Concert and Album Reviews

Waxahatchee’s ‘Saint Cloud’ is a map for a lost summer

Austin American-Statesman: “We had to cut spring off at the stem and stick it in a vase, and then summer came and dried the petals all up, so now we’re sitting in the dying days of a Texas summer waiting so see how fall and winter will express their own distinct stillness and sorrow. The pandemic drags on and takes us with it, into disarray. But it’s always summer in ‘Saint Cloud.’” Read the full review.

Bruce Springsteen gives Austin its once-in-a-decade moment of thunder

Austin American-Statesman: “Every minute of every hour, the Boss clocked in, eyes shut and lips rolled back to let out that gravelly howl. A gut-punch performance of ‘The Rising,’ set dramatically by spotlights piercing through fields of shadow, made me wonder: Have I ever seen a jugular vein glow in chiaroscuro like that?” Read the full review.

Hozier’s tear-jerking, flag-waving ACL Fest set was one of 2023’s best

Austin American-Statesman: “Imagine a person who loved you said — as Hozier sings in ‘De Selby (Part 2),’ his lightning strike of an opening song — ‘I wanna run so far, I'd beat the mornin'/ Before the dawn has come, I'd block the sun/ If you want it done.’ You would give that person the key to your house immediately, along with any other thing that eliminates an obstacle between you. Heck, I’d give them my key tag to get into The Y.” Read the full review.

3 things you oughta know about Alanis Morissette’s ACL Fest timewarp to the 1990s

Austin American-Statesman: “What it all comes down to? Alanis Morissette is still pop music’s prophet of angst, her power is formidable, and woe to the joker who underestimates the Canadian hitmaker’s ability to form an army upon command.” Read the full review.

Rock at the racetrack: Green Day give a kid a guitar, 'shout out' Ted Cruz, simply rock at F1

Austin American-Statesman: “The foundations of humanity are built upon strange bedfellows. Art and commerce. The sacred and the profane. Green Day and the Formula One U.S. Grand Prix. The disaffected granddads of pop-punk music, whose snarky, anti-authority influence makes a straight line from Blink-182 to Paramore to Machine Gun Kelly, played the opening night concert for the 10th annual F1 race at Circuit of the Americas.” Read the full review.

Brittany Howard leaves 'Austin City Limits' asking: Is there anything she can't do?

Austin American-Statesman: “It's Wednesday night on Willie Nelson Boulevard, and Brittany Howard is well into ‘Georgia,’ an all-timer anthem of longing off her phenomenal solo debut album, ‘Jaime.’ Her sequined gold cape turns the ‘Austin City Limits’ stage lights into rainbows at her back, which makes sense, since there are storms and cool breezes coming out of her mouth.” Read the full review.

Dolly Parton came to SXSW, rhinestoned the blockchain and gave Austin an eternal memory

Austin American-Statesman: “If we must suffer under capitalism, at least we can put rhinestones on it. What a strange astral alignment Friday in the Live Music Capital of the World, when Dolly Parton made her South by Southwest debut as the creamy filling of a night-long blockchain commercial. They say God always has a plan — a little girl from Appalachia certainly would. If a history-making appearance from the bottle-blonde boss of country music had to come in the year SXSW kept every token in sight non-fungible, then so be it. She took the trendy, and she made it eternal.” Read the full review.

I am mad at Doja Cat for being so good at everything at ACL Fest

Austin American-Statesman: “Who gave Doja Cat permission? Who reviewed her application to work the swing shift at the pop factory and saw how absurdly overqualified this woman is? Why do I wear insole inserts with extra support from my podiatrist but she can complete an entire Olympic qualifying trial in platform sneaks?” Read the full review.

Behold the orange reign of Paramore, ACL Fest's greatest rock band

Austin American-Statesman: “Wherever your eyes went, there was orange. Hayley Williams’ hair is one of the great American rock & roll symbols. Elvis’ hips, Prince’s pencil mustache, Stevie’s shawl. If you know, you know. As Paramore returns to touring after several years, Williams’ locks are back to signature orange — not quite teenage ‘Riot!’ orange, which was the shade of traffic hazard signs and brash youth, but more like a harvest orange, for an idol full grown and taking in what she’s built.” Read the full review.

What it's like to watch P!nk fly over ACL Fest

Austin American-Statesman: “To watch a revue of P!nk's infinitely catchy, eye-squintingly written numbers is to know what it is like to make Easy Mac in a Le Creuset.” Read the full review.

Harry Styles tells Austin fans: Your body is yours, and 'take care of each other'

Austin American-Statesman: “Of course, boas roamed the earth. The boa has become the sigil of the Styles fan, owing to the singer’s onstage penchant for them. They were chicken feather and they were faux fur, and there were enough of them to claim congressional representation.” Read the full review.

Kathleen Hanna slams abortion restrictions during Bikini Kill show in Austin

Austin American-Statesman: “In a city where the world's richest man makes robot cars and anyone not punching a tech sector clock can no longer afford to rent an apartment, well, turn that song down and turn the static up, as Hanna might yell.” Read the full review.

 Music Features and Profiles

Hanging out with Haim at Alamo Drafthouse

Austin American-Statesman: “The sisters Haim — Alana, Danielle and Este, of the Grammy-nominated rock band that shares their surname — are movie stars now. Out of the gate, the lines between the silver screen stardom and normal rock stardom are a little blurry. Their characters in filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson’s new film ‘Licorice Pizza’ are sisters named Alana, Danielle and Este.” Read the interview.

The Glitoris, Barbarella's musical mastermind, owns the night (literally)

Austin American-Statesman: “This is not about Jon-Erik Garcia. He wants to make sure people know that. And yet, you can't credibly talk about LGBTQ nightlife in Austin without mentioning his ribald nom de guerre, the Glitoris. For 11 years, Garcia has soundtracked Red River Cultural District dance club Barbarella, notably its weekly Tuezgayz party.” Read the full story.

Dayglow is Austin’s Mr. Brightside

Austin American-Statesman: “The night before he left home for the University of Texas, Sloan Struble — aka rising indie-pop phenom Dayglow — built a human head in his parents’ kitchen.” Read the profile.

Louisianna Purchase, Austin’s nightlife vamp, is a screen queen now

Austin American-Statesman: “She rarely looks the same twice, but you can’t miss ‘Dragula’ star Louisianna Purchase when she walks into a room. The self-proclaimed femme fatale of Austin favors a retro-minded glam, cast in a spooky shadow.” Read the profile.