SXSW 2023 Preview: Must-See Bands
SXSW 2023 is less than a week away. I’ll be heading to Austin, Texas with thousands of other music fans, to check out the best in new music from around the world. Some two thousand or so bands are formally on the program as “showcasing artists”, and there are many more “unofficial” bands who will be serving up their work at gin joints on Sixth Street and elsewhere across the city next week. It’s the best.
The Offical SXSW Playlist, available on Spotify, runs for 56 hours and 26 minutes. I can’t swear I’ve listened to every single note on the playlist, but I’ve listened to at least a few bars of every song. My “best of” playlist captures the stuff i’m most excited about, and the bands I’m going to chase in Austin next week. Check it out here.
My “Must-See” Bands are these:
Amber Arcades — Far and away the catchiest tune on the Official SXSW Playlist is “It Changes”. Amber Arcades is led by Annelotte de Graaf, who is Dutch. Sounds like an upbeat Courtney Barnett, or an updated version of Sheryl Crow.
Jealous — “K-Hole II” starts of with deep, dark chords and then blasts into gritty vocals and jangly guitars that could belong to local faves Annabelle Chairlegs or even Orville Peck. The duo comes from Germany.
Ghum — This UK based band sounds like The Pixies, Sonic Youth, and Courtney Love all rolled into one. “Shallow” is a great, moody song.
Ron Gallo — Somewhere between Social Distortion and Mike Krol, Ron Gallo blasts power chords and staccato lyrics in “Entitled Man”. I’ve heard another of his great songs, “Young Lady, You’re Scaring Me” on Spotify also. He’s from Philadelphia. I’ve already bought tickets to his New York show in April.
Otoboke Beaver — I saw this all-female, Japanese thrash band in New York a couple of weeks ago. They are batshit crazy, intense, and very talented. They’ve got a packed tour schedule, so I’m not sure how they squeeze in a trip to Austin in between gigs on the calendar in California, Mexico City, Honolulu, Taipei, and Yokohama, but if they show up I’ll be there. Their SXSW playlist entry, “I checked your cellphone” is pretty representative of their work, but “S’il Vous Plait” is better.
Bike — I love their entry on the SXSW Playlist, “Boca de Sol”. It’s got a haunting melody and lots of sound. The band comes from Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Warmduscher — “I Got Friends” is a raucous number, solid bass line, and fun. I’d put this UK gang in the same category as Viagra Boys, and I’ll bet they’ll light up the British Music Embassy and other venues too.
There are about fifty other bands I’m tracking so far, and i haven’t stepped foot in Austin, where conditions on the ground will no doubt cause things to change. Word of mouth is still the best source for talent. Everybody’s best line is, “Who have you seen that was awesome?”
I’ll let you know how it goes.