Deft Jams + art/official Foburg Showcase ft. Small Black, Toro y Moi, Cults, Cloud Nothings, & Sun Airway

Mardi Gras is finally over; all of the staff members at art/official have survived (that we know of so far), and Foburg is fast approaching. The music festival, which takes place this coming weekend, has done a fantastic job of securing great local, national, and even international acts to perform this year around.
It stands to reason that a smaller, but similar festival would suffer from being scheduled on the same weekend as Austin’s SXSW, but the opposite stands true. Many bands participating in SXSW this year, anxious to make the best of their time in the dirty south, will be playing at both festivals this weekend and all of the heavy hitters on the bill for Sunday night's showcase at the Saturn Bar are a testament to this. Thanks to our friends at Deft Jams, many of the biggest names on this years Foburg lineup will be sharing the same stage - or spot on the floor at the front of the main room in the Saturn Bar.
First on the list is a band always eager to work with Deft Jams, Small Black, hailing from Brooklyn, New York. These guys were in New Orleans last on October 28, two days after the release of their first full length LP, the hazy, nostalgia drenched New Chain. This very talented outfit has been described as anything from synth-pop, to chillwave, to acoustamatic.

Next on the lineup is Toro y Moi, stage name for chillwave poster boy Chazwick Bundick. Toro y Moi is currently on tour following the February release of his second studio album, Underneath the Pine. The album has been described by many as step in a direction away from the chillwave genre, characterized at times by a feel that is borderline funk, but this hasn't seemed to hurt his success in the least bit. Pine received a "best new music" from Pitchfork, which could be argued as one of the pinnacle achievements in the independent music world. Furthermore, in between the close release of his first two albums, Bundick has stayed busy releasing a plethora of other material, such as remixes and the like. I hope he has a live drummer with him...

Tyler The Creator - French - Toro y Moi Remix

Yet another big name on the lineup for this Sundays showcase is Cults. Still without an entire full-length to their name, this indie pop band created huge amounts of buzz in 2010 with the release of their painfully catchy single "Go Outside." The track is a lazy retro feeling gem with a jangling glockenspiel riff and lyrics that will stick in your head untill your sick of them.

Cloud Nothings are an energetic and noisy lo-fi punk/power pop group from Cleveland that really likes braided hair - maybe even a bit too much. Their music is full of catchy hooks that are a product of the mastermind behind Cloud Nothings, Dylan Baldi. The bands latest self titled full-length was released at the beginning of this year via Wichita/Carpark records.




The last band on the lineup is "bliss-pop" duo from Philadelphia, Sun Airway. The groups depute full-length, Nocturne of Exploded Crystal Chandelier (what a name), came out late last year. I don't know too much about these guys, but their music is hazy and dreamy. It makes me anxious for the summer and has been compared by many to Animal Collective, which is a good thing. Besides, who doesn't love adorable hipster girls frolicking in the ocean, riding a bicycle care-free through a city, or even better, laying in bed in her underwear, dreaming?







Foburg festival and this show are definitely two things you shouldn't miss out on if you're in New Orleans this weekend. It isn't everyday we get the opportunity here to experience so much great music all in the time frame of a single weekend - take advantage of it.
- Article written and compiled by Justen Cheney