austin music

Golden Dawn Arkestra: “Phenomenal”

Between their cosmic character, otherworldly outfits, and label-evading sound, Austin’s Golden Dawn Arkestra certifies as a spectacle to say the least. The collective got started around 2013 and since then, under the direction of singer-shaman Topaz McGarrigle, these three-time Studio 1A veterans have invited hundreds, if not thousands, to participate in their intergalactic rituals incorporating elements from afro-beat to disco, electronic to jazz, and psychedelic to funk and beyond.

Teasing their upcoming album that descends from the stratosphere to tackle what challenges our own terrestrial realm, today Golden Dawn Arkestra shares their latest single, produced by KUTX favorite Walker Lukens and paired with a music video in the near future. Golden Dawn Arkestra is best experienced live, so if you’re in Houston on the 22nd or Dallas on June 5th, be sure to make a pilgrimage to their stage and channel what it means to connect with our fellow lifeforms, as heard on “Phenomenal”!

American Dreamer: “Redwood”

If there’s one group who champions the true foundations of folk here in Austin, be it basic concepts like renewing ties to nature and always aiding your fellow human, it’s undeniably American Dreamer. After bonding over their respective graduate degrees at UT’s Butler School of Music, the four began developing their brand of acoustic indie-folk, one that bridges between twentieth-century traditional and modern elements to keep the sound fresh.

As with any real folk act, American Dreamer’s already taken their style across the country and performed throughout their home state, playing everywhere from schools and hospitals to major venues and music festivals. And today American Dreamer was kind enough to let us unfurl their newest single, “Redwood”, whose soothing vocal harmonies and gorgeous guitar/cello/violin/bass arrangement make it as timeless as the eponymous sequoia.

Michael Hays: “Flashback Moonlight”

Having moved from Mississippi to Austin in the ’90s, then to L.A. in 2004, and finally back to our auspicious city limits about halfway through the last decade, singer-guitarist Michael Hays has become a trustworthy transplant in the Austin music experience. By the time Hays released his solo debut in 2014, he’d already worked in a wind chime factory, apprenticed as an accordion technician, professionally taught guitar, and become a must-have session player, not to mention performing with his fair share of rock and fusion bands. Between the birth of his daughter in 2015 and the current year, a little under a dozen song ideas evolved into Michael Hays’ sophomore LP, Red Willow, which drops next month.

Red Willow reintroduces listeners to Hays’ brand of Americana-folk-psych with sounds that bridge David Gilmour to Elliott Smith, waterfowl-centric album artwork that picks up where Christopher Cross’ 1979 debut left off, and surreal cinematic visuals that further enhance already-stimulating sonics, as seen and heard in “Flashback Moonlight”!

Grace Pettis: “I Ain’t Your Mama”

Whether you’ve seen her perform at the front of her eponymous band or as one third of the folk-pop trio Nobody’s Girl, local Americana enthusiasts should be well acquainted with Grace Pettis. Raised both in the ‘burbs of Atlanta and rural Alabama, Pettis has brought a unique, cross-class Southern experience along to her current home base here in Austin. Pettis’ compositions have been picked as prime recording material by fellow Studio 1A veterans Ruthie Foster and Sara Hickman, further lending to Pettis’ songwriting reputation (which also includes Buddy Holly Educational Foundation grants and an NPR Mountain Stage New Song Contest win).

This morning Grace Pettis released her country-leaning LP Working Woman today, tracked in Nashville and culminating in a regional tour that kicks off in Houston this evening. Pettis performs for a livestream 7:30pm next Monday the 10th from Waterloo Records, just after Mother’s Day, so celebrate the working women in your life with the new record, but remember, in Grace’s own words, “I Ain’t Your Mama”!

Doppel: “Silencio”

When two star-crossed collaborators finally get together and start a new project in-person, you can pretty much guarantee how good it’s it’s gonna be. And there’s no exception when it comes to Austin-based duo Doppel, made up of Cologne, Germany multi-instrumentalist Jan Flemming and McAllen, Texas percussionist Michael Longoria, both devoted creators in their own right.

