And just like that, another festival has come and gone. However, this year’s South By Southwest Festival wasn’t executed without its fair share of controversy from several of its confirmed artists: over sixty different showcasing performers decided to drop out the week before (and of) the festival in protest to its ties to the U.S. Army and several defense companies they say enabled violence against Palestinians in the Israel-Hamas War.
This list of protesting acts included several artists Staged Haze had hoped to cover, including Rachel Chinouriri, Reality Club, Abby Sage, Shalom, NewDad, Eliza McLamb, Bloomsday, Georgia Gets By, and several others. Many of these artists still opted to play unofficial showcases.
For those who still decided to perform, shift in energy, at least to me, was palpable during many sets by performers who made the choice to speak out in protest during their showcases. “War has no place in music,” the front woman of the Brooklyn band Razor Braids said, mentioning that they would be donating their earnings from SXSW to relief funds. They additionally spoke on how jarring it was to perform in a state where people do not have the right to abortion, raising awareness for women’s rights and encouraging concert attendees to donate if they can.
Kaleah Lee also mentioned that she hoped attendees of her set would call their representatives and demand an immediate ceasefire.
Singer-songwriter Alec Dukart, known for his project called Searows, mentioned during his showcase that all of the proceeds he earns (“and then some”) will be donated to relief causes, even though “this festival doesn’t pay very well.”
“I encourage everyone, if you have the means, to donate, and to call your representatives, and demand a permanent ceasefire. I was very close to not coming to any of these shows because it’s something that I am deeply against, and I still feel very weird about being here,” he said.
“But I am here, so I feel the least that I can do is use some of the time with a microphone to condemn this festival and what it’s endorsing, and to also remind everyone, myself included, to not look away at the horrifying things that are happening at the hands of our government,” he added.
“The most beautiful thing about being a human is our capacity for empathy and caring about people that we’ve never met and that live thousands of miles away. That is all that we have.”
It was hard to ignore the conflicting feelings of attending an event that was facing so much backlash, and I think most people, artists included, were keeping that sentiment in mind over the last several days. With that being said, we still attended to help spread the word of some of our favorite underground artists to watch, and hope you find something positive to take away from our coverage.
In alphabetical order:
One of my favorite parts about attending SXSW for the second time is having the opportunity to see many artists for the first time live, but Cassadee Pope was one exception to the rule.
I was a huge fan of her pop punk project, Hey Monday, back in the day, and I absolutely watched her slay on Season 3 of ‘The Voice,’ where she ended up winning and started her new path in country music. I only learned after chatting with her during the weekend that she actually sang country music when she was a kid, and it was a natural, though not necessarily expected, path for her to take after winning as a member of Blake Shelton’s team.
“Going from pop punk to country was really nice, because I had done the pop punk thing, and it was really fun, and I feel like we accomplished so much. But it kind of hit the ceiling…it was hard to get out of that funk. When I found something new, different, and exciting, that’s what did it for me. I grew up singing country music, it wasn’t a genre that was foreign to me.
Seeing her perform at the Women That Rock Showcase on Wednesday night, an unofficial event at Austin Garden and Studio, was simultaneously a throwback and a sneak peek at her future: she opened the set with “Homecoming” by Hey Monday, the song that “essentially started her career,” continuing with a more recent single, “People That I Love Leave,” and an unreleased single, “Eye Contact.” She also threw it back once again with a performance of “Candles,” a Hey Monday song, “Wasting All These Tears,” and a cover of Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody.”
I asked her about any anxiety surrounding losing fans she gained during her time in country music, and the volatility of being a country music artist whose political leanings don’t always align with those of the fans.
“I definitely don’t feel like I’ve been ‘cookie cutter’ country. I’ve always had the rock element, so if they leave, it’s probably more so because of my outspoken-ness about things. Which, I’m fine with them leaving. I think a lot of people have been like ‘I’m not surprised, this is so you, you’ve always been this way,’ and anytime it’s negative, it’s more so because of what I stand for. It’s like a compliment if they don’t like me.“
“[Country music] was new and fun..but that sort of stopped being fun because of political issues. I feel like it’s a very political genre…just being on a major label helps a lot, but I wasn’t on a major label.” I was doing music that I loved, but it wasn’t quite translating. I feel like country music has turned multi-genre, but it also is more traditional than it ever has been, and that’s never been my vibe.”
