Bob Schneider

One Liner:  An Austin institution still churning out great lyrics and well-crafted little pop rock songs

Wikipedia Genre:  pop, rock, folk, country

Home: Austin!

Poster Position: 17
Weekend Two Only.
Saturday at 2:05.

Tito's Tent.

Thoughts:  Actually really interesting to me that he is this low on the poster.  I know he isn't selling out stadiums or anything, but from an Austinite's perspective he is a big name to me.

This may be an incorrect recollection, but I feel like the Ugly Americans played my prom.  He was also the frontman of the Scabs back in the day.  But for the last 20+ years, he has just been Bob Schneider, making excellent soft rock folky tunes with clever lyrics.  He has won all of the awards in Austin - Best Album, Best Songwriter, Best Musician, Best Male Vocals, etc.  And the funny thing is now that I look at his catalog, I know several of these songs, but it was only Lovely Creatures from 2009 that I ever owned and really dug in to.  But it is cool listening along and realizing that I know songs from the 1999 album and the 2004 album without really knowing that I knew songs from those eras.  I am going to end up spending days listening to this discography.

If you look for information on the guy, he is pretty frequently discussed as the musical patron saint of Austin.  Some people will say (not named Willie) or something like that, but he gets a lot of respect for being the Austinite's musician.  Part of that comes from playing all the time - he still holds the Monday night residency at the Saxon Pub - and part of it comes from being ingrained in the local action.  I mentioned it above, but he has 55 Austin Music Awards, ranging from 1992 through 2016.  He's here.  

Originally from Michigan, but mainly raised in El Paso.  His father was an opera singer/ musician who took the family to Munich for additional training, but his son had a withering recollection: "his parents "had this big plan, but my dad just didn’t have the voice"."  Ouch.  He was at UT El Paso and playing in some bands, before he dropped out to go for it.  His first major band was Joe Rockhead, and then next it was the Ugly Americans.  They got big enough to open for Dave Matthews Band and sign with a label.  Later, Schneider co-founded the Scabs - if you never heard them know that they a funk band who were kinda nasty.

Strange factoid I did not know - he dated Sandra Bullock from 1999 - 2001, and although that didn't work out in the end, his songs have appeared in many of her movies.  Wikipedia mentions Gun Shy, Miss Congeniality, Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, and All About Steve, for Bullock flicks, and then several other soundtracks where he nabbed a spot.

He is insanely prolific - not just albums, but for a while (and maybe still currently) he had a songwriting e-mail game group who would challenge each other to write a song per week.  He talks shit about how some members (Jack Ingram for one) couldn't hack the commitment and got kicked out of the group.  But he also releases extra singles with a lot of regularity, records and archives every live show, and publishes piles of demos.  He also has a bunch of books, according to Wikipedia.  Dude is busy.

His first album is very folky - 1999's Songs Sung and Played on Guitar at the Same Time.  The version of "Big Blue Sea" on there is definitely more raw and DIY sounding - this whole album is a singer-songwriter, guy-and-his-guitar thing.  Like, covering "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" type old school guy-and-his-guitar thing.  His next disc really cemented him in the world, with 2001's Lonelyland boasting multiple hits that still get played on Austin radio.  "Metal and Steel" and "The World Exploded into Love" for sure, "Bullets" and "Round and Round" to some extent, but it is "Big Blue Sea" that is the most popular still.  1.1 million streams.

Great tune, and definitely better with all of the organ and other additions over the original version.  2002's The Galaxy Kings is not as good, IMO.  It is fine, but nothing on there stands out so clearly as the songs on Lonelyland.  And some are downright strange as hell - "Blood" - for example.  Not many streams on those songs either, so I'm not alone in my estimation.  2003's I Have Seen the End of the World and It Looks Like This is also weird.  What the heck is "Moneyonion" like a terrible rap track?  What are we doing here.  "Dolphins" is an autotuned mess.  Not many streams here either.  This one can be left behind.

2004's I'm Good Now is the next top tier disc with several enduring songs on there.  Also, I had never known what Andy Langer's Twitter avatar was before pulling this one up.  Learn something new every day!  "Come With Me Tonight" is a great one, and "A Long Way to Get" is also good.  "Cap'n Kirk" is one of those that sounds familiar even though I'm not sure why.  The title track is the top one though, with just over a million streams.

Sort of an odd one.  Less lush than a lot of his best stuff on here, and more of a rockabilly loose freakout.  Next album is 2006's The Californian.  None of these songs feel familiar, but "Mudhouse" boasts 2.2 million streams which is a lot for this fella.

Funkaaaaaaaay.  Unexpected to take that detour into the land of the funky time.  Goofy ass lyrics though.  This whole album feels like a detour - I'm trying to think what else was hip in 2006 that would have informed the sound here.  A little harder edged on the rock songs, a little hip hop influenced on others, it just doesn't really fit with the rest of his stuff to me (I mean, its not as weird as the 2003 album, but definitely a different vibe here).  2008's When the Sun Breaks Down on the Moon is pretty forgettable and no one has been streaming it.  2009's Love Is Everywhere is similar.  

2009's Lovely Creatures is where he nails it.  John Mayer vibes.  The hit from that one is still a lovely love song with an impeccable chorus.  “40 Dogs (Like Romeo and Juliet)”  Full of a million little nuggets as the lyrics spill out of him, like "you're the color of an undercover cop in a comic book," but I love the line "turn a close shave in to a woohoo!"  Second biggest streamer at 4.6 million.

Oh, I love the old Austin scenery in that one.  Back when dogs could swim in Town Lake and not die.  Not sure what the "40 Dogs" part of that is about - someone on a lyrics interpretation website says 40 dogs is a 40 ounce beer and this is about a 40 ounce going well with cigarettes?  Whatever.  Lovely tune.  Very good album.  "Tarantula" is another hit on here, and one that he frequently plays at his live shows - Tropicalia vibes.

