As temps heat up across Texas, a sun-soaked lethargy is sure to overshadow any idealized productivity. And it seems like a lot of acts have recently been seizing the day by releasing their roadmaps for the rest of the year. So let’s go ahead and add a danceable data point to our early album detection […]

Now that COVID-19’s no longer deemed a public health emergency, the fog of the past three years has begun to dissipate, and memories of the “before times” don’t seem so distant now. Like, remember when KUTX named Austin duo Flora & Fawna as our September 2019 Artist of the Month? We made a real airwave […]

With a keen ear and an ability to recognize and synthesize defining patterns, musicians can realistically recreate any style with a bit of fine-tuning, even if they’re across the globe from their sonic scene of choice. But to escalate regional emulation into innovation without tipping listeners off to your nationality? That takes a special breed. […]

Even though its initial ubiquity arrived in the late ’70s/early ’80s, synth-driven compositions, regardless of which decade they came from, continue to sound intrinsically futuristic. I mean down to the digital DNA underneath the instrument’s nuts and bolts, the synthesizer has always embodied a sci-fi aesthetic. Of course, nearly a half century down the line, […]

When it comes to songs about holidays (at least here in the U.S.), the most popular is of course Christmas, followed by Halloween, and perhaps…St. Patrick’s Day coming in at third? Either way, it’s a rarity to hear a “holiday” song that doesn’t lean into the Hallmark hokeyness. But if there’s one thing that Wilson […]

Compared with the political climate of our neighbors, Central Texas, and in particular, Austin, may seem like kind of a sect within the Lone Star State. And that’s not just a matter of being the “blueberry in the tomato soup”. It’s a reflection of our regional music styles as well. To an outsider, our ability […]

As much as us at KUTX sing the praises of native Austinites, we’d never dream of detracting from their adjoining contemporaries who are essentially a stone’s throw outside our city limits. Take for example Austin born-and-raised singer Paige Hill, who’s currently headquartered in Dallas. As part of her steady ascent to statewide stardom, Paige partakes […]

As progressive as some parts of the US purport to be, it can be insanely easy to not fit within the cog-work of traditional Western values. And without access to proper support, that absence of belonging can tragically lead some “outcasts” to take drastic measures – destruction towards themselves or others. It’s a human condition, […]

Even though it’s been five years since Charles Bradley left us, the sensation’s parting message still stands strong: that it’s never too late to break out and follow your dreams. Bradley’s experience is plenty inspiring on its own, but imagine having a bona fide genre legend tell you they remind you of themselves in their […]

Us at KUTX have never felt a need to shy away from our unabashed love of multi-national-inspired psych; a typical playlist of ours will usually pepper in some Adrian Quesada, Khruangbin, or Golden Dawn Arkestra, so today we’ve got great news for anyone with similar tastes. It comes on behalf of Reno three-piece Whatitdo Archive […]

Pop music is chock full of people flexing. Sure, it goes all the way back to the days of vaudeville, but especially in the 21st century, Billboard chart-toppers can’t seem to stop talking about how hot, rich, or tough they are. Such bold boasts are appealing to emulate amidst teenage angst, but as music lovers […]

In today’s inclusive landscape of listener tastes, even the tiniest traces of crossover can lead to big impact craters later on. But for that to work, an artist had best select the strongest elements from a finite geography of genres rather than overpopulate their originals with way too many styles. That “quality over quantity” formula’s […]

When soon-to-be-newlyweds exchange vows, they’re typically talking in terms of for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, or in sickness and in health. But for more creatively-charged couples it goes without saying that there’s also a dedication to high-quality collaboration, through thick and thin. Take for instance native Austinites Mac and B McNally, who’ve […]

When he founded Austin retro-R&B-soul septet Soul Track Mind in 2008, there’s no way fronting singer Donovan Keith could predict how much his favorite genre would grow over the next fifteen years. In that decade and a half, the efforts of Sharon Jones & The Dap-Kings, Charles Bradley, Mayer Hawthorne, and these Texas trendsetters evolved into an […]

When art rock first emerged against the counterculture explosion of the late ’60s, its ability to slyly insert societal and political remarks into avant-garde arrangements and multi-sensory experiences (think Warhol’s relationship with The Velvet Underground) was a real piece of modern renaissance. As the ’70s transitioned into the ’80s, art rock’s prime offspring (punk rock […]

As of this publication, there’s a decent chance of severe thunderstorms in today’s forecast. But if you’re the type that doesn’t mind braving the elements (or at least a chance of getting rinsed in a car-to-front-door sprint) to support your local music scene, 1) you’re a trooper that deserves commendation and 2) we’ve got one […]

Prior to my career with KUTX, my main musical contributions were on trumpet as part of fifteen-piece’s hefty horn section. And speaking from personal experience, it’s incredibly liberating to spend time outside of a big group and redirect some focus towards solo songwriting. So based on his time playing bass with Minneapolis eleven-piece Black Market […]

As a native Austinite that rarely spends a week out of eyeshot of our ever-elevating skyline, I’m hardwired to be somewhat of a city slicker. So I’m always kind of surprised when a folk performer decides to settle down in our noisy, crowded, metropolitan hub. But hey, more folk music for us, right? Among those […]

For nearly a full century now, Cumbia’s infectious rhythms have crept out further (both North and South) from its breeding grounds in Colombia. That intercontinental dissemination has led to a plethora of subgenres, and thanks to Texas’ relatively close proximity to Central and South America, some those tendrils (most notably ’60s-style Peruvian psychedelic cumbia or […]

If you weren’t already well aware, we here at KUTX love Walker Lukens; we shined our Artist of the Month spotlight on this perfectionist performer back in January 2015, right when Walker Lukens and (his backing band) The Side Arms released their Jim Eno-produced single “Every Night”, a tune that now totes more than two […]

When first branding a new band, a little repetition can go a long way. And throughout the past half century there’s plenty proof of now-iconic acts who made the most out of a name by extending it to both album and song titles; think about Bad Company, Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Motörhead, or more recently, […]

These days, participating in a youth choir – in school, at church, or wherever – is like a gateway drug for future singing sensations. Based on the abundance of success stories in recent history, it’s pretty clear that placing some discipline on your pipes at an early age gives you a huge leg up later […]

The first time I met Chase Weinacht was back in high school. Let’s call it 2008. He and fellow Marmalakes co-founder/frontman Josh Halpern dropped by band practice. Despite their infinitely superior songwriting and performance skills (and assumedly awareness of such), I’ll never forget how humble and supportive they both were. And still are. Fast forward […]

The Cactus Cafe has remained an important cultural crossroad for countless Americana, folk, and country acts. So when a thread is formed between two longtime Cactus veterans (with recognition in their own right) who go on to collaborate outside of Austin’s best listening room, expectations are high. Take for instance two of the most decorated […]

These days us Austinites know all too well that an Adrian Quesada production credit is ostensibly a golden ticket to brilliance. And although Adrian’s predominant territory is Tex-Mex soul, the style that courses through his formulas wouldn’t be what they are without California’s historic Latin psych scene. That’s a no-brainer for native Los Angeleno Rudy De […]

There’s a ton of iconic music adjacent to the 1977 punk explosion, intuitively categorized as “proto-punk” and “post-punk”. And while you could argue discrepancies outweigh similarities between The Stooges’ Raw Power, Television’s Marquee Moon, Gang of Four’s Entertainment!, and XTC’s Black Sea, one word seems to encapsulate the shared aesthetic among protos and posties: “angular”. […]

As a genre modifier, the term “experimental” can be pretty controversial. For purists, unless an artist is redefining sound by employing production, recording, and performance techniques typically unfit for “traditional” music, they’re not gonna consider it “experimental”. But when you take a more lenient approach and avoid strict gatekeeping, you’re bound to discover acts that’ll […]

For wannabe solo acts, the endlessness of electronic music and accessibility of home studios offers an appealing amount of autonomy; rather than recruit a rag-tag rhythm section or accompanist and tease out tunes take after take, you can hunker down, sequence all sorts of sounds out, quantize if needed, and call it a day. And […]

Between the 30th anniversary of the Waco siege and the tragedy that just occurred on the border, the word “fire” might understandably turn some Texans off right about now. But for those who continue to rock out through the pain of the world’s ongoing, encircling dumpster fire…this one is for you. It comes courtesy of […]

Whether its a stubborn molecule of toxic masculinity, a frank reflection on the fragility of life, or just a brash rock ‘n’ roll stereotype, “getting soft with age” is an oft-repeated adage, especially in the world of music. In the decade-long natural maturation of tastes between one’s preteens and post-grad explorations, there can be an […]

Since our late great radio icon John Aielli passed away, KUTX’s airwaves have largely veered away from classical music. But some of the best things about classical music are its timeless universality, its enduring ability to be adapted, and its ripe potential for renewed relevance post-re-interpolation. That’s also is a big part of what drives […]

We’ve got just one more SXSW 2023 recap track for y’all, and it’s a real gem in a clam. It comes courtesy of the Gainesville-cradled jazz-space-pop project Pearl & The Oysters. Multi-instrumentalist-songwriters Juliette Pearl Davis and Joachim Polack are at the core of this classic kitsch-imbued bivalve, who now perform live as a five-piece. The […]

Somehow six whole years have already slipped by since London rapper Little Simz played as part of our annual SXSW live morning broadcast. Of course, Simz has blown up exponentially since her 2017 Four Seasons performance, to the extent that we probably couldn’t have booked her now even if we wanted to. But in an […]

As mentioned on Monday, our Scholz Garten guest Son Rompe Pera did an outstanding job of representing Mexico City’s diverse scene for our live morning broadcast last week. And while SRP made an impression that’ll surely have folks talking til next SXSW, they weren’t the only ones bridging capitals; we were also fortunate enough to […]

After years of supporting Deezie Brown and Jake Lloyd individually, it’s beautiful watching them both earn exponential exposure with this hip-hop/R&B phenomenon that is Geto Gala. The latest phase of a fruitful friendship, Brown and Lloyd had already shared a fair amount of stages together pre-pandemic before capitalizing on their bar-trading chemistry with their eponymous February 2021 studio debut. Alongside […]

Typically around the tail end of SXSW music week, there’s a lot of local magic. It could be Bill Murray hopping behind a dive bar and serving up whatever he wants, or a relatively undiscovered up-and-comer getting an unexpected big break. But today we’re talking about the Austin representation, something that can get easily eclipsed […]