With that being said, Pope is excited to get back to this sound that “feels therapuetic” and with the rise of many female pop punk artists gaining traction, I have no hesitation that Pope won’t fit right back in.
“I’m at home, and I’m not trying to be the next big thing, I’ve already been that. I just want to be happy and do what I love.’
One of my most anticipated sets to see during my time at SXSW was without a doubt, Flyana Boss. We’ve written about their massive rise to fame over the past year more than once on Staged Haze, so I’ll spare the details. But I made sure I arrived to their 11:30 set time early (11:30pm is so late for someone who’s pushing 30-years-old), but I made it work.
I was also fully expecting this set to be completely packed with the possibility of a line forming out front, but from what I saw, there was no line forming to catch their set. It was still quite crowded, with maybe 150 people packing into Palm Door on Sixth to see Flyana’s SXSW debut, apart of We Found New Music (WFNM)’s showcase, a series that’s based in Los Angeles.
The majority of Flyana Boss’ discography (so far) includes songs around two minutes long, with some clocking in at 2:30 and just a couple at three minutes, so I fully expected this set to be short, but sweet: and full of fun. I was absolutely not disappointed! The 30-ish minutes of performance time was full of energy, good vibes, and positivity: the duo mentioning that they hope to spread positivity and fun with their music.
It was definitely a highlight of the sets I saw over the four days of performances I experienced: while I definitely know that all of the artists I saw were grateful for the opportunity to perform, I felt it the most from Flyana Boss.
Despite my energy being low on the last day of SXSW, I made sure to get to Cheer Up Charlie’s bright and early (1:30 PM) to catch Chicago group Friko’s performance at Pond, Winspear, and marg.mp3’s unofficial South by Southwest showcase, featuring performances from artist like Bloomsday and squirrel flower: two others I got to see as well.
Something that I realized on my last day of South By is that I didn’t get to see a lot of rock music this year, which is a genre I gravitate towards in a live setting more often than not. It’s not like there was anything wrong with this, as I definitely saw a lot more singer songwriters this year, but this meant that the energy that was in the air during Friko’s set was quite different than what I was used to experiencing from the past couple days.
Like I just mentioned, Friko is a Chicago band, so of course I had to support, especially after their debut album Where we’ve been, Where we go from here, received strong reviews, including one from our own writer, Javi. I too enjoyed the album and was curious to see how it would translate in a live setting.
Despite the band being so early on in their career, I was super impressed with their stage presence as well as the crowd that they managed to draw to the venue fairly early in the day. I felt like everyone was super into the performance, and the energy was palpable. My favorite moments from the set included their performances of “Get Numb To It!” and “Where We’ve Been.”
For Chicago readers, you probably already know that the Lollapalooza 2024 lineup dropped yesterday. If you want the chance to see Friko for yourselves, they will be making their debut in Grant Park this year.
As I sat down to attend singer-songwriter Kaleah Lee’s solo set, I couldn’t believe that maybe 40 people were in the room to see one of SXSW’s best kept secrets perform.
One of my favorite things about attending SXSW is the ability to see acts in such a small, intimate space with usually less than 50 people, max 100, and catching Lee’s set was no exception. Like we discussed in our preview post, Lee is new to the industry, gaining traction for her beautiful TikTok covers and opening for Searows on select tour dates earlier this year.
Despite it being pretty obvious (with no shade whatsoever) that Lee is still very much in the early stages of her career, her vocals were gorgeous, on pitch from start to end, and absolutely ethereal to hear in a church (whoever planned the set times and locations for the festival, you deserve a raise). The acoustics were great for her set, which solely consisted of Lee’s vocals and her acoustic guitar.
Lee’s debut EP, Birdwatcher, drops on March 22, which was previewed during her 35-minute set, including a performance of my favorite song by her, titled “The Same.”
But the most surprising and satisfying moments of the set came in form of a Beyoncé cover, where Lee decided to perform her unique version of “Daddy Lessons,” which worked incredibly well with her sound.