2011's A Perfect Day has a few recognizable tunes on it as well that must get radio play, as well as his top streamer overall, "Peaches."  5.3 million streams.

Another nice little love song to go with "40 Dogs" and again with the kind of listing things to explain his love.  Nice enough, I sort of wish it would actually kick in instead of just sticking with that super basic bit.

2013's Burden of Proof opens with a song called "Digging for Icicles," which has a must darker hue to it than most of Schneider's other tunes.  Sounds like that Leonard Cohen song "First We Take Manhattan."  That track was on the Natural Born Killers soundtrack and has always stuck in my brain.  Not the whole album, but the general vibe of the album is depressing.  There is a cover of the Annie song "Tomorrow" that is pretty bleak sounding to close it out.  You can hear lyrics in here like "my heart is broken beyond repair" and whatnot, so maybe this was the breakup album.  

2017's King Kong got more streaming attention than most of his albums.  Not sure why.  Relatively forgettable after a few streams.  "Ready Let's Roll" kind of makes me think he was trying to make a cool Ed Sheeran track.  "Han Solo" sounds pretty classic for him - cleverly weird lyrics and a pretty tune.  I read an interview where he talked about writing "Into the Sun" and how excited he was to have written "the song," but it appears to have missed the mark as it is in the bottom five of stream count for this disc (and I don't love it either).  "Montgomery" is really nice.

2018's Blood and Bones was apparently gifted to Patreon backers prior to being released to the public.  Sounds like all of his recent albums went a similar route.  That is an interesting thing.  It is, like the predecessor, fine.  I'm not saying that as a negative - it really sounds nice and has a good groove to it.  I'm just saying that I didn't hear anything standing out from the crowd and demanding attention.  And the stream count agrees with me.  Same for 2021's In a Roomful of Blood with a Sleeping Tiger and 2024's The Human Torch.  That last one appears to have been released one by one via singles and then packed together for an album.  None of those really land, but I will fully admit that I laughed out loud during "Wasting Time" when he sings about the house crushing the witch in Wizard of Oz and how people just started singing a little song anyway.

He does have a random "In Appreciation of Austin Fc" [sic] release from 2023 that has a really bad pump-up song for the local MLS team.  I'm sure he was hoping it would catch on with the team and become the anthem, but it is so generic and lame.  8k streams, so no one fell in love with it.  Oh, and another, called For Austin F.C., and no one listens to these crappy songs either.  SO MANY SINGLES in 2023 and 2024.  SO MANY.  Looks like his songwriting game is still going strong.

After writing all of the above, I managed to talk my wife into a Saturday night show to see him play at Antone's, which was a classic Austin kind of night.  We went to the new East side bar Busty's beforehand - freaking rad vibe, good prices, sketchy neighborhood - I loved it.  Then met up with some friends at a hotel bar across the street from Antone's and went to the show.  The opener was a super cool blues guitar guy which was fun, and then Schneider was exactly what you expect.  Kinda sloppy, overly loud, making that little room burst at the seams.  My wife was ready to go almost immediately, but I got her to hang on for a good hour of the show and it was a lot of fun.

But yeah, I'd definitely go see this versus some of the other goofy stuff in the small type down here.

Telescreens

One Liner:  Strokes-ian sloppy rock and roll coming after some terrible early stuff

Wikipedia Genre:  No Wikipedia, this is alternative rock, indie rock, garage rock

Home: NYC (originally from L.A.)

Poster Position: 23
Weekend One Only.
Saturday at 3:10.

BMI Stage.

Thoughts:  Fascinating dichotomy here.  When you fire up their tunes on Spotify, the most popular songs are from 2023's Stare Wide, which is some tasty Strokes-ian rock and roll slop.  But then if you keep listening, sooner or later you get to the deeply awful 2020 album The Return, which is more like 21 Pilots or something where it verges on electronica rap and is super sucky.  I literally just heard another song from it as I was writing a letter and was like NOPE, MUST WRITE THIS THING!  I can't hear those songs again.

A telescreen is a two-way video device that was used in Orwell's 1984.  Don't worry, I didn't just independently remember that factoid.  They are sources of propaganda and tools of constant surveillance.  Sounds like our phones today!  Yay!  Wikipedia has an entry for another band, which I assume is not this one, called Telescreen, which is from Winston-Salem, North Carolina, but which is not the same Telescreen that is available to stream on Spotify, which is a Melbourne indie pop group.  Weird.  But this band was formed by a guy named Jackson Hamm, with some buddies from his high school in L.A.  The bio I am reading says that they originally had a folk rock vibe, which is most definitely not reflected in any of their Spotify output.  He moved to NYC to attend the Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music at NYU, where be met Alex Bean and they started working together.

Random aside - it must be SO WEIRD to go to a school like NYU or Belmont or Julliard or whatever where everyone there is some sort of rad musician and you could be walking among the perfect collaborator for your sound.  Like, the guy eating too much soft serve in the cafeteria might be the next Pharrell, or the girl buying a sweatshirt in front of you at the Co-op may be the next Maggie Rogers.  Wild stuff.

Anyway, Bean now has nothing to do with the band (that I can tell), but it is a four-piece bashing their way through sloppy rock and roll pleasures.  "Phone Booth," from that more recent album, is the top streamer with 911k streams.

That is some deliciously danceable bashing right there.  Feels like I would be required to do the Molly Ringwald and kick dirt on everyone around me during that track.  "Lost" is a similar track with a driving beat and fun groove.  I wanna dance!

So long as we can all agree that they will stick with their recent sound and not dip back into the old bag of tricks where their sound sucked, then let's do this thing.  I'm in.

Jordy

One Liner:  Pure pop that unflinchingly looks at his life being a gay man

Wikipedia Genre:  pop

Home: L.A. (via Boston and Illinois)

Poster Position: 17
Weekend Two Only.
Saturday at 11:55am.

BMI Stage.