Doppel’s collective confidence and undeniable interpersonal chemistry became publicly known last year with the release of their debut album Ensō, highlighting the group’s defiance of any single genre with their fluid use of live loops and exploratory formulas. Doppel drops their seven-song EP Intermission this Friday, performs next Wednesday at East Austin Piano Shop, and today premieres Intermission‘s lead single that’ll leave you in awe, “Silencio”.

Omarr Awake: “Háblame”

After a solid stint behind the wheel of Slow Car Crash, Chicago-L.A.-Austin transplant Omarr Escoffié shifted gears and took a hard left with his half-eponymous quartet Omarr Awake. Since premiering the project last year, Omarr Awake’s defied any detractors and pushed their genre-fluid sound further and further with each new single.

Last Tuesday Omarr Awake told off anyone who thought this music could be confined to any sole style, relishing in the density of sample-heavy, cumbia-tinged, latin-psych with “Háblame”!

Nick Garza’s Get Along: “Another Bloody Morning”

It’s been a bit since singer-guitarist Nick Garza’s primary focus was at the front of Austin’s premiere stomp-folk project, Hello Wheels. Last year he began charting some new Tex-Mex territory with the launch of his eponymous side project Nick Garza’s Get Along, a sunny, solo-steered endeavor that celebrates Garza’s status as a thirteenth generation Texan with southern flavors best enjoyed in the Lone Star State.

After conquering an impressive string of collaborations, Nick Garza’s corralled the Get Along together for a thoroughly chipper double single, whose B-side “Family” begs for repeat listens, and whose upbeat A-side “Another Bloody Morning” receives a visual counterpart in the coming weeks!

Calliope Musicals: “Can You Tell Me” (Social Distancing Pop-Up)

For the past few weeks (and perhaps beyond), you’ve been hearing a lot about our April 2021 Artist of the Month, Calliope Musicals. This fantastical Austin four-piece has been inching their performative alt-pop eccentricities nearer to insanity with each escalating endeavor, chiefly spearheaded by Calliope’s fearless frontwoman, Carrie Fussell.

Carrie and Calliope recently hosted their My KUTX session in anticipation of their upcoming EP, Between Us, out this Friday. And though the single “Can You Tell Me” already has a great music video, Carrie was kind enough to let the KUTX multimedia team drop by for a two-song socially distanced pop-up set (which also includes Between Us standout “Moonchaser”)!

Dog Beach Rebels: “Numbers”

Whether or not you wonder why reggae fetches more radio time every April 20th, it always seems like a good fit. So what better time to call up Austin four-piece Dog Beach Rebels, who, despite their scruffy handle, has written far from wet fur and has risen up in the ranks of reggae-rock since their debut EP last year.

The quartet’s got a couple new singles and a live album for 2021 (including “Lawman’s Daughter”, slated for late May), but given the numeric fascination behind this particular Tuesday, paired with DBR’s penultimate residency performance tonight at One-2-One Bar (9-11pm), it’s a perfect opportunity to premiere “Numbers”!

Lando the Nomad: “The Healing In You” (feat. Shiela)

If you kept up with Austin soul-funk project Resonant Frequency in their heyday then you’re already somewhat aware of how much talent comes from multi-instrumentalist Landon Reichle. Even then you might’ve missed wind of Reichle’s newfound producer pet project, Lando the Nomad, which finds the genre-traveler exploring those electro-alternative realms made popular in the mid-’90s/early-’00s: trip-hop and R&B.

Lando the Nomad’s set a clear path for 2021, having already released the first half of a two-part collaborative EP, whose latter portion features hip-hop vocalist Roof. The Healing In You, however, features the masterful singing of Shiela, thereby elevating Lando’s already-amazing instrumentals into the echelon of Massive Attack and Portishead, especially on the record’s title track.

