SXSW: Kodaline

Monday, March 18th, 2013 // Blogs,SXSW

Seeing Kodaline was the happiest accident that happened to me at SXSW. After misreading The Red Eyed Fly’s schedule, I expected to see Swim Deep but instead saw four Irishmen playing and singing their hearts out in perfect harmony. When I stumbled into the show, Kodaline had just started their song “All I Want.” Delicate harmonies soon picked up to an anthemic, driven chorus of rousing ooohs reminiscent of Mumford & Sons and I nearly fell in love. In the ten minutes of their show that I saw, the lead singer played mandolin, keys, and guitar. The bassist played keys as well and harmonized with all three other members of the band to create sincere, honest folk music. Kodaline delivered an engaging performance and clearly poured their hearts into their respective instruments and microphones. Walking off of the stage sweaty, tired, and content with their performance, they were swarmed with people asking for autographs and trying to get to know more about the band. With just an EP out, Kodaline has a bit of a ways to go to make it big, but the strength of their live show is enough to create a fan out of anyone who sees them perform.

Post by Kyle Henson. His DJ show “The Roots of Pop” airs Sundays at 6 p.m.