This band out of Melbourne is playing quite a few of the big parties. They're doing KUTX on Friday at 9am, Mohawk also on Friday at 2:30pm, and SX San Jose (no day or time yet.)
They are described as garage punk. They just released their second album.
"Floored" has a drum and bass line that reminds me of Joy Division.
This is off their newest album.
This band out of Cork, Ireland is playing the KUTX morning show on Wednesday at 9am and they're also playing Mohawk on Friday at 3:30pm. The SXSW bio says:
Their critically acclaimed debut EP Cardinals, is an eclectic gothic amalgam of shoegaze, pop, Irish trad folk, and rock which incorporates 60s Wall of Sound and poetry inflected punk.
That's quite the gamut of genres.
Rolling Stone interviews them and asks them to describe their music. Their reply:
...look – it’s noise music and if you can see past that sort of like chaos and stuff, it’s just very warm. There’s pop there, there’s real vulnerability and it’s honest. I guess that’s where we’re coming from right now, we’re a band that is still exploring and creating.
"Unreal" is a good song.
This video was filmed in Austin, I assume for SXSW last year? See how many locations you can recognize. I see they went to Bouldin Creek Cafe. Sweet.
Here is another Australian band playing at Lazarus on Friday. They play at 2pm. They are also playing the Third Man Records day party at 13th Floor on Friday (along with Youbet who we saw open for Ratboys and Palehound at Warsaw). No times yet for that show.
Australian six-piece Coldwave is a frantic yet tightly controlled blend of jagged guitars, booming horns and uncompromising vocal delivery that captures the abstract in life’s most mundane moments...Wielding a sound described as “post-punk pulse accelerant”, Coldwave’s EPs ‘Same Window, Different House’ and ‘No Conflict’ were met with glowing praise.
Here they are live with "No Conflict". I like them. I'm not sure you will.
This is their latest single.
Music For Listeners has released their schedule for Lazarus Brewing on the east side. I've liked the bands we've seen there before though we didn't make it there last year.
This artist from Australia is playing Lazarus Friday at noon. She is also playing the Paste party at High Noon but they've haven't released the dates or times yet. Per this site:
Stella Bridie is a 25-year-old Naarm/Melbourne-based songwriter and vocalist whose music blends the emotive storytelling of indie rock with pop’s melodic sensibility. Known for capturing the raw emotions of life’s quieter moments, her powerful delivery has drawn comparisons to artists like boygenius, Ethel Cain, and Olivia Rodrigo.
Another site compared her to Lucy Dacus and Phoebe Bridgers.
"Dog Bite" is her most streamed song. It starts off slow but picks up. It was released in 2019. Since then she has released an EP. Her Youtube page doesn't have much on it.
This is her latest single. Catchy.
Do512 and C3 are putting on a SXSW showcase at Stubb's on Wednesday evening with Band of Horses as the headliners. It's open to the public but probably too late for us.
The first band playing there at 6pm is also playing Yeti at 5pm on Friday. They are also playing C3's Two Step Inn in April. They played weekend two of ACL last year.
According to SavingCountryMusic:
The Droptines come from the mind of singer, songwriter, and front man Conner Arthur who founded the band in 2019. Conner originally comes from Concan, Texas where drunk coeds, tourists, and Boy Scout troops head to tube the Frio River out in the Texas Hill Country. The name is derived from the downward-facing points on a buck’s rack, so it’s pronounced like the “tines” of a fork, not “teens” when when you were socially awkward and had a face full of acne.
"Over" is good.
This is nice. We'll have to keep an eye out for them playing in town if we miss them at SXSW.
Floodfest at Mohawk on Friday posted their set times. First up on the outdoor stage at noon is Baths. I posted about him in 2011 and shared his song "Aminals". We saw him at the Pitchfork day party on the East side (outside field which is now condos and office buildings). I think he was just solo with a keyboard.
Based on this video it looks like he has a full band now.
How would you describe your music?
mary in the junkyard: Sparse rock, like rock but balding.
Paste announced their day parties today. They're at High Noon again but it looks like they won't be across the street this year (Stay Gold closed last year). No times or days announced but they released the bands scheduled to perform.
This band is also playing the British Music Embassy (evening only) and the Marshall Amps day party at Mohawk on Wednesday. According to Wikipedia:
Maruja are an English rock band formed in Manchester in 2014, currently signed to Music for Nations... The band's sound has been variously labelled as post-rock, post-punk, art rock, jazz-rock, noise rock and post-hardcore. Rishi Shah of NME described the band's style as "noisy jazz-punk".