It’s honestly crazy that I didn’t hear of Maddy Davis before I was deeply studying the SXSW lineup, considering how easy it was for me to enjoy what I listened to and that her sound aligns so effortlessly with other artists whose music I enjoy.
Davis is an LA-based singer-songwriter who hails from New Jersey and writes edgy, indie pop songs about the current state of the world (reminiscent of Lorde, circa 2013), with vocal tone and style comparable to artists like Billie Eilish and Olivia Rodrigo. She’s shared the stage with artists like Kid Sistr, BEL, and Gatlin, and is gearing up for a new EP release that’s expected to drop later this year.
I got to talk to Maddy over the phone before her performance at SXSW, and we discussed her favorite songs to perform, what she was looking forward to during her showcases, and what’s to come.
I asked Maddy about what she hopes attendees take away from her performances, whether walking away as new fans or ones who have already discovered her music:
“It will be two different experiences playing a set acoustically and another with a full band. I feels like the acoustic set will allow the listeners to connect more with the music, and the full band would be more energetic and a full spectacle performance in comparison,” she mentioned.
When asked about her favorite song to play live, she discusses the origin of the opening track of her 2023 EP, Would You Object For A Happier Life? which is aptly titled “Would You Object.”
“The song came from this idea of a crazy ex crashing my wedding and stopping the ceremony to object and the aftermath of that hypothetical decision,” she said. “The song has a fun build and really allows me to fully jam out as it progresses.”
I saw Davis’ acoustic performance and even though I may not have had the opportunity to see the build she mentions in a setting with a full band, I feel like the sentiment of the song still came across strongly with just her vocals and an acoustic guitar.
My favorite moments from her set included a performance of her song “American Dream,” a song that I asked Davis about and how it came to fruition. She mentioned that it revolves around the concept of her hometown lore, how adults fixate on teenage drama, and how ‘everyone feels like some sort of “curse” haunts their town annually‘ (even The Netflix show ‘The Watcher’ was based on her town). I also loved her cover of The Killers’ “Read My Mind,” a favorite song of Davis’ and a call out to the first concert she ever saw with her mom.
Like I mentioned in our pre-coverage, we had the chance to interview Madeleine Mayi several years ago, and seeing her perform at SXSW felt like a full circle moment.
Mayi has been releasing music for several years now, and I’ve enjoyed everything she’s released thus far, especially her songs “Middle Child,” released earlier this year, and “Forget That I’m A Woman,” released last June.
While introducing “Forget That I’m A Woman,” Mayi mentioned that it was inspired by several incidents she had with an extended family member who would continuously make negative comments about women and incessantly invalidating her emotions. It’s a short song, but it’s to the point, conducive, and hits me right in the heart.
“You say I look like such a mess / When I’m upset about the awful things you say / You call me crazy, call me stupid, call me anything you want / But just know, I’d never talk to you like that”
It was also a hilariously funny and poignant dichotomy to hear Mayi then cover Drake’s song “Passionfruit,” but I would pay good money for Mayi to release a cover of this track (it’s probably my favorite Drake song, to be honest).
I wasn’t sure what to expect with Mayi’s performance, but one thing I was NOT expecting was her phenomenal vocals and ability to really belt it out. This was showcased during her performance of an unreleased song (but I suppose it is possibly a released track, I didn’t catch the name), as her closing performance at the grand piano. It was stunningly gorgeous and really offered a glimpse into her range as a singer and something that I am hoping she taps into more as she continues to release more music.
Though I sadly couldn’t make my schedule work to catch a performance of Chicago’s very own Neptune’s Core, I still had the chance to chat with them about their debut at SXSW, becoming a staple of Chicago’s music scene, and receiving comparisons to the likes of Led Zeppelin: all while they’re still enrolled in high school.
Comprised of two sets of sisters, Neptune’s Core has been making their mark in Chicago, performing with artists like Friko (more on them later), and Motel Breakfast.
Neptune’s Core had a particularly stacked few days of showcases: performing eight different times in total, closing out their run with an evening show at the Low Down Lounge, which would provide them the chance to perform in a different environment compared to several of the performances they had already completed at day showcases.
