SXSW2024: Recap

 Friday March 8

@Hilton
Ransom Brothers
Restos

Monday March 11

@GSD&M
Texas String Assembly
Magna Carda w/ Grace Sorensen
Winona Fighter
Shane Smith and the Saints

Tuesday March 12

@Ray Benson's Birthday
Madam Radar
Shakey Graves
Asleep at the Wheel w/
Jack Barksdale
? (Star of new Eddie Cochran movie)
Wonder Women of Country

Wednesday March 13

@Paste
SNACKTIME-(High Noon outside)
Friko (High Noon indoor)
Smut (High Noon outside)
Holly Macve (Coral inside)
Arny Margret (High Noon indoor)
Sinkane (High Noon outside)
Coach Party (Agave outside)

@Taquero Vaquero
Good Looks

@Side Bar
Near Beer

Thursday March 14

@Luck Reunion
Jobi Riccio
Rett Madison
Mali Velasquez (partial)
Proxima Parada (partial)
OGI
Daniel Donato's Cosmic Country
Tyler Halverson
Kade Hoffman
Harper O'Neill
Durand Jones
Zella Day and Chaparelle
Walker Lukens and The Texas Gentleman with guests (Texas Wild)
Old Crow Medicine Show
Dawes and Lucius
Tyler Childers
Red Clay Strays
Willie Nelson and Family

Friday March 15

@Punch Bowl Social
David Forsyth
Altameda

@Parish
Kiwi Jr.
BALTHVS

@High Noon
The Deslondes

@Coral Snake
Fust

Saturday March 16

@Mohawk
Lo Moon

@Cheer Up Charlie's
Marem Ladson
Friko
Bloomsday
voyeur
Squirrel Flower

@CBoy's
Billy Allen and the Pollies
Barfield, the Tyrant of TX Funk

SXSW2024: Winona Fighter

We may see them tonight. It's a trio out of Nashville.  The lead singer is originally from Boston. Chloe Kinnon is the lead singer (and also the drummer?) who goes by Coco.  Here's an article about her fight with Chronic Lyme Disease she's had since she was 9.  

She played in multiple bands and formed this band with the addition of a guitarist and bassist (who she just married).  They just signed to Rise Records (part of BMG/Warner Records) so expect big things. 

They're playing all over SXSW this year.  

In the vein of Paramore and No Doubt. poppunk.  

Here's their new single: "I'M IN THE MARKET TO PLEASE NO ONE"

This was probably my favorite.

SXSW2024: Altameda

I stumbled on this band thanks to OperationEveryBand. So good. They're out of Toronto but originally from Edmonton.  Per Wikipedia:

Altameda is a Canadian folk-rock and alternative country duo, consisting of singer-songwriter Troy Snaterse and drummer Erik Grice. They are most noted for their 2022 album Born Losers, which was a shortlisted Juno Award nominee for Adult Alternative Album of the Year at the Juno Awards of 2023.

They play Friday at 2pm at Punch Bowl Social (522 Congress) and 5pm at the Fairmont (not full band). The Fairmont may be that hotel happy hour thing. They also play Saturday at 3pm on Rainey St.

"Dead Man's Suit" is nice. 

They were here last year for SXSW and did a Jam in the Van live taping. It's worth a listen.

This is great.

SXSW2024: Tomato Flower

 Playing Saturday at Meanwhile Brewing at 12:50pm (After Allegra Krieger and before Fust) is this band out of Baltimore. Theyr're also playing a lot of other day parties. This article says:

Tomato Flower is the Baltimore-based experimental pop outfit composed of Austyn Wohlers, Jamison Murphy, Mike Alfieri, and Ruby Mars. Although they each share different musical interests, their collaboration prioritizes the sort of artistic synthesis that’s hard to resist, a blend of free-flowing experimentation and pop hookiness that often takes years to master. 

Their first album has not come out yet but they've released some singles from it.

