SXSW 2015 Report: Russ Borris

FUV's intrepid music director and host of The Alternate Side, Russ Borris, is at SXSW in Austin this week with Team FUV. On Wednesday night, he found himself running from venue to venue, trying to catch artists and bands on his must-see list, like Only Real and Chastity Belt. He also came across a few surprises too.

Russ Borris:

The first day felt a bit better than the past few years. Not as overly packed and there was more opportunity to jump in and out of venues to see more music. I saw several other shows, but these were the highlights, I think:

—Only Real is a serious talent. Super hooky songs and great rhymes. A real wordsmith.

—Torres. I saw her at the Central Presbyterian Church. She played solo in a packed room. It's very hard for an artist to convey the passion she does with her delivery, but I believed every single word. Intense and impressive.

—I stumbled into a very small venue at some point simply because the band sounded interesting. They had great energy and were loud and fun. I found out later that they are The Mystery Lights. Hung in the same small venue for Chastity Belt. They were dressed kind of like middle-aged moms, but had cool songs. There's something there, for sure.

—Wolf Alice played to a really packed room at The Parish. Great reaction from the audience. They will continue to ascend and quickly.