We’ve gotten drenched by several “South By Soaking Wet”s in the past, but rest assured, despite gloomy weather, there’s a lot going on. And any precipitation aside, CIVIC sure as hell is in that mix. Founded in 2017, this Melbourne quintet has continued to follow old school punk rock’s first rules: 1) Don’t overthink it, […]

SXSW provides an excellent opportunity to enjoy international artists right here in our own city limits. Yet for some, the city-wide wanderlust can get overlapped by a desire to discover acts from specific regions. Well, fortunately for those folks, there are a ton of origin-curated SXSW showcases scheduled for this week, both officially and unofficially. […]

Artist multiplicity is a big part of what draws people to Austin, and definitely not just during SXSW. But especially in the midst of SX, it also behooves many to diversify their performances and mix up their on-stage exposure. And for Buenos Diaz singer-guitarist Nick Diaz, that’s “The Name of The Game”. This week Nick’s […]

SXSW Music is the talk of town all this week, and of course we’ve got a handful of live performances for your consideration. Starting off today with another set of four all-caps letters, SUSU. Since the mid-2010’s, jiggish Gemini singers Liza Colby and Kia Warren have guided SUSU through New York City’s steamy indie rock-and-soul […]

Concerning instruments with gorgeous tones and rich cultural histories, the banjo is often overlooked. And it makes sense to some extent; outside the roots world, banjo is rarely front and center. But when an innovator like Béla Fleck or Alison Brown comes along, it’s a refreshing reminder of banjo’s intrinsic magic. Brown has bred an […]

We’ve been talking a lot about our upcoming SXSW Showcase next week at Scholz Garden, with a lineup that’s already got mouths watering. And on top of that, if you’re like me, perusing Scholz’ gasthaus-style menu is guaranteed to put mustard on the mind. But today we’re not talking about Dijon, Bavarian, or the plain […]

Next week is South By South West, which means it’s been three whole years since SXSW 2020’s abrupt cancellation marked the beginning of our ongoing COVID climate. Of course, we now recognize several silver linings, mainly the sudden abundance of free time to follow through with unrealized creative projects, some of which haven’t been heard […]

As much as I miss seeing Walker Lukens & The Side Arms dominate marquees and show bills across town year-round, it’s been really neat watching Walker evolve from a frontman of many hats to a straight-up behind-the-scenes producer. In doing so, Walker’s been able to lend his idiosyncratic sense of sonics and production techniques to […]

Happy Women’s History Month! If you weren’t already aware, over the past year Spoon drummer/Public Hi-Fi producer Jim Eno has been helping to write a new chapter in Women’s History through Project Traction. By opening the doors to Public Hi-Fi and offering a seat behind the board, Eno’s given female and non-binary musicians the skills […]

Remember What Made Milwaukee Famous? Along with Spoon, The Octopus Project, and Explosions in the Sky, WMMF helped to hurl Austin’s explosive mid-2000s indie rock scene into the international zeitgeist. But with the exception of a brief 2019 reunion, What Made Milwaukee Famous has remained largely dormant since the release of You Can’t Fall Off […]

Back in summer 2021, Dripping Springs trio Midland centered their sophomore EP The Last Resort with a pretty straightforward declaration: “It Takes Two to Two Step“. Now that may sound pretty redundant in the world of group choreography, but it’s also true in terms of a performers’ ability to inspire spontaneous dance. Without the help […]

As we’ve come to expect in the Live Music Capital of the World, this past weekend once again treated us to a bevy of release shows. But among the many, one you might’ve missed came on behalf of Madison Baker, who, alongside our September 2019 Artist of the Month Flora & Fawna, Glasshealer, and Clover […]

When the phrase “piano man” comes up, we think of one song and one song only. Which is kind of a bummer, because there are some truly incredible performers who fit the bill here in Austin that frankly put Billy Joel to shame. Among the mightiest on the ivories like Red Young, Dr. Joe, and […]

Part of what makes modern folk-rock acts like Mac DeMarco so memorable is their ability to walk a tightrope between self-deprecating humor, snarky remarks, and heartfelt wisdom. And it makes sense. When you crack a joke or make a bleak shock-value statement, it quickly establishes a surface-level rapport and opens a threshold towards deeper reflections […]

In the world of “gotcha”-style band handles (whose spot on a marquee may entice unsuspecting listeners in under false pretenses)…nothing will ever come close to “Free Beer”. As a result, countless college bands and beyond have adopted the “Free Beer” moniker, nowadays either temporarily or often with some kind of modifier (“Free Beer & Pizza” […]

As the sun beams us into springtime and the Lone Star State starts to heat up, it wouldn’t hurt to check in on our alt-country A/C. And who better to turn to than ACL Fest/Studio 1A veterans The Tender Things? Founded by Heartless Bastards ex-pat Jesse Ebaugh, The Tender Things keep their style of country […]

Maybe it’s this never-ending relay race of global pandemics, the collective cabin fever many of us endured during the recent ice storm, or just a gentle mist of malaise. Whatever the affliction, if the Milky Way’s main attraction is shining when you’re feeling imprisoned indoors, it’s always worth taking a couple of minutes to soak […]

Whatever your NFL affiliations may be, most music lovers would agree who took home the crown last night…Rihanna. But just a couple days before the big Half Time show, us central Texans were treated to our own set of spectacular visuals, courtesy of Damascan Daydreams. Faithful to her handle, multi-instrumenatlist-songwriter-producer Eman Tiba was born in […]

In the late ’60s and early ’70s, jam bands were all the rage. But now, in an era where song durations hinge on short attention spans or knowledge that shorter tunes simply hit bigger streaming numbers faster, jam bands are actually pretty polarizing. Even more recent innovators like Mars Volta or Godspeed You! Black Emperor […]

While we here at KUTX celebrate our 10th birthday, it’s worth revisiting the folks who were KUT 90.5 heavyweights well before 98.9 FM’s call letters were even born. Among that roster of Central Texas mainstays is a real character of the airwaves, singer-guitarist Slaid Cleaves. It’s crazy to think that his breakout fifth LP No […]

It’s been a tough week across Central Texas. Hundreds of thousands are still without power. Agitations over limited amenities reveal just how much we depend on electricity and WiFi to fully participate in our “advanced society”. The worst of this severe winter weather already seems behind us, so might as well return to routine and […]

Cheer Up Charlie’s consecutively scores “Best of Austin” awards, and deservedly so. Within downtown’s highly competitive Red River District, this renowned venue has maintained staying power thanks to its all-welcoming attitude, calculated curations, and unique use of natural landscape. So unsurprisingly, most concertgoers in Austin have made fond memories at Cheer Up Charlie’s, no matter […]

Happy Black History Month! You may know that the first observance took place at Kent State in early 1970, back when the civil rights movement was still fresh in memory and the Black Power movement was just ramping up. But did you know that funk pioneers Kool & the Gang dropped their eponymous debut mere […]

When we watch characters like Marge Simpson or Mad Men‘s Betty Draper, their “homemaker” status is typically the butt of a joke. However after plenty of post-lockdown reflections, the status quo has clearly shifted back to domestic preferences. And although she’s worked damn hard for her planet-spanning, twenty-plus-year success, Canada’s Jill Barber is ready to […]

Seasons are changing and wintertime migrations are abound. But here in the Live Music Capital of the World, we’ve learned that there’s an influx of musicians from other musical metropolitans year-round. One of which, Ohio-raised multi-instrumentalist Sam Shaffer, recently hopped down here not too long ago. After a handful of albums and countless performances with […]

Based on one fossil of a film franchise, we’ve pretty much come to belief that most archaeologists have some sort of a side hustle. And although they haven’t had escapades like Indy’s quite yet, today we’re digging into Austin’s Bennett Dampier. Dampier recently wrapped up his Master’s in Archaeology at Texas State, which is impressive […]

Last March we tipped you off about Austin’s Light Wheel, right around the release of their sophomore LP See Through. The Shining-level chemistry between producer Evan Dunivan and vocalist Tyagaraja Welch is still going strong, and still, according to them, best enjoyed live. Rounded out with a two-man rhythm section, Light Wheel continues to put […]

Over the past couple months, both on air and online, we here at KUTX have all been geeking out over this rising four-piece Redbud. I mean, they’re immaculate. Redbud’s misty indie-psych-pop swamp almost obscures how much each member dedicates to this project; on surface value they all kind of seem too cool for school (especially […]

If a classically-minded academic comes across the name “Hall Johnson”, they’ll likely think of one figure and one figure only: the highly-renowned composer, arranger, and choir conductor of African-American spirituals. And although we are rapidly approaching Black History Month, contemporary scholars of the local scene have probably already pieced together who we’re really talking about…indie-rock […]

For the better half of last year, our staff made damn sure you knew the name Jake Ames. As co-founder of our May 2022 Artist of the Month Good Looks, Ames helped introduce us to “Vision Boards”, a KUTX airwave darling that’s seemingly become a generation-defining indie rock anthem. You may also remember that Ames […]

Happy Martin Luther King, Jr. Day! In commemoration of nonviolent protest, overcoming societal struggles, community engagement, and voicing our dreams, today we’re putting the focus on Fantastic Negrito. Born just 74 days before Dr. King’s assassination, Xavier Dphrepaulezz spent his teens witnessing Black oppression firsthand while selling drugs and toting guns in Oakland at the […]

After enough time in a live music hub such as ours, one of the most satisfying things to see is when local acts join forces, hit the road together, and take the nation by storm. Want to bear witness yourself this weekend? You’re in luck! As part of our 10th Birthday Concert Series, this Sunday […]

It’s not really an industry secret that some of the very best songwriters are the most patient ones, the ones who soak up a ton of pre-existing stuff before ever playing their first note. And needless to say, if you’re close to the Live Music Capital of the World, you and your creative sponge are […]

As we hit double digit days in the new year, it’s worth mentioning that in the past week and a half alone, a bevy of superb songs have already sweetened the deal for 2023. And there’s proof in the purring! Roughly one year after premiering a triplet of live performance videos on YouTube, Austin quartet […]

I’ve talked plenty before about my affinity for ambient music. So when those healing frequencies are made more accessible through pop production techniques, it’s absolutely an attention-getter. And if there’s one pair from North of the Border you ought to keep on your ambient pop radar, it’s unmistakably Best Fern. Built from the ground up […]

