Song of the Day

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September 3, 2024

Sonny Gullage: “Go Be Free”

By: Jack Anderson

Blues is an almost stereotypical staple of the “old Austin” Sixth Street sound. But if you wanna break out of the city limits, let loose, feel unleashed and all that good stuff? Of all the notable places to split from the whole program and make the best of the blues, New Orleans always stands tall at the top of the shortlist. So it makes sense that rising NOLA blues rocker Sonny Gullage graced his recently-unfurled debut full-length with the title Go Be Free.

Gullage’s journey began way back as a precocious twelve-year-old writing heartfelt reflections on the BP oil spill. And that ability to translate a complex sense of understanding into readily accessible blues is alive and well a little over a dozen years later as Gullage finally hits streaming. Sure, Sonny leans on fellow twenty-five-year-old Clarksdale guitarist Christone “Kingfish” Ingram for one of the LP’s heavyweights “Worried About the Young”, but aside from that Go Be Free is a fervent, self-fueled endeavor.

The twelve-track (produced by Grammy nom Tom Hambridge) navigates a tightrope of consistency and eclecticism that makes for forty-plus minutes of exceptional blues rock. And like any good blues, Go Be Free also reckons universal suffering with everyday ebullience, as heard on the album’s eponym “Go Be Free”. It rocks. It riles. It’s as real as it gets. And we can’t wait to see what this keyboardist-singer has in store for us next.


Episodes

February 11, 2025

Slept All Day: “Asteria”

Austin duo Slept All Day may be new on the scene, but don’t sleep on them. Together, the two create moving soundscapes a la Bonobo and Washed Out. And they use their vocals as an element of the scape instead of its driving force. And despite the electronic instrumentation and vocal effects, the music is […]

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February 10, 2025

Middle Satre: “Corrupted (Uncorrupted)”

Welcome! Today’s theme is vision and reimagining. After spending a childhood in Salt Lake City, Hunter Preuger moved to Austin to sow oats with his project Middle Sattre. The project quickly expanded into a six-piece…and then an eight-piece, and a year after the release of their debut album Tendencies, the experimental folk outfit returned to […]

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February 7, 2025

Death Palmz: “IL2H2LU”

I’ve heard your week’s woes, I know it’s been one, so Aunt Tay is here to deliver a little Friday elixir to shift you into weekend mode as you get ready to burn rubber in the parking garage. Austin’s Death Palmz is another project from Exotic Frutica, and if you’re familiar with the punk band, […]

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February 6, 2025

Scott Collins: “Aphophenia”

Austin singer-songwriter Scott Collins has been ever-evolving in both songwriting and sound and now he’s started leaning in more to letting himself define his sound, branching out and seeing what feels right. His 9th EP And All This Happened serves on the title’s promise: it’s all happening. But the early 00’s indie sound is still […]

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February 5, 2025

Small Engine Fire: “Good Old Day”

Who said that energy and introspection can’t co-exist? It wasn’t me. And it certainly wasn’t Small Engine Fire. The new Austin band is made up of members of Lola Tried and Quiet Company, and together they create something a little nostalgic, like taking a ride out to Wilco with your Grandaddy. Small Engine Fire throws […]

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February 4, 2025

Her Mana: “Oh This Moment” (ft. Sarita and Gene Evaro Jr.)

We love a side project, don’t we? Especially when ace collaborations are involved. For a couple of years, Ley Line’s Emilie Basez and Kate Robberson have been creating music as a Her Mana, honing an even earthier and more ethereal sound with the same incredible complex guitar noodling, harmonies, and wide range of world instruments […]

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February 3, 2025

Gus Baldwin & the Sketch: “(She’s Gone) Arigato”

After many years of winning the hearts and ears of Austin music lovers both as a solo artist and as a member of the psych outfit Acid Carousel, Gus Baldwin’s name has been in the mouths of bookers and promoters for years, and more recently, he formed Gus Baldwin & the Sketch. And while it […]

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January 31, 2025

Glassreel: “Myself Included” [PREMIERE]

Winnepeg’s Glassreel is a masterclass on the hard-to-nail trifecta of layers, technique, and breathing space. Nothing is simple, but everything is effortless. Following their 2022 debut Lustre, the group returns with “Myself Instead,” a song that shows the further fine-tuning, cohesion, and boldness the quartet has been building on. While the Belle & Sebastian and […]

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