Ley Line: “En Busca Del Agua”

Austin’s world music scene has been slowly growing for decades now, and while it’s nowhere near as robust as in places like Chicago or New York, we’ve still got some seriously impressive artists. Multilingual acoustic quartet Ley Line definitely sits around the top of that list, not only in terms of consistent quality, but frequent output, overall focus, and an innate ability to market themselves beyond the realm of singles and record sales.

Having already launched their eponymous Following Ley Line podcast in March, these Studio 1A alums are set to unveil a new visual album in mid-May, which’ll come off the heels of the group’s latest ode to the nature. Inspired by an ongoing worship of water, its healing and connecting character, and its overall lack of availability in Texas during the February cold snap, Ley Line’s first all-Spanish single, “En Busca Del Agua”, won’t leave you in search of any audio essentials for the weekend.

Lady Dan: “Better Off Alone”

Like countless composers before her, Austin singer-guitarist Tyler Dozier uses her craft to shed light on her true identity. Raised in Alabama amidst parental pressures, relationship strains, and religious restrictions, Dozier’s move to the Live Music Capital roughly aligned with the release of her 2019 debut EP, Songs for the Soulless, which also introduced us officially to her musical moniker, Lady Dan.

Everything’s coming up purple for Dozier in 2021, who’s set to expand on her indie-crossed country sound next Friday with Lady Dan’s first-ever full-length, I Am the Prophet. We’ve got a feeling that I Am the Prophet‘s gonna presage another chapter of growth for Dozier, at least judging by the record’s latest single, “Better Off Alone”, that despite only sharing surface-level similarities, gives Alice Deejay’s 1999 hit a sincere run for its money.

William Maxwell: “Dead Plants”

When it comes to standing out as a solo artist in an oversaturated scene, nobody does quirky quite like Austin’s William Maxwell. Sure the singer-guitarist is pretty reserved in person, but on the record he’s a full blown musical maniac. With his fearless performance methods and candidly off-kilter lyrics, The Oysters‘ co-founder has shown a real knack for songwriting both across his rap sheet of collaborations and with his 2019 baker’s dozen, Calm a Painter and Subject.

Friday after next William Maxwell releases his sophomore LP, It’s Been Here Changing For a Long Time, ten tracks that are perfect for a post-pandemic mindset (whenever that may come) along with a twenty-four-page art booklet. And since we’re officially into spring and past the trauma of the big freeze here in Texas, now seems like a good time to appreciate the newfound greenery with It’s Been Here‘s fifth and final single, “Dead Plants”!

Melissa Carper: “Makin’ Memories”

Although she’s right here in Austin, upright bassist/singer-songwriter Melissa Carper has maintained a wealth of wanderlust across her career. It’s brought Carper some big opportunities, like founding her eponymous trio The Carper Family and subsequently landing a spot on Prairie Home Companion, all the while allowing her to brush up on her own tastes and soak up everything she can from jazz legends to mid-century folk and beyond.

On “Daddy” Carper’s latest endeavor, the boldly-titled Daddy’s Country Gold, Melissa sheds the pressure of bass performance to focus solely on vocals and production, allowing this auteur to blur her already-bucolic pallet of Western Swing and Country from contemporary to classic. The result is a twelve-song, vintage-capturing masterpiece of rustic styles, and you can dive right into the nostalgic sentimentality with the album opener for Daddy’s Country Gold, “Makin’ Memories”!

Scott Ballew: “Talking to Mountains”

As is the case with many creatives, sometimes you just wanna cross the wires and try something out of your comfort zone. That’s how things went for native Austinite Scott Ballew, who, after directing a documentary on Texas legend Terry Allen amidst a lengthy SoCal-based filmmaking stint, hunkered down in a house in Lockhart to record his debut LP of acoustic originals.

Talking to Mountains captures the charm of solitude with its cinematic lo-fi and emphasis on conversation with Texas nature, best seen in the album opener’s music video and heard most-explicitly on the record’s title track, “Talking to Mountains”!

