SXSW 2010: Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings
The best feature of SXSW is finding bands that you didn’t already know about; but sometimes in a sea of great new bands (and not so great new bands) you just want to stop and hear a band that you know will be good. And I knew Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings would be good, because let’s face it… when are they not?
It was a beautiful Thursday afternoon and the air was buzzing with a special kind of excitement – the kind only brought out by warm sunshine on a crowd that’s used to the cold. I got to The Mohawk over an hour early and the line was already down the block. We anxiously moved closer and closer to the door and I barely made it in as her first song started up. The place was packed and everyone was there for one reason – to get down with Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings. There was no networking in the back, no talking in the front. It was eyes forward and feet moving.
Her set was electric. Her band is one of the tightest groups I have ever heard. They have this amazing vibe that’s so classic it’s actually new and fresh no matter how many times you see it. The Dap-Kings are dressed in sharp suits, keeping step together as they play. Miss Sharon Jones steals the show, giving it everything she’s got, all while wearing a dress and heels.
Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings are exceptional at what they do and I will continue to catch them every time they come to Austin. Be on the look out for their new album I Learned The Hard Way, due out on April 6.
-Meg Murphree
