Song of the Day

Song of the Day episodes:

• 04.24.2024

  Viben: “Pablo Picasso”

  Lyrics are a fickle field. You can be wordy as hell, hoping that at least one line sticks in listener’s minds. Or, you could just loop the hell out of some barebones sentences – guaranteed to have a lot more...

  
• 04.23.2024

  Ruel Thomas: “I Am Today”

  Any profession requires quotas…whether that’s how many tickets you write or how many kids pass your class. And when music is your source of income, the obvious metric to measure by is quantity of shows played. But as with any...

  
• 04.22.2024

  Drew Holcomb & The Neighbors: “Suffering”

  The very nature of Americana is rooted in traditional music. But it also lies at the crossroads between folk, country, and rock. So if an Americana act decides to veer into new lanes, the choices are limited and somewhat predictable....

  
• 04.19.2024

  Melotheory: “Breathe”

  When you have roommates, at least good ones you get along with, group activities naturally arise around the house. For most folks, it’s watching TV, recreational smoking and drinking, or maybe the occasional board game. For musicians, however, having a...

  
• 04.17.2024

  Myia Thornton: “Never Good 4 Me”

  Unlike the legendary machines of Stax and Motown who relied on a ton of well oiled cogs to make any R&B; singer into a star, these days the new blood has to do everything themselves, talent agent or not. And...

  
• 04.17.2024

  Rhythm&Truth and Sakari: “Bring It All Back”

  We won’t say that successful collaborations should mandate a solo artist’s trajectory. But if something built together leaves people wanting more, it’s not a bad idea to get back together and sate those desires, right? Because what’s unachievable on the...

  
• 04.15.2024

  Tone Royal: “Alone” (feat. Daddy NAT)

  When rappers claim to be “the best on the mic”, they’re talking about verbal skills, not their technical prowess with any specific equipment. Clearly that’s the case, since you’ll see those same people spend a whole set cupping the SM58...

  
• 04.15.2024

  Felt Out: “Crash Inside It”

  When we last geeked out over Austin’s Felt Out, we broke down their foundation as that of auto-tune innovators on the cutting edge of alt-pop. And following the first anniversary of their second full-length Until I’m Light, that’s clearly still...

  
• 04.12.2024

  Tagua Tagua: “4AM (Acústico)”

  Feliz sexta! Today we’re talking about Tagua Tagua, the passion project of São Paulo songwriter-producer Felipe Puperi. Now, Brazil is an enormous country, full of fervent creators; it takes a ton of traction to get towards the top. But in...

  
• 04.10.2024

  Faaris: “Taken Not Given”

  As our ever-evolving hip-hop scene steadily expands, so does the representation of nations, cultures, and identities from its contributors. And for some truly refreshing cross-cultural flavors that have made their way into the ATX hip-hop melting pot, look no further...

  
• 04.09.2024

  Adam Sultan: “The Great Divide”

  They say, “write what you know”. And in music, if you know something well enough to perfect its performance, that usually means you’ve absorbed the material enough to build upon it and make it your own. So let’s talk about...

  
• 04.05.2024

  Flicker Vertigo: “Midnight Fantasies Upon Prospect Hill”

  As an unabashed Pink Floyd fan, I can’t tell you how much I’m looking forward to firing up the Atmos mix of Animals on my home theater setup when the BluRay drops next month. Sure, the full record’s been etched...

  
• 04.04.2024

  Mountains in Stars: “Hazards of Loving Creatures”

  You’ve heard it a million times before: a picture is worth a thousand words. But go ahead and try it out if you dare. Pick a picture and start verbalizing. Yeah…you’ll give up far before you get anywhere close to...

  
• 04.03.2024

  Nané: “Always On My Mind” (Live in Studio 1A)

  As with any active artistic community, the Austin music scene has suffered its share of too-soon tragedies. And the passing of Daniel Sahad – the flamboyant frontman of Austin sextet Nané who left us in April ’22 – still feels...

  
• 04.02.2024

  The Watters: “Set to Cruise”

  Prayers for rain resonate all throughout the Lone Star State year-round…even in April with a once-in-a-lifetime solar eclipse on the horizon. So without wanting to entice a cosmically inconvenient drench, let’s dip our toes into The Watters. This Americana soul love...

  
• 04.01.2024

  Reyna Tropical: “Sauvecito” (KUTX Live at Scholz Garten)

  Don’t you love those unexpected brushes with old chums during South By South West? Sure, for us native Austinites they feel less like chance encounters and more like the inevitable kismet of living in a metropolitan area as small and...

  
• 03.29.2024

  The Reverend Shawn Amos: “It’s All Gonna Change (For the Better)”

  Search “reverend” on any streaming platform and you’ll see just how many clergy folk make the most out of their musical passion – and not just in the world of gospel. You’ve got Al Green, Gary Davis, hell we’ll even...

