AUSTIN (KXAN) — At least 30 Austin-based artists are performing at this year’s virtual SXSW Music Festival, which one singer called “amazing” since the COVID-19 pandemic outright canceled the event last year.
“All of us have been starved for any kind of music for such a long time,” Kelsey Wilson said, “that even getting to go to a venue and tape a set and feel a part of a lineup, especially with Austin friends I haven’t been able to see for a long time, it’s really special.”
Fans know Wilson for her solo career performing as Sir Woman, but the soul singer previously performed with the bands Wild Child and Glorietta. She’ll perform Saturday at 5 p.m. alongside Golden Dawn Arkestra, Nané and Black Joe Lewis & The Honeybears at the “We Gon’ Make it!” showcase recorded at Empire Control Room & Garage for the SXSW virtual ticket holders to enjoy at home.
Even though there won’t be a crowd watching her sing in person Saturday, she told KXAN’s Will DuPree she still pretends like they’ll be right there in front of her.
“The audience tells you what kind of show it’s going to be,” she said. “If you’re walking on stage and everyone’s yelling at you, you’re like, ‘All right, this is gonna be hype. We’re going all out.’ But sometimes people are really quiet, and they just want to listen, so I just kind of take it like that, like pretend it’s a really quiet, respectful listening room and just keep it intimate. I feel like any source of music now is just good for people, so pretending like there are people in the room, even if they aren’t, is just pretty important.”
The start of the pandemic last March also caused her to scrap the release of her debut album, which she planned to call “Party City.”
“It was just not going to happen. That’s just not fitting. Read the room,” Wilson said with a laugh.
Instead she waited several months and decided to put out a five-song EP.
“We just kind of pulled it back and then in October released the five most positive, uplifting, just like the music I thought people would benefit most from because so much was happening,” Wilson said. “It was just really important for me to feel like I could give to people at that time.”
The music video for her single “Making Love” included a collection of clips fans recorded of themselves dancing and singing to the song at home or in their backyards — basically showing how people could still have fun together even while apart.
“I made a post and was like if anyone can send me them just dancing, feeling themselves, having a good time, it’s going to be in the video,” Wilson explained. “It’s just gonna be a virtual dance party with all of us. People sent in full choreographed shots with their families, and people got dressed up, and people were in drag, and it was just like everybody treated it like an event we were doing together. Just knowing that everyone was at home having a good time like that with a joint cause, that was so special. You can feel it, like it was just a big relief for everyone. It’s probably my favorite video I’ve ever made, because it brought so much joy to so many people.”
After a period of feeling like she couldn’t write any new songs, the inspiration is now flowing, and she said she now has enough new material to release at least two more albums. However, fans can expect to hear the album she scrapped at the start of the pandemic since she plans to release it likely later this year with a title change.
“Now making music feels like just the only reason to do it is to bring people together in some way,” Wilson said. “So that’s a really special aspect that has come out of this year.”
Her performance schedule is also filling up more this year. During the next few months, she has several in-person performances on the books, though they will be held outdoors and strictly follow guidelines to prevent the spread of COVID-19.
“What venues seem to be doing now is we’re selling tables,” she said. “So up to six people can get a table together so that your whole pod can be seated, and they bring drinks to you. It feels really good. It actually feels a little bit like old Austin, where you could still go to a show and have space and get a good seat up front and see the music. I like it, because I don’t do big crowds anyway, so that’s another good part about it, but it’s feeling very safe. Venues are figuring out really solid protocol for it. We’re doing a lot of outdoor stuff.”
When asked about what the future will hold, Wilson said the Austin music scene will never be the same, partly because the pandemic caused so many venues to close. In the Red River Cultural District alone, that group’s leaders said 25 to 30% of the performance spaces shut down permanently in the last year.
However, Wilson said the performances she’s had recently came with a feeling of gratitude and appreciation by the fans and musicians alike for simply listening to and playing live music again.
“The one good thing about that is all of us local bands are just — we’re going to be here again like the good old days, just taking local residencies and working with each other and making a lot more records,” she said. “I think the main thing right now is just to really keep taking care of each other, and that’s why I love this city so much. We’ve been through so much, especially this past month, and I’m so enamored with this community, everyone in it, everyone’s love and respect for music and the arts. We’re going to figure this out, and it’s going to be better than it was.”
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