We hint quite a bit about the significance of risky pivots. Of course, as casual listener-observers, we usually only see the success stories, not the hurdles to get there. But when someone does pull it off, it’s incredibly satisfying to see (and hear). Which brings us to Barb. Born Barbara Klavin, this Austinite spent her […]

For much of the English-speaking world, the genre we call “New Wave” can be pretty easily categorized. However it’s worth noting that this late ’70s/early ’80s post-punk pop movement wasn’t actually the original “new wave”. That title goes to the little ’60s Brazilian post-samba sensation known as “Bossa nova“. Of course, the very best Bossa […]

We’re still only in the first handful of days for 2023, and in the Live Music Capital of the World…you know what that means. It’s Free Week! And if you haven’t heard yet, KUTX has a locally-curated showcase coming up in a couple days. It’ll kick off 8PM this Friday at Cheer Up Charlie’s with […]

Back in Summer of 2016 a quartet calling themselves A Case For Brooklyn treated the Austin area to an ear-catching original; entitled, “All Your Money”, it was a killer tryst of styles that recalled RHCP, Björk and No Doubt, which is a pretty strong start to say the least. Yet soon after these longtime friends […]

Well…it’s the very last Song of the Day for 2022. As mentioned before, we’ll be off for a couple weeks and returning with an exciting batch of premieres on Monday, January 2nd. But with Christmas just over a week away now, we’d be remiss if we didn’t save the very best 2022 yuletide tune for […]

In the small riverside town of Clearwater, Kansas, claims to fame are few and far between. Now that’s not a slight on Clearwater; I’m well aware that we can’t all reside someplace with a prestigious nickname like “The Live Music Capital of the World”. But aside from adjacency to the historic Chisholm Trail and producing […]

If there are two genres that are grossly misunderstood by masses (and frankly abused) through pop culture soundtracks…they’re Christmas music and Bossa Nova. For the former, we’ve been conditioned to expect schmaltzy exchanges or comic Griswold-esque catastrophe. For the latter, it’s typically a toss-up between elevator music and sexy-yet-playful moods. But of course, both can […]

It’s the final five features for Song of the Day‘s 2022 season. We’re taking a vacation for a couple weeks, but don’t fret; we’ll be back bright and early next year. Until then we’re hanging some of the very best musical mistletoe of the past months, starting off with Austin’s own David Shabani. Born in […]

Trap-pop. It’s decidedly a young person’s game. I mean sure, you’ve got “older” folks like Drake and Doja Cat purveying it on the Billboard charts but really, the target demographic and the generation who’s going to take it to the next level are people in their teens and twenties. Which brings us to Wil Brookhart. […]

Austin area indie-rock/guitar-pop connoisseurs ought to be well acquainted with the legendary experimental outfit Cotton Mather. The core members of Cotton Mather have kept each other company for a little over two decades, albeit non-consecutive ones. And yet you might still be unfamiliar with Cotton Mather co-founder Harold Whit Williams’ solo endeavor, Daily Worker. To […]

You’ve heard of Christmas in July…but July Talk in December? No, your calendar’s not having an existential crisis. But if you want new music at home and live in person, today we’ve got a recommendation and premiere all packed into one. Chances are, you’ve never experienced anything quite like July Talk. For the past decade […]

You’ve heard a ton about our Holiday Sing-Along over the past couple weeks, and today we’ve got good news for both Grinches and Gingerbread Architects alike. To the former, you won’t be hearing those promos after this weekend. To the latter, we’ve got an early stocking stuffer for you. That’s because shortly after the tree […]

Every December, everyone says that this year was the absolute worst. And while I won’t debate the objective demerits of 2022, it sure has felt like an especially long turn around the sun. It’s wild to think about, but at the end of this month, we’ll technically be twice as close to 2025 as we […]

Prog-pop. Admittedly not the most expected pairing compared to its ’70s counterpart prog-rock. But here’s where it gets interesting. Austin three-piece Easy Compadre! also incorporates a little bit of cumbia, synth-wave and other worldly styles into their sonics. Comprised of guitarist Hector Tednoir, keyboardist/bassist Oscar Botello and percussionist Chido Machine, Easy Compadre’s been doing their […]

With one only month left until the year’s close, the need to recharge has become a higher priority worldwide. Even the most prolific creatives benefit from a period of recess, and when they come back, more often than not they’re better than ever. Among those who’ve made the most of their time off is Turkish […]

Way before Elon Musk or Joe Rogan moved here, I remember seeing a ton of bumper stickers and T-shirts with slogans like these: “Don’t L.A. my A.T.X.”, “Don’t Dallas My Austin”, and yes, even “Don’t Put Your Big ‘D’ in My Little ‘A’”. Now, I can’t recall the last time I saw one of those […]

It’s a gloomy start to 2022’s final thirty-nine steps. And in embracing the wintertime blues, it’s the perfect time to indulge in a hazy, understated, all-lowercase aesthetic. Which, here in Austin, brings us to on being an angel. For the past three years this quartet sewn seeds of pop melodies across faint fields of fuzz […]

Longtime fans of Austin four-piece Big Bill no doubt still feel the effects of their unexpectedly refreshing hard left turn earlier this year. For those out of the loop, midway through 2022 Big Bill released Public Freakout Compilation, chronicling the group’s shift from their once-signature ’80s-esque angular post-punk into lackadaisical ’90s-style indie rock. But the […]

Jazz has pretty much always been my favorite genre. But along the way, I’ve discovered that the biggest barrier of getting into newer stuff (for myself, personally) is a general lack of connection to any sort of jazz royalty. Fortunately, that’s not the case with Dezron Douglas. Once apprentice to the late legend Jackie McLean, […]

Phantogram. Big Freedia. George Clinton. For most folks, opening for any one of ’em would be the crowning achievement of their career. But to have shared the stage with all three, not to mention Bob Moses, Lettuce drummer/producer Adam Deitch, and other legends in under a decade? On Trouble in the Streets‘ list of milestones, […]

Indie music in Austin, Texas: there’s a lot of it. You’ve got indie rock, indie pop, a little bit of indie electronic, and my personal favorite, indie folk. And that’s strictly due to the incorporation of acoustic instruments, something Austin duo Deer Fellow excels at. Made up of violinist-pianist-vocalist Alyssa Kelly and guitarist-vocalist Matt Salois, […]

A few things for the many who love Sarah Shook & The Disarmers…Number one, get in line. Number two, relax. They didn’t break up; they’ve got tour dates starting up again in late January. Number three, and most importantly, you might’ve slept on Shook’s still-sprouting solo project, Mightmare. In another victory for the queer music […]

With the autumnal onset of dreary, drippy weather here in Central Texas, this past weekend was kind of a wash for live events; at KUTX, we ended up postponing our final Rock the Park performance of 2022 a full week. But if you’re not as easily deterred by the elements, you might’ve made your way […]

Back at the turn of the millennium it was a pretty interesting phenomenon seeing the label “alt-rock” dominate genre preferences. Now, immersed in the status quo of DAWs and MIDI arrangements a full generation later, we’ve come full circle with “alt-pop”. So if you’re on the prowl for the top purveyors of alt-pop right here […]

No matter the kind of creative, a hard pivot takes a lot of guts. Be it George Carlin dropping “straight” in favor of “straight up” or Danielle Ponder leaving her legal firm to focus on her pipes, those risky shifts can end up being unique, life-changing gifts. Among the more recent entries into that roster? […]

Seasons are quickly shifting, and not just with the weather. We’ll be wrapping up the 2022 season of Song of the Day on Friday, December 16th, winding down this year alongside fellow KUTX creation Song Confessional. If you’re not hip to Song Confessional‘s concept, here are the basics. Volunteers come clean about an incident in […]

On behalf of KUTX, here’s a confession of sorts: we could lean a little more on the heavier stuff. And I’m not saying that just because I’m rocking the long, windmill-ready thrash hair right now. There really are some sensational prog metal (or at least hard rock-adjacent) songwriters sprinkled across Austin. Exhibit A: Souls Extolled. […]

Reno, Nevada…not typically a place thought of as a hub for water-sports. And maybe that’s the point; between the desert flora and the arid atmosphere, it’s almost as if someone laid a pox on “The Biggest Little City in the World” for aquatic fanatics. A Surf Curse, if you will. For nearly a full decade, […]

Boy, there’ve been a lot of new Austin acts popping up in 2022. And while artist multiplicity has made gatekeeping and curation a bit more complicated than it was in the pre-DAW era, we still try our best to show off up-and-coming artists around town. Yet our airwaves simply cannot catch everything. That’s why Song […]

Our Saturday night specialty program The Breaks does a great job of highlighting hip-hop from the heart of Texas. But with an increasing number of émigrés ditching the Lone Star State for greener pastures out West and elsewhere, The Breaks simply can’t catch everything. Because of that, today we’re spinnin’ some new stuff from native […]

Among the many personality types out there, those whose favorite holiday is Halloween are the ones I prefer to keep close. So if you’re like me and want to get the most brimstone for your buck on October 31st (despite celebrating Halloween year-round), welcome Grandma Mousey into your nightmare. This indie rock trio’s been trickin’ […]

Way back in March we helped to introduce Project Traction, a mentorship program from engineer extraordinaire Jim Eno designed to level the playing field for women and non-binary creatives in the world of production. Well, Project Traction’s got a new batch of tracks, the first of which is a real groove seducer. About-town Austinites (and loyal fans of The […]

Beginning with his 2016 debut LP Shake It on Down, Los Angeles singer-guitarist Max Fite has been magnifying in on a mighty fine line of hard rock. This magnum force has already toured alongside legends likes of Puddle of Mudd, Johnny Thunders, Social Distortion’s Mike Ness, Blondie’s Clem Burke, and oh yeah, even Sex Pistols’ […]

Although you probably didn’t get a personal calendar notification about it, today is in fact Public Radio Music Day. Admittedly, that may not sound as appealing as say…”Pet A Puppy September” or “Free Drugs Friday” but in its third commemoration, we’re celebrating unity among public radio music stations, artists, and fans to highlight the contributions […]

Back in my day if you wanted to be one of the first to lay eyes on a new music video, you basically had to stay locked onto TRL. And if you wanted your music video to get played, you probably had to have an industry contact in the early internet era. So no disrespect […]

It’s the first day of our Fall Membership Drive and the final day of sharing our ACL Fest Pop-Up performances…so we saved the best for last. True to her surname, Danielle Ponder has no holds spending time deep in thought. In fact, that introspection somewhat recently led her to an objectively risky shift – leaving […]

