by Fally Afani
The boys from Quiet Corral arrived at the SXSW music festival bright-eyed and bushy-tailed this year. This was their first time playing the festival, and they had landed an official showcase.
Later that night, they played the first of three shows for the week. The band played perched atop the roof of Maggie Mae’s, overlooking the busyness and bright lights of 6th Street.
The band was lovely as always. They played a set of perky folk songs while occasionally throwing glances and smiles across the stage at each other. They looked like they just enjoyed the heck out of each other’s company, and at times brought a full-on party to the venue.
A memorable moment in the night came when Quiet Corral whipped out a mostly acapella song with soothing vocal arrangements and the occasional soft plucking of the guitar. The song is off their upcoming album; and at a festival where folks are generally loud and chaotic, the band had the audience completely still and entranced. It’s like they were eating out of the palm of the band’s hand.
At the end of it all, different people in the audience immediately started in with the excited chatter. Words like “Nice!” and “Unbelievable!” were heard. We even heard one latecomer to the show say “Who ARE these guys?!”
They’re Quiet Corral, and they just melted your heart.
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