SXSW and Luck Reunion 2022 Recap
Gustaf at the Paste SXSW day party (Photo ©2022 Mauricio Castro)
It’s been three years since the last iteration of SXSW was held in person. 2020’s edition was canceled mere days before its first panel was to take place, and 2021’s edition was held entirely online to a much smaller crowd. This year’s return to downtown Austin has been highly-anticipated, even if the number of musical acts shrunk from 2,000 in 2019 to 1,500 this year. Because even so, that’s still a lot of music to take in within the span of a week. And in classic South By fashion, I did my best to cover as much of it as possible.
AmazeVR’s Megan Thee Stallion: Enter the Hottieverse VR concert demonstration (Photo by Mauricio Castro)
Before the musical showcases kicked off in earnest, panels and talks held at the Austin Convention Center discussed a slightly different aspect of music events: virtual concerts. A company called AmazeVR showcased what they called a ‘virtual concert’ featuring Megan Thee Stallion that takes place in a VR headset while physically sitting next to others, each of them also taking part in the VR concert. The foundational pieces they’re building (including a co-op game that appears before the show) are intriguing, even if they’re not fully integrated yet. The experience can have you feeling like Megan Thee Stallion is right there, performing just for you alongside her backup dancer avatars. The full virtual concert is slated to go on tour across major cities soon, starting in Los Angeles on April 3 and ending in NYC on July 3.
Future Rites at SXSW (Photo by Mauricio Castro)
One very unique and interesting VR musical experience called Future Rites allowed a participant to don a VR headset to become a part of Stravinsky’s classic ballet ‘The Rite of Spring’ alongside a trained dancer. The dancer was fitted with motion capture devices that translated into real-time avatar movements in the virtual world that the player could see. Dr. Sandra Rodriguez, the creative director of the project and an instructor at MIT, explained the creation of a concept called ‘dance Auto-Tune’ that make movements in the game feel more well-choreographed and encourage the player to truly go crazy with their dance moves. While it’s in the prototype phase, it was by far one of the most interesting demonstrations at SXSW, showing where virtual music participation could be headed in the next few years.
Adia Victoria at Luck Reunion (Photo by Mauricio Castro)
Meanwhile, just an hour outside of Austin, Willie Nelson held a day-long music ‘anti-festival’ on his own ranch, another iteration of the very popular Luck Reunion. Also dormant since 2019, the unique experience spanned five stages and showcased some of the best in rock, roots, and Americana. Attendees that were selected via lottery showed up in their best ‘yeehaw chic’ - frilly jackets, intricately-designed leather boots, bandanas wrapped around necks, and a whole lot of denim. The festival prides itself on keeping the schedule a surprise until the day of the festival, placing well-regarded artists like Adía Victoria and Black Lips on intimate stages, like the 50-capacity Chapel Stage and the 200-capacity Saloon Stage, respectively. Some highlights included Rochester R&B/soul singer Danielle Ponder, who had also performed at SXSW that week, and Texan music in general. David Beck’s Tejano Weekend, the Lost Gonzo Band (founded in 1972), and Charley Crockett all performed to huge home state crowds throughout the day.
Here are a few of the artists that I loved at SXSW this year and think you’ll love too:
Jake Wesley Rogers
He may not be the biggest artist in the world, but he sure has the confidence and stage presence of one. As a singer, keyboard player, and queer storyteller, his performance was one full of knee slides, fist pumps, and heroic poses that demanded full attention from the crowd.
🎶- “Dark Bird”
Nuha Ruby Ra
The dark avant-garde singer completely transfixed the crowd at Cedar Street Courtyard with her haunting presence. She slowly walked back and forth through the crowd throughout the show, intensely staring into those in the crowd as the sparse beats made her haunting vocals all the more captivating.
🎶- “Run Run”
Mauvey
The Ghana-born, Vancouver-based singer and rapper Mauvey turned heads when he appeared on stage in a mauve tulle dress. His delivery can be at times intense, and other times carefree, but no matter what, you can tell that he is fully emotionally invested.
🎶- “9”
Gustaf
The Brooklyn post-punk group is volatile and exciting, and their ace in the hole is singer Lydia Gammill. Her stage presence recalls the weirdness of David Byrne as she whiplashed from disaffected to crazed at the drop of a hat over dissonant guitars and the occasional rubber chicken.
