GALLERY & REVIEW: Holiday Hootenanny Festival
DECEMBER 14-15, 2024 | AUSTIN, TX | BY ELINA CARRASCO | WORDS BY RACHEL JOY THOMAS
The Holiday Hootenanny, brought to Austin by Resound Presents and Pooneh Presents, invited concert zealots to a two day showing of local and outside talent. With a spirited lineup including Danny Brown, HEALTH, of Montreal, Voxtrot, Cut Worms, Water From Your Eyes, and Being Dead, Austin experienced its first large Resound-approved Holiday bash.
DAY 1
As people swarmed into Radio East for the first day of the Holiday Hootenanny, each brought with them an artist to look out for, a vendor they’d like to see, and a drink off of the bar’s extensive menu they’d like to order. Doors opened at 1 p.m, with enough time for early birds to check out each luxurious amenity not usually found at other festivals.
haha Laughing, an experimental noise rap duo from Austin Texas, started off the Holiday Hootenanny with a somewhat gastropodic performance. Opening with Jay Dilick’s (also known by the moniker haha Laughing) cutting refrain in “SOMETIMES, I WISH I WERE A SLUG,” audience members quickly realized co-conspirator Aby Oviedo (known as baby basco) was making their way through the crowd, weaving through with a camo raincoat and a slug mask as they found their way to the stage. The act enthused the fest’s plethora of photographers who took the opportunity to take photos of the faux disoriented slug during their various stumbles and missteps. From that point on, glitchy and sample-laden performance augmented specifically for the microfestival ensued, with snappy lines from baby basco and screeching refrains from haha Laughing receiving praise and fanfare.
Faerybabyy, a Texas native surf rock artist with a new wave spark was another highlight from the night. Her deep vocal refrain cut through the audience, and as she looked toward the crowd, she gave off an impossibly cool energy wearing glasses and an oversized green cardigan. The indie-rock artist, otherwise known as Payton Morse, captivated Gen-Z and older crowds alike when she performed hypnotic tracks about sleep paralysis, angels and Jesus Christ.
A quick DJ set from Lulu.Wav, one half of ever-famous Frost Children, came arguably early in the day but ultimately set the mood for further acts. The electronic pioneer’s DJ set perfectly enraptured the crowd after Faerybabyy slowed things down with a new-wave twist. The hard-hitting remixer shifted gears, twisting samples from Foo Fighters to Charlie XCX with ease. Standing on a plastic table holding their gear, they augmented and twisted dials and knobs while looking out into a crowd of head boppers further and further swirling into the noise. Noting that they were one half of Frost Children, they recommended checking out their solo work and that of the duo while working with Frost Children’s Danny Brown featured song, “Shake It Like A.”
Tear Dungeon, one of the most unique bands during both weekends, completely shocked and baffled those who watched them. The gimp-mask wearing, genre-bending, somewhat proto-punk band took to the stage with a plan to spill blood in the season of red and green, and spill they did.
Lead singer Andrew Cashen poured viscous red fluid into his mouth before spitting it into the splash zone of those close by at the PavillionRadio East stage. Performances of “If I Was A Cop” punched and garbled with deafening “Fuck yous” and added fanfare. The band spilled fake blood on nearly every crevice, from a rug that they conveniently had from a previous performance to use to a white tarp that remained permanently stained with a splatter of the red ink, even during other group’s arguably more lackadaisical sets.
During the show, Cashen ordered around the crowd like subjects, asking one person to step down so he can ride on the audience member’s shoulders. Raising his hands like a messiah in front of the crowd, he basked in the glory of cheers—of course, adding mosh pits and ensuing chaos developed during TEAR DUNGEON’S set, truly cementing the first real mosh pit at the Holiday Hootenanny.
When audiences finally returned to the Pavillion stage after a gripping hardcore set from L.A-based band HEALTH, they found an arguably calmer, meditative musician. Austin-based electronic artist Roger Sellers, otherwise known as Bayonne, enraptured the crowd, starting his later-day performance with “Appeals.” The ambient sound maker washed his piano-tracked music into the venue coolly, maintaining adamant professionalism as he added twinkling synth notes and layered vocals. Performing with drummer Matt Toman, the atmospheric musician asserted that he had little skill with percussion and that he left it to his bandmate; however, both men synchronized well percussively. Sellers joined Toman occasionally, synchronizing with him for occasional beats on a set of stand alone toms without a kick drum.
Performing a mix of tracks from Temporary Time and Primitives with one sophomore standout (“I Know”), the group bathed concertgoers in tranquility before the headliner.