"Tinker" is a jazz-infused instrumental jam. Lots of sax solos.
Here they are live at Glasonbury. We'll need to get ready for the mosh pit.
Marshall Amps announced their Wednesday day party at Mohawk. No times yet. This band is also playing the British Music Embassy but only an evening showcase. BME says:
The name Freak Slug encapsulates Xenya Genovese’s artistic world perversely perfectly. Her releases under the name so far might have introduced listeners to a “more summery, happy, LA-sound”, but with the advent of her debut album ‘I Blow Out Big Candles’, this Slug is burrowing down into evermore unlikely places. Fresh off the back of her sold-out headline US dates at the end of 2025, Freak Slug takes SXSW.
"Radio" is one of her older songs. Summery, happy sound is an apt description.
"Friday" is catchy too. As you say, right up my alley.
This is from her latest album.
This band is playing Yeti on Friday at 4pm as part of the BMI day party. According to the BMI website:
The Bends are an alternative rock band based out of Baton Rouge, Louisiana. The four members are seniors at LSU, and take influence from early 2000s rock bands like Kings Of Leon, The Strokes, and Arctic Monkeys. The quartet has recently struck major buzz with the debut single “Makeup.” They have gained industry-wide recognition, including Zach Bryan's endorsement across his socials.
They only have two songs on their Youtube page. This is "Makeup". Very Kings of Leon and Strokes influenced.
Playing at 2pm Friday at Yeti is this band out of NYC described as a "psych-garage" quartet per this article. It says:
Originating in high school, The Thing was founded by Michael Carter, Jack Bradley, and Zane Acord, driven by their shared love for rock & roll. Influenced by 60s pioneers and inspired by contemporary bands like Brian Jonestown Massacre and The Black Keys, the band honed their craft and generated buzz in New York City.
"Neptunne" has a nice bass line. Reminds me of White Denim. I like the guy dancing.
This is more rocking.
This band is playing Yeti on Friday at 1pm and C-Boys Saturday at 2:45pm Inside. The SXSW bio says:
Gold Star's Marlon Rabenreither grew up in L.A. with a native son's sense of what's real and true and a childhood fascination with the Beatles, teaching himself to write and play a special kind of stark guitar-noir Americana that soon got him opening for Ryan Bingham and an admiring Lucinda Williams. On his new Autumn Tone release Big Blue-named after the ramshackle Hollywood home where he produced and recorded the album-he shines and redefines the sound of his self-titled 2013 EP and his 2015 full-length Dark Days to reveal an autobiographical work as influenced by writers like Fante, Baldwin and Chandler as it is Neil Young, Leonard Cohen, Wilco or Elliott Smith. If you didn't know better, you'd think it was one of those lost classics-but really it's just a long letter from a young singer/songwriter both weary and wise beyond his years.
"Fade Away" is a mix of Ryan Adams mingled with War on Drugs. Good song.
"How to Shoot the Moon" is a nice acoustic tune. I like his voice.
This is good, too. We may have to make an effort to see him.
Playing Wednesday at 2pm at Yeti after Austin band Next of Kin. According to this bio:
At the intersection of rock riffs and folk songwriting, you find The Takes, a new indie rock group hailing from Portland, Oregon. The band – composed of Sumner Rahr, Fritz Frerichs, Guido Rahr, and Phoebe Webb – weaves emotion and escapism through their songs, all while sticking to the roots of rock. On their 2024 EP ‘Lay Hold,’ the band pulls rhythm from legendary inspirations like Creedence Clearwater Revival and earnest songwriting from the likes of Noah Kahan.
Sounds good to me.
"River Stones" is a nice song.
This was good, too.
Yeti has come out with their day schedule. This is the first singer on the first day Wednesday. According to this website:
Claire Ernst is a pop/R&B, New Jersey native, now fully based out of Nashville, Tennessee. Accumulating over 5 million all time streams just on Spotify alone, Claire Ernst has been ever changing since she began releasing at the age of 14. With lyrical influences of Kacey Musgraves and Allen Stone and the melodic influences of Yebba and PJ Morton, her unique sound is waiting to be heard by the right ears. Ernst’s debut full length album is set to rollout this year, and the first single released March 22nd.
"Girl in the Bathroom" is her submission for the NPR Tiny Desk Contest for 2024 and "Boots" is her submission for 2025. Soulful. Reminds me of Sir Woman. I like it.
