Blind Pilot was one of the bands I wanted to see at SXSW but missed. I heard several people giving very positive reviews of their sets in Austin, and got the sense Blind Pilot might be getting some buzz. I decided Friday afternoon to buy a ticket to that evening’s show by Blind Pilot at Schubas. Maybe half an hour later, Schubas sent out a Twitter update saying that only five tickets were left for the concert. Of course, it was sold out by the 10 p.m. showtime.
It was a young crowd — a lot of people who looked about 20 — and the crowd clearly knew the songs by Blind Pilot by heart, singing along to many of the lyrics. I wondered if I had missed something. Where did the band get all these fans all of a sudden? However that happened, the band has a pleasant folk-rock sound, with nice male-female vocal harmonies and a mix of trumpet, banjo, dulcimer and stand-up bass. It’s more soothing than rustic, and there’s good songcraft at work. It looks like Blind Pilot is heading toward even bigger popularity.
Photos of Blind Pilot and opening acts Deanna Devore and Death Ships.