Song of the Day

Song of the Day > All Episodes

March 17, 2025

Cardinals: “Unreal” (Live At Scholz Garten)

By: Taylor Wallace

Last week, the SXSW storm rolled in, and KUTX was part of the rolling thunder over part of downtown. 16 artists took the Scholz Garten stage across four days, and one of the standouts was Cork, Ireland’s Cardinals. While the band tends to dance around calling themselves post-punk, they do set themselves apart from their Ireland and UK post-punk contemporaries like Yard Act and Fontaines DC (who’s lead singer Grian Chatten calls Cardinals his favorite new band).

Cardinals oscillates between loud, animated guitar riffs and quieter, more vulnerable ruminations. And despite having released just one EP and a handful of singles, their dynamic sound is well-established. They brought that dynamism to the stage at Scholz Garten last week. In fact, this entire week of Song of the Day is dedicated to last week’s performances. So, here’s a St. Paddy’s Day gift from us to you.


Episodes

November 4, 2022

Souls Extolled: “Just Dreams”

On behalf of KUTX, here’s a confession of sorts: we could lean a little more on the heavier stuff. And I’m not saying that just because I’m rocking the long, windmill-ready thrash hair right now. There really are some sensational prog metal (or at least hard rock-adjacent) songwriters sprinkled across Austin. Exhibit A: Souls Extolled. […]

Listen

November 3, 2022

Surf Curse: “Self Portrait”

Reno, Nevada…not typically a place thought of as a hub for water-sports. And maybe that’s the point; between the desert flora and the arid atmosphere, it’s almost as if someone laid a pox on “The Biggest Little City in the World” for aquatic fanatics. A Surf Curse, if you will. For nearly a full decade, […]

Listen

November 2, 2022

Solo Solo: “No Sleep”

Boy, there’ve been a lot of new Austin acts popping up in 2022. And while artist multiplicity has made gatekeeping and curation a bit more complicated than it was in the pre-DAW era, we still try our best to show off up-and-coming artists around town. Yet our airwaves simply cannot catch everything. That’s why Song […]

Listen

November 1, 2022

WhooKilledKenny: “Teach Her the Game”

Our Saturday night specialty program The Breaks does a great job of highlighting hip-hop from the heart of Texas. But with an increasing number of émigrés ditching the Lone Star State for greener pastures out West and elsewhere, The Breaks simply can’t catch everything. Because of that, today we’re spinnin’ some new stuff from native […]

Listen

October 31, 2022

Grandma Mousey: “Freaky Face”

Among the many personality types out there, those whose favorite holiday is Halloween are the ones I prefer to keep close. So if you’re like me and want to get the most brimstone for your buck on October 31st (despite celebrating Halloween year-round), welcome Grandma Mousey into your nightmare. This indie rock trio’s been trickin’ […]

Listen

October 28, 2022

Torre Blake: “Back To You” (prod. Megz Kelli & Jim Eno)

Way back in March we helped to introduce Project Traction, a mentorship program from engineer extraordinaire Jim Eno designed to level the playing field for women and non-binary creatives in the world of production. Well, Project Traction’s got a new batch of tracks, the first of which is a real groove seducer. About-town Austinites (and loyal fans of The […]

Listen

October 27, 2022

Max Fite: “Night Owl”

Beginning with his 2016 debut LP Shake It on Down, Los Angeles singer-guitarist Max Fite has been magnifying in on a mighty fine line of hard rock. This magnum force has already toured alongside legends likes of Puddle of Mudd, Johnny Thunders, Social Distortion’s Mike Ness, Blondie’s Clem Burke, and oh yeah, even Sex Pistols’ […]

Listen

October 26, 2022

Abraxas: “Fuji”

Although you probably didn’t get a personal calendar notification about it, today is in fact Public Radio Music Day. Admittedly, that may not sound as appealing as say…”Pet A Puppy September” or “Free Drugs Friday” but in its third commemoration, we’re celebrating unity among public radio music stations, artists, and fans to highlight the contributions […]

Listen