"Temples of the Mind" is one of those. 

Here's another.

 

SXSW2024: Allegra Krieger

Playing Friday at 2pm at the High Noon indoor stage. She's also playing the High Road Touring Showcase which has almost every buzz band at SXSW playing it.

Aquarium Drunkard says:

New York’s Allegra Krieger has had quite the year. The cosmic folk artist released her fourth studio album, I Keep My Feet On The Fragile Plane, in July via Double Double Whammy. Across its 10 tracks, Krieger sings measured soliloquies recounting her memories, observations, and curiosities straddling the mortal and divine. Finger-picked guitars float like sunlight, illuminating forgotten corners of the universe where Krieger finds inspiration. 

"Nothing In This World Ever Stays Still" is nice. 

 This is really good.

SXSW 2024: Fust

Must-see alert. Need to put this on our list. Playing at 6pm Friday at the High Noon outdoor stage for Paste.  Stereogum named them one of the best new bands of 2023.  Alt-country. This article says:

The musical project — helmed by Duke Ph.D literature student Aaron Dowdy — includes collaborations with some of the state's most acclaimed young musicians, like Indigo De Souza and MJ Lenderman

Here is their last album on Bandcamp. "Evil Joy". The bio on bandcamp says:

Fust is a songwriting project of Aaron Dowdy, carried out with friends Frank Meadows, Avery Sullivan, and John Wallace. It began as a home-recording attempt for Aaron in 2017, self-releasing seven four-song EPs on Bandcamp before it shifted to a live group. The four had played together in a combination of different bands for over a decade in Virginia and North Carolina. This permutation formed in 2018 in Brooklyn where they all lived at the time, meeting in Gowanus to play the lonesome, somewhat hopeless songs as quietly as possible—or as the group would call it, evilly, as it seems a violation to play gently songs of wrongdoing and despair. But Fust is also interested in these themes and moods as tropes, embracing the melodrama of country music, especially the idea that life isn’t adding up to much, or that one’s goodness isn’t being put to use. Fust—the word for the mildewy smell that lingers on unused things—is now based in Durham, North Carolina, and Evil Joy is both their record label debut and the group’s first recordings together.

His new album is here.  Here's an interview with him.

"Genevieve" is great. Right up our alley.

This was wonderful. 

 

SXSW2024: Waterbaby

Playing Friday at 4pm at High Noon outside for the Paste party. She's also playing the KUTX morning session. The Guardian calls her One to Watch.  It says:

Halfway between Big Thief’s folk reveries and SZA’s gossamer indie-R&B lies Kendra Egerbladh, the Stockholm-based, Sub Pop-signed artist making music as Waterbaby.

"911" is nice. 

This was my favorite.

SXSW2024: Shower Curtain

 Playing Friday at 12:40pm inside High Noon at the Paste Party.   This site says:

In 2018, Shower Curtain was born as a solo project of Victoria Winter in Curitiba, Brazil. Since then, it’s become a quartet based in Brooklyn, New York. They have several EPs under their belt.

This article says:

Since 2021, they have become a staple within the New York City music scene, known for their pop sensibilities layered with sludgy guitars, harkening back to their 90s shoegaze and slowcore influences.

"You Make Me Feel" is nice. 

This is their latest.

SXSW2024: Britti

Breakout alert. Friday at noon at the Paste party. She inside at Coral Snake.  Those are the Paste Sessions filmings. Per this site:

Singer-songwriter Britti — born Brittany Guerin in Baton Rouge; reborn in and proudly repping New Orleans now...Emerges From Obscurity To Shine on Dan Auerbach-Produced Debut.

She's also doing the ACL Radio morning show, the BMI Songwriters breakfast, and a showcase at Stubb's (that includes Black Keys).

Here is "So Tired" from her CBS Saturday morning taping.

"Keep Running" is really good.

This has the Yola sound from her debut album. I think we're going to have to see her live.

