Live music review: Mikaela Davis was angelic at Austin Psych Fest at Far Out Lounge
My first time seeing Mikaela Davis was on the BMI stage at the Austin City Limits Festival in 2015, and I expected her sound to be folkie, singer-songwriter music that I’m not typically into. When she took the stage with her harp, I heard an angelic, neo-psychedelic country sound that pleased my ears and I have followed her career via social media since.
Fast forward nine years to Day Three at Austin Psych Fest (2024), when festival-goers almost lost a mellow day of music due to the weather. The rain moved on and Van Mary eased us into a swampy day at the Janice Stage with a super-chill set. The afternoon continued to heat up as Mikaela Davis & Southern Star took to the Willie Stage for the final day of APF.
Trippy sitar sounds began floating into the air from Mikaela’s harp strings for her song, “Pure Divine Love” and people looked up from their phones and walked over to the stage to settle in. Rightfully so, because song after song floated along with ease. Mikaela and her band (Southern Star) have played together for at least a decade and it shows in the tightness of their songs, especially when things start to sound slightly experimental.
The songs go long with some sweet jams that get spacey thanks to an abundance of stringed instruments and pedals. Did you know that the harp was this versatile and badass? Everything about the sound and vibes from this set made sense for a sweltering spring day in Texas at a psych rock fest. I had my mind blown during a cover of Alice Coltrane’s “Journey in Satchidananda” that led into Mikaela’s song, “Leave it Alone”, which got just as spacey as the Dead’s “Drums / Space,” but maybe even more transcendental, before bringing the crowd back down to earth and ending with “Promise.”
*Honorable mentions of this year’s Austin Psych Fest belong to Earthless who should have been on the Willie Stage because the Janis Stage couldn’t handle the fire that was started, and Minami Deutsch who always leaves my earholes wishing for more.
Do yourself a favor and catch Mikaela Davis on tour through July; she’s got a song and a sound that just about everyone will dig.
Featured photo courtesy of Mikaela Davis
SETLIST:
Austin Psych Fest 4/28/24
Pure Divine Love
Cinderella >
In My Groove
Home in the Country
Leave it Alone >
Journey in Satchidananda > Leave it Alone >
Promise