  
• 03.28.2024

  Riders Against the Storm: “Black Girl Payday”

  As Women’s History Month comes to a close this Sunday, we assure y’all that we’ll keep featuring the countless talented women of our fair city all year ’round. But March 2024 does end with a unique spectacle this weekend, thanks...

  
• 03.27.2024

  James Mastro: “The Face of the Sun”

  It’s well-known that we here at KUTX have a soft spot for Alejandro Escovedo – a love affair that’s lasted far longer than we’ve even been a station. So it’s our due diligence to let you know that Señor Escovedo...

  
• 03.26.2024

  Nakia: “Thrill-O-Matic”

  If you’re already planning out your weekend and want to offset the Sunday scaries with some fresh visuals, consider checking out a three-act bill that coincides with a music video premiere. The ringleader behind the affair is Nakia, the mononymous grifter...

  
• 03.25.2024

  Giulia Millanta: “I Dance My Way”

  Few people are as effervescent about their passions than those from Florence. But we’re not talking about the tiny Texas town about half an hour north of here. No, we mean the Tuscan capital that gave us cultural heavyweights...

  
• 03.22.2024

  SPRINTS: “Literary Mind” (KUTX Live at Scholz Garten)

  The taste-ranging genre gastronomy of our latest Scholz Garten lineup alone made it one for the books. And that A.M. affair simply couldn’t have been complete without SPRINTS. Because…yeah, the pairing of a Dublin four-piece – garage grit, post-punk precociousness,...

  
• 03.21.2024

  Sinkane: “How Sweet Is Your Love” (KUTX Live at Scholz Garten)

  We’re still recovering from the flood of foreign artists that turned our fair city (and Scholz Garten) into an international exhibition last week. And if that worldwide melting pot of genres is best embodied by any SXSW 2024 performer, multi-instrumentalist...

  
• 03.20.2024

  Kassa Overall: “Make My Way Back Home” (KUTX Live at Scholz Garten)

  Shoutout to everyone who caught our Scholz Garten live series last week for SXSW, either in person or over the airwaves! But if you didn’t turn out or tune in, don’t fret; we’re taking the next few days to recap...

  
• 03.19.2024

  ttt: “The Line”

  Just in the past year alone, there’s been an impressive (and welcome) rise of AAPI representation in Austin’s music scene, chiefly in the sector of R&B;/pop/hip-hop. And we’re not just referring to promqueen, francene rouelle, or anyone else in that...

  
• 03.18.2024

  Nick Teale: “Half Genius”

  We’re not really squealing on ourselves when admitting that we here at KUTX love yacht rock. And given our ties to the university, it’s also no secret that we like to shine the spotlight on UT alum. So today we’re...

  
• 03.15.2024

  Polarizado: “Pagan Love Call”

  When you operate all the way up until the witching hour, there’s no such thing as bad weather for sunglasses. So if you’re a degenerate lowlight reptile like us, we’ve got the perfect tint for you on the verge of...

  
• 03.14.2024

  Broken Gold: “Bad Days” (feat. Alejandro Escovedo)

  Punk is a young person’s game, no doubt. Because while the counterculture spirit, tattoos, and tinnitus stay ’til death, even punk rock pioneers eventually mellow out towards “refined tastes” once they get comfortable on the other side of the hill. Case...

  
• 03.13.2024

  Elle Shimada: “RESOLUTE”

  All-day unofficial hangs, boozy activations, and making new friends with your line neighbors are great and all…but for us the biggest joy of SXSW is that fast influx of international acts. Artists who might not ever consider the U.S. Southwest...

  
• 03.12.2024

  Kev Bev: “History Books”

  It doesn’t matter whether or not lyrics are written before or after the instrumentation; there’s always room to build contrast between subject matter and sonic character. Like for each individual genuinely troubled by the texts of “Pumped Up Kicks” or...

  
• 03.11.2024

  KONZI: “Red Velvet Room”

  Swapping out lead singers can be risky for established listener-ships, but shaking up your sound can also reap some serious rewards and keep fans on their toes in the best way possible. So while not every band can boast a...

  
• 03.07.2024

  Wild Heaven: “What You’re Looking For”

  We haven’t even hit SXSW yet, but we’re already hearing hype for some freshly-minted, must-know Austin acts. And with another new arrival this morning, our ear drums feel especially touched by an angel. We’re talking about a four-piece whose fast ascent...

  
• 03.06.2024

  Ana Zae: “Lifted”

  Over the past two months alone we’ve seen some pretty promising new names emerge from the Austin area, even if the artists behind the project have been in plain sight for some time. Take for example longtime live scene veteran Ana...