Thoughts:  Huh.  When you search Jordy in Spotify, you get Jordy Searcy as the top choice, and then two dudes named Jordy next.  One is a rapper, sounds British, and his top track has 22.7 million streams.  One is a sweaty-looking dude who kind of sounds like a boy band guy and has a top song with 23.2 million streams.  You know what is unfortunate?  Back in the day, you could read about ACL artists on the ACL website.  Like, if you had never heard of a band you could click their name on the lineup and go to a short blurb about them.  Now you get nada.  Ah, but Spotify says that the white guy has an upcoming show at ACL.  So, it is not the British rapper (which is kind of too bad, the first track I started had a slick vibe).

C'mon.  This guy is required by me to change his name.  The Wikipedia article about Jordy (artist) is about yet another Jordy, a French singer and musician who is listed in the Guiness Book of World Records as the youngest singer to ever have a number one single.  The next person on Wikipedia who this could be is Jordy Birch, a Canadian singer-songwriter who was in a band called Pure.  Still not the right guy.  Next in the list (after a lot of Dutch Footballers) is Jordy van Loon, who is a Dutch singer who also reached number one.  Not our guy.  HEY!  Found him.  The fourth one listed is Jordy Shulman, who is apparently an American singer-songwriter who is the grandson of educational psychologist Lee Shulman.  Wikipedia just lists his music as pop, but this very much sounds like the kind of music I would imagine to be playing in a gay club - could be the aforementioned photo of him looking sweaty with some sort of chain over his shoulders.

His first release ever is his most streamed song, which never bodes all that well for someone in my opinion.  But it is a catchy bop.  "Just Friends" has 23.2 million streams.

Hear that boy band ready sound?  Like, you could tell me that was a One Direction guy singing and I would buy it.  Actually, a pretty good song - laying those lyrics down and a good voice to boot.  I bet this was hot on TikTok.  He re-released that song about 500 times on Spotify, and then has lots of singles and EPs and singles with those same singles on there again but with other singles (the world of releasing music now is sooooo weird) and then finally releases his first true album in 2021 - Mind Games.  Only one track on there tops five million, so here is "Long Distance" with 6.4 million streams.

That one is mid for me - not as fun and a little tortured with the cleverness of the lyrics.  Great looking dude though.

Wikipedia is pretty sparse - he's appeared on Kelly Clarkson's show and Jimmy Fallon, and he's been nominated for a GLAAD Award, a Queerly Award, and an iHeartRadio award.  Otherwise, you don't get much background. He is available on LinkedIn though, which I find hilarious.  42 Connections.  I AM SO MUCH BIGGER THAN JORDY ON LINKEDIN!  In one thing he says that he likes to write sad songs that sound happy.  I actually love that.

His next release was 2023's BOY, and nothing on there cracks 5 million streams.  We'll do "Nice Things" because that is the current most popular one although only 2.6 million streams.  This is on his 2024 EP SEX WITH MYSELF.

Feels like am Ariana Grande track but from a gay guy perspective.  It is fine, but not nearly as good as that very first single.

He's weekend two only, so I likely won't see him, but I honestly think this could be a really fun party of a show.

Sawyer Hill

One Liner:  Deep-voiced rocker from Arkansas who feels right for Austin

Wikipedia Genre:  No Wikipedia, this is alternative rock, indie rock, guitar rock

Home: Fayetteville, AR

Poster Position: 22
Weekend One Only.
Saturday at 1:25.

BMI Stage.

Thoughts:  Wow.  You hear that name, and I immediately thought okay this is going to be a country guy.  Then you pull up the Spotify and the dude looks like Sebastian Bach from Skid Row.  Then you click the first track and it is like that dude from the Crash Test Dummies was allowed to sing something other than the humming song.  I have no clue how to parse all of these inputs.

His tiny bio provides that he grew up playing bars in the Fayetteville, Arkansas scene, and ended up playing "countless" shows in the south with his band.  But COVID nuked that band.  He also says this dumb phrase: "It's sounds you're familiar with, but with a delivery and composition you haven't heard before."  C'mon man.  But then he came back with a new thing, and has managed to nail some TikTok and Instagram viral action to get popularity.  He now says that he'll get randomly noticed around Fayetteville as that singer with the deep voice.

"Look at the Time" is that big track that has blown up - it has a great line about "when you say that I'm the only one, did you mean that I'm the closest one around?" and also calls back to the guitar stylings of Eric Johnson at one point.  I enjoy it.  He claims that it just flowed out of him in 15 minutes, which is also cool.  12.1 million streams.

Mmmmmmmhhhhhmmmmmmmmhhhhhhhhmmmmmmmmmm.  Nah, just kidding.  This is a good one.  No official album yet, just a handful of singles out there.  "Firestarters is the second most streamed with 5.1 million.

This stuff reminds me of those Austin bands of old - not just a flash of Eric Johnson here and there, but more like the Arc Angels and Charlie Sexton type of guitar-forward, loosely-collected rock and roll.  Not quite into the Gary Clark Jr. guitar heroics thing either, but it just feels like this dude would be at home here in Austin slinging these songs.  I like it.

Jon Muq

One Liner:  Absolutely lovely indie rock from a golden-voiced Ugandan living in Austin

Wikipedia Genre:  No Wikipedia, this is alternative rock, indie rock

Home: Austin! (via Uganda)

Poster Position: 22
Weekend Two Only.
Saturday at 1:25.

BMI Stage.

Thoughts:  Wow.  This is really enjoyable.  And if you are a book-by-its-cover type of person, you'd never guess that this Ugandan dude on his album cover is going to sing songs like Lord Huron or Ray LaMontagne or something.  But just check out his biggest song and try to tell me that this isn't pure beauty.  "Runaway," with 248k streams.

What the hell.  Sign me up to hear that song every day for the rest of my life.  Terrible music video, not sure that he is even playing that eyeball guitar, but the music transcends.  That was also the first single - wish man, that Dan Auerbach.

