Laufey: The Bewitched Tour Review

Nov 13, 2023 | ktru

By Jacob Pellegrino

Icelandic jazz-pop singer-songwriter Laufey recently performed a sold out show at White Oak Music Hall’s downstairs stage. Having played a show in the much smaller upstairs room just over a year ago, Laufey’s growth in popularity was visible with a large crowd entranced by her music, packing into the venue for the show.

The show opened with Adam Melchor, a musician from New Jersey, who performed his set acoustic and unaccompanied, except by his guitar. Having never heard Melchor’s music before, I was not sure what to expect, but really enjoyed his set. His songs are largely based on intimate, personal experiences from his life, but the emotions they evoke are larger than the individual events. Melchor engaged the crowd throughout his set, talking about the inspiration behind songs and mixing in banter between songs. A particularly poignant song that he played, “Joyride,” is about an old family car that got stolen and the divorce of his parents, drawing a similarity in how it can be healthy to let go of things.

Laufey came out shortly after Melchor and instantly commanded cheers from the full room. She opened with “Fragile,” the album opener from her debut album, Everything I Know About Love. It quickly set the tone for the rest of the night, showcasing Laufey’s smooth vocals and jazz-influenced band. She regularly interacted with the audience, talking about how excited she was to be in the big room at White Oak after having seen it last time she was in Houston and how happy she was at the enthusiastic, sold-out crowd. At one point, she split the crowd in two, giving each one a part to sing with one of her songs and describing them as her choir.

As this was the Bewitched tour, the setlist skewed closer to her newest release, as she played almost every song from the album, including her bossa-nova inflected viral hit “From The Start,” where she changed the lyrics to "Houston, I loved you from the start." After playing seventeen tracks, Laufey returned for a two song encore, playing “Letter To My 13 Year Old Self” and “Someone New” to the excitement of the crowd. The audience was particularly excited for “Letter To My 13 Year Old Self,” a track about how far she’s come that addresses prior sources of unconfidence.

The concert showcased Laufey’s unique mix of traditional, jazz-inflected vocal performances and pop. She is able to take sounds from as wide a range as bossa nova and jazz and synthesize them into music that is approachable for people without experience with the genre. Laufey’s unique style really breathes in a live environment and makes for a great performance.

George Clanton Concert Review

Nov 9, 2023 | ktru

By Gustavo Raskosky

George Clanton (a.k.a. Mirror Kisses, ESPRIT 空想, and Kid's Garden) performed live in Houston on October 18th, 2023, at White Oak Music Hall with accompanying acts: death’s dynamic shroud and Frost Children. This was the backend of George’s “Ooh Rap I Ya” tour. On my way to the venue, I decided it’d be wise to listen to the openers as I had not previously heard of them. I had roughly 45 minutes of time-on-bike to peddle through some of their hits. Death’s dynamic shroud reminded me of something I’d listen to in the background of a work session or on a film soundtrack. Experimental electronic vaporwave music best describes their sound. Their work is as dynamic as their name; however, their live performance is much more like an infamous 2000s band energy coming to life with a side of lo-fi DJ who couldn’t stop headbanging to the beat. The aforementioned DJ, Tech Honors, kept his head bopping to the rhythm of the tracks and had more energy than just about any of the audience members during their set. Second place during the set went to James Webster, their singer, who displayed plenty of passion in his guitar and vocal performances. Despite the passion James displayed and Tech’s eye-catching headbanging, the performance wasn’t as memorable as what was to follow.

After a brief intermission, Frost Children took the stage and raised the crowd's energy exponentially with their hyperpop sounds. Their songs, “FOX BOP” and “FLATLINE,” visually amplified the crowd’s vibe; however, it still seemed like the crowd wasn’t all in. I think most of the crowd had a singular mission to hear their favorite electronic musician (George Clanton) and was taking their time to digest the rest. Fair enough – as Frost Children presented plenty of new sounds that would take time to digest if you weren’t accustomed to it. I loved their on-stage presence. At one point, they began mentioning a variety of sights they saw in Houston, then stuttered on one location… beginning their
next song, “OBSESSED.” At one point, Lulu and Angel (the duo behind Frost Children) came within arm’s length of the audience to let some of them play on their keyboard. Their eccentric personalities and youthful energies came as a welcomed change of pace to how the night was going.

