Live music review: Wizard Rodeo proved memorable mini-fest at Sam’s Town Point
Wizard Rodeo is an eclectic musical gathering founded by San Antonio country-rock staple Garrett T. Capps, Little Mazarn’s Lindsey Verrill, and owner of Austin-based baseball sandlot The Long Time, Jesse Ebaugh. Since 2021, The Wizard Rodeo has served as a one-day festival that features multiple stages, a lineup that spans numerous genres, and a whole day of art and community that features talent from all over the nation. Usually held at The Long Time sandlot for each consecutive installment, the annual event was forced to move to South Austin haunt, Sam’s Town Point, due to weather concerns on December 7. Despite this turbulence, Wizard Rodeo 2024 trucked on for yet another memorable event of epic presentation of talent across the Central Texas music scene and other treasures that go beyond the homegrown roots of the fest’s foundations.
The vibes proved undisturbed when arriving at Sam’s in the early afternoon. Campfires were lit outside, the multiple-stage setup was mostly intact, and the vendors were spread out all over the spatially sound local honky tonk’s big backyard. When venturing inside, we were greeted by a welcoming folk rock venture from Nashville act Styrofoam Winos. The trio backed with pumping, strummed guitars and harmonized vocals that interwove with Wizard Rodeo’s down-home brand, making the early afternoon performance a welcome surprise from a national touring act that made its way to Austin for a day of independent music.
San Antonio’s Garrett T. Capps took the reins in the early afternoon, but all the rock was still present as backing band NASA Country was there to backbone Capps’ krautrock-infused, socially-aware form of country rock and roll. Capps and NASA Country also just released their latest full-length album Everyone Is Everyone, a follow-up to last year’s People Are Beautiful.
Albuquerque duo A Hawk And A Hacksaw graced the stage next, which features Neutral Milk Hotel percussionist alumni Jeremy Barnes and violinist/wife of Barnes, Heather Trost. The 40-minute slot featured hints of folk, avant-garde, and world music all mixed to produce a reflective festival offering, featuring vocals from Trost and tribal-like auxiliary drums from Barnes as the music progressed to a focused, in-awe audience.
Austin ethereal folk act Little Mazarn took the stand next, requiring the packed-in crowd at the Austin joint to quiet their $3 beer conversations to listen to the glistening soundscapes of Verrill and her band that consists of musicians of different origins of backgrounds, including instrumentalist/Chicago-based singer and songwriter, Carolina Chauffe, also known as Hemlock, who performed solo at last year’s edition of Wizard Rodeo.
When wandering outside after the duo departed, the Wizard Rodeo fans were treated to an improv session from the Sahara Quartet featuring musicians who are stay-ins for African night at East Austin’s Sahara Lounge, which featured sounds of the widespread group of cultures that are readily in study at the long-running institution.
New York City Americana solo artist Nina Nastasia put on a steady yet immersive acoustic set that included compelling storytelling of the artist’s roots from Los Angeles to present-day residence in the Big Apple. Nastasia’s latest full-length release, 2022’s Riderless Horse, features 14 hand-sculpted tunes and carefully crafted lyricism that can only be produced through a lifetime of telling life’s trials through song. It was a welcome addition to the Wizard Rodeo stage that made a warming statement for the gathering’s fourth consecutive year.
Wizard Rodeo and all those working behind the scenes made every conscious effort to make the 2024 event move forward as planned this past weekend. Even if it did rain all day and the temperature was low, Capps, Verrill, Ebaugh, and all of their associates came together and gave attendees yet another experience to write home about in one of Austin’s most classic spots in the city. As the fest goers sipped their cheap beers and wandered the Town Point grounds, it became a budding, community-oriented reality that Wizard Rodeo is here to stay for a while.
Wizard Rodeo will return in 2025, with details to be announced.
All photos by Jupiter
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