No Wikipedia giving me the good background, but his bio on his own website makes him sound like a nice fella.  He says: “These days the world is sad, so I wanted to make happy songs."  Hell yeah.  He talks about living with food scarcity before coming to America, and how that affected his writing.  Since coming over, he has worked with Dan Auerbach on this album and toured with Billy Joel, Norah Jones, and others.  His first exposure to modern western music was a copy of the "We Are the World" CD that he took from a cousin - he says he wore it out, mastering the vocals and tones of all of the people on there.  That is fascinating.  Learning how to emulate Cyndi Lauper, Michael Jackson, Willie Nelson, Bruce Springsteen, Ray Charles and so many others is amazing.

When he was 18 or 19, he saw his first guitar in person and was mesmerized.  He borrowed one and taught himself to play, winning a regular gig at a local hotel.  A video of him, walking home after a long workday and serenading homeless children apparently got noticed and let to a job on a Norwegian Cruise Line ship.  His quotes are hilarious - he is like "I didn't believe the city on a ship could float!"  I wonder how he ended up in Austin.  That would be an interesting discussion.

Just the one album - 2024's Flying Away - and it is all very enjoyable stuff.  I really hope that this guy blows up in a major way.  This one is "Bend," with 52k streams.

I want to just luxuriate in that sound like a warm hug.  So wonderful.  If you read this blog all the time, then you know that I lean more towards the hard-edged stuff, but I cannot shake how perfectly smooth and enjoyable this sounds.  Makes me want to be a better person.

I would absolutely go watch this in the fall.  What a stud.  NOOOOOOO, he's weekend two only?  I hate the one weekend only thing!  I gotta figure out when he is playing Austin and just go see him!

Emei

One Liner:  Olivia Rodrigo rip-off and other bad pop experiences

Wikipedia Genre:  indie pop

Home: L.A.

Poster Position: 21
Weekend Two Only.
Saturday at 3:10.

BMI Stage.

Thoughts:  I cannot review this fast enough - I just need to turn it off before I go insane.  Imagine the most generic TikTok pop you can, like the kind of thing an AI machine in a Disney movie would slap together to help an eight year old win a popularity contest at their elementary school.  Please stop making those sounds.

2022 EP End of an Era.  2023 album Scatterbrain, which boasts her top track, also named "Scatterbrain."  35.9 million streams.

The worst parts of Olivia Rodrigo and Billie Eilish shoved into a pocket together and pulled out by a record label executive to impress his investors.  Deeply dislike it.  

Mount Emei is a 10,167 foot tall mountain in China and is the highest of the Four Sacred Buddhist Mountains of China.  According to Wikipedia, Emei means "moth-browed," which is sort of hilarious.  Makes me wish this girl had just outrageously huge eyebrows.  Her real name is Emily Li, so she chose that name.  But her parents are Chinese immigrants and she appears to have been bred to become a star, competing on the Chinese Dancing With the Stars as a teenager and also taking a year off from high school at 15 to compete on Chinese Idol.  But she has more going on than just bad music - she got a degree from Yale in cognitive science in 2022.

Oh, "Love Me Not" is just a straight Olivia Rodrigo ripoff.  That is her newest single.

Guitar riff?  check.  Sing/talk intro to the chorus?  check.  Yell/Singing as the song goes on?  Yep.  I do not want to see this young lady play at the Festival, despite the fact that she may have some interesting views on how the mind manipulates and processes knowledge.  Get me offa this thing.

Rett Madison

One Liner:  Under-the-radar belter with some excellent, if sometimes very sad, lyrics

Wikipedia Genre:  No Wikipedia - folk, indie rock, indie pop

Home: L.A. (via West Virginia)

Poster Position: 20
Weekend One Only.
Saturday at 5:10.

BMI Stage.

Thoughts:  Reminds me of the singer from Lake Street Dive.  Someone else too, but I can't put my finger on it.  Powerful voice, with music ranging from country to smooth southern soul to rock.  She also sounds like Fiona Apple at times, and Noah Cyrus at others.  But those aren't the other one that is sticking in my mind.  And she can freaking BELT!  I like it.

So, right off the bat in one article I read, they just dive right in that her mom killed herself in 2019.  Awful shit.  So, she used music as a way to unpack that pain and make her second album One for Jackie.  Just prepare yourself, if you dive into that album, for verses like this that will crush your soul and make your eyes well: "Studying a photo of you, grinnin’ at the kitchen table, crowned in jewels and royal blue, bright and young at 22, everybody says I’m just like you, was that one of many days you suffered through? Both know sadness too well, I lost you to its spell, waking up without you is waking up in hell, I’ll never meet you at 48, you won’t cry on my wedding day, you’ll never hear my children say your name. "  Good goddamn.  "Flea Market" will fuck you up too.

Prior to her own debut, she had sung backup for Lorde and others, but she has no Wikipedia or very many articles that I could simply find.  Two albums, 2021's Pin-Up Daddy and 2023's One for Jackie.  None of them really crush the stream count, with the title track from the first album as the top streamer (even over the one featuring Iron and Wine, which is fascinating) with 1.3 million streams.

Live version, but the other YouTube videos were remixes or with another singer.  Get it!  There is a voice mail from her mom on the first album, and it feels deeply sad when you know that she was gone by then.  Fuckin' A.  But the version of that song with Katie Pruitt is good stuff!

The top track from the new album is "Fortune Teller."  145k streams.

Hear that Lake Street Dive flavor?  Silky smooth stuff right there, as she goes through it trying to feel better about her momma.  Great groove - I love that mellow guitar solo in there.  "Skydiving" rips the "When the Levee Breaks" drum line and I dig it.

I think she is phenomenal.  I have no clue whey she is in size 4 font when The Marias are 3x bigger, but so it goes with the world of music.

wave to earth

One Liner:  Really lovely South Korean indie pop/soft rock (that seems weird to be here)

Wikipedia Genre:  Indie Rock
Home: Seoul, South Korea

Poster Position: 11
Both Weekends.
Saturday at 5:20.