It was finally time for the man, myth, and legend George Clanton to take the stage. He humbly showed up on stage roughly 15 minutes before his start time to set up and test his instruments. As the crowd chanted his name, he remained focused on connecting his power supplies and messing around with lighting. He opened with “Livin’ Loose,” one of my all-time favorites off his 2018 album “Slide.” The energy of the venue shifted. Surrounded by two piles of retro televisions, some smoke, and a few lasers, George put on some stylish glasses and looked like his inner kid was having the time of his life. Everyone looked to be in a fused state of elated peace and high anticipation. The energy wasn’t ever too high, nor was it low. It remained “neutrally euphoric.” Throughout his performance, he also passed into the audience section to throw some water around and high-five some fans. George ended his set with “I Been Young,” solidifying George’s internal Peter Pan showcased earlier in the performance. I left the venue feeling a bit more inspired than I did going in – not because of the rollercoaster ride that is a typical concert experience, but because it felt like George was someone who could continue his passion for music, jamming out and having fun with a somewhat-carefree attitude. He’s having fun livin’ loose, and it’s a beauty to see (and hear).

In Conversation with Brian Jonestown Massacre's Anton Newcombe

Nov 9, 2023 | ktru

By Devin Gonzalez

We recently had the opportunity to talk with the Brian Jonestown Massacre’s frontman Anton Newcombe about their tour and their latest album, “The Future Is Your Past,” which was released in February.

How has the tour been going, and how does touring feel now compared to when you were starting out?

“I think that people are a lot less skeptical with what it is that I'm trying to do. I think when we first started, like when I first went to Iceland, everybody's like, ‘you're just here to fuck our women or some shit bullshit, right?’ And then people were saying like when we play, what is this The Monkees? There was no point of reference. But I think now we found ourselves in a really interesting space with a diversified audience of people that like the music and also of all ages, even when it's people bringing in their friends for the first time or something. It's like a really good space because most concerts even no matter who it is, a lot of the audience, they're crossed arms and they're just skeptical of everything they're witnessing live because I think it's the product of hypernormalisation where people don't know what to think about anything. Whether it's the dumbest person in the world running for president or whatever. They don't know what to think or they’re just tired of thinking. So I think we really lucked out. It's been really positive and heartwarming. For the most part, I can just do what I want without battling idiots.”

Have you noticed if your audience has changed (with new, younger fans in the crowd) or do you feel like there still remains a strong demographic of longtime psych fans that go to shows?

“We’ve always had a really mixed crowd. Always, from the beginning: from original hippies to the youngest people we could get in the door, and that's never changed.”

“It’s really cool to see in a city when there's all kinds of people, old people, children, instead of just like, oh, wow, we've got this ‘.com’ thing and everybody's just some jerk. Yeah, that's a bunch of money for two weeks and the rents are all too high and it's all Airbnbs and another group of assholes who come in and leave every day. It means that your city's alive. You know, wherever you see all types of people, like for instance, in the Hispanic community or whatever you see that's happening, that means the city is actually alive and living. It isn't like some dead zone that places get, that's a beautiful thing and I'm very thankful.”

Do you find yourself getting inspired by traveling around the world getting new experiences, or do you mainly get inspired when you have to sit down in the studio seeing what flows out of your mind?

“When I was a little kid, I knew very quickly I didn't want to be like anybody I've ever met, or like any of my friends. So I already had the inspiration in me to be myself. So I don't need inspiration. What I need to do is never forget what my core values as a person are and my techniques. See, it’s like I told my 10-year-old that you don’t need to learn and memorize everything. What you need to do is figure out how to answer the question that you're asking, or to know where to look for the answer. It's like most of the people walking around in the Western world and many other places have a computer in their pocket called a smartphone that's more powerful than the computers that were used to put people on the Moon. But they don't ever do anything with it. But the thing is, it's a very powerful tool if you're very inquisitive. Even Google, as horrible as it is, can be really really a powerful tool if you love learning. And I certainly do.”

How do you see your sound evolving over time? Or do you envision yourself trying to explore more of your ideas such as in your new album (“The Future Is Your Past”)?

