Wednesday SXSW Showcases

Estrons

BBC Music Introducing/PRS for Music Foundation

The Union Jack flies at half-mast over SXSW's traditional British Music Embassy while the inside rings with the voices of "Boys That Sing." You can bet your ears there'll be plenty of tears, too, for Warrington, Cheshire's pop up-and-comers Viola Beach, who along with their manager were killed in a traffic incident on tour in Sweden last month. Raise a pint and "Get to Dancing." Ealing lad and former abbey choirboy Isaac Gracie's hauntingly ethereal voice offers some "Last Words," while the exquisite, satin-smooth voice of North Yorkshire singer-songwriter Billie Marten soars into the great gray blue, a melancholy, observant "Bird" indeed. And now for something completely different: Sheffield's rollicking guitar rockers the Sherlocks recall a Libertines-meets-Kasabian sound on single "Heart of Gold" and you'll never forget "Last Night" tomorrow. Berkshire's Frances' heavenly vocals and tender piano ripostes rightly landed her on the Critic's Choice Brit Awards 2016 nominee list. Cardiff four-piece Estrons cap off the evening with their ferocious, femme-fronted, Promethean punk shoutgasm "Make a Man."