SXSW 2022: Young Thug, Gunna Rule Day Three

Willie Nelson’s Luck Reunion happened on Thursday in Spicewood, Texas — however again in Austin, SXSW was nonetheless chugging alongside, showcasing quite a lot of acts (and meals). From Younger Thug to Danielle Ponder, listed below are our highlights.

Younger Thug
The final time SXSW held an in-person competition, the Waterloo Park at Moody Amphitheater didn’t exist. The outside venue is a part of Austin’s plan to exchange the outdated establishment the Frank Erwin Middle — and given its newness, it will probably’t assist however really feel somewhat like a satellite tv for pc orbiting the middle of Austin’s downtown in the course of the competition.

All of which makes it a superb match for Younger Thug, the persistently trend-setting rapper who will be the greatest present hitmaker enjoying the occasion. Showing at an occasion sponsored by Samsung and Billboard, Younger Thug benefitted from the affiliation of SXSW with out essentially feeling like a part of the broader occasion; the group was both there for him, or they have been right here to celebration on St. Patrick’s Day.

Previous to his arrival, Gunna carried out a centered, fiery set — the type of efficiency that threatens to eclipse a headliner. However Younger Thug made positive that didn’t occur, prowling the stage with informal authority. He wasn’t making an attempt to win the group, he assumed they have been with him already. His assumption was usually appropriate, because the viewers adopted his ebb and movement, rallying when the tempo escalated, chilling when it settled right into a groove. They have been able to heed a name and response, however they weren’t going to push Younger Thug anyplace he didn’t wish to go. Like a famous person, he ended the proceedings on his personal phrases, ending the set a full half hour forward of schedule.

Danielle Ponder
Tucked away off of the busy thoroughfare of Congress, the Parker Jazz Membership is an unusually relaxed respite from the insanity of SXSW. Its intimate environs supplied a great showcase for the charms of Danielle Ponder. A powerhouse of a vocalist, Ponder simply turned 40 on the daybreak of the yr, selecting to desert her place as a public defender to pursue music. She does acknowledge her skilled background — the nearer “Poor Man’s Ache” is a track concerning the plight of under-financed defendants — however these themes have extra to do together with her grounding in traditional soul. She teases collective recollections of easy sounds, however she’s not beholden to the previous: Her rhythms have a slight trip-hop lilt that enlivens the deep soul groove. Such shopworn track titles as “Solely the Lonely” are freshened by her penetrating perspective and chic melody. Ponder instructions the stage, overshadowing her empathetic assist as if by design. Her emotional journey from sorrow to pleasure is the main target, much more than her sturdy songs.

Muna
Specks of inexperienced have been scattered all through the vigorous St. Patrick’s Day crowd that greeted Muna on the Container Bar on early Thursday night. The pent-up vitality of the viewers was heightened by the band’s delayed entrance, however when the band arrived full with lead singer Katie Gavin bedecked in a purple blazer, Muna tapped into the vitality laying latent within the crowd.

Muna’s figuring out retro New Wave throb generally is a little bit of a funhouse mirror. It’s a mirrored image of a revival, recalling the trendy echoes of synth-pop over the previous couple of years — but Muna’s distance from the sound’s level of origin offers them a freshness. It additionally helps that when Muna performs dwell, their stylistic affectations are stripped away, leaving muscle and verve; they hit more durable than you’d anticipate. Muna performs with an urgency that’s infectious and a guilelessness that’s endearing. They’re additionally not afraid to put on their hearts on their sleeve, scanning the viewers on the conclusion of their set and declaring that queer individuals are “the perfect individuals.” This assertion echoed Gavin’s phrases earlier within the present, when she launched a delicate new ballad with a dedication to all of the trans youth in Texas, declaring that “It’s positively baby abuse to refuse human rights.”

(Full disclosure: In 2021, Rolling Stone’s mother or father firm, P-MRC, acquired a 50 p.c stake within the SXSW competition.)