SXSW2024: The Lostines

 Playing at 6pm Wednesday at the Paste Party inside of the High Noon. This site says:

If there’s a Valentine’s Day dance in heaven, The Lostines are the house band. Superimposing Everly Brothers-style harmonies atop lilting guitar and doo-wop-inspired instrumentation, Camille Wind Weatherford and Casey Jane Reece-Kaigler transmit messages of disillusionment, enduring romanticism, and tenacious hope.

Named after a river in the duo’s native Oregon and cultivated in the New Orleans DIY scene where the pair met, The Lostines’ chemistry is both forward-looking and a throwback, born of seemingly disparate aesthetics — classic country, Louisiana dance hall, mid-century girl groups. 

"West Texas" is them live on a porch in New Orleans. Looks fun. 

They only have one song on their Youtube page and is was just released.  Here it is:

 

SXSW2024: Bathe Alone

 Playing at 4pm at High Noon outside Wednesday. Her Bandcamp says:

Bathe Alone is the dreampop solo project of multi-instrumentalist Bailey Crone based out of Atlanta, Georgia. Bailey plays everything from drums, guitar, bass to vocals on the project and aims to create songs you can "lay on the floor and stare at the ceiling to."

She's playing a lot of parties all week. 

"Missionary Ridge" is good.

 This has 13M streams on Spotify but it's only 1:20 long. It's the lead-int to "Decades and Dreams" on her album.

SXSW2024: Mali Velasquez

Playing at 3:20pm Wednesday at High Noon (Paste party) inside.  This article says:

 When Nashville-based singer-songwriter Mali Velasquez traded her Texas panhandle home for the verdant foothills of Tennessee, she did so with a newfound perspective that mirrored her environment, culminating in the lushly raw edge of her folk-rooted indie rock. Wistfully openhearted and incisive, Velasquez tips the fulcrum between reflection and remedy with melody-forward unction and lyrical tenderness.

Since it's inside she may just play solo.  

"Clovers" is good. 

 I like her. May have to look to see her with a full band. She plays Far Out Lounge April 6th opening for A. Savage. We'll be out of town.

SXSW2024: Bodega

Playing at 2pm at the Paste Party (Coral Snake outside). This is a band out of NYC that plays post-punk.  I liked what I heard. The other option is Arny Margret, a folk singer from Iceland.  I like her sound (KEXP full performance here) but it's inside at High Noon so the noise from the bar and the industry people chatting could make it difficult to hear her.

"City is Taken" is good. Reminds me of Blondie.

This is good, too.

SXSW2024: Smut

Paste came out with their day schedules. Man, I've got work to do. They are in two bars with 4 stages this year: High Noon (same as last year) and across the street at what is now called Coral Snake. 

This band plays Wednesday at 1:20 at High Noon on the outdoor stage. I liked that setup.  It's a 5-piece originally from Cincinnati but now out of Chicago. They also play Friday at 13th Floor probably around noon.

Pitchfork says:

Carefully parsing the nuances of shoegaze, dream pop, and alt rock, the Chicago quintet’s second album amounts to a rigorous study of 1990s guitar sounds.

"Let Me Hate" is good. 

This was my favorite.

SXSW2024: Chance Emerson

Playing at Yeti on Friday at 3pm after wilt and before Zach Person is this band formed at Brown University. Per the college website:

Brown University senior Chance Emerson first arrived on campus in August 2019 with a couple of suitcases and a to-do list. 

A singer-songwriter and guitarist since his early teens, he’d already released his first EP as a junior in high school. But his boarding school was light on musicians to collaborate with — there were only a handful of bassists and drummers, and none of them were playing indie folk.

“As soon as I got to Brown, my goal was to start a band,” Emerson recalls. “I’d been itching for it for so long."

He formed a band and now they're at SXSW.  

"How Can I" is indie folk.  Toe-tapping festival music.

This is his most streamed song.