My sound evolves because part of it is experimental and the other part is totally traditional. What I understand from where I come from, you know, I was born in 1967. So between my parents' record collection, everything that happened, I watched all that stuff and I closed my ears at the right time and opened them up back again. My only goals are to carry on. Not picking on old people or anything, but you know, there's people like the Rolling Stones who they're now in their 80s doing this thing that doesn't resemble anything. But it's a big show, you know, it's entertainment. And they certainly are professionals and people are there for it. I don't want to be that person. What I want to do is prove to other people that it's a ridiculous notion to think that manufactured teenagers are where it’s at. It doesn't matter if they're hip hoppers or whatever. That is not actually the pulse of anything. That's the pulse of big business. Like for instance, in the 60s. The people that were producing and making up the wild sounds and making everybody sound so good, they never, ever asked 13 year olds what they wanted. However, if there were some hot shit teenagers ripping it up, it doesn't if it was in surf music or anything else, they would make 10 of those. Doesn’t matter if it’s psychedelic or anything else, they go ‘we better get on this train very quick’. So it was a 50/50 balance and it's very important in politics and everything else, not a deadlock, but that people consider those things. 

You often post your music on your YouTube channel before you actually release it on streaming platforms, or on shelves. What's your motive behind this? 

So say like, your band's gonna be this big thing and you're hiding your big premiere of your song for Pitchfork or whoever, right. And they put it out on their social media. Within five minutes you're off the fucking screen, all your money and all the king's horses. I watched everybody's records sink below the sand. What I do is I interact with the works in progress and if I don't release it, so what. If I mix it and it’s better and I finish singing the words correctly, fine. But people can interact with it. It's more in our world. It's an observation that I made because I've been using computers as long as people have been using the internet. I understand how it works and how it actually works. Not to manipulate it to like help get an edge up on somebody else or rescue somebody else. But I understand how it works and how discovery works. Rather than selling something, I'm more interested in building culture.

When it comes to finding band members or potential people to collaborate with, do you try to find people that have a similar energy or people that could go along with your thought process?

I will teach anybody I care about everything I know about music, or life, art, perceptions, ways of seeing. And that doesn't mean that I'm being like a cold guy. It's kind of the only way there's ever been. But it doesn't matter if you're making oak beds or brass beds, or teaching somebody to intern. You're gonna teach them everything you know about your craft, and it doesn't always work out. It doesn't matter if you're a plumber and you take a teenager in for a summer job or not. It's not going to be everybody's gig. That's exactly the way I do it. Exactly like somebody who's a plumber that you would call and find some kid who wants to work or some person wants to try it and I try to teach them what I know that works. Every aspect right down to work is play. Then it does not feel like it’s work. So you're not just harboring resentment over every little thing you do grumbling and then bitching about why your life doesn't work. But treat everything that same way. 

This interview has been edited for length and clarity. The views, commentary, and opinions expressed during the preceding editorial are solely those of the person(s) expressing them and not necessarily those of the faculty, staff, or administration of Rice University.

The Brian Jonestown Massacre’s album “The Future Is Your Past” is available wherever you stream music.

Photo taken by Aurelien Guichard from London, United Kingdom - Brian Jonestown Massacre, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22318710

Del Water Gap, Warehouse Live, Houston TX - 10/14/2023 

Oct 22, 2023 | ktru

By Sindhuja Darisipudi and Harshitha Pelaprolu

Following almost two years touring, Holden S. Jaffe, better known as Del Water Gap, returned to Houston for the second solo show on his I Miss You Already + I Haven't Left Yet (IMYA+IHLY) tour only two weeks after the album's release. Playing at Warehouse Live's intimate 450 person capacity studio, Jaffe imbued the room with his vivacious energy for an unforgettable show.

The show opened with a contrasting but complementary tempo, with opener Kristiane, alongside her bassist Kelsey, delivering soft indie pop reminiscent of Gracie Abrams and Clairo. Highlighted by her newest album's lead single "Wish I Could Be Your Girl," Kristiane's set cultivated a comforting and welcoming atmosphere.

Del Water Gap's set bursted with energy from the start, beginning with "NFU" off his new album. Strong lighting flooded the stage and set the tone for the electric spirit that came with the show that followed. The rest of the set was composed of songs both from IMYA+IHLY and from parts of his older discography, all of which were sonically complimentary, so no energy was lost in transitions. The backing tracks throughout the show were immersive and infused the room with energy, all without being overwhelming or drowning out the artist's crisp and captivating vocals. There were also several moments in which the band was able to stand out with solos and riffs, creating a sound unique from the album as heard via streaming. Jaffe's energy throughout the show was entirely met by the crowd's ardent singing and dancing. Throughout the first portion of the set, upbeat songs were punctuated by softer ones, each flowing seamlessly into the other despite the difference in sound.

