We had a chance to check out the up-and-coming hip-hop/alternative rock band from the U.K., Yungblud, at Austin’s The Mohawk on March 29. Dominic Harrison, the 20-year-old lead singer in Yungblud, reminds you of The Clash and The Sex Pistols, with a bit of the Arctic Monkeys.
I had listened to Yungbluds’ biggest hit single “I Love You, Will You Marry Me” on Spotify before, but seeing him perform this song live was a whole other story. Dominic brought such a great energy and had the crowd going within seconds of him literally jumping on the stage. His twangy accent definitely made it all the more cool, because duh – accents are cool! Yungblud rocked the stage for half an hour playing his hit singles (“Polygraph Eyes,” “Tin Pan Boy,” and “King Charles”) and let me tell ya, I wanted more! It was great seeing such a young lad from so far have such a fun and electric performance filled with amp jumping, head banging and guitar shredding.
Once Yungblud left the stage you could definitely feel the anticipation for K.Flay’s performance. Kristine Flaherty, aka K.Flay, has been on the hip-hop and alternative indie scene since 2014, and her new album “Everywhere Is Somewhere” was nominated for 2 awards at the Grammys this year (Best Rock Song, “Blood In the Cut” and Best Engineered Album, “Everywhere Is Somewhere”).
It was no surprise her show was sold out, and the minute she stepped on stage the crowd went wild – people were reaching and trying to grab her while others were crying – yes, tears from true fans! Her songs like “Dreamers” and “Wishing It Was You” were full of lyrics that spoke of very real moments and difficult times people go through in life: heartbreak, disillusions, disappointment and the feeling of being completely lost in this world. During her performance,you could feel her emotions, it was as though she was taken back to those moments and was really singing through her pain.
At one point she took a shot of whiskey and toasted to the crowd, thanking them for helping her get through all the painful moments in life by simply being there with her tonight. You could feel the connection she was having with her fans, who also appeared to have gone through something similar.
It’s always great to see artists connect with their fans and K.Flay definitely did. We look forward to seeing her and Yungblud next time there in town! Check out more music and concert recaps here.