Although much of it might’ve been spent on the couch streaming Hulu, we feel like one of the brightest highlights of ACL Fest Weekend One was Adrian Quesada’s Boleros Psicodelícos. And that’s mainly thanks to the sheer quantity and astonishing caliber of international vocalists who flooded the forty-five minute set Saturday afternoon on the Honda […]

We’re on Day Two of featuring our Austin City Limits pop-up performances, and given the recent shift in seasons (plus a gorgeous full moon casting joy across Zilker during Weekend One), we’d be remiss if we didn’t listen back to Luna Luna. Following up their third full-length Flower Moon (and a steadily growing brand of […]

Oh boy, after two long weekends out at Zilker Park, we’re betting the vast majority of fest-goers are dead tired after Austin City Limits. Not us though! Our impeccable multimedia team’s been hard at work turning around an exclusive batch of intimate, backstage performances, starting today with Dehd. Six years since their eponymous debut, these […]

As is tradition here at KUTX, ACL tends to dominate our airwaves the first half of October. But overlapping across both fest coverage and Hispanic Heritage Month is our October 2022 Artist of the Month, Como Las Movies. With the exception of a two-year hiatus, the Spotify-curated, AMA-nominated Austin-based cumbia-indie-pop quartet has been spearheaded by […]

It’s been really cool to see folks we’ve featured as our Artists of the Month advance up into official ACL acts. Yesterday we gave a shoutout to our May 2022 AotM Good Looks and today we move onto Urban Heat. This post-punk three-piece first stopped into Studio 1A back in February to swelter listeners with […]

As promised, we’re perusing a whole new batch of Austin ACL acts for you to enjoy during Weekend Two, continuing today with indie four-piece Good Looks. We named Good Looks as our May 2022 Artist of the Month right around the release of their landmark debut LP Bummer Year. But despite the seven-song’s title, and […]

The dust may still be settling from Weekend One of ACL, but if the past three days of festin’ just weren’t enough for you, we’ve got a whole new batch of recommendations. Big fans of The Breaks ought to recognize the name J Soulja as one of the specialty show’s longest heavy rotation mainstays, and […]

The gate’s are open and Austin City Limits Music Festival 2022 is a go! And here just in time for Hispanic Heritage Month will be Latin-American music-melter Lido Pimienta. Born in Barranquilla, Colombia and raised in Ontario, this Toronto-based singer-songwriter has spent the past twelve years infusing flavors like Bullerengue and Cumbia with synth-driven art-pop. […]

Just before noon tomorrow, the gate’s’ll open up and Austin City Limits Music Festival 2022 will officially be underway. So if you plan on being out there bright and early, you might want to taste the Big Apple flavors of Brooklyn three-piece Nation of Language. Bassist Michael Sue-Poi and multi-instrumentalist Ian Richard Devaney founded Nation […]

Grupo Fantasma. Brownout. Black Pumas. Glorietta. Ocote Soul Sounds. No matter what outfit you know him from the best, it’s adequately clear that Adrian Quesada has a near-unquenchable artistic appetite. And on the verge of his upcoming instrumental LP Jaguar Sound – the visionary’s second full-length for 2022 – Quesada and his Boleros Psicodélicos crew […]

It’s that rare sliver of the year where the weather is great the whole day through. And for me personally, that’s all the motivation I need to get out and enjoy live music, indoors or out. Even if the venue’s little more than a concrete box, as long as there’s airflow, I’m out there dancing. […]

KUTX turns ten next year. And two groups that’ve been glued to our hip the whole way through are The Bright Light Social Hour and Riders Against the Storm. They’re both must-hear Austin mainstays for a damn good reason; The Bright Light Social Hour continues to innovate a sweet-yet-sinister indie-psych sound while Riders Against the […]

Decades after acts like Les Paul & Mary Ford, Captain & Tenille, and Ike & Tina had their heyday, seeing the phrase “husband-and-wife duo” can personally make me wince. Like we get it; you love each other, you’ve got great chemistry together, and you have a lot of emotions you need to dispense, but often, […]

Contemporary curators for some of the best instrumental genres (namely jazz) seem to be fearless when it comes to digital hi-fi production. But thankfully, some of the finest facilitators of the funk-soul sound still prefer the “authentic” old school character of analogue techniques. Amongst them is Hammond organ extraordinaire Adam Scone. Scone and his magic […]

If you’re a lover of traditional Indian music like I am, you won’t want to miss a certain concert in town this weekend. Just two weeks after the release of their seven-song full-length Saath Saath, Mumbai sitar maestro Purbayan Chatterjee and flautist Rakesh Chaurasia are set to perform 7PM this Saturday at Bates Recital Hall. […]

If you dig Belle and Sebastian’s brand of indie pop along with Mazzy Star’s style of alternative rock and have ever wondered what a lovechild of the two might sound like…let us introduce you to Glassreel. This Winnipeg project began as a duo between core songwriters Kelly Beaton and Trevor Graumann before rounding out a […]

There are so many artists out there with names that are virtually un-Google-able. And if they’re from Austin, it’s not really helping their SEO. I mean just try searching “Hikes Austin”…you’re not gonna find music. Hell, even Spoon might’ve had some trouble in their earlier days. Which brings us to Rental House. No, it’s not […]

I suspect that when many people of my generation hear the word “Chancy” out loud, they probably think of that egg loving Pokémon rather than the adjective. And while that demographic tends to have strong feelings about the “original 151”, collectors of indie-pop-rock ought to add Chancy to their musical Pokédex. This Dallas quintet only became Chancy after they […]

If you weren’t aware, today is the first day of Hispanic Heritage Month, which brings up an interesting discourse. Surface level listeners may experience a kind of culture shock when they hear the Spanish language outside of the subliminally-associated genres; if it’s not cumbia, reggaeton, or traditional Latin, it might sound “out of place”. And […]

Steve Miller Band. Jamiroquai. Kacey Musgraves. They’ve all written songs called “Space Cowboy”. And considering the continued popularity of those tunes, it’s safe to say that “space cowboy” is no longer a derogatory term for a shameless stoner. No, it’s something musicians want to wear on their sleeve. Which brings us to Garrett T. Capps […]

There’s no doubt; Denver’s got a splendid music scene. Yet despite an artist multiplicity that gives Austin a run for its money, it’s rare to come across an act that captures several sounds of the city simultaneously. So if you want a calculated combo of post-hardcore guitar, jazz-injected percussion, and turbulent pride-of-punk bass riffs, sign […]

Nick Wallisch and his ever-growing cache of instruments have been a staple of the Live Music Capital for nearly a quarter century now, complete with crushing performances on drums, bass, piano, ukulele, and even penny whistle. That’s not to say Wallisch doesn’t play guitar as well (of course he does) but throughout recent memory he’s […]

Connoisseurs of Americana (or “Americonnoisseurs” as I like to call them) can probably recognize the music of Freedy Johnston within a few notes. Back in the early ’90s Johnston became somewhat of a legend thanks to an unfettered dedication to his craft and a consistent, high quality output of tunes. As a matter of fact, […]

Astrology. It’s a one-of-a-kind litmus test in casual conversation; either people will scoff at you for believing that gobbledegook or chastise you for not knowing your ascendant. But if there’s one demographic who seems to get a unanimous pass, it’s lyricists. From Deep Purple’s “Maybe I’m a Leo” to Des’ree’s “What’s Your Sign?” and Nirvana’s […]

Like the Jan Brady of national holidays, Labor Day is an oft-overlooked middle child between the Fourth of July and Thanksgiving. So, quick bit of “birthday” trivia; although it’s American-manufactured, some historians believe Labor Day may have been inspired by Toronto’s worker-centric parades held in 1882. Which means we ought to recognize our neighbors to […]

When California comes to mind, it’s easy to imagine three hundred and sixty sunny days a year. But between earthquakes, floods, mudslides, wildfires, and other natural disasters (we’ll even throw in this global pandemic for posterity)…it’s not just a coastal breeze over there. Whatever the weather, Cali can always rely on some really cool cross-cultural […]

Between Methyl Ethyl, Jen Cloher, Tame Impala, G Flip, Courtney Barnett, and The Avalanches…KUTX plays so much ‘down under’ music that we could probably get away with rebranding ourselves “The Aussie Music Experience”. But that’s not just a bad pun; there’s plenty of truth behind the cross-continental exchange between America and Australia. See, Austin does have a sister city […]

There’s no sensation quite like discovering a new artist, and when a group has really fun song titles, that joyous curiosity can show up well before you even press “play”. One glance at track names like “Tijuana Blowout”, “Check Please”, and “Whiskey Diviner” clues you into the inherent lighthearted friendship that fuels Austin quartet Sweet […]

Before the indie pop chirality of Lucius caught on our airwaves, and heck, even before KUTX was its own music station, there was only one “Lucius” to be reckoned with on Austin radio – Uncle Lucius. From the early-mid-oughts all the way through the late twenty teens, frontman Kevin Galloway and his keen grasp of blues-R&B-country rock […]

We’ve all experienced impostor syndrome in one way or another. For musicians, it typically comes in the form of filling a bill considered “out of their league” or trying their hand at a style that’s not as rehearsed as the rest of their repertoire. But you’ll never know unless you try, right? Because that’s exactly […]

Now this is purely anecdotal, but it seems like there’s an awful lot of traffic between Austin and New York. Must be something about a cross-metropolitan cultural exchange between the Big Apple and the Live Music Capital…Whatever the weather, one peripheral instance of that migration pattern graciously gifted us singer-guitarist Michael Paul Lawson. Lawson’s parents […]

For many artists, you can pretty much determine their main influences based on a cursory first listen. Safe to say though, it’s much more stimulating when you can’t quite crack the code, only figuring out the formula when you learn about the musicians’ role models, like the last piece in a puzzle. That’s been our […]

College years are often the most formative for young musicians who are eager to break out of the rigidness of academia and into the boundless world of “adult” songwriting. And typically it’s not until after graduation that these creatives can fully re-commit to their craft and progress their inventiveness. People like singer Susannah Joffe, who […]

Yesterday we celebrated the intrinsic ingenuity of human creativity, but we didn’t touch on one of the most important aspects: writing your way through trauma. It’s a healing property that goes all the way back to the ancient storytelling tradition of African percussion, but for Austin-based singer-guitarist Jeremy Nail, the weightiest wounds were his 2012 […]