IHG Stage.

Thoughts:  What a weird band.  I find it fascinating that young kids would want to hear music like this, and yet they likely would never be caught dead listening to like Harry Connick Jr. or some other logical godfather to this style of lounge-y, jazzy, indie pop.  Just a strange thing about popularity.

I honestly really like the band name.  I'm imagining an alien flying by and just giving earth a little wave goodbye.  The band is South Korean, formed by two fellas when they were in middle school, and now consisting of three guys and a handful of studio/session musicians.  They apparently just completed a sold out North American tour, which is also fascinating.  I could very much see this being an enjoyable thing to like, study to or chill along with, but seeing it at a Festival wouldn't make a ton of sense to me.

A couple early EPs and singles, and then one 2023 album called 0.1 flaws and all.  I think they may be singing in Korean at times, or maybe I just can't understand the singer.  Unclear.  Their top track comes from the 2020 EP summer flows 0.02, and is called "seasons."  237 million streams.

A nice song, to be sure.  Lovely little melodies and a sleepy warm vibe.  This is reminding me of the Cigarettes After Sex thing that came to ACL last year, where their popularity just makes zero sense at all for something to come and play a mega stage at an outdoor festival.  The second biggest streamer is from the new album, "bad" has 146.9 million streams.

I'm sure these are big on TikTok or something.  They also definitely sound like some of the low-key songs from Harry Styles where he's just singing love songs in falsetto in between the good bops.  Again, a very pretty song that is like a calm float in a warm pool.  But yo no comprende watching it in a dusty field at 100 degrees.

I honestly enjoyed just letting this play all day - it is very good working music to just meander along in the background without any pizzazz or excitement.  I doubt I'd go see it!

Jonah Kagen

One Liner:  Poor man's Noah Kahan

Wikipedia Genre:  No Wikipedia - folk, indie rock, indie pop

Home: Savannah, GA

Poster Position: 17
Weekend Two Only.
Saturday at 12:05pm.

T-Mobile Stage.

Thoughts: Is my guy trying to be Noah Kahan or is it just me getting those feelings?  he took up the guitar at 6 years old, with his grandfather teaching him.  He says he found inspiration in guitarist Andy McKee, who I have not heard of.  McKee is apparently a "fingerstyle guitar" player who achieved viral fame with a series of YouTube videos showing his highly technical style.  Oh wow.  That is freaking cool stuff.  Fascinating.

Also fascinating, he played soccer for the Cornell Big Red and scored one goal as a senior.  Or at least I am going to assume that is him since that dude also lists a hometown of Savannah.  I really want more background information on people - I feel like a lot of these artists have nothing written about them!  Also confusing, another article I found said he is from South Carolina.  Where is it!?!  He shouts out Zach Bryan and Kahan as people who inspired him to open up in his music.

Lots of singles until 2022's georgia got colder, and then 2023's The Roads.  "broken," from that first album, is for sure the top track on his Spotify, with 67.3 million streams.

Ah man, I wanted to see him playing the guitar with some of those whackadoo moves like Andy McKee.  He is just strumming along.  Pretty song though.  He has a brand new track called "God Needs the Devil" that is pretty clever.  But I want to show you the title track to the newer album, which has 21.3 million streams.  He mentions that this is his favorite song to play.

Beautiful.  This may have been the one that made me think of Kahan.  The sound is very similar feeling.  Sometimes he goes way more in a pop direction - "barcelona" or "Moon" have a much less pleasing sound to me because they feel more like a crossover pop attempt.

Hard one for me for some reason.  I really like the ones that sound like Kahan, but I really dislike the pop stuff.  I guess I'd go check it out if the schedule breaks right.

Lola Young

One Liner:  Strong voiced Brit singing hard-edged and confessional pop

Wikipedia Genre:  Her Wikipedia doesn't list a genre, so I'll just go with pop

Home: Croydon, UK

Poster Position: 16
Both Weekends.
Saturday at 12:50.

AmEx Stage.

Thoughts: This is not the first Lola Young that comes up on Wikipedia, who is the Baroness Young of Hornsey, and a British actress, author, crossbench peer, and Chancellor of the University of Nottingham.  Instead, this is a gal who alternatively reminds me of both Amy Winehouse and Billie Eilish.  Her Wikipedia is pretty useless.  I know she is English and was born 1/4/01 and that she was nominated for the Brit Award for Rising Star in 2021 and then placed fourth in 2022 in the BBC Sound competition.  In an interview, she claimed to have more shoes than brian cells.

Two albums - 2019's Intro and 2023's My Mind Wanders and Sometimes Leaves Completely.  My normal reaction to a pop star who reminds me of Eilish would be to tell you that I hate this, but instead, I have actually enjoyed listening to it.  The backing music is a little funkier and harder, and her voice can sometimes do the annoying whispery shit, but can also belt in an appealing way.  Her top single is from that 2023 album, this is "Don't Hate Me," with 22.2 million streams.

Her lips are so ridiculously full.  Like Jennifer Lawrence playing Roseanne Barr.  Almost a rap track, but I'm definitely grooving on it.  The second most streamed tune is a single that came out after the albums, "Conceited," with 12.8 million streams.

That is the one that feels even more like Eilish/Winehouse crossover.  But in her own way - she's not exactly like either of those but just flashes it here and there.  "Wish You Were Dead" is pretty solid too, with a well-written look at a shit relationship.

Say She She

One Liner:  Three classically trained singers over the top of Nile Rodgers funk

Wikipedia Genre:  Psychedelic soul

Home: Brooklyn

Poster Position: 12
Both Weekends.
Saturday at 3:10.

Miller Lite Stage.

Thoughts: Reading about them was way better than listening to them.  Wikipedia says this is self-described as discodelic soul with dreamy harmonies that prominently combines disco and 70's funk.  Which, that sounds dope!  But about two songs in, their voices are bothering me so very much.  Which is totally unfair, these are obviously very talented singers doing their thing, and the music is pretty funky, but it is bothering my brain anyway.