A little over halfway through the show, Jaffe played "Beach House," marking a transition into a continuous set of upbeat songs. The artist later shared that this song was his favorite to play on tour, which was evident in the energy he brought to the stage during its performance. This second act was accentuated with a fan favorite "Perfume,” where Jaffe joined the crowd to dance, along with two lead singles off IMYA+IHLY, "All We Ever Do is Talk" and "Coping On Unemployment.” For an encore, Jaffe first played a serene "We Will Never Be Like Anybody Else," slowing the pace of the show one last time to focus attention on beguiling vocals, gentle music, and the intimacy of the setting. The show ended with his breakout single "Ode to a Conversation Stuck in Your Throat," reestablishing the same electric and dynamic energy that the show began with.

Alongside an enveloping sonic experience, Jaffe curated a unique visual experience as he supplemented standard concert lighting and fog with a set consisting of an old CRT TV, rotary phone, and old fashioned nightstand clock. Throughout the set, the TV was lit with visuals that Jaffe had released alongside IMYA+IHLY. Most notable were the "Quilt of Steam" visualizer and several music videos from throughout his career, all of which are evocative of old footage taken from a coming of age film.

Del Water Gap cultivated an extremely unique visual, sonic, and social experience throughout his show, culminating in a performance guaranteed to please any indie rock or indie pop fan. Jaffe demonstrated not only an ability to produce exceptional music in his genre, but also to create a truly engaging and vibrant experience.

ACL 2023 Weekend 2 Review

Oct 22, 2023 | ktru

By Alexa Scott

There are few things that bring me as much joy than ACL Music Fest in the fall. The feeling of anticipation starts creeping up on you far before you walk through the lit arch. I would argue it even begins before the trek to Austin. It happens the moment the schedule drops - suddenly you have to be tactical, artists are pitted against each other in epic listening sessions, breaks are planned, and sacrifices are made. Whether all of that planning largely goes out the window once you arrive is another story entirely. 

At least that’s how the trip to Austin started for us anyway. 

For us, ACL kicked off with Kendrick Lamar’s performance on the American Express stage. Following Week One’s late start, Kendrick was much more punctual, starting only 4 minutes after his scheduled start with “N95” from his 2022 album “Mr. Morale and the High Steppers”. The audience was packed, elbow to elbow, shoulder to shoulder, if anything this delay only served to increase the already tangible anticipation throughout the crowd. 

“Is anybody alive right now?” Lamar asked, the crowd roared in response. Lamar’s prolific and diverse songwriting career has garnered a huge following since his debut in 2011. His songs have become anthems, which was clear by the roars the start of every song garnered. As for his masked dancers, they were cool, but let's be honest – it was hard to focus on anything but Kendrick's hypnotizing bars.

On Saturday morning, we were ready for more action, but not without a crucial purchase – shoe inserts. With our feet prepped, we dove into the festival.

Ok, now we were ready.

Our first musical adventure of the day was with Sincere Engineer, a Chicago-based punk band. We only caught one song, but it rocked.

Up next was Declan McKenna, whom I’ve loved since he first released “Brazil” in 2017. Walking out with eclipse glasses and hair cut into a mullet, it was clear, this dude was cool. His first song “Why Do You Feel So Down?” was perfect to start. His energy was clear, belting the lyrics to every single song as the crowd sang along. His growth as an artist has been both metaphorical and literal. His identity as an artist began as a teenage sensation with his album “What Do You Think About the Car?”, and although some critics were quick to label him a “one hit wonder’ the release of his 2020 sophomore album, quickly proved them wrong. McKenna closed the set with “British Bombs,” the visuals behind him showing news clippings of British funding of various armed conflicts.

After the closing of McKenna’s set we wandered over to the covered Tito’s stage of Sudan Archives. We were initially confused by her being placed on the smaller covered Tito’s stage but it soon became extremely evident this was the perfect decision. Her tracks on Spotify make it sound like she’s an RnB artist - THAT IS NOT THE CASE. She’s like an electric violin goth R&B heavy bass vibe; she absolutely shreds the electric violin. Whoever is mixing her tracks is playing the biggest game of “Gotcha!,” I've witnessed. The audience was absolutely captivated by her presence, swaying with the heavy bass. At one point she stood on the railing and sang to the crowd. All in all it was entrancing, breathtaking, and a thing of fantasy.