Number One Popstar
Before her set, Kate Hallowell asked the sound technician if the microphone came with Auto-Tune built in. She made an attendee hold her guitar while she supposedly left to use the bathroom, then made him face the wall for an entire song. Such is the personality of Number One Popstar. Hallowell, who has directed music videos for the likes of Katy Perry and SASAMI, has a keen eye for themes and personas, and Number One Popstar’s is one heavily doused in sarcasm and irreverence. And of course, the songs are catchy as hell.
🎶- “TV”
BLACKSTARKIDS
BLACKSTARKIDS smashes genre boundaries with glee, blending pop-punk and hip-hop and dousing it all with boundless optimism. The trio are high-energy from start to finish and relentlessly tag off on verses, switching between rapping and singing multiple times within a single song. Their energy fed off of one another to create an explosive musical force.
🎶- “JUNO”
Yoo Doo Right
The Montreal trio brought a heavy dose of psychedelia, shoegaze, and post-rock to the Swan Dive patio. As a plus, the patio was decked out with a projector showing trippy colorful visuals that perfectly complemented the band’s deafening, raucous performance.
🎶- “1N914”
Marina Herlop
The classically-trained Barcelona singer performed inside a church, combining her intricate, avant-garde electronic production with a grand piano to make something unique and unforgettable.
🎶- “miu”
Priya Ragu
A combination of SZA and M.I.A., Ragu deftly has created her own niche in pop music, rapping and singing with a great band backing her up. It’s sunny, it’s clubby, it’s downright fun.
🎶- “Illuminous”
Snapped Ankles
An electronic post-punk band with a live show that’s even more visceral than their name implies. The four-piece shrouded themselves with Ghillie suit masks and created a raucous, danceable wall of noise through analog synths and motorik drums.
Self Esteem
For the feel-good show of the week, look no further than the self-love lyrics and choreographed dance moves of Rebecca Taylor. Formerly one half of folk duo Slow Club, Self Esteem was nominated for British Breakthrough Act at the 2022 Brits, and her performance across the pond at SXSW made her case for breaking through in the US too.
Naliah Blackman
The flags of Trinidad and Tobago waved proudly inside the Flamingo Cantina as Blackman led the crowd in calls and response during her performance. She ended her performance in a very Caribbean way - with a conga line that snaked through the whole room.
🎶- “More Sokah”
MEMES
The self-proclaimed ‘laptop rock’ guitar-and-bass duo from Glasgow, made up of cousins Paul and John McLinden, gave an explosive performance at Cedar Street Courtyard. John’s vocals were so raucous and in-your-face that they didn’t even need a drummer to wow the crowd.
🎶- “Cheer Up”
Jelani Blackman
The Gorillaz collaborator and COLORS Studios alum has an impressive flow that feels lightning-quick yet understated. He had nothing but love for the crowd, so much so that he went into the pit to energetically lay down verses as the crowd jumped wildly around him.
🎶- “Hello”
Anna B Savage
Anna B. Savage’s distinctively deep vocals made for an unforgettable, yet brief, show. Armed with only a guitar, a few effect pedals, and a sound clip launcher, her performance was equal parts captivating and haunting.
🎶- “Corncrakes”
Crows
For a preview of the next great post-punk band to come out of the UK, look to Crows. Lead singer James Cox is a ferocious lead singer, enveloping himself within the rowdy mosh pit that formed at Seller’s Underground and shaking his body wildly on stage, channeling primal energy for the crowd to eat up.
Los Bitchos
The London-based four-piece band made up of a Uruguayan, an Australian, a Swede, and a Brit, is as globetrotting musically as their origins. A little bit of Turkish surf-rock, Latin American cumbia, and even classic hair metal find their way into their infectiously catchy lyric-less songs. They have a lot of fun on stage, trading tequila bottles and laughs throughout their set.
Cymande
If you’ve ever watched a YouTube video of some vinyl cratedigger touting their 70s rare groove collection, chances are that Cymande’s music made its way there. The British group broke up in the 70s and reunited in the 2010s (also the focus of a documentary that premiered at SXSW this year). The nine-piece band played to a packed house at 1 AM, and they had no shortage of funky horn and percussion solos to get the crowds dancing.
