Boston heads to Austin

As much as we hate to bow down to out-of-town decision makers, it’s always a big deal when Boston artists get selected to perform at the annual South by Southwest extravaganza in Texas. So we are excited to see that Model/Actriz, a uniquely styled “alchemical mixture” of punk, house, and noise—as well as story rockers Horse Jumper of Love—made the First Wave of 2020 Showcasing SXSW Artists. 

It’s an impressive showing for the city, and there’s little doubt that more names from this region will come in future announcements. In the meantime, we reached out to Horse Jumper of Love, which responded to the news collectively:

“We played some unofficial showcases in 2016 and had a good time. … We tour fairly regularly and do [two to three] weeks a couple times a year, [and had] been planning on touring down to SXSW this year. Festivals like that can be pretty overwhelming, but we all like Austin and are looking forward to it.”

As for logistics, the band continued:

“We’ve been working on a new record, and if all goes well, we’ll be playing some of the newer stuff that we’ve been excited about.

“We are planning on touring to and from Austin and hitting some of the surrounding areas. We’ll be driving in our minivan, which we hope doesn’t fall apart.”

‘One Day’ with Slaine

We look forward to speaking in detail with Slaine about his new project, One Day, which he will perform live on a bill with STL GLD on Nov 29 at Brighton Music Hall. In the meantime, the Hub rapper-actor is hosting a pop-up gallery and listening party at Market Casablanc in Roxbury on Nov 4 to benefit the Dennis Messing Memorial Fund (DMMF) and Children of Addicted Parents. Here’s more from our inbox:

The event will showcase a collection of art from a group of artists. The platform will include fine art, photography, graffiti art and music. The event will also be a listening party for Slaine’s upcoming new studio album, One Day, which is Slaine’s magnum opus as an artist after a career spanning close to two decades. The party will serve as a charity event for a cause close to Slaine’s heart.

“I wanted to use the listening party for my new album as a platform to help others instead of just making it about me,” Slaine said. “I’m one of many artists in this community and I’m grateful for all the support the city of Boston has given me over the years. It’s pretty cool to find a group of artists to rally around the cause and be a part of this event. Hopefully, we can sell some art and raise money for DMMF and the children left behind by addicted parents.”

One Day is scheduled for a Nov. 22 release date via AR Classic Records and will feature guest appearances by Vinnie Paz, ILL BILL, Apathy, Locksmith, Rite Hook, Statik Selektah, and more. One Day is a complex tapestry that navigates listeners through a journey of pain, loss, reflection, and redemption. Throughout the album, Slaine finds strength and hope in his darkest moments. He rattles the cage of the past to find truth in the present with his trademark sharp delivery, masterful use of language and aggressive cadence.

RSVP at slaineofficial.com/OneDayGallery