  
• 03.05.2024

  Scott H. Biram: “No Man’s Land”

  Once you hit your third or fourth full-length, you’re established. By album seven or eight you’re a heavyweight. But when your discography reaches its teens, the list of contemporaries to compare to starts running thin…and that’s the position Scott H....

  
• 03.03.2024

  Sweet Limb: “Meditate” (feat. Norman BA$E)

  No matter how talented an individual vocalist is, the addition of live instrumentation can really elevate a performance to the upper tier. Like can you imagine if Rage Against the Machine was just De La Rocha spitting over pre-recorded tracks...

  
• 03.01.2024

  Scott Ballew: “Mutiny”

  Austin may be a metropolis, but it’s still smack dab in the middle of Texas, football fanaticism, Western legends, vast landscapes, and all. There are a lot of artists who embody that Lone Star aesthetic, but today we’re tippin’ our...

  
• 02.29.2024

  Anna Tivel: “Disposable Camera”

  It’s a total no-brainer. 2020 and quarantine conditions left countless with a bizarre bevy of time to reflect and be inspired, no matter how dire the world felt. And with a lot of those early-COVID-era compositions, the final products reached...

  
• 02.28.2024

  The Peterson Brothers: “Family”

  We here at KUTX have kept a pulse on the local scene long and close enough to realize that we’re essentially tracking the progression of individual talents in real time. And though we’re admittedly quick to stick up for twenty-somethings...

  
• 02.27.2024

  Autumn Cymone: “Slippery” (feat. James Barmore)

  Over the past 40 years R&B;’s only gotten more electronic, more reliant on post-production “studio magic”. And for the more recent half of that period, R&B;’s also become so intertwined with hip-hop that the two genres are now almost inseparable....

  
• 02.26.2024

  Tigers Eye: “Goodbye Again”

  It’s a new week and nearly a new month so might as well break into some new music, right? Today we have the privilege of premiering the first-ever studio single from a fresh outfit – Tigers Eye. Like their namesake...

  
• 02.23.2024

  Silver Skylarks: “Power Moves” (feat. Adrian Quesada & US!)

  We’ve said it once and we’ll say it again: we’ve been loving the recent ride of this retro soul-funk renaissance, especially with so much dynamite coming right out of the central state area. And today a new name emerges within...

  
• 02.22.2024

  Wrongbird: “Sons of the Desert”

  Once you get locked into a flock, life without group benefits sounds like a nightmare. And if you want to break away to steer your own migrations, you might just sacrifice a chunk of your following in the process. Not...

  
• 02.21.2024

  Paige Hill: “Go West”

  Last May we took a gander at a real Good Woman, Austin-born-and-raised and now Dallas-based singer-songwriter Paige Hill, who shared her debut EP of the same name last year. Pious yet uninhibited, motherly without hovering, and faithful to her state...

  
• 02.20.2024

  Grackles: “San Antone” (feat. Charlie Musselwhite and Lauren Harris)

  Once we got used to their abrasive calls, Hitchockian congregations at HEB Hancock, and overall recklessness, we’ve actually enjoyed being in good graces with grackles. Sure, they’re a bit more obnoxious than, say, the blind salamander, but squawking, flash-flocking and...

  
• 02.19.2024

  Golden Hornet: “Army Ants”

  Bugs…they’re super weird! They’re everywhere, they’re ancient, their appearance is alien and for every beautiful-looking specimen there’s an equal and opposite that makes us feel icky. And if there’s anyone up to the massive task of adapting…bugs to an aural...

  
• 02.16.2024

  Glas: “Hungry Moon”

  We often think of glass as fragile, delicate, a superficial separation from whatever’s on the other side. Yet glass can only come from an intensive process, and can be tempered to withstand extreme duress. And that latter association seems...

  
• 02.15.2024

  Wilson Marks: “Isolation Town”

  When we last spoke of Wilson Marks, it was just before Mother’s Day, and in fact for his newly-released song “Mother’s Day”. And wouldn’t you know it, when Wilson Marks sparks our interests yet again…it’s the day after Valentine’s....

  
• 02.14.2024

  BOO85: “Heart”

  There’s a crass type of middle school comedy that still elicits cackles far past its “prime”. And following the rich Texas tradition of juvenile band handles like Dicks and Butthole Surfers, the name choice behind BOO85 is a breasty testament...

  
• 02.13.2024

  Free Hamze: “nothing4granted” (prod. Sekko)

  Valentine’s Day’s not just for the couples. No, there’s an extensive list of local events offering RSVPs to love fools, lonely hearts and relationship-skippers alike. Among that full house of options? Austin’s very own Free Hamze. Originally enticed into the ...

  
• 02.12.2024

  Tommy Taylor: “Ghost Town”

  Here in Austin, we like to make a big fuss over our Central Texas music icons, erecting statues and renaming streets in their honor. So while the respective likeness and namesake of Stevie Ray Vaughan and Willie Nelson have become...