After a quick falafel break (shoutout ACL media lounge) we were ready to make our return to Tito's stage for twin duo Tegan and Sara. Although we didn’t stay for long, their charisma was evident. Apparently they used to dream about opening for Alanís Morisette, so it was really cool for them to be playing at the same time, on different stages. But apparently also some sort of sick joke to pit the Canadians against each other (at this point I learned that Alanis Morissette was Canadian).

We wandered our way to T-Mobile an hour before the start, and it was already packed. Noah Kahan walked out on stage sporting dutch braids and a jean jacket that said “Young Blood” on the front, a reference to his “Busy Head” album from 2018. Playing songs exclusively from his most recent album “Stick Season”, he had the crowd singing along for the entire show. For “She Calls Me Back,” he brought out special guest Mumford and Sons, whose velvety voices had the crowd sobbing when combined with the already heart wrenching lyrics. By the time the set ended the sun had gone down and night had befallen Zilker Park.

It was time for Foo Fighters. By this point the festival was packed, but on the bright side it was easier than ever to reach the Foo Fighters crowd. For the record, I love Dave Grohl, always have always will, so I must admit my review may be swayed by this fact. First and foremost this was the definition of  absolute rock and roll, a term I have only ever used to describe seeing Darkbird, an Austin based band last year. Foo Fighters would play the beginning of a song pause, Dave would talk to the crowd, some shredding would occur then then continue playing the song. This formula had the crowd roaring. At different times during the set he would pause the music and direct that the lights on stage be flipped around and shined onto the crowd. During the band introductions, the keyboardist for Santana came out and played a bit alongside the keyboardist for us - this dude played at the original Woodstock and yet wasn’t missing a beat. 

By Sunday we were achy but begging for more. After all, ACL only comes once a year.

Dope Lemon kicked off Sunday’s set with some lemonhead and cat visuals and jams to make us all feel like cowboys in the Texas heat. With songs like “Rose Pink Cadillac” and “Stonecutters,” the sun felt hazy and the vibes were good. 

Del Water Gap was next on the T-Mobile stage. The highlight of the show was when he started climbing the side railing of the stage. Getting pretty far up and waving his arm around, he takes the trophy for most altitude gained during a performance by far. 

We aimed to catch all of M83 but by the time we pivoted to the Honda stage, the set was underway. It was fantastic. They obviously played “Midnight City” and the crowd went crazy. That’s the great thing about ACL, energy can be found deep from within when a good song comes on.

Then it was time, the final set of our time at ACL, it was time for Hozier. Similar to my disclaimer regarding Dave Grohl, one is appropriate here as well: I love Hozier. With that being said, his set was beautiful and everytime he said anything with his Irish accent the crowd swooned. Playing a bit of a mixed set, he sampled from his entire discography hitting everything from “Cherry Wine” to “Eat Your Young”. He even brought on a special guest for “Damage Gets Done”. Just as the sun was setting, the set ended with “Take Me to Church.” It was the perfect ending to a great weekend. 

See ya next year ACL!

Austin City Limits 2023 Review

Oct 16, 2023 | ktru

By Jacob Pellegrino

The first weekend of ACL 2023 was filled with great music and energy that kept the festival exciting throughout without too many breaks between acts. Here we collect some of the highlights from the festival and overall impressions.

FRIDAY

The first act I saw at ACL 2023 was Lil Yachty, who combined his alternative/psychedelic rock experimentation from his most recent album, Let’s Start Here, with his pop rap sound. The inclusion of both sides of his career led to a diverse and interesting performance that kept the crowd energized. Yachty had a strong stage presence and his band was powerful throughout the rock oriented songs.

One of the highlights of the whole weekend for me was seeing Little Simz on the T-Mobile stage. For those of you who don’t know, Little Simz is a British rapper whose lyricism is complemented by well-produced beats. She showed up a bit late, but owned the stage with simple but effective visuals behind her and an unforgettable presence. When cameras panned to the crowd, both Dave Grohl (performing later in the weekend) and Venus Williams could be seen enjoying the music.

