Abbey Fox writesAbbey Fox Goes to SXSW2015: Day 1

CHIRP Radio’s Abbey Fox visited this year’s South by Southwest Music Festival and documented her experiences. Day 1 of her journal is below. Tune in tomorrow for Day 2 and Wednesday for Day 3!

While three times the charm is a tired and trite phrase, it is also an adequate description of my experience last week in Austin. After a two year hiatus, last Wednesday I hopped on a plane to Austin for my third SXSW. A lot happened in those two years, but most obvious (and most accidentally) was the fact that I had distanced myself from independent music. I got tired. I felt like I couldn’t keep up. I stopped going to shows because I was sick of crowds and drunk people who talked loudly during quiet moments. I got frustrated when I could seemingly only watch shows through the lens of someone else’s iPhone. I wondered, is this what getting older feels like?

Maybe it is, but I know one thing for sure: intense life changes often aid as reminders to reflect and connect to those things that make you feel most alive. So last fall as I set out to “rediscover myself,” I also set out to rediscover my love of music. I yearned for that feeling encapsulated at the perfect show: a band I was excited about, playing old favorites and mindblowingly awesome new songs, my friends, and sunshine. So, the decision to return was a no-brainer. I was off to SXSW again, this time with more life experience and less expectations, while prominently keeping my focused center: the music.

One of the things that helps with a great festival experience is the research. Okay, so maybe research is too academic of a word. Perhaps listening to as much new music as humanly possible is a better description. I reviewed every album in weekly rotation I could get my hands on through CHIRP, and upgraded to Spotify premium. I created a SXSW2015 Twitter list and became obsessed with reading the blog Operation Every Band. And, as I boarded the plane last Wednesday, I was armed with new favorites: soulful Leon Bridges, indie British JPop influenced Kero Kero Bonito, Australian witty-rambling Courtney Barnett, Canadian singer-songwriter Andy Shauf, brother sister duo Wardell, and an old friend (Arcade Fire’s) Will Butler.

Would I catch any of these bands live at SXSW? You can never know for sure, as flexibility is the key to success at an event like this, but it didn’t really matter by this point anyway. I was excited, and ready to be there and let the music unfold in the ways that it inevitably does.

Day 1

A big proponent of (re-)baptism by fire, I clocked in 36 bands in a little over 48 hours this year, beating my personal best from 2012. About two hours after landing (and after consuming a couple tacos), we were off to our first show at Red 7, the venue that served as home base this year. Catching the last song of Stockholm based electro-pop-synth-drumbeat-loving collective Kate Boy piqued my interest and we were able to catch a full set on Friday, which was danceable and fun. Up next were East India Youth, who I would describe as a British electronica focused Owen Pallett, Toronto’s hard rocking METZ, and Daniel Wilson.

While on our way to Sidebar to catch Austin’s fantastic own Bright Light Social Hour, we were stopped in our tracks by the sound coming from Empire - what was this jazzy, soulful, hip-hop sound? We walked in and caught Sidewalk Chalk. We found out they were from Chicago (!!) and had recently released a new record. They freestyled, had an awesome lady vocalist in addition to an MC and horns section, and put on a really amazing show. And just like that, I had a new favorite band. The rest of the day was as follows: a wonderful set by Austin rapper Phranchyze to a crowd of 10 of us, NYC based Parlour Tricks with their beautiful three part harmonies and matching outfits, and San Francisco’s verifiable rock band Thee Oh See’s.

Check out Abbey's SWSW2015 Spotify playlist!

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