southern rock

Hayden Butler: “Old News”

Feeling comfortable can quickly devolve into a dangerous game. One weekend you decide to kick back and relax with a six pack, then the next thing you know you’re stuck in a daily routine of gettin’ smashed and trashing your home. Yeah, substance abuse and addictive tendencies aside, that “recliner decline” is a slippery slope towards self-destruction that we all risk at some point or another.

And it’s not like it only happens to the chronically lazy. Naw, take Hayden Butler, who on top of singing and songwriting, keeps busy as a bookmaker, painter, photographer, and professional copywriter. The native Austinite’s portfolio paints the picture of a highly-driven individual who’s got the gumption to go places, and the release of Butler’s debut LP Hand of God this July only reinforces that sentiment.

Still though, Hayden’s only human, and the appeal of Lone Star-assisted hedonism can easily overcome any period of productivity. And that’s masterfully reflected in Hand of God‘s midpoint (and music video) “Old News”. So before getting off your ass to see Hayden Butler at The White Horse 10PM tomorrow night alongside Taylor Graves at 8PM and The Shiglers ’round midnight or next Thursday at 10 between Gilded Lows at 8 and Jonathan Terrell at 12, indulge in this double-wide southern rocker that treats Hayden like a Texas twist on The Wall or Citizen Kane. And if you can’t watch the wanton meltdown til the closing bell, might as well crank up “Old News” and let Butler’s simple-yet-sophisticated country twang struggle inspire you to maybe make a much-needed change in what could be problematic monotony.

Southall: “Scared Money”

If you’ve been itchin’ to catch some good ol’ fashioned Southern rock reminiscent of Sticky Fingers-era Stones or classic Lynyrd Skynyrd, but don’t feel like you’re getting what you need from the local scene, this weekend you’re in luck. And that’s because Stillwater, Oklahoma six-piece Southall‘s gonna be swinging through town.

Despite releasing records together for nearly a full decade now, it’s only been a couple years since the Read Southall Band adopted the abbreviated, mononymous handle we know ’em by today. Still, the sextet’s one of the strongest purveyors of the red dirt sound (which started in their home state) this generation has to offer. For most of this year, Southall’s been struttin’ the stuff off their eponymous full-length re-brand from last September across the country (and Western Europe) as part of the Get Busy Tour.

After several sporadic stops spread out over the Lone Star State, the Get Busy Tour finally brings Southall to Austin – 7:30PM this Friday at Scoot Inn. And because nothing in life is free, complement Scoot Inn’s cover charge by paying dues to Southall‘s centerpiece heavyweight “Scared Money”, a Skynyrd-esque testament to the pursuit of the almighty dollar and making an honest living – be it in the garage, working your farm, riding in a firetruck, or on the road playing tunes with your best buds.

Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors: “Suffering”

The very nature of Americana is rooted in traditional music. But it also lies at the crossroads between folk, country, and rock. So if an Americana act decides to veer into new lanes, the choices are limited and somewhat predictable. And yet it’s still such a joy to hear an artist explore new sonic territory, no matter how established they may be.

Having said that, we’re happy to hear that Nashville’s Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors will be joining us in our neck of the woods later this week. That’s right, on the heels of their ninth full-length Strangers No More, the Americana connoisseurs kick off a month-long national tour right here in town. The Find Your People Tour fires off 7:30PM this Thursday at the Scoot Inn, and our newfound neighbors will be stopping by Central Texas again for the Kerrville Folk Festival late next month.

And since Austin is such a hard left turn from Holcomb et. al’s Nasvhille stomping ground, the band gave us an early listen to their latest shifting of gears. On “Suffering”, the grit is real, and the rock is Southern. It captures the rudest elements of Lynyrd Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet, and Marshall Tucker band, albeit with that one-of-a-kind Holcomb character. Safe to say that if Southern rock is your bag, “Suffering” is so good it hurts.

Scott H. Biram: “No Man’s Land”

Once you hit your third or fourth full-length, you’re established. By album seven or eight you’re a heavyweight. But when your discography reaches its teens, the list of contemporaries to compare to starts running thin…and that’s the position Scott H. Biram is about to enter.

With a catalogue reaching back to the turn of the millennium, this Austin singer-guitarist has officially been in the game for a quarter century, and two decades removed from a pivotal brush with death. Biram’s is the type of music that could really only stem from Texas, with a gratuitous amount of southern grit ingrained in his exploration of blues, punk rock, and beyond. And his streaming numbers are certainly nothing to scoff at.

Recently, rockin’ the Fu Manchu mustache, gold tooth, and all, Scott’s gotten caught up in recapturing the lo-fi charm of his earlier installations, a wager he’ll make good on with his thirteenth full-length The One & Only Scott H. Biram, out March 29th. Based on the record’s first three singles (including this morning’s “No Man’s Land“) we definitely feel greeted back to that grizzled territory like a musty junkyard mutt crawling back inside a rusty jalopy frame. The shitkickers will love it, but that doesn’t neglect the uncouth sophistication of these new, idiosyncratic compositions. Rock on, Scott. Rock on.

