SXSW 2023: Thor Harris & Colin Newman... Oh My!

“Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!”

It's that time of year again – South By Southwest has returned! As a seasoned SXSW performer, I've lost count of the number of times I've played this festival, but I still feel grateful for the opportunity to be a part of it. In 2020 and 2021, we all felt the heartache of its disappearance due to the pandemic, so I promised myself that I wouldn't whine about the typical headaches that come with it – like traffic, noise, and an influx of people inspired to move here. By and large, I've managed to maintain a positive attitude: I'm just happy to be playing it again.

This year's festival was a lower-key affair for me. Unlike previous years where I would play multiple gigs, day parties, and radio spots with multiple bands, this year I played with just one band – Thor & Friends – for just one official SXSW showcase. I had other invites and offers, but my Thursday departure to Berlin to work with the Guitar Orchestra of Europe compelled me to turn them down.

Artist-eye view of his new, experimental setup

Playing an official SXSW showcase is nice and all, but it comes with one not-so-small hassle – picking up your wristband so you can actually get into your show (no joke). Thankfully, I opted for an early pickup to avoid the lines, even though I still needed to park three-quarters of a mile away and hike into downtown for it.

Normally, I play the pedal steel when working with Thor Harris and his crew, but since we're a large ensemble and our stage at Valhalla is not very big, I opted for my 1950s Magnatone lap steel and my Eastwood electric mandolin (and a bunch of pedals, of course). I ended up really enjoying the sounds I could get out of this duo, not to mention that I could haul my whole rig in a few shoulder strap bags. I might stick with this setup for all my smaller-staged T&F shows.

Playing the Valhalla stage again was a blast – I hadn't played there for years, back when it was called Room 710. Hanging out with the lovely Adult Decisions peeps (who sponsored the showcase) was also a highlight. But the most unexpected and mind-blowing moment was discovering that we had a fan in Colin Newman of Wire, who attended the show and dropped by to say hi. Rest assured, I kept my cool and refrained from ranting about how Pink Flag is one of my all-time favorite albums – although I’ll admit I was feeling it pretty hard on the inside!

Soundcheck… so many mallet instruments, so little time…

I'm honestly a little sad to have turned down all the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday gigs, but Berlin awaits. Adios, SXSW… I’ll see you next year!

Brent Baldwin