When asked about what they hope their audience members take away from their performances, the band emphasized their “diversity” and “energy” they bring to their sound:
“We like to bring new sounds together for ourselves and for the audience to keep things interesting. Because we love all genres of music, and we love experimenting. So just creating this broad range of songs is so fun for us, and we have fun on stage performing. So we really like when the audience can feel that with us and just dance with us, because we like to have a good time.
I hope all the audience members are able to walk away having felt connected with the music. We’ve got a lot of different emotions, a lot of different styles that we bring to the stage, and I hope people can kind of follow our pathway and follow our thoughts and just kind of enjoy it.“
I also inquired about the dynamics of creating music together as a four-piece that features two sets of sisters, Sofie Richter (vocals/guitar), Jackie Cywinski (guitar/vocals), Kaitlin Cywinski (drums), and Hannah Richter (bass), and their answer was nothing but positive:
“I think that if anything, it brings us closer together because we just understand each other in ways that I don’t think other people do. And I also feel like it makes it a more supportive environment because it’s like working with your sisters. It doesn’t even feel like we’re two sets of sisters, it just feels like we’re four sisters, which makes it really fun to play and write new things, try new things, because it’s like you’re doing it with people that you love more than anything in the world.”
*Photos taken by Anson Tong during the band’s Chicago show with Friko on 3/1.
One of my most favorite artists I discovered while preparing for my trip to Austin for SXSW was found in Victoria Canal, a singer-songwriter with one of the most touching voices I’ve heard in quite some time.
I quickly learned that she’s been releasing music for a few years now, touring with artists like Hozier and even getting high praise from Coldplay’s Chris Martin, who stated that Canal’s song, “Swan Song,” is “one of the best songs ever written.”
A lot of Canal’s music touches on body issues and coming into her own as a woman with a limb disability, and how she’s been able to cope with her self-consciousness through creating music.
Canal’s performance at the British Music Embassy’s showcase on Saturday night ended up being my last set of the weekend, and one of my favorites. We had the chance to chat after her set, and I asked her about the complexities that come with expressing yourself through art.
“I guess songwriting in a way is always difficult because you’re risking being vulnerable in a way that like inherently being vulnerable is putting yourself
at risk, you know. But at the same time, it’s like you need to do it because you need the catharsis from whatever it is that you’re going through. And for me, body image and comparison and stuff has always been such a like deeply kind of insidious thing that’s always there. And I just never gave it a voice. And I think like once you give your dark parts a voice, they kind of ease their grip on you. So that’s why I wrote about it.”
I noticed before my trip to Austin that Canal had been teasing a collaboration with The 1975’s Ross MacDonald, an artist and band that, if you know about me, I’m a big fan of. Canal opened up about collaborating with MacDonald and how George Daniel, also The 1975, came to produce the track.
“I won this award at the Ivors: the Ivor Novello Awards for Rising Star. And they were sat at the table next to me. Ross was like, we should write a song together. And I was like, hell yeah, I’d love to.”
Canal mentioned that although she naturally writes music from a singer-songwriter perspective, she is looking to build out her performance style during her upcoming shows, particularly with the addition of a full band and creating a more upbeat atmosphere. I asked her what type of artist she hopes to emulate by taking this route:
“Feist is my number one answer. I saw her play at the Belasco the other day. We had actually recorded both of our most recent projects at the same time in the same studio. She was just across the hall from me. And it was amazing to see her go from like being having her head in her hands, being like, ‘I don’t know what I’m going to do about this record, I can’t figure it out.’ To a year later, like, performing it. And it’s arguably her best work. And she’s nearly 50. Like that’s so inspiring to me. It’s like we are in this for life. At least I am. And I just want my art to get better as I go.”
Canal’s first North American headline tour kicks off tonight in Boston.
Additional photos:
Asha Jefferies, Arny Margaret, Bad Bad Hats, Bloomsday, Cecilia Castleman, Eliza McLamb, Mia June, Mui Zyu, Nabihah Iqbal, Razor Braids, Searows, Susannah Joffe
Pingback: Indie Singer-Songwriter Madeleine Mayi Tackles The Complexities of Religion in New Single “faithless”