Evan Charles: “Low Road Runnin'”

With our ever-expanding skyline, congested traffic, and high urban density, living within Austin’s city limits can almost trick us into forgetting we’re in Texas. But a short drive out can quickly remind us of our immediate rustic surroundings – hill country, deserts, forests, lakes, caves, and more. So even in big metropolitan hubs like ours, the vastness and variety of the Lone Star State unsurprisingly inspires an abundance of nature-loving folk, cosmic Americana, and southern rock acts.

A quick glance at Austin outfit Altamaesa’s discography – The Long Ride Home (2016) and Idol Frontier (2019) – instantly tips you off to that specific sense of Southern wanderlust and bucolic storytelling. And maybe it’s that same spirit of adventure, coupled with his induction into Project ATX6’s Season Six lineup, that’s led fronting guitarist-vocalist Evan Charles to temporarily excuse himself from his chair at Altamesa’s high table and explore new opportunities as a solo artist.

In this endeavor, Evan Charles emerges as a reinvigorated raconteur, eager to lean into the timeless power of natural narratives with his upcoming debut album Between Two Worlds. Featuring titles like “Ask the Dust”, “Heavy Rains Back Home”, and “Horizon Line”, Between Two Worlds brings twelve trail tunes, countryside ballads, idyllic interludes, and miscellaneous ruminations into Mr. Pink Records’ Bastrop recording studio, with the full polished collection arriving later this summer. Evan Charles celebrates early with two local performances; a single release show 10PM this Friday at Hole in the Wall and again 8:30PM this Saturday at Continental Club for the Mr. Pink Showcase. If you can’t saddle up to either of those shows, open up the throttle with Evan on BTW‘s latest lead single, the briskly-whisked ranch-ready Americana yarn “Low Road Runnin'”. At just over three minutes, this fast-travelin’ track is a must-play for all types of settings: in your dust-rustlin’ truck, underneath those big and bright Texas stars, or just at home brewing your favorite morning roast.

Nick Dittmeier & the Sawdusters: “I Suppose”

Major sonic shifts from artists with a well-established sound can be pretty polarizing. But think about all the albums that’ve become iconic simply due to how different they were from their predecessors. Among many others, there’s Bob Dylan’s Bringing It All Back Home, Trans by Neil Young, Alabama Shakes’ Sound & Color and A Sailor’s Guide to Earth from Sturgill Simpson. And though they haven’t quite reached the status of those legends as of yet, Nick Dittmeier & the Sawdusters are already dead set against typecasting their own style.

So far this Southern Indiana trio has found success with a consistent alt-country/roots-rock sound, especially on 2018’s All Damn Day and 2019’s Companion. Once COVID came around, though, Dittmeier & the Sawdusters confronted the draconian rigidness of country formulas and challenged themselves to innovate those stylistic preferences for modern, mature audiences. After sweeping the floor of their first phase shavings, Nick Dittmeier & the Sawdusters added synths, loopers, and drum machines to their workbench and started cutting their third full-length, Heavy Denim. The title refers to the unofficial “uniform” of Americana, and by doing so, the hard left turn of Heavy Denim is executed with self-aware grace. Heavy Denim drops next Friday and the band’s on a national tour lasting through September. So while there’s a lot of commotion about being patriotic on the Fourth of July in a post-Roe America, the Sawdusters can at least celebrate independence from the genre constraints that’ve pigeonholed so many more Americans. That said, Nick Dittmeier & the Sawdusters have treated us to one extra piece of fireworks from Heavy Denim, the previously-unseen music video for “I Suppose“!

Black Pistol Fire: “Look Alive”

Though Austin’s never quite been corralled into any singular sound in the past couple decades, you’d probably expect a fair amount of Southern rock from the Lone Star State’s capital. That’s where Black Pistol Fire comes in. Kevin McKeown and Eric Owen’s lifelong friendship began in a North Toronto kindergarten class and graduated into a musical partnership by the time they were in high school. But despite their non-native status to Texas, their name alone seems like a litmus test to detect Southern drawls, (depending on whether or not you pronounce the handle’s final word as “Fah-er” rather than “Figh-er”) and as such, the duo’s felt right at home here in Austin for the band’s now decade-long tenure.

These five–time Studio 1A veterans (and three-time My KUTX guest DJs) and their raucous Southern-punk concoction have been a KUTX favorite from the get-go, so much that we named them our May 2016 Artist of the Month. Black Pistol Fire was conspicuously quiet after the release of their 2017 record Deadbeat Graffiti, only returning to stoke their eponymous flames with a string of singles beginning in 2019, ultimately culminating in this year’s Look Alive. You’ll want to Look Alive this evening for Black Pistol Fire’s headliner spot at Emo’s along with Emily Wolfe and Shooks, but even if you can’t make it in person, you can tear into the weekend with the album’s fierce title track!