This is catchy. It could be a good way to start Wednesday.
Playing Luck on the BMI Songwriters Circle. He's also playing Waterloo Records at 1pm on Wednesday (after Ken Pomeroy). This showcase has three artists swapping songs. We saw Valley James play at Saxon Pub and we'll see her band Valley Flower play at Old Settler's. We saw Coleman Jennings open for Briscoe at Stubb's. I liked them both.
The third songwriter is from Arkansas. This article talks about his album:
Blue Sky Sundays is the culmination of a few years living in Nashville, chasing the dream of making a living by making music in what he thought to be the correct, the industry way. To then, with a new perspective, deciding to return the family home to Arkansas, basing the tour operation from home. Leaving home to return again is a familiar trope in many a great story but for Clayton, it’s personal.
His new album comes out Friday (Feb. 28th). "Brown Haired Blue Eyed Beauty" is his most streamed song. Good R&B song.
"American Millionaire" is good.
This is his latest single. Catchy. Clever lyrics.
Playing Luck at the Western AF showcase. According to this article:
Montana-based singer/songwriter Riddy Arman's traditional country and folk music comes from the unique perspective of a female farmhand.
According to this article:
Born and raised in Ohio, Riddy left home after high school and began a long, winding, and interesting journey that took her to North Carolina for a year of college, to New York City where she worked as a model, and on an extended hitchhiking and train-hopping journey around the United States, just to name a few. She began writing and playing music in earnest while living on a farm in rural Virginia and eventually moved to Montana, a place she had long felt drawn toward.
She is on LaHonda Records which includes Colter Wall and Vincent Neil Emerson. Her album was released in 2021. Apparently she's working on her 2nd album but nothing has been released yet.
"Spirits, Angels, or Lies" is the first song off her album. This is her Western AF performance including the origin of the song. It's really good.
"Barbed Wire" is good.
This is her most streamed song.
Playing Luck on the Western AF showcase. Per this article:
Hailing from the historically rich city of Charleston, South Carolina, Americana music artist Hunter Park is defining what it means to not only live in the modern South, but to be a trans woman and artist within this landscape. Combining folk-infused vocal melodies and evocative lyrics that capture the unfiltered human experience, She Returns From War is taking her seat in the Americana music world with grace, strength, and passion.
In 2023, the project shows no signs of slowing down. From opening for Bernie Sanders at his presidential rally in Charleston, to performing at national festivals like Stagecoach and High Water Festival and with artists such as Pat Benatar, Band of Horses, and Nikki Lane, She Returns From War is sharing with the world what the modern South should look and feel like: inclusive, compassionate, unfiltered, and loving.
She did an episode of a show on PBS called "Ears to the Common Ground" where she plays music and talks with some of her fans about Sexuality and Gender. I watched some of it. We may want to queue it up to watch.
"Swamp Witch" is an older song.
This is off her latest album. Recognize the venue? We were just there.
Playing Luck on the Western AF showcase. According to this interview:
Kristina Murray is a Nashville-based country singer and songwriter. Over her fifteen-year performing and writing career, she has remained steadfastly loyal to traditional country music, avoiding the temptation of crossing over to the commercial crossover county/pop music currently dominating the radio airwaves. Kristina is also the Administrative Director at The Nashville School Of Traditional Music, a project established to promote and preserve ‘real’ country music. She has recorded two albums, UNRAVELIN’ (2013) and SOUTHERN AMBROSIA (2018), and is putting the final touches on her latest record, which is due for release in early 2025.
In the interview she talks about the Nashville Skinny Dennis location which was still in progress. She's playing her album release party there on May 9th.
Here's her Western AF performance of "Big Old Sun".
This is her first single off the new album. Logan Ledger is on guitar.
Playing Luck Reunion as part of the Western AF showcase. He's led quite a life. Per Wikipedia:
Harris was born in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1983. He spent much of his early life between Montgomery and Dadeville, AL, where his relatives had lived since the Revolutionary War. His mother was a teacher and his father worked in heavy construction. When he was seven, his family moved to Apple Valley, California, and later to Las Vegas. When Harris was fourteen he left home after finishing the 8th grade.
