Monthly Music Calendar: March 2024 SXSW
Welcome to our inaugural Monthly Music Calendar!
This month, we’re here to encourage everyone to check out some showcases and concerts happening during SXSW.
We’ve chosen to highlight string instrumentalists and artists that cross several genres including classical, new music, experimental, jazz, R&B, pop-punk, folk, western swing, Cajun, Creole, bluegrass and country. Some are local, some from across state lines, and some are international artists who will grace Austin’s stages in the coming weeks. This is a great opportunity to explore new music and show some of your favorite artists and venues some love and support!
We’ve even created a Blackerby SXSW Mix Tape for you and yours to explore and enjoy! That being said, we always encourage everyone to directly support the artists they enjoy and are inspired by. Don’t forget to stop by merch tables and pick up some new records and more.
Note, click the links to review ticketing. Some of the shows are all ages and some are 21+. Some of the shows listed below require badges, so if you’re lucky enough to have one check it out! However, there are several that do not. Also, most artists will be announcing additional shows as SXSW approaches, so stay tuned! Either way, these artists are worth a listen!
MIDDLE SATTRE
March 9th, 12 PM - 6 PM
KMFA presents Contemporary Classical Day Party @ Draylen Mason Music Studio
FREE with RSVP and open to all!
Austin composer Nathan Felix and this year's Draylen Mason Composer-in-Residence Sophie Mathieu have co-curated KMFA's 2nd Annual Unofficial SXSW Contemporary Classical Day Party. Enjoy free local contemporary classical artists including Akins Sinfonietta Orchestra, Austin Percussion Collective, Esteban Alvarez, Jessy Eubanks, Density512, Maru, Middle Sattre, Khalo Quartet + James Tecuatl-Lee, Panoramic Voices, Perpetual Motion, Kimberly Sandoval, Mago Sextet, and other special guests.
Middle Sattre (SAT-tree) is an Austin-based folk band with an experimental edge. Originating in Salt Lake City as a solo home-recording project, frontman Hunter Prueger started songwriting as a way to confront his internalized homophobia leftover from growing up gay in the Mormon church. Converging in Austin with Mitch Stevens (electric guitar, banjo, piano) and S. Wallace (vocals, keyboard/sampler), the band further grew into an eight person ensemble, including Jordan Walsh (prepared guitar, drums), Juniper Card (guitar, drums), Kai Jasmin (viola, guitar), Sophie Mathieu (cello), and James Tabata (bass). Lyrically, their compositions are both mournful and hopeful. In both intent and narrative, the band’s work is composed of vulnerable introspections on the agonies of repression and the ecstasies of slipping loose from those bonds. Sonically, that abstract of breaking free from constraint carries over into the band’s unconventional use of instruments, experimenting by playing banjos with fidget spinners or strapping metal chains across guitar strings.
Austin Civic Orchestra: A "Rhapsody" of American Music
March 9th, 6 PM - 7:30 PM
KMFA presents The Austin Civic Orchestra @ The Austin Stone Northwest
Richard Frazier, Conductor and ACO Music Director Finalist.
Joseph Choi, Piano
Richard Frazier is welcomed to the podium as the second of three finalists for the ACO Music Director position. Richard built this concert around Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, composed 100 years ago. The rest of the concert is filled out with music by American composers who thrived at the same time as Gershwin and were supportive of each other’s work.
The concert opens with Hanson’s flowing three movement Symphony No. 2 (The Romantic), followed by John Williams’ The Cowboys Overture. After Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, the concert concludes with the moving finale from Bernstein’s Candide Make our Garden Grow complete with soloists and a choir.
Come at 5:15 pm for a preconcert talk with our always entertaining Associate Conductor, W.P. Sterneman III (Dr. Gus).