ACL also has a Bonus Tracks stage that features conversations in a podcast-esque format. I attended to see Dave Grohl speak about songs that stick with him. It was an interesting conversation with one of rock’s living legends, but was at times hard to see and hear over the crowd. The stage was small and the crowd Grohl drew was a bit too big for the area.

Especially for those who grew up listening to The Lumineers, their performance was one to remember. Opening with their hit song “Cleopatra” and continuing through their catalog, the group kept the audience moving. At one point, Wesley Schultz even went into the crowd during the song “BRIGHTSIDE” from their most recent album. Hearing their songs live had a large emotional impact both from the lyrics and band.

One snag in the regular programming came from “plane issues” for Kendrick Lamar. Lamar came on at 9:45pm, an hour after his scheduled start time. Knowing his shortened set length, he played the hits. However, in the middle of “Alright,” the mics were cut and Kendrick Lamar’s set ended after a brief thirty minutes.

SATURDAY

Having played a lot of festivals this year, it was a guarantee that Rina Sawayama’s set would be a performance to attend. With music that spans a wide range of genres and styles, Sawayama’s music was engaging live and kept the audience dancing throughout. The choreography was well done, as would be expected from someone with her stunt acting credentials from the most recent entry in the John Wick franchise.

Alanis Morissette began her set with a montage of clips ranging from SNL sketches referencing her to news clips and covers of her music before coming on stage. She quickly reminded the audience why her music has had such a long impact on audiences. She played “Hand in My Pocket” second, putting one of her biggest hits early in the set. Hearing “Ironic” and “You Oughta Know” live was a testament to the long-term relevance of her debut album Jagged Little Pill.

After Alanis Morissette, Noah Kahan performed on a smaller stage nearby. With his recent growth in popularity, he definitely should have been scheduled for a bigger stage as the crowd was large and dense. Kahan’s set consisted of the majority of his album Stick Season and an additional unreleased song called “Emily” performed with Mt. Joy. Throughout the show, Kahan shared the inspiration behind his songs with bits of humor and personal stories.

The final act of the day was Foo Fighters. There was a little bit of bleed between them and Noah Kahan as Kahan’s set went a little late and the stages were near each other. However, this didn’t detract much from either set. Dave Grohl and company put on a show to remember, mixing in bits of other artists’ hit songs with their own catalog. Shania Twain, the other headliner scheduled for the same time slot, came over and sang “Best of You” with the band. They ended the night with “Everlong” leaving the audience cheering for an act that proves the longevity of rock music.

SUNDAY

During his set, Niall Horan proved his skills beyond his time in One Direction to this concertgoer. His music was perfectly suited to the mid afternoon sunlight and really let his voice shine. Playing his own songs, Horan mixed in “Story of my Life” from his time with one of the most successful boy bands in recent memory, sarcastically introducing it as a song most people wouldn’t know. He ended with his own hit “Slow Hands.”

Hozier was another big act performing on Sunday. One of the standout live performances of the weekend was a solo acoustic rendition of “Cherry Wine” from his debut album. The ornate guitar part was beautiful unaccompanied except by Hozier’s tender vocals. Ending with his mega-hit “Take Me to Church,” Hozier had the audience forgetting themselves throughout his set.

The Sunday headliner that I attended was Mumford & Sons. The band returned to the festival for their third time as a headliner after a summer filled with festival appearances around the world. It can be easy to forget just how many great songs the group has. They kicked off the set with “Babel” and “Little Lion Man,” instantly engaging the audience and transporting the audience back to when those songs took over the radio. Their song “Dust Bowl Dance” is one that I was not super familiar with, but that really stuck with me after the show. Near the end of their set, the band moved to a second stage in the crowd and debuted a new song. Bringing out Noah Kahan, they played an unreleased collaboration titled “Maybe.” The surprise guest combined with their strong performing energy made it an unforgettable performance.

TAKEAWAYS

ACL again put together an engaging lineup that can appeal to a wide range of people. In my opinion, it was an especially good year for fans of folk rock music. The weather was good and crowds were respectful throughout my experience this year. Although the festival is slower than others to embrace genres newer to US audiences, such as K-pop, which has seen a presence at Coachella, Lollapalooza, and Governor’s Ball, it still created an exciting lineup that kept me moving from show to show to see all the artists I wanted to.

