By Cool Kel
As a local Austinite, I’ve been attending SXSW for 25 years. This year, I’m embarking on a weeklong journey of reviewing only musical acts I know nothing about.
Sage Bava @ Marlow
Sage Bava began the Monday night set at SXSW with a cover of Carol King’s classic “Natural Woman”. Think Jeff Buckley over the kind of guitar music you might hear in a spa. Like Buckley, Sage balances her vocals effectively between control and surrender. Her solo electric guitar act reminded me how individual notes can be even more evocative than strummed chords when done right. Sage’s soothing, airy jazz guitar blue notes are like pebbles hitting a pond. Her skills on her six-string are her strongest asset and you can tell this young artist is well-studied.
Sage Bava’s original numbers broadly center nature. Her mantra is “We are nature, and the more we sever ourselves, the more we harm.” In one chorus she sings, “Clean myself with the Earth!” and I interpreted the track “Amor Fati” (Latin for “love of one’s fate”) as being about surrender to Mother Nature. At first glance these lyrical themes might seem to clash with the crisp jazzy tones coming out of her expensive-looking Les Paul. But it’s a welcome cognitive dissonance, New Ageisms for a new age.
Sage Bava could easily garner a larger audience of older listeners with her adult contemporary sound, but I’m hoping she’s winning over her generation with the optimism apparent in her music.