Two members met as neighbors in the same apartment building when they could hear each other practicing their singing - all three members of the band are classically trained singers.  They later met the third singer at a Harlem rooftop party and started making harmonies together.

I need to give you a song so that you can hear it.  I feel bad not loving it - I love psych and I love funk so this should work but something about it feels just wrong, like those people in theater who tried too hard to please the director, if that makes any sense.  Two albums - 2022's Prism and 2023's Silver.  Silver has most of their more popular songs, but the top streamer is the title track from Prism.  6.3 million streams.

The background tune is lovely.  Their voices are pretty and the harmonies locked in.  And yet I want to move on immediately.  Second-most streamed tune is from the newer disc - "Forget Me Not" with 3.6 million streams.

Yeah, those little trilly voices at the start of that one set me on edge for sure.  Definitely like that one less.  "Entry Level" is better, but "C'est Si Bon" makes me want to run away.  I am fully sure that everyone who goes to see this is going to love it and have the absolute best time, but I just cannot get there.

iDKHOW

One Liner:  Glammy 80's inspired rock from an ex-Panic! guy

Wikipedia Genre:  Indie pop, new wave, pop, rock, electronic rock, alternative rock

Home: Salt Lake City

Poster Position: 17
Weekend One Only.
Saturday at 1:25.

Miller Lite Stage.

Thoughts:  Confusingly, when you search Spotify for IDKHOW, you get a band called I DONT KNOW HOW BUT THEY FOUND ME, which is shortened to the unbelievably twee iDKHOW.  The band was originally formed in secret by two members of a band called the Brobecks, from Salt Lake City.  The drummer had been in something called Falling in Reverse, and the singer in another famous band to be named momentarily, and so they wanted to keep things under the rug until they could leave their other respective bands and seriously launch this one.  Apparently, since that time though, the drummer guy broke the singer guy's trust too many times and he's out.  Hope he didn't fall out with Falling in Reverse boys.  So now it's just Dallon Weekes, the singer guy.

In addition to the Brobecks, Weekes was also a member of Panic! at the Disco, from 2009 to 2017, playing bass, keyboard, and backing vocals.  He credits the jenky punctuation in this new band's name with the punctuation of his prior band, claiming that "punctuation was a big deal [in Panic!], so I just wanted to take the opposite approach and get rid of it all."  The band's name was inspired by a line from Back to the Future.

WHO DO YOU THINK?!? THE LIBYANS!!!

Weekes described the music as "hipster nonsense" and "Glam Wham," which feels like an oxymoron.  Wham! is Glam, bro.  Their second single is still their biggest streamer by a long way.  It also ended up on their 2018 EP called 1981 Extended Play.  "Choke" has 214.6 million streams.

The singing voice makes me think of Royal Blood, like this is a goofy, glammy offshoot of that heavier rock and roll band.  Not sure why this ends up being their top song - many of these other tunes are more fun to me, personally.  Two albums - 2020's Razzmatazz and 2024's GLOOM DIVISION.  Their top streamers aren't on those, but the biggest tune on one of those albums is "New Invention" from the 2020 disc.  27.7 million streams.

Now his voice is making me think of someone else.  A little bit of Panic! with that falsetto bit, but someone else too.  The Highly Suspect guy?  Twenty One Pilots?  Dunno, but I really like the slinky bassline and groove in the bottom of that one.  Earworm for sure.  Just so you can hear the newest action as well, here is the top track from the new disc - "WHAT LOVE?" with 3.1 million streams.

Feels like this new disc leans even harder into the 80's schtick.  Maybe the drummer was keeping them angled towards a more modern rock sound and now Weekes and indulge his fantasies.  I generally enjoyed listening to this today, although I'm not entirely sold on the idea of watching it live.  We'll see how the schedule shakes out but was a fun listen anyway.

West 22nd

One Liner:  Local college boys bashing out some fun indie rock

Wikipedia Genre:  No wikipedia, but Alternative rock, indie rock

Home: AUSTIN!

Poster Position: 24
Weekend One Only.
Sunday at 1:30.

Tito's Tent.

Thoughts:  So, just out of pure curiosity, I had Chat GPT write this review.  I was reading an article about how a writer paid about $300 to have a guy in Turkey set up an automated news website that would just write and publish articles all day.  And that made me curious how this would look.  In my opinion, it could not get any worse!  But here you go, with my comments inserted.

"Band Spotlight: West 22nd - A Journey Through Sound and Success

In the ever-evolving landscape of music, some bands capture the essence of their times while leaving an indelible mark on the industry. One such band that has carved its niche with a blend of soulful melodies and raw lyricism is West 22nd. [my God, that sucks so bad] Let's take a journey through their history, explore their unique sound, and highlight some of their top singles that have resonated with fans worldwide.

History of West 22nd

Formed in the bustling streets of New York City in the early 2000s, West 22nd was born out of a shared passion for music among its founding members: lead vocalist Sarah Rivers, guitarist Mark Thompson, bassist David Foster, and drummer Chris Hayes. [which, uh, seems really weird since the lead singer is definitely a dude]. The band quickly gained attention in local clubs and venues for their electrifying live performances and the emotional depth of their songwriting.

Their early influences spanned across various genres, from classic rock to alternative and indie pop, blending to create a sound that was both nostalgic and contemporary. Drawing inspiration from the city that never sleeps, West 22nd infused their music with the hustle and bustle of urban life, crafting lyrics that resonated with listeners grappling with love, loss, and the pursuit of dreams.

As they gained momentum, West 22nd caught the attention of record labels, eventually signing with a major label that allowed them to reach a broader audience. Their debut album, City Lights, released in 2005, marked a significant milestone in their career, showcasing their ability to blend introspective lyrics with infectious melodies. [haha - that is fake as shit - they don't even have an album!  Apparently, my job is safe here.]