After leaving home, he spent time in Oakland, California; he chose the Bay Area as the California punk bands of the 1980s and early 1990s had a major influence on his early musical development, and later spent a year in Arizona where he worked as a sheep herder for a group of Navajo elders. Throughout this time, Harris freighthopped across the US, eventually finding his way to the town of Halifax, Vermont, where he lived for over a decade. He worked as a sheet metal scrapper, orchard worker, farmer laborer, luthier, heavy equipment operator, logger, and mainly as an historic restoration carpenter. He moved to Nashville, TN in 2011. From the time he was sixteen until his relocation to Nashville, he lived in various remote cabins without electricity or running water for nearly 13 years.
Wow. He has embraced country music, especially the old school music of George Jones and Waylon Jennings. Here is his version of the Conway Twitty/Loretta Lynn song "You're the Reason Our Kids are Ugly" with Nikki Lane. They did a live version of it, too.
Here is his Western AF performance of "When I Quit Drinkin'"
He did a KEXP live session here.
This is off his latest album.
Another Luck artist. He was born in Manchester, England and grew up in Wichita, Kansas but now resides in L.A. That's quite the gamut.
I'd call his sound indie pop/synth pop. He cites MGMT as an influence in this article. "Colors" and "Holy Water" definitely have their sound.
This is latest single. Good ACL Festival music.
Another Luck artist. I've been going alphabetically down the list. We saw Ken Pomeroy open for Kaitlin Butts at Antones. I liked her. Here's a reminder.
This singer/songwriter is originally from Manhattan but now calls Austin home. He has put out 3 albums. According to this interview he was heavily influenced by Townes Van Zandt.
He did a live set at KVRX here.
This is his latest single. From the credits it says he's on New West Records now. I assume a new album must be coming out soon.
Quite mellow. Seems like the Chapel would be a good spot for him.
Another Luck artist. Apparently he's got a loyal following that sings all the words to his songs in concerts. According to this intro:
John Vincent III, an Americana artist, intensified his love of music in Houston, TX in 2014. Gaining inspiration from unique lyricists such as Bon Iver, The Districts and The Doors, John Vincent III began the process of his own song creation. John Vincent III effortlessly blends folky, rhythmic guitar with soulful, vulnerable lyricism to create a the perfect Americana-Pop blend.
He was born in Houston, spent some time in Nashville but apparently is now in L.A. after living the van life during the pandemic after his first album. This article has a good background on his success after his first album and the 3 year hiatus that followed before his recent album.
I'd say a good modern comparison is Noah Kahan. The article above compares "Lincoln, NE" to Nick Drake. It's on his new album.
"Next to You" was the breakout hit from his first album.
This was my favorite. It's pretty cool live (at the Troubadour) with the crowd singing, too.
More with the Luck Reunion. This band has quite a story. According to Wikipedia:
Infinity Song is a family band made up of members Abraham, Angel, Israel and Momo Boyd. The four siblings grew up in Detroit, Michigan and later moved to New York City performing in a choir directed by their father, John Boyd, and their early home life was filled with "singing and writing refrains"... In 2016, director Jeymes Samuel sent a video clip that he had seen of the band busking in Central Park to Jay Z. The band was then invited to perform for Jay-Z at the offices of his Roc Nation record label, after which Jay Z signed them to a recording contract.
It also says:
Uproxx listed the band as one of its "best bets for best new artist at the 2025 Grammys", praising their "breezy arrangements and lush harmonies", and saying in their review that the band's records "sound right at home between cuts from The Byrds, Joni Mitchell, Buffalo Springfield and other Laurel Canyon legends".
Wow. High praise.
"Slow Burn" is good.
"Hater's Anthem" went viral online.
This is my favorite.
Another Luck band. There's not much on the internet about this band. This article says:
Under the veiled Hazel City moniker, Clay Frankel of Twin Peaks and Grapetooth fame sidelines his boisterous indie rocking role to take the form of an inwardly-oriented and unplugged folkie indulging in intimately soft banjo plucks and warm and well-placed piano chords for processing a fragile and sentimental side of the artists we’re not used to receiving.
I also saw they played a show in Milwaukee with Bonny Doon so they've got that going for them. Which is nice.
They have only one song on Youtube so I'll post Spotify links. "Root" is good. "Becca" is probably my favorite.
This is the one video online.
Another Luck Reunion artist. It's the moniker of Lizzie Quinlan. According to this Rolling Stone article:
After growing up in New Jersey, No, 33, spent the better part of the last decade as a harp-playing, folk-strumming songwriting virtuoso singing incisive originals in semi-obscurity. She started out in a folk duo called Devil and the Deep Blue Sea before embarking on a solo career after winning a songwriting contest in 2016 for her song “Outlaws.” Since then, she’s released two acclaimed records, opened for Iron & Wine, and helped kick off the Black Opry Revue touring collective.
