The Toasters

Finally, a reason to break out those checkerboard creepers that have been gathering dust in the back of your closet since the mid-'90s third-wave ska revival! New York City's the Toasters are honest-to-goodness American ska pioneers, and they've stayed true to the genre's Jamaican R&B roots while many of their peers cross-pollinated it with punk rock. Those same bands gave up when the going got tough, but the Toasters stuck it out as ska rose and fell in popularity, thanks to the unwavering passion of leader Robert "Bucket" Hingley, the British expat and sole remaining original member of a lineup that's seen more than 40 people come and go over the past 24 years. With his current five-piece ensemble in tow, "Bucket" will have you two-tone skankin' in no time flat.