THE NEW EVES
March 12th, 11 PM - 11:40 PM
Presented by The Broadside Hacks Folk Club @ The Victoria Room at the Driskill
With an unusual lineup of cello, violin, flute, guitar, bass and drums, The News Eves DIY nature and fierce spirit seem to be conjuring some kind of folkloric punk revival. With a poetic honesty about who they are and what they love at the core, their rhythms are like galloping horses and were they on a mountaintop, their voices would ring for miles. Going to a New Eves show is like being complicit in some kind of ritualistic opening. They tear up rock and roll at its roots, expressing a journey through seance, strings and electric guitar. They’re a work of art to witness and a sensational climax to be felt.
Daniel Fears was raised in Houston, Texas. The multi-instrumentalist and singer grew up attending Lakewood Church in Houston where his mom was the music director. By age 11 he was playing the trombone in his school band and then after moving to a smaller church, he played the piano and even took up the drums and began playing for church service every week until he was 18.
During this time he was introduced to classical music by his teacher Brian Logan. Logan introduced Fears to a whole new world of music and supported him attending the University of Texas. After graduating, Fears composed a horns part for a friend’s piece and found the experience liberating.
He went on to attend Yale for his master’s with the goal of pursuing a career in classical music. During his time at Yale, he was sidelined by a lip injury and he decided to put his classical music career on hold and to instead relearn his instrument and start gigging for friends in Austin – collaborating with bands like Wild Child and Leyline. He started working with music producer Moses Elias which led to a 6 song EP that was recorded and released during the pandemic called Canopy.
Since then Fears has released the singles “Keep On” and “No Gravity”. Daniel Fears was KUTX’s artist of the month in July of 2021 and in 2022 his work earned him a Sonic Guild Grant (formerly known as black fret). Daniel Fears continues to trailblaze his own lane all while thriving and creating and supporting other musicians in his community.
AUSTIN UNCONDUCTED
March 13th, 12:30 AM - 1:30 AM @
Austin Unconducted is like no other: a democratic and cooperative orchestra formed in 2021 by a group of young professional musicians with a desire to present classical music in a way that is relatable, fresh, and fun. Rather than working with a conductor, Austin Unconducted collaborates and works with local artists to design and perform concerts that truly reflect the voice and energy of the city of Austin. Inclusive, immersive, and relevant concert experiences that engage diverse audiences and re-examine the long arc of musical tradition through a contemporary lens. Their performances promote equity and generate new excitement for art music in our ever changing city.
Creating radical musical experiences, Vulva Voce puts performance at the forefront, combining movement, experimentation, and improvisation to produce a truly dynamic show. They combine their musical influences of folk, jazz, contemporary classical, and beyond, to push the boundaries of what a string quartet can sound like. Each show is a unique opportunity to connect with a new audience and showcase music by women and underrepresented artists.
CAROLINE SHAW (W/ RINGDOWN)
March 14th, 11 PM - 11:40 PM
Caroline Shaw is a musician who moves among roles, genres, and mediums, trying to imagine a world of sound that has never been heard before but has always existed. She is the recipient of the 2013 Pulitzer Prize in Music, several Grammy awards, and an honorary doctorate from Yale. She has worked with a range of artists including Rosalía, Renée Fleming, and Yo Yo Ma, and she has contributed music to films and tv series including Fleishman is in Trouble, Bombshell, Yellowjackets, Dark, and Beyonce’s Homecoming. Ringdown's music is like calling your first love on a rotary telephone, percussively tearing out the hammers from a 1924 vintage upright, and flinging each of them into space while you wait for every heartache you've ever felt to quietly return. Others have described Ringdown as the love child of Johannes Brahms and Brandi Carlile—if they were born in the same century and if Brahms was a queer woman.
Amis du Teche: Translation, 'Friends of the Teche' Simply named because its members are friends who grew up living on the historic Bayou Teche in Breaux Bridge, Louisiana. Amis du Teche is steeped in the Louisiana Cajun music culture. Their rich connection with their hometown of Breaux Bridge and growing up along the banks of Bayou Teche have brought each member together. The bayou is where they met, jammed, performed, and now recorded. Now 21 years of age, Adeline Miller has been playing fiddle since she was 5. She has performed Cajun music with her younger brother, Robert, as far as Portland, Maine and Nova Scotia, Canada, for their Festival Acadien de Clare at a ripe age of 16. Adeline has attended the Sainte Anne University French Immersion Program in Nova Scotia three times to find the true meaning of the songs she sings. She later pursued a minor in French at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette in the heart of Acadiana. She is currently at the University of Louisiana in Lafayette as part of the Cajun Ensemble, Bluegrass Ensemble, and String Ensemble where she has transitioned to mandolin, guitar, and singing other genres of music.
