In the weeks since Daniel Sahad’s unexpected passing on April 10, the impact of the Austin musician across stages, studio sessions, and conversations has become clear in various loving tributes. A dazzling rising star in the Austin music scene, the standout vocalist helmed passionate pop-rock band Nané, whose self-titled 2020 debut fueled recognition from Brittany Howard and booking at ACL Fest last October. Friends and collaborators gather to honor the community force, including Sam Houston’s beautifully philosophical funk project BLK ODYSSY’s first major local headline since Nané’s New Year’s Eve party last December. Sir Woman brings their new self-titled LP of instant-party soul-pop, alongside locally sourced forces Bright Light Social Hour, Animals on TV, James Robinson, and Rod Gator. The free-entry concert suggests a $10 donation to
Sahad’s memorial fund.: As Quentin & the Past Lives also play Thursday, I revisited a conversation with bandleader Quentin Arispe on Sahad’s influence on their 2021 record
The Spiritual Waiting Room. Last June, Arispe shared: “The magic really happened when I went [in the studio] with Daniel. We were trying to figure out – how do we make this sound like there’s no end? We worked together on harmonies and layering, the zhuzh. The oohs at the end of ‘Inbetween,’ they’re very Nané. We were working so closely on that energy together. I completely value his opinion.”:
Chronicle contributor Morgan-Taylor Thomas also revisited unpublished portions of an interview with Sahad, where he mused: “How has [music] changed my life? It’s what guides every single bit of my life. I think it does so many different things. I mean, people use music as a tool for activism, as a tool for coping with pain and sadness, or trauma, and as a tool to celebrate joy in, you know, good moments of your life and as a tool to amplify the best things in life and to dance. So like, it made sense of every single range of emotions on the entire spectrum.”