SXSW Music 2015: Day 3

Posted in Music, SXSW
By Sam Bathe on 21 Mar 2015

In all our years at SXSW we’ve been lucky with the weather, but yesterday was a washout.

The morning looked alright, so we headed to the Four Seasons for BMI’s Acoustic Brunch. With a big crowd putting down their breakfast tacos to check out the acts, Mikky Ekko played a handful of tracks from his debut album, Time. The singer-songwriter made his name on Rihanna collaboration, Stay, but alongside touring guitarist Dave Quon (We Barbarians), they turned out a few stellar tracks of his own.

Up next, Vérité was a change of pace but playing acoustic leveled the playing field. Normally jubilant electro-indie-pop, her tracks worked very well acoustic too. Performing hits Wasteland, Weekend and a handful more, it made me all the more determined to catch her because the festival is over.

With the clouds closing in and storm warnings being issued by local authorities, we ran over to Fader Fort to catch a couple more acts. First up was Romans, a slow and moody pop-rock band that immediately got the crowd going. With a soulful touch to their sound, the lead vocals cut nicely through music although their tracks became a little samey by the end.

Following Romans were The Districts, who feel heavier live than on record. Melodic indie rock, the band are quite angsty and a perfect fit for fans of Cold War Kids. Releasing debut album A Flourish And A Spoil earlier in the year, there were peaks and troughs in their set but the better tracks really work.

With the rain lashing down and the forecast only getting worse, after the Districts we cut our loses on day three and headed for the dryness of a movie theatre. And with only one day left to go, we’ve still got enough in the tank to fit in a whole bunch of bands before the festival is over.

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