Amelia Powell, the granddaughter of the late Cajun fiddler Dewey Balfa of the Balfa Brothers band, plays guitar in Amis du Teche. She has been performing professionally at musical events, venues and festivals across the United States and Europe since age 12 with her father, Dirk Powell. She has recorded on multiple albums including Freedom Highway, and nominated for Americana Music Honors and Awards’ Album of the Year. Last fall they were invited to perform with Amelia’s Mother, Christine Balfa, during the opening performance of Festival Acadian et Creole by Bonsoir Cantin. Amelia has also performed in multiple local and international feature films, radio shows, television programs, and documentaries, including Amis du Teche’s musical score on "In the Blind”, featured on LPB.
Robert Miller has been playing music for 9 years with guitar, bass guitar, and upright bass. Robert has broadened his horizons with other genres of folk music while attending Fiddle Tunes in Port Townsend, Washington. He has performed with his sister, Adeline, as far as Maine and Nova Scotia. He also plays at many local venues and festivals such as Festivals Acadians et Creoles, Festival International, & Crawfish Festival to name a few.
The two-time Grammy award winning Lost Bayou Ramblers’ evolution as a perversely progressive band rooted in Cajun traditions continues to excite, challenge, and redefine both genre expectations as well as cultural preconceptions. Founded in 1999 by brothers Andre and Louis Michot, the years have brought LBR a feature on Jack White’s American Epic, score contributions to the Oscar nominated film Beasts of the Southern Wild, Grammy wins for “Live: Orpheum Theater NOLA” their 2023 album with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, and for their 2017 studio album "Kalenda. As the band continues to explore collaborations with artists worldwide both on stage and in the studio, the Ramblers have collaborated with Dr. John, Scarlett Johansson, Leyla McCalla, Nora Arnezeder, Gordon Gano, Spider Stacy, Rickie Lee Jones, Ani DiFranco, to name a few. With years of sold-out the shows in New Orleans and abroad, Lost Bayou Ramblers were named Big Easy Awards’ Entertainers of the Year in 2019, and 2021 brought features in Rolling Stone magazine, National Geographic, and The New Yorker.
In a short amount of time, Austin’s own Texas String Assembly has grown from backyards to barrooms to sold-out shows at beloved venues, bringing their unique Americana sound and an unpredictably fun live music experience wherever they go. Music critic Doug Freeman called the 2022 album, Doggabone, a “raucous, jamming debut.” Since its release, the band has played festivals and toured both nationally & internationally, and was recognized by The Austin Chronicle as one of Austin’s best bluegrass/folk acts of the year.
Tonina
(Night of) March 16th 12 AM - 12:40 AM
Presented by Songs from a Room by Sofar Sounds @ The Victoria Room, The Driskill
Tonina, the accomplished vocalist, bassist, and songwriter hailing from St. Louis, Missouri, weaves a rich tapestry of musical influences spanning Jazz, Classical, Folk, and Rock genres. With a background blending Black and Sicilian heritage, her initiation into Upright bass at the age of 8 marked the beginning of a remarkable journey. She has graced stages in Italy, Argentina, Spain and cities throughout the U.S. Tonina's diverse experiences have bestowed upon her an unparalleled musical scope. Her performances, marked by innate rhythm, captivating melodies, and extraordinary vocal prowess, have taken her across the globe. Today, Tonina, along with her band, continues to captivate audiences in Los Angeles, showcasing not just her exceptional talent but also a deep-seated passion for music that transcends conventional boundaries.