Briscoe Discusses Debut Album and Nature

Oct 10, 2023 | ktru

By Jacob Pellegrino

Austin-based folk-rock duo Briscoe creates music inspired by nature and enlivened by their vocal harmonies and rich instrumentation. We recently had the opportunity to talk with the band on the heels of their debut album, “West Of It All,” which was released in September.

The members of Briscoe, Truett Heintzelman and Philip Lupton, met at a summer camp when they were still teenagers. They became fast friends and their artistic collaboration grew from a mutual love of music.

“We met almost 10 years ago now at a summer camp out in the Texas Hill Country and despite growing up in different cities, remained good friends through the years until we were finally together in Austin. We both went to UT…. We were friends long before we were bandmates,” Heintzelman shared. “And prior to that a lot of our friendship, a lot of what we bonded over, was music that we love and getting the plate together. And so I think we just kind of naturally started singing together and naturally found that two-part harmonies were kind of our bread and butter and so as we started to record music and write songs for Briscoe we wanted to put forth what we thought was our bread and butter, which is harmony based music.”

At a talent show later that week at summer camp, the two performed a cover of John Prine’s song “Paradise.”

“It was a song that we just both knew and loved and was just a very easy harmony to find… it was like the first time I'd ever really sang with somebody else. And so when you sing with somebody else for the first time and hear the harmony for the first time, pay attention to what it actually is, you're kind of mind blown. And we figured that out and we're like, oh my gosh, who's got to play this for people and went to the talent show to play and had a blast. And actually funny enough we played a headline show a few weeks ago in Austin, our biggest headline show ever, and we covered that song again there which is a blast,” Heintzelman recalled. “That whole kind of late 60s through the 1970s period of music has had a huge influence on us. Guys like John Prine, James Taylor, Paul Simon, Willie Nelson. You know, just spanning a couple of different genres, but people who just write such wonderful songs with very clever and awesome lyrics, a lot of harmony. I mean, that's just like the golden age of music. And hopefully our music reflects a lot of that, for sure taking a big influence from a ton of people like The Beatles and Grateful Dead, all those we’re big fans of.”

When asked about the one song from the album that they would like listener’s to check out, the group expanded on their first single and how it serves as a microcosm for the rest of the album.

“If we had to choose a theme song for the record, if you will, I think ‘The Wells’ is a great song that kind of captures a lot of different things about us from, you know, our instrumentation that we love with the upbeat folky feeling, lots of harmony oriented melodies, and thematically. It's the first song on the record and captures a lot of what we portray throughout the rest of the record, which is a lot of experiences in nature and experiences of people we love and a combination of those things,” Lupton explained. “So ‘The Well’ was our first single and we put it out there first hoping that it would kind of prime people for the rest of the record, which is now out.”

One of the things that is the most evident throughout the album, aside from clear vocals and lush instrumentation, is the duo’s love of nature. The natural world not only serves as a source of inspiration for the two, but something that is regularly mentioned in the lyrics.

“Whether it's hiking or fishing and just hanging out, it's just such a sweet thing to be able to go spend time in small towns like Medina or Kerrville or outside San Angelo, where Phillip’s from, with our friends and family,” Heintzelman shared. “So I feel like a lot of [our time in the outdoors] is out at ranches and lakes that are all within two to three hours of Austin which is incredible.”

The duo further elaborated on music they listen to that might not be as strongly reflected in their recorded output.

“I think we listen to a lot more country music than is reflected. I think we have hints of country influence in our record… But I think we listen to just as much country as we do anything else, not like Nashville pop country, but more like this Americana highwayman country kind of thing we're really into,” said Lupton. We listen to a ton of that and I don't think that's necessarily reflected in our music, a little bit, but not as heavy for the amount that we've listened to it.”

Having both studied at UT, Lupton expanded more on the influence of their time at the university on the duo’s songwriting.

“I studied hydrogeology in my time at the University of Texas, and it was a great major as a songwriter and a lover of nature because it would get me outside a bunch to do a bunch of different field work. And I think a lot of our work, if I had to put it in a nutshell, is themes of nature and how they relate to themes of life. The song ‘The Well’ is a great example of that. It was inspired by a project I did for a class in hydrogeology, about the Ogallala Aquifer and how it's being depleted and it's this massive well, if you will, that’s running dry,” recalled Lupton. “I did not study songwriting by any means, but we still apply different parts of our lives to songs that we're writing. Especially from school, I think that's a great example.”