Sound of West 22nd

Describing the sound of West 22nd is akin to capturing the essence of a summer evening in the city: warm, inviting, and filled with moments of introspection. [oh, GTFOH] Sarah Rivers' emotive vocals soar over Mark Thompson's intricate guitar riffs, while David Foster's basslines and Chris Hayes' drumming provide a solid foundation that drives each song forward.

Their music combines elements of indie rock with hints of folk and pop sensibilities, creating a sonic landscape that is both familiar and refreshing. Each track is a journey through heartfelt storytelling, exploring themes of love, heartbreak, and resilience with authenticity and vulnerability.

Top Singles

West 22nd has produced a catalogue of memorable singles that have resonated with fans over the years. Among their top hits are [except, you should know that none of these songs are real - WTF?]:

1.     "City Lights" - The title track from their debut album, "City Lights" captures the essence of urban living with its pulsating rhythm and Sarah Rivers' evocative vocals.

2.     "Stay" - A heartfelt ballad that showcases West 22nd's ability to blend emotional depth with melodic hooks, "Stay" became an anthem for fans navigating the complexities of relationships.

3.     "Echoes" - With its anthemic chorus and soaring instrumentation, "Echoes" reflects on the passage of time and the echoes of memories that linger long after.

4.     "Runaway" - An upbeat and infectious track that celebrates the freedom of youth and the thrill of chasing dreams, "Runaway" became a fan favorite for its uplifting energy.

5.     "Faded Dreams" - A poignant reflection on lost opportunities and second chances, "Faded Dreams" showcases West 22nd's lyrical prowess and ability to connect with listeners on a personal level.

Conclusion

West 22nd continues to captivate audiences with their evocative lyrics, captivating melodies, and dynamic live performances. As they evolve and grow, their music remains a testament to the power of storytelling and the enduring appeal of genuine artistic expression.

Whether you're discovering them for the first time or have been a fan since their early days, West 22nd invites you to join them on a musical journey through the highs and lows of life, all set to a soundtrack that resonates with the soul.

In a world where music serves as a universal language, West 22nd stands as a testament to the transformative power of melody and meaning."

Good gravy, y'all.  First of all, that writing is atrocious.  I really truly hope that the world doesn't just let AI write everything from now on because it will be painful.  But more importantly, that stuff is all fake!  I am listening to this band on Spotify right now and none of those songs exist, the lead singer is definitely a dude, and I'm totally confused.  I even searched West 22nd and City Lights to see if there is some other band that just isn't on Spotify, but that doesn't get me anywhere.  Freaking weird.

Anyhoo, this is an Austin band made up of UT students, and it is pretty damn good.  Hold on, I mean to say that describing their sound is akin to a first kiss with your cousin while your grandfather looks on: wet, juicy, forbidden, terrifying, and full of heartland passion.

Apparently, three of these guys had something going on, living in Callaway House together and jamming, but then decided to try to grow into a full-sized band the old school way, by putting flyers up on telephone poles around West Campus.  They debuted with a show at the KA House.  I love the look of the band, it's like a Calculus study group went out and got professional photos for their group.  Either way, this stuff is legit - got a good shambling rock feel.

As I said, no albums, but a 2023 EP called All the Way Home - can't tell for sure but the cover looks like Zilker Park!  7 total songs for now, and "Sunburns" is the top one with 1.4 million streams.

As someone with fair skin, those two dudes chasing him with sunscreen is very triggering and I should have been provided with a warning before seeing this.  Good stuff - how fun to be a college kid with this level of skill?!  So cool.  In trying to find another video, this cover of "Sex on Fire," which sounds kinda like shit, is one of the few available.  But he for sure makes a go of it doing a shitless stage dive!

I hope he doesn't do that off of the Honda Stage and break his face.  I'd absolutely go see these guys, I think the music is good and the story is even better.  Also, Chat GPT, you are fired.

Nico Vega

One Liner:  Riff-heavy rock and roll featuring the funny dude from Ant-Man

Wikipedia Genre:  Alternative rock

Home: L.A.

Poster Position: 20
Weekend One Only.
Saturday at 1:25.

Miller Lite Stage.

Thoughts:  Weird name for a full on band.  It apparently comes from the band's original drummer's mother's maiden name.  Which, isn't really all that cool?  Makes it sound like this is going to be a dude singing in Spanish.  Instead, this is pretty legit rock and roll - kind of a lesser White Stripes vibe with a power lady singer cranking over the top.  The best part, to me, is when the guitars get some fat riffage going on, like in "Living Underground," about half way through, which just grabbed me out of my work and made me come write this sentence.

I am also just going to pause here to note that I wrote the above paragraph while listening to them and before I figured out who their famous member is.

The lead singer, Aja Volkman, grew up in Eugene, Oregon writing songs before moving to L.A. to start making music on her own.  After a show in 2005, Mike Pena (who is a relatively famous actor in things like Ant Man and Crash and Jack Ryan) approached her to see if she would agree to sing for a band.  The band was named after his mother.  But shortly thereafter, he left the band to focus on acting (being that Crash had just won Best Picture, that would make sense!) and his family.  They hired a new drummer and kept at it.  They fell apart in 2020, but in 2023 Pena rejoined the band and they announced new music.  Will be odd with two drummers, but whatever.  FAMOUS PERSON ALERT!

2009's Nico Vega is pretty rad - I am enjoying it right now - but did not get all that many streams for anything.  Top track is the pop-punk-y "Gravity" with 1.7 million streams.

The start of that video is intense as hell.  I jumped when fatty McGee punched her in the face.  Their 2013 EP called Fury Oh Fury features their top streamer - "Beast" - with 15 million streams.

Hear that White Stripes-ian guitar under her wailing vocals?  Righteous.  That chorus bit will be imminently sing-a-long-able with those woah-ooo-aahh-oooohs.  And their second-most streamed is a Cher cover that appears to be from a soundtrack for a Bonnie and Clyde remake.  You might remember it from Kill Bill's opening sequence - not their version, but this song.  "Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)"  8.5 million streams.