According to her bio: "Lizzie has toured with Iron & Wine, Adia Victoria, Ron Pope, Sarah Shook and the Disarmers, and has showcased at festivals like Newport Folk Fest, Americanafest, South by Southwest, and Hardly Strictly Bluegrass."
She did a spot on No Depression where she talks about her latest album and plays "Getaway Car". It's good.
She played these songs live at AmericanaFest for WMOT. "The Heartbreak Store" is a good country/folk song. This is more rocking.
We'll probably want to check her out.
Another Luck artist. She's the one playing Continental Club the same night Kathleen Edwards is playing the 04 Center. Oh well. She's on the fast-track to stardom. She's already played the Grammys with Chris Martin (here's her solo spotlight). She's even been on Colbert. Not bad for an 18 year-old.
According to this article:
During the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, Grace recorded herself playing the guitar and posted the videos to YouTube and Reddit. She later live-streamed her practice sessions which captured attention from fans...Grace gets to show off her talents at dive bars in Nashville, where she moved to from the San Francisco Bay Area with her family. Grace posts clips from her performances on Instagram, where she has over 170,000 followers.
She plays with the band Grace Bowers & The Hodge Podge and they have one album out. It looks like she's just the guitarist. I'm not sure if she's touring solo now or with the whole band.
"Wine on Venus" is a good song.
This is the most streamed song.
Another Luck artist. We saw him open for Cat Power at Emo's in 2022. I think I liked him. What do you recall?
According to this website:
ARSUN SORRENTI, a New York City native, is a 24-year-old multi-talented artist who has made a name for himself as a singer-songwriter, musician, and prolific soundtrack producer. With a sound that is influenced by rock, folk, country, blues, and jazz, Arsun’s music is a unique blend of genres that captivates audiences across America and Europe.
"White Light" is his most streamed song.
This was good.
This multi-instrumentalist country/folk artist is playing Luck Reunion. People rave about his live shows. According to this article and interview he received an MFA in poetry from the University of Arkansas. This question and answer was interesting:
Q: To my ears, songs such as "I Won't Be Afraid," "Life On the Fence," and "Your Heart's A Big Tent," from "Peculiar, Missouri" and "The Arrangements" and the title tune from "Critterland" wear their queerness on their denim sleeves. Do you have a sense of how these songs been received by folks in the LGBTQ+ community?
They seem to like 'em. Because I'm a "daywalker," and spent most of my life passing as straight. I guess I got pretty good at writing queer-coded things. Our audience is diverse and welcoming, and that's my favorite thing about my work. As many bi/pan/yes/and people do, I often don't feel "queer enough."
A:I've never been part of certain queer subcultures or visibility movements. For me, being queer always lived at truck-stops, on Craigslist, while couch-surfing, and frequently involved being afraid, closeted, and tough. It never presented itself in a "respectable" way, so I feel very seen when other LGBTQ+ people like it. At the heart of queerness is a relationship to love, friendship, and sex that goes beyond procreativity, marriage, property, or gender. If I get to sing that into the world, I'm happy.
Here is "Critterland".
"Cheap Cocaine" is his most streamed song.
"Higher Lonesome" is good. Zach Bryan feel.
This has a Johnny Cash feel.
First post this year. This band is playing the British Music Embassy (now at Palm Door on 6th. A much better location than the Sheraton) as well as the first day party I've seen at Valhalla on Thursday the 13th. That show also has Wishy who were at SXSW last year (preview here). I liked them but we didn't get to see them. I'll have to take a look at the other bands on that bill. If we don't go to Luck it may be worth checking out.
According to Wikipedia:
Honeyglaze are an indie rock trio from South London formed by Anouska Sokolow with Tim Curtis and Yuri Shibuichi. They released a self-titled LP in 2022 followed by the album Real Deal in 2024...The LP reached #1 on the UK Independent Album Breakers Chart. Honeyglaze were invited to support Wet Leg on the UK leg of their 2022 tour and embarked on headline dates. Honeyglaze opened the BBC Music Introducing stage at Reading and Leeds.
In 2024, Honeyglaze signed with Fat Possum Records.
They are called post-punk, indie rock, and math rock. I also hear shoegaze, especially on "Movies" which was played on KUTX's What's Next last week. It shifts from shoegaze to math rock and back to shoegaze.
This was my favorite.