Texas Textbooks: “Hemisfair ’68”

It’s officially syllabus day for our 2021 Spring Membership Drive so get ready to receive some rustic, surreal reading material! I’m talking about Austin duo Texas Textbooks, whose love of the Lone Star State is anchored by their outspoken political beliefs, both of which lend themselves to the band’s signature sound: “twangcore”. The twangcore twosome got started in 2017 and dropped their debut LP Pecos and Matamoros a couple summers back, writing the foreword to Texas Textbooks’ latest chapter.

Recorded over the past year as the duo’s slacker country style evolved, BIRDS has already proven an achievement in psych-folk artistry, not to mention aural ornithology with its satisfying production choices and flock of eclectic tones and timbres, guaranteed to give you some just-north-of-the-border nostalgia as sonic sightseer with originals like “Hemisfair ’68”!

Leti Garza: “Derecho De Nacimiento”

Multilingual Austin songwriter Leti Garza has spent a good portion of her artistry bridging gaps, whether it’s Texas folk to Latin jazz, independence to motherhood, and even just English to Spanish. This Studio 1A veteran left us wanting more with her eclectic 2017 knockout El Unico Para Mi, and only a couple weeks back the singer-songwriter finally delivered with her EP Borderland.

Released right around the same time she dropped by for her My KUTX session, the five originals on Borderland round out at just over four minutes, providing a seamless, bilingual, genre-spanning experience perfect for worldly reflection or simply a quick siesta. Either way, Borderland‘s arrived in time for Spring, giving you plenty of room to find some solid additions to your upcoming summer playlist with heat on tracks like “Derecho De Nacimiento”!

Shakey Graves: “Unlucky Skin”

With the arrival of folks like Elon Musk and Joe Rogan, there’s no doubting that Austin’s changed. But one of the Live Music Capital’s biggest mainstays continues to help shape Austin culture with his folksy arrangements and sweaty live performances. I’m talking about Alejandro Rose-Garcia, better known to the world as Shakey Graves, who’s escalated his fame well past the local realm (though he does have his own official day here) and become a defining Texas troubadour for younger generations.

Graves self-released his debut LP Roll the Bones a whopping ten years back and to commemorate the journey since then, today he’s released Roll the Bones X, a tenth year anniversary full restoration-remaster along with a second disc that digs up and dusts off some of Shakey’s greatest rarities. Roll the Bones X dropped this morning and Shakey Graves plays a sold out show tonight at Nutty Brown Amphitheater, so give Roll the Bones X a spin when you can, starting a layer up on the aural epidermis with “Unlucky Skin”!

Jade Bird: “Headstart” (Social Distancing Pop-Up)

For those of you who’ve tracked English songwriter Jade Bird, you’ll know that she’s only gotten better over time. And without taking too much credit, it seems like the singer-guitarist has leveled up once again since her move from London to Austin.

Bird’s in good company with the proverbial ‘bees’ this Spring, given her upcoming (sold out) performance 6:30pm this Saturday at The Long Center along with Nikki Lane and Sir Woman and having heard her two new singles released last year, we can tell that her sophomore LP’s gonna be nothing short of soaring. Jade Bird was kind enough to let Michael Minasi of KUTX’s Multimedia Team drop by to snag a socially-distanced two-song set, kickin’ off with the appropriately-titled “Headstart”!

Lady Heartwing: “Afterglow”

Transformations are rarely one-and-done; at least in the musical realm, artists who shift axes tend to molt over long periods of evolution. Just ask Austin’s Mariclaire Glaeser, who after pivoting from her eponymous MCG to Shy Beast, has taken yet another artistic turn, one that retains the synth pop sensibilities you’d expect from Glaeser, albeit with a persona turned up to eleven.

Glaeser recently premiered her conceptual, color-saturated, anime-influenced alter ego Lady Heartwing, giving Sasha Fierce and Ziggy Stardust a run for their money with Glaeser’s intergalactic sorcery. Lady Heartwing’s teamed up with Austin producer Taylor J. Webb to produce a slew of singles this year, (prefacing a full-length produced by Spoon’s Jim Eno for 2022) including a take on the autonomous night lights in our lives, “Afterglow”!