Tangerine Dream

In cooler times – this past March – South by Southwest barely registered one of its myriad weather events. Temperatures dropped 25 degrees between 8pm and 2am, so having gone on late at 1am, German synth pioneers Tangerine Dream played well past bar time. Icy, gale-force winds afterward couldn’t erase 90 minutes having intersected with music history.

Born to 1967 Berlin, the electronic trio blazed a waveform pathway unequaled by fellow kosmische and krautrock contemporaries Kraftwerk, Neu!, and Can. That same Me Decade, founder Edgar Froese began scoring films and by the Seventies soundtracked German TV movies. William Friedkin’s searing 1977 thriller Sorcerer bristled Tangerine Dream’s synthy slither and led to further work on cinematic classics Thief, Risky Business, Near Dark, etc.

“The score for Grand Theft Auto V was another challenge because the game itself influences the mix depending on the player’s position inside the game,” writes Thorsten Quaeschning, to whom Froese bequeathed the group, which now includes violinist Hoshiko Yamane and keyboardist Paul Frick. “That was a very interesting way of composing a soundtrack.” – Raoul Hernandez

Eastside Kings Festival

Eddie Stout and Jason Moeller’s annual blues festival and preservation project (donations aid blues, jazz, and gospel artists still performing in a city increasingly willing to bow to yuppie interests) descends on East Austin once again. Eastside Kings spotlights the Black culture that made our college town a worthy stop for Muddy Waters and B.B. King and a fertile breeding ground for Stevie Ray Vaughan and Gary Clark Jr. Delta bluesmen Terry “Harmonica” Bean and the Boo Boo Davis Band open the weekend with a Friday stand at Antone’s Nightclub, while the meat of the festivities goes down Saturday and Sunday along the East 12th Street corridor. Wristbands go for $25 per day, sold at Antone’s Record Shop on the Drag. – Carys Anderson

Magic Rockers of Texas Album Release

Jim Campo writes rock & roll choruses worthy of Wembley Stadium, although 75 people screaming along in a small club feels just as perfect. The brilliance is in his economy of words. Check out the sneering, get-away-from-me power pop anthem “I Wanna Be Everywhere You’re Not” and the hook of gentle grunge fan favorite “Words in a Bin” (“You don’t miss me ’cause you don’t miss nothing“), both impeccable sing-alongs. Each of those songs is on Magic Rockers of Texas’ new album Life’s a Bowl of Cherries… and All I Got Was Stems! – releasing Friday with a Hotel Vegas blowout alongside Otis Wilkins, Gold Leather, and Gummy Fang. – Kevin Curtin

Kevin de Vries

Let’s say it together: trance. Afterlife and Drumcode label stalwart Kevin de Vries returns to the Concourse Project for a three-hour DJ set of what is lately called melodic techno but may feel like trance to some. Armed with time to dive into a meaty journey, De Vries should keep up a steady pace with loads of melody and groove and snarls of twisted, dark synth fit for a world-class rave warehouse. Are you peaking yet?
 – Christina Garcia

Centroamericanto Fest w/ Carlos Mejía Godoy

For its 15th anniversary, Centroamericanto Fest rolls out the blue, white, and blue carpet for Nicaragua’s Carlos Mejía Godoy. Sandinista composer and recipient of his country’s top cultural recognition, the Order of Rubén Darío, the 80-year-old accordionist plays with a gentle, folkloric touch, which imbues his participation in the nueva canción movement with a deep romanticism similar to the Buena Vista Social Club. Austin counts Costa Rican pianist Esteban Alvarez and El Salvadorans Teresita y Mauricio Callejas and crooner Alejandro Caslo as ripe complement to the pan-Latin pachanga, which also cooks up Nicaraguan eats and Nicaraguan (dance) beats. – Raoul Hernandez

Bonnie “Prince” Billy, Myriam Gendron

Bonnie “Prince” Billy will spend dual nights of his tour behind the August album Keeping Secrets Will Destroy You in Austin, one of only a handful of two-night stints in this slew of fall dates. For his first solo album in four years, Will Oldham, the man behind the moniker, penned stripped-down songs. Striking in their starkness, they beg for the rapt audiences that intimate rooms like Parish can bring. Perhaps Drag City labelmate Bill Callahan, a frequent collaborator with Oldham, might make an appearance?
 – Abby Johnston

Hannah Jadagu, Miloe

At just 21 years old, this Mesquite, Texas-bred bedroom-pop breakout already has an impressive résumé. Hannah Jadagu started releasing music on SoundCloud in high school and eventually caught the attention of Sub Pop Records, who signed her while she finished her senior year. Now working toward a music business degree at NYU, she’s managed to find time to record a stellar coming-of-age debut album, Aperture, embark on a nationwide tour, and capture the hearts of young fans. Democratic Republic of the Congo-born, Minneapolis-based indie-pop singer-songwriter Miloe, fresh off 2022 EP gaps, opens.
 – Elizabeth Braaten

Music Notes

OFF!

Los Angeles rockers OFF! headline the first night of the 13th’s Floor first anniversary celebration. Jake Garcia of the Black Angels relocated his venue to the 711 Red River space, formerly the Green Jay and Beerland, last September. The successful move netted the Austin Music Award for Best New Club at this year’s ceremony.

GOODYFEST

First installment of the Howdy Gals-booked series features pop punkers Sad Cell, Hey Cowboy!, and four other acts. First 50 attendees get a complimentary Goody Bag.

Magna Carda

Local rap greats take the stage for an intimate performance celebrating PietschHouse’s second anniversary. The local production company curates showcases combining visual art and music, and notably threw the loaded New Bloom SXSW 2023 showcase at Planet K.

This article appears in The 33rd Annual Austin Chronicle Hot Sauce Festival.