The two also recommended a diner in Austin for people visiting when asked about any must visit places in the city.

“There's this little place north of campus that was close to where we lived called the Red River Cafe. They have the best food. They have such good food and it's just a small little kind of like Mom and Pop cafe. And you know if we can get their name out there then we want to do it. The River Cafe, we swear by it,” Heintzelman said.

When we spoke to the band, they were on the road to Pittsburgh for a stop on their first headlining tour. They shared their emotions as they embark on tour.

“We’re just having fun, it's been a blast. You know, every city looks a little different. We've gone through some of these cities before supporting other artists. So we've got a little bit of a fan base, but a lot of them are brand new cities for us,” Heintzelman shared. “It's everything from playing to 200 capacity rooms that are mostly full to some shows playing to less than 50 people, most of which haven't ever heard of us before. So it's a fun thing to kind of hit the road and build up some new fans around the country. Even just today, we spent most of the day driving through the state of Pennsylvania. It’s just incredibly gorgeous right now with all the leaves turning. So it's been a blast. Just to experience all these things on the road.”

When asked if there was anything else Briscoe wanted to say to listeners, they spoke about their upcoming Houston show.

“I think the only other thing that people should know is that we want them to come see us play live. We're coming to Houston in late October at White Oak Music Hall upstairs. And kind of a little slogan that we've sort of adopted is ‘live music and good times.’ If you come to a show, we think you'll be very happy and content. Come see us play and have a good time,” Heintzelman explained.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

Briscoe’s album “West Of It All” is available wherever you stream music.

Sound on Sound 2023

Oct 4, 2023 | ktru

By Rachel Bui

The night before the Sound on Sound festival, torrential rain poured flooded parts of the tri-state area, leading the organizers to delay the start of the festival the next day and cutting 4 acts from the lineup last minute. Hours leading up to gates opening, I entered festival grounds to witness staff worked diligently to make conditions bearable. This included adding gravel and plastic walkways to mitigate the mud and water from the storm. The efforts, though not perfect, did help. Other logistics included improved sound (an aspect that was heavily criticized by festival goers last year), though the use of subwoofers was at times excessive.

Standout performances (besides the headliners) were Lord Huron and Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats on Day 1, and Snacktime and Hozier for Day 2. Both Lord Huron and Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats were energetic performers that were enjoyable to listen to live, Snacktime couldn’t help but make me dance with their funky jazz set, and Hozier created an almost spiritual experience that was a treat to witness.

Day 1 headliner Red Hot Chili Peppers had an explosive entrance to their stage, opening with “Can’t Stop” (and they never did, with their liveliness). From there, they kept their energy high, and the chemistry on stage between members was incredible. The Red Hot Chili Peppers were quite a few people’s main reason for attending the festival, and they did not disappoint.

Day 2 headliner John Mayer in contrast had a more mellow set, playing solo on his acoustic guitar the whole time. The decision to have a stripped down setup made sense, when you consider that this festival was a sort of homecoming for him, as he grew up in the area where the festival took place. Sprinkling in some antidotes of his time growing up in Connecticut between sets, his return to the state of Connecticut charmed both fans and those unfamiliar with his music. It was a touching end to the weekend-long festival.

With Sound on Sound starting to top the learning curve, I believe this will be a fun Northeast festival to make time for.

Lil Yachty’s Field Trip Tour 9/29/23

Oct 4, 2023 | ktru

By Rachel Bui

Lil Yachty is currently embarking on his Field Trip tour around North America. With his latest album exploring new territories for him musically, it was evident that it would be an interesting experience to see how he would combine the tracks from his latest album with the rest of his discography for the set.

The set started off with his live band, The Silver Sisters (an all-black-and-female group of musicians), coming on stage before him. He introduced the band almost right off the bat before starting his first song. I couldn’t help but notice the amount of respect he expressed towards these women, and he conveyed a sense of reverence for those providing a foundation for his tour overall.

The way that Yachty structured his set was to bookend the second act (filled with his hits) with his most experimental tracks to date for the first and third act. The performance was a blend of effortlessly cool attitude and hyped energy, two qualities juxtaposed within his act. Overall the execution of his show was seamless, a great feat that most likely wasn’t easy to achieve. The young rapper has demonstrated that he is not limited to one particular genre, and it will be interesting to see what he comes up with next.