Of course, one of the major highlights of the night was the headliner, Danny Brown. The at times avant garde rap artist performed a high-energy set spanning his discography, including four different tracks from his collaborative album SCARING THE HOES by JPEGMAFIA. With only two songs from new introspective album Quaranta, the flowing lyricist stuck to a surprising amount of collaborative and “cover” content, even including a “Attak” cover at the back end of his headlining exhibition.
The now Austin local had been feeling under the weather, which he outlined between tracks, but he managed to execute a rigorous flow. Wearing a heavy leather jacket with perked up devil horns, Brown felt the heat as he vigorously paced across stage. The rapper received ample call and response for “Ain’t It Funny,” with nearly the entire crowd singing back the chorus to the Atrocity Exhibition cut.
DAY 2
The next day welcomed more indie rock and eccentric artists rather than heavy and experimental ones.
Magic Rockers of Texas, a local Austin act known widely amongst Austin’s music fanatics and bar fiends, took the first spot on the bill with swinging confidence. Jim Campo, the band’s frontman, stood facing the crowd with a duct taped, beautifully jacked up guitar tilted slightly down. Starting off the set with recent single “Houston,” the band immediately set a precedent of heavy-swinging, smashing Texas tracks.
The group touched nearly every cornerstone in their discography, from Beatles-esque “Graveyard” to brand new track “If I were a Cop.” Each song rang out in short, powerful dynamic bursts with a perfect amount of slapback, a concern previously espoused by Campo in the moments leading up to the performance.
Roy Orbison’s “In Dreams,” one of the group’s coverable staples, also joined the mix to add a slice of ‘50s sound with a pugnacious bite. A quick addition to the setlist came when the band added Tanya Tucker’s “Texas (When I Die),” a track they’ve barely graced in 2024. Finishing off the set with the band’s evergreen, contemplative closer “Words In a Bin,” Campo rang out, “You’re a level headed girl / sitting on top of the world with a leaky foundation / it's only a question of when.”
Almost effortlessly, Being Dead also cemented themselves as a highlight from the festival. The Austin-based indie “sweethearts” balance kitschy noise with indie rock on their greatest hits. Their endless charm and wholly unique vocal duology has taken Austin by storm and by heart.
The Western beach track “Muriel’s Big Day Off” bounced into an ever-growing crowd of Texas Holiday celebrators. By nighttime, tipsy elves joined the crowd of attendees for the festival, while some Santas smoked Marlboro cigarettes. With crowds drinking Lone Star beers and Moscow Mules, Being Dead's ability to hook and cinch into those entering the venue increased.
The band, however, didn’t mind their large audience and enthusiastically spoke amongst themselves onstage as though the world didn’t exist. This added to their ever-continuing charisma. In one moment, they could be performing a track from their beloved album EELS; in the next, they were most likely figuring out dance moves, explaining to the audience how each band member should’ve moved in a moment.
The day two headliner, of Montreal, brought an eclectic splash of costumed buzzing energy to Radio East. Starting off theits night with “Blab Sabbath Lathe of Maiden,” creatures and characters quickly took the stage to join pink-wigged Kevin Barnes as he sang leading vocals.
Boxers swung at each other as Barnes emphatically expressed his heart's desires on stage. The psychedelic set, with funky basslines and swanky synths, playfully invited its audience to dance despite muddy conditions due to a bit of rain throughout the day. Many concertgoers laughed, letting go of their cares as the day slowly slipped away into the pop-laden performance.
“The Party’s Crashing Us,” the last song of the first ever Holiday Hootenanny, added additional improvised synths, wandering notes, and pressed together simple refrains as it inched toward its start. Barnes counted in the verse with sincere flair, saying “1, 2, 1, 2, 3 suck it!” with whimsy, and lights danced and gleamed when the song faded back into the distance.
The Holiday Hootenanny, in comparison to other festivals, felt like a levelled up experience. For any person buying a ticket, it came with a lineup of stellar artists that melded perfectly with another and juxtaposed well when needed. Day one’s acts leaned heavier and more experimental with occasional electronic brevity, while day two tended to have indie and pop influences with occasional art-rock brevity. Unlike other festivals, The Holiday Hootenanny felt extremely well planned with regard to its lineup, curation and details. It also came with extensive seating options, real food options, interesting activities like a mechanical ‘reindeer’ and skate pipe, as well as a maker’s market.
Ultimately, the first ever Holiday Hootenanny packed a huge punch. Its impact on local culture feels like a keystone, and it manages to do so while still celebrating the holidays. For any music lovers, future Hootenannys are certainly an experience worth having, even if the holidays are not your cup of tea.