GALLERY & REVIEW: Marshall and Resound’s Unofficial SXSW Day Party: A Smashing Success With New and Classic Bands

Rachel Joy Thomas

Mar 19

MOHAWK AUSTIN | AUSTIN, TX | MARCH 12, 2025 | BY RACHEL JOY THOMAS

The Marshall Day Party, featuring artists like JaRon Marshall, Fawn, Fleshwater, The Molotovs, Wishy, Maruja, and Die Spitz—alongside other indoor musicians and attractions—packed a large crowd of attendees seeking out good vibrations and easy drinks. Taking over the entirety of Mohawk’s venue space, hundreds gathered to take photos in the indoor photo booth and enjoy offerings from FSG Records.

The day started early with soulful band JaRon Marshall, the keyboardist for the legendary Austin band Black Pumas, who took the stage on Mohawk’s outdoor pavilion. Joined by a full backing band, JaRon performed an eclectic range of jazzy tunes on a hard electro-5 keyboard.

Fawn’s shoegaze-forward, emotionally strung sound captivated the gathering crowd next as they took the stage after some minor setup. The band pulled through cuts off its 2023 EP fawn / cement driver.

Despite performing earlier in the day, many attendees chatted about coming just for Fleshwater, who’ve recently been on tour with Deftones and The Mars Volta. Lead guitarist Jonathan Lhaubouet screamed the band’s lyrics alongside lead singer Marisa Shirar, otherwise known as “MIRSY.” Melting the daylight audience with beckoning nu-gaze effect loops, the band grooved through heavy-hitting, punkish tracks from its most recent debut.

The Molotovs, formed by British teens Mathew and Issie Carts, performed the unreleased track “More, More, More.” As a completely fresh face in the business coming across the pond, they brought the U.K.'s darling charm to “rootin’, tootin’ Texas.”

The near-brand-new band, already featured in Rolling Stone, riled up the audience despite being somewhat unfamiliar to Austin. Issie Carts lifted her bass above her head as she ran across the stage. Matthew Carts took multiple opportunities to jump just in time for photographers to swing heavy equipment around to capture the perfect shot, practically beaming beneath the light of hundreds of eyes while splashing across the venue in a red polo shirt.

Wishy’s more relaxed, alt-rock-forward performance offered a modest reprieve to a rowdy daylight crowd. The band’s sheer focus on its instruments and chill attitude—fit with sunglasses for co-lead singer Nina Pitchkites—helped them bear the sweltering rays. Their primary setlist consisted of tracks from their most recent album, We’re Not Here to Be Loved.

Maruja’s daylight set carried a transcendental tone. The band’s apparent stance on freedom struck a chord with the audience, as select members shouted “Free Palestine” to the rapper, guitarist, and saxophonist. With cheers loud enough for Jacob Hayes, the band’s drummer, to possibly hear them from the back, they surely packed a punch.

Maruja’s stage performance almost always features at least one instance of crowd surfing from lead singer Harry Wilkinson and a walk through the crowd from saxophonist Joe Caroll. But this time, even non-frontmen took the opportunity to nosedive into the audience. One attendee seized his chance to climb hands and bodies toward the sky, reaching up as people swayed while carrying his body weight. As the crowd crashed into each other, drinks flew into the air, landing near the entourage of photographers.

Die Spitz, the arguable headliner and an Austin favorite, performed last.

Ava Schrobilgen provided screeching, metallic vocals that resonated alongside the band’s grunting guitars. From the back, Chloe Andrews smashed through hit after hit from the band’s discography while watching her fellow bandmates swing and attack their respective lines.

Bassist Kate Halter instructed the crowd to mosh by circling her finger in the air. Mosh they did, with rambunctious characters of all ages eagerly smashing into each other haphazardly. In total, more than four mosh pits formed throughout the day, but Die Spitz’s performance attracted some of the most rabble-rousing folks to “circle the drain.”

Livingston maintained an air of vicious enthusiasm, instructing the audience to “bark” and “woof” for select songs. The band’s jesting demeanor transfixed a crowd of metalheads, freaks, and even the absolutely normal.

The Marshall Day Party concluded with a classic move from Livingston—she found her way to the side of Mohawk, climbing up toward the awning to peer out at the crowd. The audience swirled toward her, leaping up to almost follow her command. She raised her arm triumphantly in the air before climbing down and letting the evening crawl toward Mohawk.

Venue staff quickly took to the stage to make announcements, asking everyone in attendance to scatter. Then, a flood of Austinites and people from around the country dipped out of the venue just as rain trickled down from the sky.

Marshall’s Day Party gathered some of the best artists in Austin and beyond for a day of moshing, partying, and staring across at bands in the March swelter. With an exclusive lineup of renegades and rockstars, there was only one issue—not everyone who wanted to attend could fit!