SXSW2024: Kassa Overall

 KUTX names this artist One To Watch. Jody Denberg says:

Kassa Overall has the jazz chops: he studied at Oberlin, was a gigging musician in New York, and had a stint as the drummer in Jon Batiste’s band on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. But it’s Kassa’s combination of jazz with hip-hop production that sets him apart.

He plays Saturday at 2:30pm at Cheer Up Charlie's.  

Here's his NPR Tiny Desk Concert.

This is his most streamed song. It's also the last song on the Tiny Desk Concert.

SXSW2024: Shannon and the Clams

This band is all over the place this year.  They play Waterloo Wed. at 5pm, SXSanJose, Paste, and the White Horse Sat. at 4:30. Per Wikipedia:

Shannon and the Clams is an indie garage punk quartet based in Oakland, California. Known for a vintage sound that incorporates elements of doo-wop, classic R&B, garage psych, and surf, Shannon and the Clams has drawn comparisons to both Buddy Holly and 1960s girl groups.

They've been around awhile but this last year brought about major trauma and change with the band. According to this article:

 In August 2022, Shannon Shaw’s world was turned inside out. With mere weeks to go until their wedding, the singer’s fiancé, Joe Haener, died in a horrific car accident in front of his family’s vegetable farm in Oregon. It was a devastating loss that hit Shannon & The Clams with cataclysmic force. .. From the shock and trauma of that tragedy comes Shannon & The Clams’ latest album, The Moon Is In The Wrong Place, a powerful exploration of loss, time, love, and resilience that stands as the beloved garage band’s most ambitious, emotionally searing recording to date. 

"Ozma" is one of their older songs. 

"Bean Fields" is a newer one.

This is the title song of their new album. It's really good. The album doesn't come out until May 10th.

SXSW2024: BALTHVS

 Music in the vein of Khruangbin. Per this site:

 BALTHVS, the Bogota, Colombia based psychedelic funk trio was formed in the countryside while the group waited out the 2020 pandemic. The band was escaping the city during uncertain times and according to Balthazar Aguirre “we wanted the music to meld with the peaceful environment surrounding us at that moment”. Alongside Aguirre (Guitar, Vocals) the band consists of Johanna Mercuriana (Bass, Vocals), and Santiago Lizcano (Drums, Vocals).

It also says:

 Known for their dynamic and electrifying live performances, BALTHVS has become synonymous with energetic shows and captivating improvisations.

Could be worth checking out. They play Parish on Friday at 4:10pm before Black Angels (could be crowded). They also play a few other shows but they're not biking distance (Far Out Lounge, Meanwhile Brewing). I'll keep them on my radar.

"Got Caught In Amsterdam (Arc de Soleil)" is good.

Here's a full live set.

This is a nice tune.

SXSW2024: wilt

 This L.A. band is playing the Paste party as well as Yeti on Friday at 2pm.  The SXSW website says:

In the year since releasing their debut single, “gwen,” wilt has gone from relative obscurity to one of the buzzier bands coming out of Los Angeles.  The LA-based outfit counts Radiohead, Hole, Weezer and Alex G among its influences, and dynamic front-woman Chelsea's vocal prowess and vibe have drawn comparisons to Hayley Williams, Debbie Harry, and Joan Jett. 

Here is "gwen".  

Guitar rock. "Moved Along" is pretty good.

This was probably my favorite. I do like her voice.

SXSW2024: Cosmo Pyke

Wednesday at 2pm at the British Music Embassy is this musician from England. This site says:

Peckham’s very own Cosmo Pyke, a multidisciplinary artist known for his unique blend of indie, jazz, blues, and hip-hop...

Apparently he's big in Europe. He's headlining shows and has sold out Paris, Copenhagen and Amsterdam so far.

"Chronic Sunshine" has 42M streams on Spotify. It has a reggae beat.

"Curser's Lament" is a nice mellow tune.

This was probably my favorite.