Song of the Day

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July 11, 2025

McKenna Michels: “Never Satified”

By: Taylor Wallace

Austin’s McKenna Michels is just it. The singer-songwriter, who daylights as a childhood abuse and trauma advocate, has been featured on local television, has been asked to open for several global artists on their European tours, and she gets to hear her own music over the speakers when she’s shopping. And to peep her style, you know this girl is down to talk some Sir Gawain and The Wife of Bath. McKenna, can we please get a beer together?

Her music embodies the spirit of “full,” as showcased in her latest single “Never Satisfied.” There is no negative space, but there’s also no wasted space. Every layer is exciting and deserves an isolated listen, but the magic of all of the pieces fitting together is her amber-shaded jazz vocals. But don’t be fooled by the overwhelming joy — Michels is speaking earnestly from her heart about one of the most universal feelings we don’t like to be honest about: insecurity.

Michels brings her stage energy to her fans across the globe tomorrow at her birthday day show at the Pershing. The show starts at noon and will be livestreamed worldwide.


Episodes

August 26, 2025

Jane Leo: “Goldmine”

Song of the Day has returned from vacation, and I can’t think of a better way to come back than with my favorite dance-pop group this city has to offer. We’ve been following the rise of Jane Leo since its origins, and since the last time we checked in with the duo, they supported indie […]

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August 14, 2025

Team Trust: “Wuggis”

Team Trust call themselves art rock, which is somewhat fitting, but if we want to be specific, I’d call them quirk-punk. The Austin trio sounds a bit like Being Dead and your cool, Gen-X brother’s punk demos he recorded at home the summer before they wound-up on tour with Black Flag, opting for a rotisserie […]

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August 8, 2025

Russell Taine, Jr.: “Sidewinder”

Austin’s Russell Taine, Jr. blends indie rock with an Austin and Texas twist. It’s indie music powered by chords and melodies that you imagine being played at dusk in your cool friend’s backyard with a chain link fence and an oak tree in the background. It sounds like Hole In the Wall. Their latest single […]

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August 7, 2025

Tear Dungeon: “Kill For Health” [Live In Studio 1A]

Andrew Chasen. With the Disciples of Creation, he takes you to church. With A Giant Dog, he takes you church. Sweet Spirit makes you want to dance the night away, and Tear Dungeon drags you to the basement, ties you to the St. Andrew’s Cross, and says flogging and bastinado are for the faint of […]

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August 6, 2025

Jack Greenwood: “Four Walls”

Jack Greenwood’s new single is dance music for sad lads. On “Four Walls,” a song about feeling trapped, the Austin-by-way-of-Wisconsin singer and producer presents a fantastical escape, evoking the moodier side of the 80s synth. The opposing dichotomy works well here; what begins with sunny textures and a fun, melodic bass spirals into a manic […]

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August 4, 2025

Mae Powell: “Contact High”

Bay Area singer-songwriter Mae Powell‘s debut album on Karma Chief Records, Making Room for the Light, serves up a West-coast brand of vintage, pastel-colored, jazz-meets-indie-pop beauty akin to Atlanta’s Faye Webster. Her latest single “Contact High” has origins in conversations with Powell’s elderly neighbor about a song with the spirit of being high socially, but […]

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August 1, 2025

Celestine Gravely: “Kill the Heather”

Despite having a name that sounds like it belongs to a member of the Cramps, Austin’s Celestine Gravely‘s brand of rock is more attuned to the likes of Patti Smith and PJ Harvey, balancing the sounds of those eras and the power of their vocals with her own stamp of songwriting. You’ve got it all […]

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July 31, 2025

Allyse: “Lesson”

Austin’s Allyse crafts R&B-infused pop charms to pair with her sometimes self-empowered and sometimes vulnerable songwriting. The military brat fuses all of the cultural touchstones experienced throughout her childhood, her most sensitive song to date. “Lesson” is about just that, specifically lessons around relationships. How to not hurt others, how to be strong when you’re […]

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