Here’s the biggest understatement you’ll read today: creativity is an incredible human asset. We reach into the aether and pull out something that previously didn’t exist. But in the eyes of consumers and curators alike, that’s only half the battle. For them, bringing the abstract into fruition as a tangible, easily-accessible document is what separates […]

Aside from poignant politics, pulsating synths, and plenty of fuzz pedal, it’s not all that easy to define post-punk. Even when you dive into the minutiae of music glossary terms, there’s still a sprawling spectrum of post-punk ranging from angular, analogue noise to straight up digital bass and beats. Fortunately there are also forays like […]

Now I don’t want to jinx the elements, but with only one triple digit high in the forecast for this week, it seems like we might finally be cooling down just a bit. So if you’ve been in sweaty solitude and need to take advantage of this (presumably brief) seasonal respite, we’ve got a couple […]

In the state of contemporary recording, session EPs are a pretty refreshing concept. By limiting yourself to one space and removing any access to punch-ins, session records evoke the “one-take” magic of century-old methods, back when capturing an authentic live performance was the industry standard. Phil Hurley‘s experienced the best of both, having tracked with […]

In 2019 I got a big kick out of Kacey Musgraves’ “Album Of The Year” Grammy acceptance speech for Golden Hour; it was so heartwarming to see a future country superstar acknowledge her trustworthy team, whose efforts took a record with little hype or radio recognition all the way to the top. And if you […]

It’s been almost a full decade since I graduated college, and I’d like to think that those I haven’t kept up with remember me for my two biggest creative endeavors at the time: playing trumpet and producing jazz-sampled hip-hop beats. I only say that because it seems like a pretty cool combo that I’ve sadly […]

Ranging from Wu-Tang Clan’s RZA & GZA to Austin’s own Slothrust, the first step to truly appreciating an artist is knowing how to say their name correctly. So even though 9m88 may sound more like a robotic bounty hunter to a Native English speaker, when we loosely translate from phonetic Taiwanese, the actual pronunciation rolls […]

So often when we’ve heard someone say, “it’s not a popularity contest”, the opposite turns out to be true. But here in the Live Music Capital, it’s perfectly clear that having a larger-than-life persona and being in vogue will get you pretty far. Enter Austin four-piece Personality Contest, who’ve been curating a style of indie-psych-rock […]

Relationships of all kinds deserve commemoration. Whether it’s with romantic partners or creative projects, after the initial handful of anniversaries, every fifth one merits something grandiose. This year Cincinnati three-piece The Harlequins celebrate their first decade and a half together, with the most recent third of that period spent writing and recording their next album, […]

We here at KUTX aren’t shy about our adoration for Austin songwriter Taylor Wilkins. And why would we be? Between his two semi-eponymous projects – the hard rockin’ Otis the Destroyer and the soft poppin’ Otis Wilkins, Taylor doesn’t really miss. We’re still patiently holding out for a full record from the latter, but Wilkins’ “quality over quantity […]

Without too much hard data to support this claim, songwriters who’ve divided their time between several metropolises and musical hubs tend to have some of the most fascinating insights. Just look at Bruce Smith, who was reared near Detroit and based in Atlanta during his late teens and early twenties. The early portion of Smith’s […]

Long time locals are likely already familiar with the Austin Music Video Festival but what you might not know is that festival co-founder Jeremy David Roye also has his own solo musical project entitled Shimmer Island. When AMVF got postponed due to the pandemic, Roye sent his eight-year-old daughter back to her mother in France, […]

For the past four weeks you’ve heard plenty about our July 2022 Artist of the Month, Urban Heat. But in case these record-breaking temperatures are melting your memory, we’ll give you a quick recap. Analog sound designer/multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Jonathan Horstmann founded the three-piece back in 2019 under the name Urban Heat Island Effect. It only took […]

True to its name, ambient music seems best suited only to certain environments. I mean, we typically associate those sounds with New Age yoga and meditation studios; you’re not in your car cranking those healing frequencies up to 11. But that’s kind of weird, right? That we’ve collectively decided percussion and lyrics are must-haves in […]

True to its name, ambient music seems best suited only to certain environments. I mean, we typically associate those sounds with New Age yoga and meditation studios; you’re not in your car cranking those healing frequencies up to 11. But that’s kind of weird, right? That we’ve collectively decided percussion and lyrics are must-haves in […]

We’ll be honest…we may have jumped the gun by a bit when we first declared Mobley as our April 2018 Artist of the Month. We only say that because over the past four years Mobley‘s artistry has matured tenfold and it seems like he’s only now hitting his stride, thriving in his prime. Last February […]

Pop-punk. Alt-rock. Whichever genre classifiers you choose, it’s ultimately rowdyism and virility that defines Ram Vela & The Easy Targets. Ram Vela & The Easy Targets got started in 2018 and quickly established a brand of melodic punk rock and athletic, adrenaline-drenched live shows. Translating the Austin four piece’s fierce power into the studio without […]

When it comes to performing for pay, there are typically just two types of players; those who merely moonlight with their music and those who quit their day job long ago. But there are also those who’ve done both. People like Nick Pagliari, who spent more than a decade as a full-time musician in Nashville […]

Even during these dog days of summer, singer-guitarist Sunny Sweeney‘s preferred A/C is Americana/Country. Sweeney first crept up over the honky-tonk horizon in 2006 with Heartbreakers Hall of Fame and earned her first three Top 40 Country singles on 2011’s Concrete, cementing herself as a must-hear for millions of new fans. Following a “Top Female […]

At KUTX, we know we’re far from the only radio station in town. And if you’ve done your fair share of channel surfing, you might’ve come across another fine listener-supported frequency, KOOP 91.7FM. For the past half decade KOOP’s been home to Small Cool World, a 90-minute weekly freeform show hosted by T.J. Masters. But […]

When you think of Texas music, you think of Willie, you think country. But despite being the one-time home of Armadillo World Headquarters and current harbor to dance halls like Broken Spoke, White Horse, and Little Longhorn Saloon, there’s just not a ton of straight-up country coming out of Austin nowadays. As a matter of […]

This may be a no-brainer, but here at KUTX, we’ve always got radio on our mind. And we know we’re far from the only Texans where that’s the case. Take for example singer-guitarist Micah Paredes, who moved from Terlingua down here to Austin in 2007. After about a decade of finding his footing and exhausting […]

With only one month of reflection and healing between the racially-targeted attack in Buffalo and the second official observance of June 19th as a Federal Holiday, Juneteenth came amidst an especially complicated sociopolitical context in 2022. On a day meant to celebrate the power and resilience of Black Americans, the troubling juxtaposition forced us to once […]

Back in February, we celebrated Black History Month with Sacred Soul: The D-Vine Spirituals Record Story Volume One & Two, a gospel compilation that introduced once-rare 45s to digital platforms. D-Vine Spirituals was founded by record producer Juan D. Shipp and studio engineer Clyde Leoppard, with Elizabeth King & The Gospel Souls as the label’s […]

It’s always satisfying to hear artists incorporate local flavors once they relocate to a new musical hub. For Pittsburgh-born, Philly-braised songwriter Jac Carson, a move to Austin meant patting down his cut of blues-alt-rock with spices of cosmic country and neo-soul into a style he’s dubbed “New Texas Groove”. Even in light of the setbacks […]

If you didn’t get a chance to get out and have some fun this Fourth of July weekend, you’re probably pretty bummed. So if you want to get ahead of the FOMO and make your own plans for the next few days, we highly recommend checking out The Criticals. The core songwriting duo behind this […]

I’ve never been shy about my love of jazz, pretty much every style across the spectrum, save Dixieland (sorry, not sorry). One of my all-time favorite sub-genres out of that bunch is Exotica, the Latin-leaning, arrangement-driven “easy listening” style made famous by Martin Denny in the ’50s. Now, I know I’m far from the only […]

Back in the ’90s before grunge fizzled out and indie became king, “alternative rock” was all the rage. But that’s not to say the genre’s gone the way of tin pan alley. There are still folks out there who prefer the heavier, less inoffensive side of the rock mega-spectrum, including Austin’s Scott Collins. Ever equipped […]

Major sonic shifts from artists with a well-established sound can be pretty polarizing. But think about all the albums that’ve become iconic simply due to how different they were from their predecessors. Among many others, there’s Bob Dylan’s Bringing It All Back Home, Trans by Neil Young, Alabama Shakes’ Sound & Color and A Sailor’s […]

This past Tuesday we treated you to Kalu & The Electric Joint’s latest single, “Garden of Eden“. And although the elements seem to be at odds with one another (Monday’s freak downpour knocked over my four o’clock flowers, which had been baking in the sun just hours before), a connection to nature, no matter how […]

With the explosive success of Black Pumas, Grupo Fantasma producer Adrian Quesada has become a household name in the mainstream consciousness. But that doesn’t mean Adrian’s the only visionary coming out of Grupo. Far from it. We can’t overlook Grupo Fantasma co-founder and guitarist Beto Martínez, who’s also been the major driving force behind Austin […]

Sporting a leather jacket with frills, hats with brims (not bills), and a voice that both thrills and chills, Jonathan Terrell is still Austin’s arbiter of “cosmic country”. Formerly the frontman of Austin rock outfit Not In The Face, we named Terrell our May 2020 Artist of the Month, right around the same time he […]

For the better part of the past decade, we’ve kept a close eye on Nigerian-born, Austin-based singer-guitarist Kalu James. James first caught our attention with intimate solo acoustic gigs at venues like the Cactus Café right around the release of his 2013 full-length The Offering: Flesh. After linking up with guitarist JT Holt, James co-founded […]

It’s been really endearing to watch projects evolve over the course of COVID, especially when it’s a post-social-distancing expansion of membership. One of those is Austin indie pop-rock outfit AZXO, the brainchild (and amalgamation of initials) of Chinese singer-songwriter Zhipeng Xing and L.A. multi-instrumentalist/producer Alex O’Masta. AZXO first got together at the start of the […]

One of the main reasons why jazz is my personal favorite genre is that once you’re familiar with the Great American Songbook, you basically have a loose blueprint for how each tune’ll turn out. Sure, every rendition is different, but even when chord progressions get lost in genre translation, those classic heads still dazzle. And […]

We hope you’ve been enjoying our Pride Month portraits of local artists over the past few weeks, but in case you haven’t had a chance to read the one on BabiBoi, we’ll give you a quick recap. BabiBoi is the preferred handle for Austin’s Dorian Delafuente, who’s also a co-founder of House of Lepore, one […]

