Black Fret’s fifth annual Black Fret Ball set a few different milestones this past Friday night, not the least of which was surpassing over $1 million in grants to local bands as well as upgrading the event venue to the ACL Live Moody theater.  Black Fret co-founders, Colin Kendrick and Matt Ott, have made progress by leaps in bounds since inception by not only growing the charity organization in Austin but also expanding to other cities as well. Moving the Black Fret Ball venue from the Paramount Theater, where it was held last year, to ACL Live could have meant a lot of empty seats. Instead, the crowd was massive and members and attendees flooded the venue in impressive fashion.

 The recipients of Black Fret’s grant money were a mixed bag of returning artists and some brand new acts.  Groups like the Greyhounds, Los Coast and Jane Ellen Bryant all returned from last year’s ball to claim $20k grants while newcomers Billy King and the Bad Bad Bad, Trouble In The Streets and The Texas KGB all claimed their first grants.

 Major sponsors like Dell, Deloitte and NY Life gave the notion that Black Fret has ascended to a high level of recognition within the corporate community as much as the artistic one.  While there is a bit of an Oprah-esque vibe to the grant giving, “You get a grant! You get a grant!”, ultimately the impact is profound for the artist – financially and with newfound exposure.

 Performances by Donovan Keith, The Texas KGB and Billy King and the Bad Bad Bad were all highlights of the night, as a dual stage setup allowed for a more fluid transition to showcase more music. While there is a lot of love in the room, it was still left to A Giant Dog’s Andrew Cashen to inject some legitimate Rock n Roll spirit by accepting his band’s grant while grandstanding on an amp like a golden god, with music writer Kevin Curtin in tow.

 A quarter million dollars was given out the night of the ball which was awe-inspiring, as artist after artist beamed onstage upon receiving their grant amount.  As Austin’s cost of living continues to skyrocket, charities like Black Fret are becoming more vital to allowing musicians to remain viable or reach the next level.  

The Austin Music Video Festival, which debuted in 2014, has embraced its eccentric identity and seen exponential growth as a result. More awards, categories, attendees, and fanfare are making the festival a staple in the already competitive and saturated Austin calendar.The festival kicks off on December 4^thwith a performance from local electro-artist, Neon Indian, and continues for the next four days with video screenings, live performances, and nightly after-parties. Rather than a typical film festival, the AMVF’s intersperse video showings with interactive events and lots of live performances by bands like Whiskey Shivers, Sorne, Graham Reynolds. The various venues for activities include the Alama Drafthouse Ritz, Native Hostel, The North Door, Austin Visitor Center and Empire Control Room. While there is a plethora of categories that will be judged, none make a local impact like the ‘All ATX’ award which will feature familiar acts like Walker Lukens, Holy Wave, Toma, Fort Never and many more. The festival comes to a conclusion on Saturday night at Native Hostel with an awards ceremony where winners are announced and then a close-out party ensues. Whether you are interested in viewing uniquely creative music videos or just want to get down on a dance floor, AMVF offers it all and you can grab your tix here.

"Feed Us Fun" by local fringe electro trio, Fuss Ricket, is an earworm of the highest degree. The recently released single lobotomizes the apprehensive and unfun parts of your brain and lets lead singer, Tyler Cochran, exert his frenetic charisma all over your psyche. Frantically urgent vocals bounce over analog synths and robust funky bass lines that reverberate in perfect synchronicity. Eccentric and out for a good time, Fuss Ricket has dance-friendly beats but simultaneously ushers in a welcome overdose of weirdness that make them unique and captivating. Show Fuss Ricket some love at www.fussricket.com or check out their next show!

Momentum is the elusive ingredient that local Austin bands crave going into a new release or kicking off a new tour. Thankfully that crucial element is directly correlated to the amount of effort put forth, and local shoegaze quartet, Blushing, are generating awareness with a slew of live shows on a variety of stages. The two husband and wife duos have been playing together since 2015, and their chemisty is uniquely cohesive and powerful for obvious reasons. Bassist/vocalist, Christina Carmona, is a classically trained singer who elevates each track into a celestial soundscape while guitarist/vocalist, Michelle Soto, reverberates an ethereal passion that blends perfectly into each heavenly track. "The Truth" is the first single off of their upcoming debut album, which  is scheduled to be released in early 2019. The single demonstrates a deft mix of distortion, melodic swings and jangled guitars that create a beautiful volute of shoegazed bliss. The female-fronted quartet does not hide in a fugue state of druggy reverb like other shoegazers but, instead opts to slice through the fuzzy pedal effects with dynamic guitar riffs and pounding percussion that proves more epic than meandering. The band’s dedication to getting in as many shows as possible before the new album release gives you the opportunity to see Blushing play with Holy Golden at Hotel Vegas on November 14th or you can catch them at Cheer Up Charlies on December 7th!

