Check out our recommendations for Sunday, the final day of Life is Beautiful 2018!
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 23
MT. JOY
4:00 to 4:30 PM, Toyota Music Den
6:50 to 7:30 PM, Huntridge Stage
If you love The Head & The Heart and that kind of heartfelt indie folk rock, Mt. Joy is right up your alley. They put out one of the year’s best debut albums earlier this year and have a bevy of stomp-and-clap bangers in their repertoire. This is a chance to see a band that I expect to blow up to be playing festival main stages sooner rather than later. The depth to their songs is great and lead singer Matt Quinn’s voice is easy to get hooked on.
SUPERORGANISM
4:55 to 5:35 PM, Bacardi Stage
The best way I can describe this band is as kids show Yo Gabba Gabba! on ketamine. Their sonic aesthetic is very Adult Swim and they just seem like they might not be from this planet. I absolutely adore this collective and think they might be one of the most unique bands to hit the indie rock scene in quite some time. You’ll feel like you’re high listening to this band even when you’re stone-cold sober. I love it.
SOFI TUKKER
7:30 to 8:20 PM, Fremont Stage
When I first went into watching SOFI TUKKER at Coachella last year, I had no clue what I was about to experience. Were they DJs? The sound of their big hit “Drinkee” didn’t tip me off at all to what I got to see. The duo, comprised of Sophie Hawley-Weld and Tucker Halpern, play a variety of instruments to create their thriving brand of jungle pop. They play a variety of Brazilian-leaning instruments and know how to hype a crowd. Their debut album that dropped this year was an excellent listen all the way through.
NEIL FRANCES
4:00 to 5:00 PM, Fremont Stage
6:00 to 6:30 PM, Toyota Music Den
One of my favorite discoveries at SXSW this year came at 1 AM when I was absolutely dead tired. I was resting my feet and back near the back of a crowd and I heard these groovy bass lines and amazing falsetto vocals. I make my way to the front of the crowd and am immediately wowed by Neil Frances. There’s a certain groove that makes their music sound so throwback, like it would fit as an opener for Earth, Wind & Fire. Their cover of Stardust’s “Music Sounds Better With You” has the most hits on Spotify, but “Show Me The Right” with its funky bass line is what hit heaviest for me.