We all know how dangerous social media can be, especially if you’re a solo creative; with the instant feedback and gratification of “likes”, there’s less incentive to craft your art with time and care. That brings us to Austin singer-guitarist-producer Ben Murray, better known by his handle Friend In Law. Friend In Law marries turn-of-the-millennium […]

Having played trumpet in a band whose membership ranged from around fifteen to twenty, “the more the merrier” approach didn’t really translate to exceptional songwriting. Thankfully that’s not the case for Austin nine-piece Honey Made. The first leg of Honey Made’s career was spent in the “party band” realm, wowing crowds more with enduring arrangements […]

To all the Texans, Happy Belated Juneteenth! Even if you’re out of the state, we hope you got to unwind, enjoy some much-needed shade, and maybe even connect better with your local community over the weekend. When it comes to that last bit, there aren’t a whole lot of creatives that’ve gotten tight with their […]

Over the past decade, it’s been an absolute pleasure to watch NOLA pianist-singer-composer PJ Morton move up from mere Maroon 5 recognition into mainstream awareness. His grasp over gospel, R&B, soul, jazz, and beyond have earned PJ Morton four Grammys – Best Traditional R&B Performance for his 2019 cover of Bee Gee’s “How Deep Is […]

Around this time of year, many Texans have the breezy beaches of Corpus Christi on their mind…and with triple digit highs scorching the state, we can’t really blame ’em. So on the off chance that you’re venturing out to the Gulf Coast this weekend, consider an entertainment recommendation to pad out your travel plans. We’re […]

Plano, Texas may have been the childhood home of Boz Scaggs and birthplace of Anson Funderburgh, yet we don’t typically classify the town as a musical hub, and especially not one for electronic music. But then there’s multi-instrumentalist-producer Fernand Vera, a Professor of Music at Collin College and one half of the classical guitar outfit […]

Between blockbuster franchises, AMC spin-off series, and mobile games, we’re steeped in a culture obsessed with the grotesque, amoral, and ever-hungry aspects of zombies. But when you peel back the decaying flesh and fatigued growls, they’re really just creatures of transformation. Considering the positive connotations behind, say the resurrection of Christ or the ascension of […]

In a city as dense as Austin, we’ve got our fair share of transportation problems. Each year we hear exponentially grander solutions to herding a mass of people from Point A to Point B, including the hyperloop design of Elon Musk’s Boring Project. Those bold, sometimes impractical ideas can lead us to reflect on the […]

There’s an adage that’s true for many things, but especially applicable to high-caliber collaborations; “you can’t rush greatness.” In the case of queer, second generation Vietnamese-American songwriter Casie Luong and Cambodian-born producer Wil Brookhart (who recently rebranded himself as waverly), they’ve actually known each other for quite some time, thanks to the Mother Falcon Music […]

Think about all the musical milestones that have come with the introduction of a new lead singer. There’s AC/DC with Brian Johnson, Black Sabbath with Ronnie James Dio, Pink Floyd with David Gilmour and Roger Waters, and Jefferson Airplane with Grace Slick. Now, Austin soul-rock outfit Steady Legend isn’t quite as well-known as those groups…at […]

If you’ve ever listened to Neon Rain, The Wild Jays, or Dream the Electric Sleep, you’ve already heard some of Trevor Willmott’s handiwork. Outside of those groups, this Lexington-born Nashville-based singer-guitarist-producer has also racked up millions of streams with his indie-alternative-folk solo project Cujo Moon. Cujo Moon first crept up in late 2020 with his […]

In some ways, everyone’s a historian; we reflect on our past, rewrite narratives, review documents from before our prime and re-contextualize them so they’re readily-applicable today. That’s doubly true for musicians like Alain Paradis, whose grasp on ’80s music makes his own modern songwriting sound like it came straight out of a time capsule. Paradis’ […]

Thanks to the mainstream success of Black Pumas, Adrian Quesada has become a household name internationally. But we here in Austin are already well-acquainted with Adrian’s preceding projects – be it Grupo Fantasma, Brownout/Brown Sabbath, Glorietta, and even Ocote Soul Sounds. It’s no embellishment to say that Quesada’s a musical visionary, since his ability to […]

First and foremost, Happy Pride Month! Today we’re celebrating by shining the spotlight on blooming Houston songwriter Vivi Rincon. She may only be 21, but between her virtuoso vocal range, fearless lyricism, in-the-pocket guitar patience, and deft sense of dynamics, Rincon’s already proven an amazing talent well beyond her years. While attending Berklee College of […]

Without traumatizing yourself too much, try to tally up how many major moments of turmoil our society’s experienced over the past half decade. It’s a lot. And without trying to sound too hippie-dippie, we’re not going to heal with more hatred. Although she primarily applies it to the constant grind of songwriting, recording, and touring, […]

The COVID-19 outbreak, the anxiety it caused, and the ever-changing conditions of self-quarantine have become a great equalizer; they’ve affected everyone across the globe, regardless of social status, and given us all a little bit of extra empathy towards our fellow man. That phenomena lends itself to the idea of interbeing – the interconnectedness of […]

With the creeping commercialization of folk, you’ll find a lot of lyricists embellishing an idyllic upbringing or a Snow White-level connection to nature like they’re modern day Thoreaus rewriting Walden. But then you’ve got poets like Shaina Goodman, who was treated to a true bucolic lifestyle by her father, a farmer in Delta, Kentucky. Goodman […]

The COVID-19 pandemic has become a major milestone in the way we look at recent times, an unstable start to the 2020s. But of course we can also measure the turn of that decade by looking locally. For the last three quarters of the twenty-teens Austin was home to Fair City Fire, whose masterful heartland […]

If you take your pooch down to the free section of Barton Springs, you’ll recognize that Austin’s a pretty dog friendly town. You could also pick that up from show bills, considering we’re home to groups like A Giant Dog, Dog Beach Rebels, The Ghost Wolves, and the now-defunct Growl. There’s also Dog Island, the […]

A cursory glance at the name Old Sea Brigade may conjure images of surly seventeenth-century sailors, but it’s actually the solo indie-folk project of Nasvhille-via-Atlanta singer-guitarist Ben Cramer. Cramer dropped his eponymous debut Old Sea Brigade in 2016, which quickly accrued acclaim and earned Cramer touring spots alongside the likes of Julien Baker and Hiss […]

What You Will isn’t the easiest band to Google, so we’ll break down the basics for you here. Chris and Jenni Wiggins started the group in 2010 as a straightforward folk duo, and after cutting their teeth at the Kerrville Folk Festival, the band’s expanded into an alternative-indie-folk-rock sextet. For the past year, Jenni and […]

Back in 1943, Woody Guthrie garnered some serious attention by painting an ambitious message on his acoustic guitar: “this machine kills fascists“. Fast forward about four score to the present year and a different global conflict, where a new generation of musicians are picking up where Woody left off. Take for instance, New York’s Jesse […]

Hyperpop…despite its glittery surface-level sound, it’s decidedly not just a genre for teenage girls. But let’s be honest, it’s primarily produced for and consumed by women of younger generations, so you need to cater directly to that audience. Enter NOT THE MAIN CHARACTERS, an L.A. “girl group” that’s really not all that different from The […]

When a player becomes a hot commodity within their musical community, there’s an unsaid understanding that they could probably demolish a solo set all on their own. A perfect example is singer-guitarist Matt Koziol, who’s collaborated with country legends like John Paul White, Abby Anderson, and Jimmie Allen and enjoyed a creative partnership with Bre […]

Pop’s a broad spectrum, a mega-genre that pushes the boundaries of modern production but becomes plenty accessible thanks to foolproof earworm formulas. Austin singer-producer Primo the Alien is something of a pop stalwart, with a discography primarily defined by ’80s-style synth-pop. But it’s the 2020s, and Primo’s keen to keep with the times. So with […]

Supergroups on any scale are just plain exciting. You get some residuals from the previous groups and they hardly ever underwhelm, especially when they first come out of the gate. Enter Cola, a new post-punk project that features Tim Darcy and Ben Stidworthy of Montreal art-punk quartet Ought alongside Toronto drummer Evan Cartwright of U.S. […]

If you listen to our airwaves a lot, then you already know the name A. Sinclair. That’s the eponymous indie rock project of Austin multi-instrumentalist Aaron Sinclair, who doesn’t typically stick to one tempo for long and steers clear of 4/4 time as best he can. That said, A. Sinclair’s secured a reputation of accessibility, […]

There’s a specific league of creatives (let’s be honest, mainly rappers) who can’t help themselves but keep adopting new semi-official monikers. Then there’s the other extreme of strictly eponymous performers (e.g. the vast majority of country music). So there’s gotta be a sweet spot somewhere in between stage name, nickname, and birth name, right? Enter […]

At the risk of sounding pessimistic, it’s not that often that siblings maintain the closeness of their childhood. But there are obviously exceptions, be they Peyton and Eli Manning, Finneas O’Connell and Billie Eilish, or L.A.’s Brandon and Savannah Hudson. The Hudsons have stayed faithful to their commitment of being best buds, a pact made […]

Anyone who practices mindfulness and meditation will tell you that being in the moment is a big deal. The most successful goal-oriented individuals will say it’s never too late to start chasing dreams. Those two fundamentals boil down to seizing the day, something that John Inghram‘s taken to heart in recent times. The Charleston, West […]

It’s been a little under a year since we named Daniel Fears as our July 2021 Artist of the Month, right around the time he shared his debut EP Canopy. Since then this multi-instrumentalist-producer has had no problem selling out shows, thanks to his velvety vocals, intimate lyrics, and surreal R&B soundscapes. And although Fears’ […]

When you first hear of a genre called “heartland rock”…what do you think of? Well according to Austin outfit Buzzard Company, its inspirations lie in blues, garage rock, psychedelia, grunge, and of course, Americana. Buzzard Company got started as a duo in 2019, but rather than let a little global pandemic pick the meat off […]

For people of my generation, the name “Fat Tony” immediately conjures an image of the tired-eye mafioso voiced by Joe Mantegna on The Simpsons. And although rapper Anthony Obi is something of a character himself, his passion and dedication to his craft is no joke. Raised in the historic Third Ward, Obi received the Houston […]

What if you took the drummer for Gary Clark Jr., the bassist for David Bowie, and one of the ringleaders of Glorietta and put them together into a new band? Well it turns out you don’t have to use your imagination for this one. Introducing Branzino! For years David Bowie/Blackstar bass player Tim Lefebvre and […]

