As I scanned the schedule for Friday at the Austin City Limits Festival, my eyes fell on an early band I didn’t recognize. Wanting to fill some time before Sara Watkins took the stage, I made a mental note to see The Bright Light Social Hour, who had been voted onto the stage by music fans worldwide in the 2009 Sound and the Jury Contest.
From a fury of energy, funk, and fun emerged a true-blue rock-n-roll show. The vocals of bassist Jack O’Brien and guitarist Curtis Roush are huge and cinematic, and their presence, with drummer Jo Mirasole and keyboardist A.J. Vincent, commanded the attention of every passerby in Zilker Park. I found myself convinced that they really did, in fact, need my love, as they belted out
and I couldn’t sit still while they melted my face with Back and Forth.
From their bio:
Big on community, The Bright Light Social Hour is also spreading love through as many other means as possible. From free homemade cookies at their shows to DIY screen-printing and print-making, these young gentlemen are pouring themselves into developing the artistic community around them and doing it in the manner they do it best – by relishing the details.
Breeding buzz by all means possible is certainly something to which any indie-band can relate.
The band released “Back and Forth” this spring, and plan on touring in support of the third release throughout the summer and fall. BLSH has plans to record a full-length record next year.
The Austin-based quartet have been awarded the “Unexpected Awesome of the Day” award for Friday of ACL ’09.
Pick up the music at: CDBaby. Also, download
,
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I had never heard about this band but I now can’t stop listening to them! Thank you for the tip and the great music!
Glad you like them, Beth. Pass the word on!