 Andy Macintyre moved to Austin from Chicago when he was 18, and has brought together both city’s music influences throughout his development. Having cut his teeth early on Nirvana and Stones riffs, Andy has found his home under the influence of Muddy Waters, Albert Collins and Stevie Ray Vaughn. Playing around Austin blues haunts, Andy has made a name for himself as a versatile guitarist and frontman that moves effortlessly between no-frills rock, bone marrow blues, and country storytelling. The EP, Melomania, is the direct result of years of hard work and has a notable team including mixing engineer, Tim Palmer (U2, Pearl Jam) and producer, Stuart Sullivan (Sublime, Meat Puppets). Andy Macintyre hasn’t taken any shortcuts in his music journey and a hard-hitting EP like Melomania is proof that hard work has a rewarding payoff.

 In a city with endless music venues, there is no place where your name shines brighter than the billboard at Antones Nightclub.  “Meg Myers – Sold Out” blared out over 5^th street on Sunday night and the crowd begin to mass at the doorway.  Since the original scheduled date had been rescheduled from weeks ago due to Meg’s vocal surgery, fans were anticipatory and fervent.

Meg Myers has been releasing music for six years now and with the help of her writing partner, Doctor Rosen Rosen, has created a deep body of work that is potent as it is eclectic. The release of her second and latest album, Take Me To The Disco, has brought a second wave of earworms that have been added to the hit-laden debut album, Sorry.

 Local electro-pop artist, Dossey, opened for Meg and brought an upbeat and 80’s-inspired energy that galvanized the audience while priming them for the main act. Meg Myers is 32 years old, her youthful appearance leads you to think she could be fresh out of college, and then she begins to sing and you hear a voice that is as powerful as it is timeless. The show kicked off the show with new songs like “Jealous Sea”, “The Death of Me” and “Take Me to the Disco” which were received well.

 Older hits like “Motel”, “Sorry” and “Monster” all came out as well and served as red meat for Meg’s most vehement fans. The audience was an interesting mix of various age groups with teenagers, middle-aged people and older folk all present and equally fixated, albeit some shrieking more than others.

 Onstage Meg engages in witty banter with the crowd while bearing her soul on each and every song. Her encore would prove to be the tipping point with her biggest hit to date, “Desire”, and her first single off the latest album, “Numb”. The crowd loosed their love upon Meg and her band and the only question that lingered, was how big the next venue would have to be to facilitate Meg Myer’s next visit to Austin.

Preparing for the release of their debut album, Little Blue, the Austin-based quartet, Pauline, has rolled out a new single called "Life Away". The single blends 80’s styled analog synths with heartfelt songwriting that drips with introspective melancholy. Vocalist, Ethan Ames, gives an understated but deft vocal performance that matches the instrumentation perfectly. The lyrics are rife with frustrated prose on addiction and shame that give the song depth. Pauline has released two other singles; "When You’re Out There" and "Say Goodbye" but the latest single seems to be building momentum towards the full-length release. Keep any eye on Pauline as they gear up for their debut release.

 A hidden gem interwoven in the fabric of Austin’s eclectic music scene, Pastel Ghost is throttling her presence with the exceptional release of her sophomore album, Ethereality. Pastel Ghost brings blissful electro-soundscapes to surface with a few barbs of introspective darkness that gives her music a haunting mystique. Her first single, "3NDL3SS", has tropical synths floating over house-beats that are pulsing and unreachable at the same time. Pastel Ghost’s vocals are sultry and seductive, like a chanteuse luring you to her room down the hall. The result is that Pastel Ghost creates an alternative world where reality gets put in the rearview, and the listener becomes immersed in a fantasy-like trance. While her music is neither light or dark, this dreamraver creates a nuanced perspective of love and loss that is not easily forgotten.

 Recorded over the last two and a half years, Winter Winds, is the debut EP for Austin-based singer Mathew Wojcik. Heavily influenced by Springsteen’s Nebraska and Wojcik’s own experience with loss, the debut is packed with wistfulness and a naked vulnerability that transfixes. The five song debut was recorded in Austin with the help of Mathew’s wife Virginia, Gianna Sarmiento, and Evan Kaspar. Wojcik is a natural storyteller that borrows from Mount Eerie’s talk/sing delivery to resonate themes and hits a meandering forlorn tone that is reminiscent of early Modest Mouse. While there is a room to run on production, Wojcik has delivered a powerful debut that has harbingers of great songwriting.