¡Feliz Cinco de Mayo! We’re commemorating the date with Veracruz-born songwriter Rafael Mesa Zamudio, better known by his stage and studio name Pehuenche. Be it with traditional Latin American rhythms, modern Mexican flavors, or the folk-pop-rock sonics of the ’60s and ’70s, Pehuenche puts it all together into something entirely new. On top of his […]

A lot of anniversaries follow somewhat of a sequence along a rule of fives; after the first one’s done, you make sure the fifth year’s a big blowout…and by ten it’s typically amplified even more. For Willie Nelson’s Luck Reunion, their ten-year anniversary this past March was an absolute blast, thanks in no small part […]

Upton Sinclair shocked the world with the harsh, humid realities of city life in his 1906 The Jungle. More than a century later, we understand there was a bit of muckraking embellishment in the novel, but you won’t find any unnecessary exaggeration with Urban Heat. Since 2019 this Austin trio’s captivated metropolitan crowds with their […]

Indie, alt-rock, amplifiers and…apples? Yes, it’s all there for Austin quintet KONZI, who began harnessing their creative juices in early 2020 as COVID-19 triggered a global lockdown. And like countless other songwriters, the overwhelming precariousness that came with COVID convinced KONZI to pursue positivity through rock at all costs. That endearing energy is plenty evident […]

Wil Brookhart’s neo-classical background has given him a leg-up on his contemporaries, but it certainly hasn’t defined his sound. Now based in Austin, this Cambodian-born multi-instrumentalist first popped on the radar with his eponymously-released 2019 debut “Warden”, then dove head-first into synth-and-guitar-driven-R&B as producer for Denton’s Carley Bearden, and co-founded the national collaboration Fruit Collective […]

Moving to a new city is hard enough as it is, but to do it in the middle of both a break up and a global pandemic? That’s some serous character building. On the other hand, relocation hasn’t been the biggest challenge for singer-songwriter Seth Walker, who recently left Nashville for Asheville but had spent […]

When you think of the new generation of electronic-based producers, you probably don’t think of high school and college rock bands…but alas, that’s where many cut their teeth. That’s the path Keaton Peters took shortly after picking up the guitar at age 12, all the way until he discovered his love of production once he […]

The mainstream success of Black Pumas has made Austin a destination for lovers of retro R&B-soul. But of course, that style’s not strictly property of the Pumas, and certainly not the only act in town to flaunt the sound. Take for example, Donovan Keith, who moved down here from the midwest in 2009 and began […]

When artists take a hard left turn from their established sound it can be pretty polarizing. But if they can pull it off without losing too many of their defining characteristics…no harm, no foul, right? We’ve got high hopes for Big Bill, an Austin quartet who’s built a repertoire of quirky, ’80s-style art-punk since 2016. […]

There are a lot of ways to pay tribute to one’s pedigree, but few are quite as charming as keeping a family nickname alive. And in an odd sort of role reversal of Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade, Austin singer-guitarist Taylor Wilkins re-appropriated his father’s college moniker “Otis” for a pet dog before adopting […]

“You can take the boy out of Texas but you can’t take Texas out of the boy”; it’s an old adage consistently weighted in truth. Fifth generation Texan Barton Stanley David is a prime piece of evidence, considering he moved back to Dallas in 2019 following a decade in New York City. After that, it […]

Everyone’s referencing “four twenty” on this Wednesday, but if you’re sick of all the pot talk, you may want to shift your focus to another set of symbolic numbers: 323. That’s the area code for South Central, Los Angeles, which is the handle inspiration and home base for rising R&B star Traetwothree. And as opposed […]

When you listen to the vast majority of bands, you tend to hear the same things: drums, bass, guitar, and of course…vocals. But considering that vocals are often just the icing on the cake, an extra level of garnish for a balanced dish, does making accessible music really require the use of a vocalist? Short […]

Back in the ’80s, groups like R.E.M., The B-52’s, and Widespread Panic turned the quiet college town of Athens, Georgia into a hub of alternative music, a legacy that’s since continued with of Montreal, Drive-By Truckers, and Neutral Milk Hotel. That spirit of indie culture is still alive and well today, as made clear by […]

Although we’ve had clearly defined political boundaries since 1836, there’s still an inseparable culture between Texas and Mexico. Whether you call it Tejano or Texican, it’s a give-and-take social process within which Austin’s Graham Reynolds has found a golden opportunity. Graham and the Golden Hornet team have already applied rock production techniques to classical arrangements […]

The vast majority of musical artists are plagued by their influences; either there’s a huge disparity between their sound and that of their role models, or its a cookie-cutter copy of their sound. But when you end up with something new that still has subtle hints of those inspirations…that’s what separates the milquetoast many from […]

Englanders raised after the tides of New Wave had waned and while the turn-of-the-millennium indie rock boom began to quiet down might’ve gravitated more towards the music of the midcentury. That’s exactly what happened with singer-guitarist PM Warson, who, after a stint as a full-time touring musician, has since settled nicely into a ’50s/’60s R&B-soul […]

It’s been three quarters of a decade since Austin songwriter Robin Mordecai shared his last EP Here Goes Something, but fortunately for us he’s finally got another album coming out this weekend. True to its title, Portraits features five succinct snapshots of fictional personalities anchored in ’70s/’80s-style pop rock, not unlike The Cars or Tom […]

Although our neighbors in New Mexico get a lot of alien-centric attention thanks to Roswell, the mystique of the “Marfa Lights” has made Texas a destination for extraterrestrial enthusiasts. And when it comes to “visitors” here on Earth, singer-bassist Geoff Bradford definitely qualifies; with a youth divided between New York City, Western Europe, West Africa, […]

It’s almost been a full decade since four glam rockers got together and started their Austin-based indie-alt-pop-rock affair A Case For Brooklyn. That baby tooth of a band name fell out in 2016 and has since been replaced by a more permanent handle: Ladyfang. Ladyfang’s also maintained a high standard of songwriting, giving us bite-sized […]

Compared to other genre pairings, indie and country typically don’t get corralled together, but they’ve made for some successful formulas in the past, perhaps most notably with Band of Horses. A good representation of those crossroads here in Austin is The Lonesome Heroes, a “cosmic Americana” quartet whose cornered their sunny, acoustic sound over three […]

When your debut single harvests one-and-a-half million streams on Spotify, you must be doing something right. Take for example Austin trio Sneaky Peaches and the Fuzz, whose hook-driven drupes have catapulted them into international indie pop recognition. These surreptitious freestones are all still college-age, but clearly each member’s got a lot of talent within their […]

If you were a regular in the Live Music Capital during the mid-late-aughts, you may remember the name Tody Castillo. Castillo self-released his eponymous debut in 2004 as well as his sophomore Windhorse in 2009, but he’s since shied away from the studio, at least on the surface. Turns out…that’s no longer the case. After […]

For anyone, it’s good to reflect on your goals and see which dominoes can teeter now towards great results ten years from now. And for someone as accomplished as Austin’s Nick Diaz, we’d be surprised if Buenos Diaz was far from what he first envisioned in Brooklyn back in 2010. Nick’s semi-eponymous lo-fi alt-pop project […]

Thanks to shifting social interests and categorical curiosity, we here at KUTX are now able to explore an entirely different product of musical appreciation. We’re talking about that vase-looking thing that sounds like a broken aquarium filter and tends to get used before throwing on Dark Side of the Moon or trekking out to ACL […]

Down here in Austin we’ve got a lot of pride for our FC, but up in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan a completely different FC commands an arena’s worth of attention. I’m talking about underground hip-hop producer Graham Murawsky better known by his handle Factor Chandelier. Between Murawsky’s contributions, collaborations, and compilations, it’s tough to pinpoint exactly how […]

Indie-jazz is a pretty accessible inlet within the bay that yacht rock usually drops anchor. And though the latter is trickier to define than the former, their currents and tides undeniably influence one another. You’ll hear that same fluidity in Mark Ghastine‘s budding discography, which so far consists of six standalone singles. They’re chock-full of […]

With a genre as sprawling as indie rock, it can be tough to track down exactly what you’re looking for. But if you’re on the hunt for some vintage indie in the vein of Built to Spill, Sonic Youth, and Dinosaur Jr., you’ll want to check out Antelope. Not to be confused with D.C. post-punk […]

The term ‘avant-garde’ tends to get thrown around egregiously in the world of music, especially by up-and-coming acts who have yet to realize that their sound falls within more recognizable genres. So when an artist authentically encapsulates ‘avant-garde’ in a way that’s not just ‘weird for the sake of weird’, it can be pretty refreshing. […]

A lot of folks have used the pandemic to reinvent themselves, but sometimes reinvention is less of a choice and more of a necessity. Just look at Fantastic Negrito, who after a failed record deal and catastrophic car accident, spent four weeks in a coma that atrophied his body and maimed his guitar playing hand. […]

Who says hip-hop can’t move a crowd at 8 in the morning? Definitely not Mariah Parker, the Athens, Georgia rapper-songwriter-activist who performs as Linqua Franqa. It’s been half a decade since Linqua Franqa shared their self-titled debut, which has been their sole full-length to date. But for good reason; they’ve been busy! On top of […]

The first episode of Atlanta‘s third season just premiered last week at SXSW. But we had plenty of other Georgia-based acts in town to remind us that Atlanta isn’t just a hub for hip-hop. Take for example indie rock duo Mattiel, the mononymous brainchild of virtuoso singer Mattiel Brown and visionary producer Jonah Swiley. These […]

There’s an unsaid promise imbued in the term “alt-pop”; it’s bound to have many of the upbeat sonic qualities claimed by mainstream pop but its nuanced chord changes and introspective lyrical content may not appeal as much to the masses. That said, New York’s Sarah Kinsley could very well be on the fast track to […]

Congrats, we all survived another SXSW! There were some uncertainties going into the fest’s first physical iteration in two years, but it’s safe to say that the city pulled it off in a way that felt pretty dang close to the pre-pandemic days. While we take a much needed breather, KUTX will recap some of […]

We’re in the final days of SXSW 2022 and many of us haven’t been able to see everything we’ve wanted. Either the long lines have intimidated us, the commute’s been problematic, or we simply can’t be in two places at once. Unforeseen circumstances have struck performers as well, considering the Brooklyn Bowl Family Reunion had […]

