Music Notes

6 March concerts that aren't SXSW, having fun with Dayglow, plus more Austin music notes

Dayglow will play two sold-out shows later this month.

SXSW is a pretty big blip on the music radar this month, but don’t let it blot out the best local shows happening before and after the festival.

To start, here’s the word on Dayglow, aka 20-year-old Sloan Struble, who has sold out shows at the Parish on March 27-28. Yes, that means you can’t go (unless you already have a ticket), but you can at least use this opportunity to learn more about one of Austin’s fastest rising artists, including details on the follow-up to his well-received debut album, Fuzzybrain, and his plans for the rest of 2020.

Both of your upcoming shows at The Parish are sold out. How does that feel?

It’s so wild. I feel so blessed to have so many people who want to come to the shows so early on. ... It’s a pretty iconic moment for me to be able to headline and sell [the Parish] out twice already.

For those quick enough to scoop tickets, what can they expect at each show?

I’d like to say my shows are inviting and fun. The goal for my shows is to be able to make an exciting, danceable environment while still remaining wholesome. So far the response has been really great everywhere, so that keeps me stoked.

Have you started working on the follow-up to Fuzzybrain? Will you be sticking with a bedroom pop sound or going for something different?

Yes. I’ve never really seen what I make as a contributor to the “bedroom pop” scene. Sure, I am very young and literally write and record my music in my bedroom, but it’s never been my intention to make that obvious. I feel like the aesthetics of most bedroom pop emphasize laziness, and my music kind of jumps out of that fairly quickly. I am continuing the singular process of writing and producing the next record myself, and I feel even more confident in my production and writing style.

I've seen you mention that the name Dayglow is based off a song from Brazos, a now defunct Austin band. What other locals (former or current) are you a fan of?

Brazos was so good! I actually didn’t know it was an Austin band until I moved here and had already named the project, so it feels kinda symbolic. I still haven’t been in Austin long enough to really know the scene, but some bands I currently dig are Daphne Tunes, Baby, TC Superstar.

What else is in the works for 2020?

I am touring a lot, writing and recording a lot, and growing up a lot!

Additional March Highlights:

Star Parks — March 6 at Barracuda
Indie pop act Star Parks recently put out their sophomore album, The New Sounds Of Late Capitalism, and on Friday, March 6, they’ll be hosting a release party for it at Barracuda. The bill for this show also includes fantastic support via The Deer and Berkshire Hounds. Tickets are $10.

Half Dream — March 6 at Hotel Vegas
Head to Hotel Vegas on Friday, March 6, to help newcomers Half Dream celebrate the release of “Stranger Lover,” the second single off of their debut EP, Monster of Needing (due out April 2). Mean Jolene, Tyler Jordan And The Negative Space, and Rattlesnake Milk are set to play alongside the dream folk act. Tickets are just $5.

Showlist Austin Relaunch Party— March 8 at the Mohawk
The return of Showlist Austin is one of the better things to happen to the local scene here in the first part of 2020. Before it hit some bumps in the road last year, it was steadily one of the best sources in the city for concert listings, so it’s a real treat to have the site revamped and back in action. On Sunday, March 8, swing by the Mohawk for its (free!) relaunch party. Otis The Destroyer, The Western Civilization, BOOHER will be performing.

Austin Music Awards — March 11 at ACL Live
The 38th Annual Austin Music Awards will go down at ACL Live on Wednesday, March 11. Aside from the awards portion of the show, expect performances by Blackillac, Walker Lukens, Charlie Sexton, The Well, Sir Woman, and lots more. Comedian Chris Cubas and guitar wiz Jackie Venson are hosting. Tickets are $30.

Hotel Vegas and Volstead 9th Anniversary Party— March 12
To ring in their ninth year of existence, Hotel Vegas and Volstead are throwing a big, free bash on Thursday, March 12. DJs, plus Golden Dawn Arkestra, Nolan Potter & The Spirit Lasts Forever Band, Smiile, Annabelle Chairlegs, Nevil, and more will be performing. The first 99 people in the door get a Hotel Vegas T-shirt.

Western Youth — March 25 at Cactus Cafe
Old Settler's Music Festival has been holding a limited concert series at Cactus Café, and this month’s edition will take place on Wednesday, March 25. The bill features rockers Western Youth and the pop-tinged Jane Ellen Bryant. Tickets are $10.

music concerts

Movie Review

Saoirse Ronan gives award-worthy, cliché-free performance in The Outrun

Photo by Yunus Roy Imer/courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

Saoirse Ronan in The Outrun.

In Hollywood, there are two levels of being an A-lister, with occasional overlap between the two. There are the movie stars who can be counted on time and again to deliver at the box office, and there are the actors who put on Oscar-level performances in nearly every film they’re in. Saoirse Ronan resides firmly in the latter category, which she proves yet again in The Outrun.

The first time we see Rona (Ronan), she is drunk in a pub in London, so far gone that she has to be thrown out by security. In quick succession, she is shown with a severe black eye while giving a police report, and then working on her family farm on Scotland’s Orkney Islands, accompanied by text stating simply “117 days.” With a modicum of storytelling, it’s readily apparent that Rona is an alcoholic, and that the film will spend time with her at various stages of her tumultuous life.

The “present” of the film is her time on the Orkney Islands, with Rona helping her dad, Andrew (Stephen Dillane), run the farm, putting up with her overtly religious mom, Annie (Saskia Reeves), and doing her level best to stay sober. The fact that the 29-year-old has no clue what to do with her life and that she’s still pining over her old boyfriend, Daynin (Paapa Essiedu), doesn’t exactly help her predicament.

Directed by Nora Fingscheidt and adapted by Fingscheidt and Amy Liptrot from Liptrot’s memoir of the same name, the film treads familiar ground seen in other movies about alcoholism, with the biggest difference being the setting. The harsh beauty of the landscape where she spends most of her time seems to be a metaphor for her life, a place that can be unforgiving but also capable of the occasional positive surprise.

Fingscheidt eschews a straightforward narrative in favor of one that offers glimpses of Rona’s life throughout her drunkenness and sobriety. While she is able to keep Rona’s story legible for most of the film, there are times when the back-and-forth takes extra effort to understand. A clever marker the film uses to help viewers track time is Rona’s changing hair color, which is bright blue when she’s in her drinking phase in London, with only blue tips remaining during her time of recovery.

The film contains other elements to try to enhance the central story, some of which are more successful than others. Rona recounts various Scottish legends through voiceover, most notably one about selkies, shapeshifters that can change between seal and human form. The idea is interesting, but the connection between the legend and Rona is not strong. A subplot involving her dad’s lifelong mental health issues hits a bit harder, although it rightly is not explored all that much.

Ronan is, as always, an acting force. When an actor plays an alcoholic, it can be easy for them to fall into clichés, but Ronan manages to avoid most of them. Her skills have always been in the smaller, quieter moments anyway, and it’s when her character has to delve into self-reflection that she shines the most. Dillane and Reeves are veteran actors who complement Ronan well, and Essiedu does nicely in a role that is chopped up.

The Outrun — named for a certain part of the landscape on Rona’s family farm — doesn’t necessarily have a lot of new things to say about the states of addiction or soberness, but the personal story is compelling enough to hold interest. And with Ronan in the lead, moviegoers are in good hands, as her performance proves to be award-worthy once again.

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The Outrun opens in theaters on October 4.

movies film