The first half has a definite different feel than the rest of their catalog, but then the riffage kicks in and they're back.  I've offered more music from them than normal for sure, but I am enjoying this.  One more - the new 2024 single called "$5".  Released March 22 and 80k streams so far.

Looks like Mike is on bass now.  Which is probably just fine, as that drummer jams.  Mike just needs to keep it basic and show his face a lot.  Also, I think I'd want more than $5 to let you go.  But yeah, still pretty solid.  Weekend Two only though?!?!  Say it ain't so!

PawPaw Rod

One Liner:  Distinctly funky mix of hip hop, soul, and indie pop

Wikipedia Genre:  No Wikipedia, but this borders between rap and indie pop

Home: Oklahoma City

Poster Position: 19
Weekend One Only.
Saturday at 12:05.

T-Mobile Stage.

Thoughts:  Well, that is surprising.  Fully expected for this to be some sort of punk band named after a grandfather.  Instead, this is a Hawaiian rapper who was raised in Oklahoma and now makes an interesting mix of music that sort of reminds me of that Gym Class Heroes group where he melds rap with a poppy indie that gets into soul at times.  There is very little easy to find info about him - no Wikipedia - but he was born in Hawaii, is a Capricorn, is a military brat who has travelled the world, his real name is Rodney Hulsey, and one song has already been featured on an iPhone commercial.

That track is his most popular by a ton, and this one is like Thundercat collaborated with him to make a funky rap track.  "HIT EM WHERE IT HURTS," with 60.8 million streams.

Hell yeah.  That is funky, tasty action.  I very much enjoy.  That was also his first single, which is pretty rad, to just pop out of the gate on that level.  

Three EPs and no albums.  No other track is nearly so popular, but two others, both from that first EP that featured the above track, crack 10 million.  They are pretty solid too.  "Lemonhaze" is the winner right now with 20.4 million.

More funky action!  Gimme some mo!  "Glass Houses" is also choice, I like the looping sample.  The problem here is that those two yummy songs were both from back in 2017, and from jamming his catalog a few times it seems to me that he doesn't stick with that exact action later on.  It's not like he started making death metal, but I just don't think it is as tasty.  This is "Rainy" and it still has some funk but also gives me a little drum machine where I want Thundercat.  315k streams.

But, another new single - "High Notes" - sounds like Larry June.  Which is a good thing for me.  Either way, I'd absolutely add this to my list - if you can bring me some funk and fun then I'm almost always in your corner.  

Remi Wolf (2024)

One Liner: Former American Idol contestant who loves vocal effects despite a strong voice.

Wikipedia Genre: Soul, pop, funk, bedroom pop
Home:  Palo Alto, CA

Poster Position: 6
Weekend Two Only.

Saturday at 5:10.

Miller Lite Stage.

Thoughts:  Last here in 2022.  And, le sigh.  I was really hoping that, when I picked this band off of the poster, that I was picking some sweet guitar rock stuff. WOLF RAWK!  I was very wrong.  This is kinda R&B/hip-hop, mostly plain pop, with loads and loads of voice effects that make it seem childish.

Two albums.  2021's We Love Dogs! is a bunch of remixes of her singles.  So, like, instead of a cohesive album of original songs, it will be two different remixes of a bunch of her tracks.  One of them involves Beck, although he never sings, and its pretty alright.  She never turns her voice into a funhouse mirror nightmare in that one.  In "Woo!" with Panda Bear she screams like Bjork having a baby.  2021's Juno was next, and then it looks like a new album is on the way because she is slowly releasing more tracks here in 2024.

Her top single is "Photo ID," with 76 million streams.  From a 2020 EP called I'm Allergic to Dogs!

Minecraft ass video.  With the song, the tune is kinda catchy when the chorus pops in, but her computerized vocal tones make my mouth turn down like a grandmother who just saw a nose piercing.  Sometimes I fear that I'm hitting the age when nothing new is every going to be appealing again.  I'll just have to die alone with my copy of Automatic for the People clutched in my sad old hands.  I like the funky part in the chorus, but I don't much care for the vocals or the verse music.

When she was a senior in Palo Alto, she appeared on the 2014 season of American Idol.  Let's see if her voice was intentionally grating back then?  Here's an interview.  No singing.

Loogit all that hair!  Here's a live video of singing from the year after that American Idol year.

Good voice - but she's still using effects.  Her Wikipedia says that she was in the audition rounds of American Idol, and got her golden ticket, but then "without any formal dismissal, mysteriously didn't re-appear later on in the show."  MYSTERY!?!?!

One of her remixed songs was used in an iPhone commercial:

I actually remember that commercial!  Neato!

"Woo!" (the original version) is actually kinda funky and good.  "Hello Hello Hello" (again, the original version) has a little calypso feel to it.  "Disco Man" is kind of a groovy R&B jam.  But my overall feeling with each of these songs is that they are just SO MUCH.  Just bring me a plain ass song for once.  Actually, a track from that 2021 album is a little closer - almost an early Amy Winehouse vibe.  "Liz" from 2021.  43.6 million streams.

Well, I thought it was a little more normal, but that is just the first section.  After that, she's still pushing it a bit too far for me.  Who is this Liz lady who is making you get so damn excited?  And skee-boppin' all over the place...

Let's pop in one of the new singles, just for reference, here is "Cinderella" with 14.8 million streams.

Oh.  Well, yeah, I kinda dig that one.  Funky, with horns, and a solid groove.  It sounds like she is just singing too - not trying to break glass or use weird effects.  Who knows, she might actually have something going on here with the new disc.  Another single from there - "Motorcycle" - definitely has a Winehouse vibe going on.  Oh, but "Alone in Miami" is not good at all.  Hmmm.  Uneven.  I wish they were all as funky as Cinderella.

I probably wouldn't go watch this one, but Saturday may be a day where I must both be a beggar and chooser.