Over the next few months, interspersed between normal Vodka mined musical posts, will be Vodka’s favorites of the Austin 100 (in no particular order), NPR’s tracks of musicians that performed at SXSW. This year, of course, the event was canceled, so these artists need a bit more publicity to reach a broader audience. Watch for the tagline Vodka Austin Favorite or if you search for these tracks later, simply put “vodka austin” in the search. Let’s begin! Devon Gilifillian takes soul music to a new level, allowing himself to touch the…
Read MoreCanadian singer-songwriter, indie-pop-rocker, Marissa Burwell, released the delightfully infectious single Scaredy Cat, back in July 2019. The single was a follow-up to her debut self-titled EP released in February 2019 and showcases an artist with genuine pop chops, that should be on someone’s major label horizon. That said, the near-sighted nature of the music industry almost guarantees that unless she is widely heard somewhere else, she will never make their radar screen. Making the presence of Marissa’s music known is left up to Vodka readers and others. Tout this artist’s…
Read MoreYou might recognize Barbra Lica from a previous Vodka post. Joining her is Danielle Knibbe, for a one-off (at least for now) beautiful little duet from the two, You Should Write the Book (seen/heard here). Once again, Barbra proves she has an effortlessly beautiful vocal ability, as does Danielle here as well, but it is the framing of this song in a shared lead with beautiful harmonies that make it so special! Stylistically, it is almost Americana, which is a bit different from Barbra’s normal…
Read MoreWhen music comes from the heart and from personal experience, it really matters, and that isn’t meant to be a play on words. Arielle Silver has crafted a masterpiece in What Really Matters (seen/heard here). It’s a triumphant song about just that – what really matters. It is a song that comes from the gun smoke of a bar shooting and the ashes of the California hills, but it is not a song about giving in or giving up, but about really knowing what is important in…
Read MoreCanadian singer-songwriter, folk-rocker, Sarah Harmer smacks your complacency upside the head with New Low from the forthcoming (out by the time you read this) long-player, Are You Gone (February 2020). The chorus on this track is a gem worthy of repeat: “Out in the street three times this week, new threats, new lows. If this gets us to our feet and grows, who knows?” Through this refrain and the verses leading up to it, Harmer speaks of complacency that makes us feel that the problems of the world aren’t ours, that…
Read More