Female Musicians Who Killed It at SXSW This Year

From soul to rock ’n’ roll to hip-hop, these eight lady acts led the way at the 2015 SXSW Music Festival.

By Molly McManus

With the madness of South By Southwest behind us, I’m still reminded of the exceptional performances witnessed during the music portion of the festival. A theme started to emerge as I bounced from one venue to the next: The female musicians were absolutely slaying their performances, and in my opinion, outshined the male vocalists of the festival by a mile. I’m admittedly biased, but here are the standout vocalists and female-led bands of SXSW Music 2015.

Elle King

Elle King played a total of 16 official and unofficial SXSW shows, and I had the opportunity to catch her second of many performances March 15 at the Raptor House. Her soulful honky-tonk vibe has always been infectious to me, but to see her up close and personal was a real treat. You feel the pain in her man-bashing lyrics, and your heart aches along with her as she emotionally croons and picks at her instrument of choice—guitar or banjo. If you ever get a chance to see her live, you will undoubtedly revel along with her badassery. Her new album, Love Stuff, combines her bluesy sound and sassy approach to life, making it a must-hear.

THEESATISFACTION

I was first turned on to THEESatisfaction after meeting Stasia Irons when I was attending the University of Washington. To see the growth and success of Irons and Catherine Harris-White, who make up THEESatisfaction, has been exciting. They’re pretty much hometown heroes at this point. THEESatisfaction describes their sound as “funk-psychedelic feminist sci-fi epics with the warmth and depth of black jazz and Sunday morning soul.” Many of their songs are political, addressing race and sexuality, while other songs are lighthearted dance jams. The group is reminiscent of the early days of hip-hop’s A Tribe Called Quest, Mos Def and Queen Latifah, and their rhythmic beats, thought-provoking raps and soulful hooks are irresistible. Because I follow Irons on Instagram, I was able to catch THEESatisfaction at Rain for a surprise performance that demonstrated why they’re getting the recognition they deserve from the likes of Pitchfork, A.V. Club and nymag.com.

Courtney Barnett

I had heard the hype about the lyrical brilliance of Courtney Barnett, but seeing her perform at Stubb’s during SXSW Music blew everything I previously knew of the musician out of the water. Her latest album, Sometimes I Sit and Think, and Sometimes I Just Sit, was released March 24. Rolling Stone called the album “one of 2015’s most anticipated albums” and said Barnett “specializes in spinning seemingly mundane thoughts and events into sneakily hilarious stream-of-consciousness lyrics.” In addition to her drawing listeners in to her lyrics, Barnett engaged the audience, who rocked along with the Aussie artist and her hard-hitting sound. Barnett also walked away from the festival as a winner of the third annual SXSW Grulke Prize in the category of Developing Non-U.S. Act. (Other winners included Leon Bridges and local act Spoon.)

Best Coast

Because we included Best Coast in the March issue of Austin Woman, I wanted to check them out at their Austin Convention Center performance March 20. I had listened to their sophomore album, Fade Away, and was intrigued by the Los Angeles band, fronted by Bethany Cosentino. Pitchfork accurately describes the album as having “propulsive melodies, a significant dose of reverb, repetition and sticky, simple lyrics about aimlessness and the type of love that advances at a lackadaisical West Coast pace.” After seeing the show, I am very much looking forward to their next album, California Nights, set to release May 5.

Marina and The Diamonds

Somewhat of a mix of Madonna’s early days with a little bit of Florence and the Machine thrown in, Marina and The Diamonds’ was a fun show to stumble into at the Neiman Marcus Make Some Noise event. The UK artist’s dark, poppy vocals backed by upbeat trance-inducing instrumentals made hers one of my favorite shows during this year’s festival. Marina and The Diamonds’ latest album, Froot, released April 3, infuses pop, electronic and disco, and is a thoughtful look at the trials and tribulations of intimate relationships, new and old.

The Barberettes

I was transported back in time when I heard Seoul, Korea’s The Barberettes at the Austin Convention Center. Their songs take a retro approach and make you feel like you should be on a beach in California drinking a mai tai in the 1950s. At their SXSW performance, which was their first show in the U.S., and only their second show outside of Asia, they incorporated songs both in English and Korean. Group members Shinae An Wheeler, Grace Kim and So Hee Park couldn’t have been more charming.

Kate Tempest

Although I saw this gal rap her heart out at SXSW, Kate Tempest has other written works that are equally impressive, including three published plays, a novel and a collection of poems. Tempest started performing at age 16 in the UK, competing in the battle-rap circuit. Her debut album, Everybody Down, was released in 2014 and, as no surprise to anyone who is familiar with her work, is extremely catchy, with its cleverly written lyrics.

Vérité

You may know Vérité from her oh-so-popular single, Strange Enough, which became the No. 1 most viral song on Twitter. She wooed the crowd at Empire Control Room by not only playing the song that launched her into the spotlight, but playing her entire debut EP, Echo. She does have a commercial quality in her pop sound, but there’s also something in her compositions that is a little bit alternative, making her an artist to keep an eye out for.