Wojcik will be playing October 17th at Sahara Lounge with Matthew Squires. 

Andrew W.K. walked into the Mohawk on Saturday night like a knighted champion of the court of partying. The one-man-band who found success with his 2001 debut album, I Get Wet, has continued to get new music out consistently despite issues with his record company. His latest album, You’re Not Alone, might be his strongest to date and his subsequent tour has unveiled a mature yet charismatic Andrew, who approaches his shows with a perfectionist mentality.

While many artists are complacent with lulls in their live show, bookending weaker tracks with hits, Andrew W.K. refuses to concede those nadirs in his show. Beginning with the building track of “The Power of Partying”, the stage then explodes with “Music Is Worth Living For” in flashes of strobe and Andrew in a messiah-like pose.  Many of Andrew’s songs, especially off the new album, have affirmation built into them and they serve as much as inspiration as they do for musical entertainment.

While Andrew is the focal point of the chaos onstage, he is surrounded by a perfectly rehearsed band that continuously challenges each other’s energy levels. Guitarist, Amanda Lepre, is a tour de force and also happens to be an Austinite, while his dominant drummer, Clark Danger, was discovered after submitting a personal Youtube video of himself covering

To say the set is polished is wild understatement and theatrical songs like “Ready To Die”, “She Is Beautiful” and “We Want Fun” are met with a riotous crowd reaction. Andrew W.K. addresses the crowd in his most sophomoric but endearing party-voice:

 “We’ve been partying in the Hill Country for a long time… And all those parties have swirled into one deja-vu party that keeps getting better. Even if you blackout tonight and don’t remember the show, your soul will still remember!”

W.K would get through 13 riveting tracks before another 4 that would throttle the encore. The final song would be his rainmaker, with “Party Hard” getting one more primal reaction from fans.  While Andrew W.K. might have a mainstream reputation of being a meathead headbanger, his songs tell a different story of positivity and resilience that adds another level of depth to his orchestrations. A liberated and optimistic Andrew, makes for a seemingly endless future of inspiring music.

Whether it was divine intervention or just luck, the sold-out performance for Zhu and Tokimonsta on Wednesday night at Stubbs had a rare bout of good weather, in what has been a couple weeks of torrential rain. A long serpentine line spilled out of Stubbs as scores of young people prepared for a mental releae in what would be a mid-week dance party. With tickets ranging from $35 – $200 the sold-out crowd was even more impressive, given that the majority of attendees were seemingly cash-strapped millennials.

The pricing was however, justified, as the opening act, TOKiMONSTA is a bonafide headliner all on her own.  The New York-based artist, whose real name is Jennifer Lee, has been making blissful electronica for over a decade and is an adroit conductor of her audience’s mood and energy level. Her live act blends serene soundscapes with hip-hop breakdowns and unassailable optimism.

Lee also has one of the greatest comeback stories of recent memory. Diagnosed with a rare brain disease called Moyamoya, Lee had to have two brain surgeries that left her without the ability to walk or make music. Having to relearn most functions, Lee focused on a musical rehabilitation that bore fruit in the form of her fifth album, Lune Rouge. 

While TOKiMONSTA’s set raised the bar to a degree that would be uncomfortable for most artists to follow, ZHU is confident in his own magic. The mysterious producer and singer came onstage to a seizure-inducing light show and performed on top of a pyramid.

ZHU would blast through 20 different tracks, each featuring different instrumentation and visual sub-routines.  Pausing only to address the ungodly heat and eat some ice cream, ZHU had a sea of entranced fans swaying to his ethereal beats. Hits like “Drowning”, “Faded” and “Guilty Love” all invigorated the crowd’s energy in the sweltering Texas heat. 

Both sets had amazing vibes, and each artist has the versatility to play a small club or a mega-festival. However it is the wide-range of fans that they attract that might be the most interesting part of their appeal; EDM, house, hip-hop, indie-electro and trance fans were all included in the array attendees.  While both artists have been arguably under the radar until recent years, it feels like we are just beginning to see them take flight.

 Street Sects combine electronic samples with a gail-force catharsis of frustration and pain that leaves listeners entranced. Vocalist, Leo Ashline, and instrumentalist, Shaun Ringsmuth, have been playing together since 2013 but maintain a unique and individualist approach to creating a post-industrial catalogue. Deft mixing that combines frenetic sampling with melodic breakdowns, would give Reznor a raised eyebrow. Street Sects have tantalized fans with the release of their first single, "Still Between Lovers" before they drop their sophomore album, The Kicking Mule, on October 26. The duo will be going on a comprehensive American tour beginning in late October.  Pre-order the album here.