Happy St. Patty’s Day! If you’re looking to celebrate with some contemporary but authentically-Irish live music, let Pillow Queens guide you into their court. The Dublin quartet dropped their debut EP Calm Girls in 2016 and have since captivated fans across the globe with a harmonic iteration of indie rock that cushions between punk and […]

You may not have known her name until today, but you’ve absolutely heard some fruits of labor from Tayla Parx. This Dallas-born L.A.-based singer is a credited songwriter on Billboard blowouts like Ariana Grande’s “thank u, next”, “Love Lies” by Khalid and Normani, “Infinity” from Mariah Carey, and Christina Aguilera’s “Accelerate”…and that’s just scratching the […]

South By’s in full swing and Song of the Day‘s got another recommendation for you – this time on behalf of East Yorkshire sextet Low Hummer. Low Hummer’s debut album Modern Tricks For Living dropped last September, exposing a post-punk potency not heard since the late-’70s or early-’80s. It’s almost as if Gang of Four […]

SXSW has officially arrived and Song of the Day is here to offer some recommendations for this week of shows, starting today with another set of four letters – XIXA. Unlike SXSW, XIXA’s not an acronym; it’s a bold, all-caps re-spelling of “chicha” – the South American tropical genre that’s one of many influences on […]

You hear a lot of Australian music on 98.9, so much that you may wonder, “is this supposed to be the Aussie music experience?” But despite how well the continent’s handled quarantine, they haven’t stopped sharing great music, and we’re just trying to keep up. As of yet, though, we don’t have Sydney’s merci, mercy […]

SXSW starts tomorrow and with how much is happening in person, it’s more-or-less back to its pre-pandemic state. That’s a huge contrast to 2020, when SXSW’s cancellation presaged the past two years of quarantine guidelines, in-person precautions, and varying techniques of social distancing. That same March singer-songwriter John Zakoor took the immediate impacts of COVID […]

The bond between singer Tyagaraja Welch and producer Evan Dunivan has only seemed to get stronger and stronger, having started off as strictly friends before becoming songwriting partners almost a decade back. With the addition of bassist Michael Sanders and drummer Ethan Yeager in more recent years, that Welch-Dunivan core has expanded into the boundary-challenging […]

For the first phase of her career, Paulina Sotomayor was strictly known as the namesake frontwoman of her family band Sotomayor, but in just a couple years she’s expanded far beyond and proven herself as an incredibly-driven creative. Nowadays she spends a good amount of time behind the turntables as a DJ and hosts an […]

When you name your band after two monosyllabic slang words, you know it’s gonna be good. Case in point: Rad Gnar, whose members overlap with those of Basketball Shorts, Big Bill, and Breaklights with more than a decade of live show experience. Rad Gnar reels in the space between indie and punk and keeps their […]

You may have already read into Project Traction earlier today, but if you haven’t, here’s the gist. Producer-Engineer Jim Eno of Spoon and Public Hi-Fi Studios is tapping into his resources at hand to diminish the frustrating imbalance between men and women behind the board. The stats are pretty telling – women only represent under […]

Elden Ring‘s been out for a week, so you may think already have a certain type of spectral canines on your mind. The Ghost Wolves, however, aren’t playing any games. This Austin two-piece has more than a decade of experience under their fur, having toured across the globe and landed their original music on programs […]

As we finally (fingers crossed) bid farewell to winter and invite some sunny spring weather into the Lone Star State, a bit of Frozen Orange sounds pretty satisfying right about now. Originally an offshoot of the Austin group Maryann, Matt Hudson and Evan Kaspar recruited AMA’s Blair Robbins and Poly Action’s Zane Frisch to record […]

Although Song of the Day tries not to play favorites, in these final hours of Black History Month 2022 we’ve just gotta give you one more Memphis soul rarity from Sacred Soul: The D Vine Spirituals Record Story Vol. 1 & 2. This killer compilation’s now available on LP vinyl so you don’t need to […]

Anyone who’s ever had an in-depth discussion about performing and recording the music of others knows that covers can be a contentious conversation – especially when the new version is “too close” to the original. And although it’s hardly a rule of thumb, it seems like the older the originals or less-expected the genre swaps, […]

With the popularity of acts like Greta Van Fleet, it’s pretty clear that people enjoy classic-style rock in the contemporary realm. But that doesn’t mean modern rockers need to double down on being derivative to get attention. Take for example Austin three-piece Grandma Mousey, who’ve patched a path between ’70s hard rock, ’90s alternative, and […]

With less than a week to go in our celebration of Black History Month, we’ve gotta keep sweeping through the amazing compilation Sacred Soul: The D Vine Spirituals Record Story Vol. 1 & 2. Engineer Clyde Leoppard and Producer Juan D. Shipp poured their hearts into this ’70s Memphis label and recorded some of the […]

Nashville can get pretty chilly this time of year, but that doesn’t hinder the never-ending flow of musicians fanning their creative embers, be it performing on Broadway, recording in renowned spaces, or just staying at home and songwriting. Singer Sophie Gault’s taken part in that ecosystem since moving from rural Maryland in 2014 and has […]

The lightly-irreverent, endlessly-perseverant energy of Celtic punk is truly a unique one, capable of both riling unrest and encouraging excess within the same three-minute sprint. That’s straight out of the playbook for Sydney five-piece The Rumjacks, whoseraucous take on the genre has led to a decade-and-a-half-long success streak. The Rumjacks have managed to keep it […]

We’re just past halfway through Black History Month but have only scratched the surface of Sacred Soul: The D-Vine Spirituals Record Story Vol. 1 & 2. This compilation preserves the legacy forged by producer Juan D. Shipp and engineer Clyde Leoppard and their incredible roster of Memphis ’70s-soul acts by digitizing these rare 45s for […]

You may have gotten wind of Luck Reunion’s 10th Anniversary lineup that was just announced yesterday, which’ll feature several KUTX favorites and take place a month from now out in Spicewood, just a stone’s throw away from Austin. But don’t get confused between that Texas treasure and another “Luck” legacy in the country music world […]

Regardless of the providence, Canada and its vast countryside has always made for wonderfully nuanced folk music, be it through Joni Mitchell, Neil Young, or the late Leonard Cohen. Toronto’sAbigail Lapell has been carefully creating her own legacy of modern folk, threading a needle between dark and bucolic. Lapell first showed off her pipes on […]

With South By South West 2022 just a month away, the “must-see” previews are beginning to pop out. And if you’re the type that prefers to soak up as much Austin music as possible during SX, you’ll want to check out the Keeled Scales official showcase on March 17th at Cheer Up Charlie’s. Among the […]

Although Valentine’s Day is filled with Hallmark moments and sweet nothings for couples across the globe, many prefer to ditch those saccharine stereotypes and instead celebrate the date by…well…treating it like any other. Montreal multi-instrumentalist Geoffroy probably falls in that latter category, considering theephemeral energy and active conscientiousness imprinted across his new album Live Slow […]

Along with Detroit and Memphis, Chicago was a major hotspot of classic soul back in the ’60s and ’70s, so it’s no real surprise that the sound persists in the Windy City today…although not always in the places you’d expect. Say hello to “retro rock” quintet Hollyy, who released their 2020 debut album Miss the […]

COVID-19’s still constricting the ways we can safely connect, so you as can imagine, our beloved Studio 1A’s been pretty quiet as of recent. That said, before Omicron took over, we managed to nab a couple standout acts late last year, perhaps most notably Denton six-piece Midlake. These prog-folk rockers got their start all the […]

For just over a week now we’ve graced KUTX’s airwaves with our February 2022 Artist of the Month Chief Cleopatra, the Corsicana, Texas-born singer-songwriter who conjures a seductive concoction of rock, psychedelia, and soul. That’s not to say that Cleo’s a complete stranger to KUTX, considering her appearances on The Breaks and genre-bending performance during […]

Los Angeles and New York City are both considered major hubs for musicians to “make it”, and plenty of Austinites have made that move and never looked back. But for Kelly Barnes (who left L.A. after a dissolved marriage) and Brian Cole (who relocated from NYC after a house fire), the Live Music Capital of […]

Last Tuesday we introduced you to Sacred Soul: The D-Vine Spirituals Records Story Vol. 1 & 2, along with a promise to share some of the bounty over the course of Black History Month. Before this compilation dropped your best bet to hear these Memphis rarities was finding low quality turntable rips on YouTube or […]

Bassist-guitarist-vocalist Harrison Anderson was a fairly common sight around town in the mid-2010s, performing with Austin groups SMiiLE and Dreamboat, and has since grown into a confident and charismatic solo act. As for singer-guitarist Emily Whetstone, she’s also enjoyed some stripped-down sets outside of her fronting/chief-songwriting role in Van Mary, whose track “Hug” has been […]

As we all know, New York is one of hip-hop’s central hubs so it can be tough to keep track of everything coming out. But there’s one EP in particular from last year that you won’t want to gloss over,Project Mayhem. Two of Buffalo’s finest – rap-punk vocalistTr38cho and producer-emcee Ajent O – went in […]

There’s aninherently international quality to the original tunes ofKiko Villamizar, theMiami-born, Colombia-raised singer, songwriter, and gaita flautist who currently calls Austin his home. You might’ve caught Kiko’s My KUTX session a couple weeks back, seen him do stand-up around town, heard some of his contributions to Money Chicha’s latest record, or gotten wind of his […]

By design, Song of the Day tends to feature up-and-coming artists and contemporary releases. But in honor of Black History Month, we’re gonna shake things up just a little bit. You’ll still get the usual mix of modern acts over the course of February, but each week we’re also offering a unique piece of Black […]

Though you may not have known him by name, you’ve almost certainly heard multi-instrumentalist Sterling Steffen play around town, be it with Mother Falcon, Sometimes A Legend, The Watters, Wild Child, or even Father John Misty. But outside of his status as a complete savant in the woodwind world, Steffen’s been preparing to unfurl a […]

Under the Covers weekend is well underway and with only a few days left of Love Austin Music Month we’ve found a perfect intersection among those overlapping circles. Classically trained pianist-vocalist Roxi Copland has shown off her Americana-jazz-pop chops across town since 2012’s Pretty Lies and now – a full decade later – this Austinite’s […]

Austin icon David Ramirez has been a major station staple of ours since KUTX’s humble origins. You’ve no doubt heard the Americana-connoisseur on our airwaves and we’ve had him in Studio 1A more times than we can count but the big news this week is the announcement of a new live EP. Rules & Regulations […]