV — “Shadow”
13. G.U.N. — “Johnny Cage”
12. Jonathan Tyler — “To Love Is To Fly” (feat. Nikki Lane)
11. Picnictyme — “Burnin Up”
10. Radioactivity — “Battered”
9. Andy Pickett — “It Happens Every Night”
8. ?????
7. ?????
6. ?????
5. ?????
4. ?????
3. ?????
2. ?????
1. ?????