Mother Falcon - “You Are”

SXSW 2022 - OEB Score: 8; Popularity Index: 9

Pairs Well With…Arcade Fire, Typhoon, The Family Crest

While we don’t have new music to share (Mother Falcon’s last record Good Luck Have Fun came out seven years ago), Mother Falcon have become an Austin institution over the years, going as far as offering their own education program to share their orchestral expertise locally. The ambitious chamber-folk band will normally gig with twenty or so members, a true orchestra of sound bridging classical and folk-rock songwriting in grand form. Good news is Mother Falcon has both a record and a soundtrack to a new performance of Petra and the Wolf planned for 2022, so look for a revitalized Mother Falcon at SXSW this year, showcasing at Parker Jazz Club on Wednesday night presented by ATX Composers. (Kevin McStravick)

2020 Review: Austin’s own Mother Falcon started out as a collective of high school orchestra students. Since then, they’ve set records at NPR’s Tiny Desk (for most members crammed in), reimagined Radiohead’s OK Computer (aptly titled MF Computer) and routinely played live shows with 20 musicians. Mother Falcon doesn’t just invite musicians to sit down and sing background vocals - everyone actively plays an instrument. Their music demands you actively engage as well, as their enthusiastic chamber-pop begs to be heard live. The ten string players steer them into symphonic rock, but they’re also armed with horns, guitars, a ukelele and more to ensemble a miniature orchestra singing rock-structured songs.