Like many artists, English singer-songwriter Holly Macve has made multiple appearances at SXSW over the years. She acknowledged as much early on in her Friday night set at St. David’s Historic Sanctuary, telling the crowd that it felt good to be back in Austin and going on to say that the city has a special place in her heart.
Telling the story of the first time she came to Austin when she was 19, Macve mentioned how a woman who she referred to as her “Texas mum” took her in at the time and that she still visits this woman each time she returns. She went on to tell another, less happy story of how she was in Austin when she found out that her father had died. And though they may not have been close, something like that would obviously have an impact on anyone. It did indeed have an impact on Macve, who wrote a song about it, “Daddy’s Gone.”
I had previously heard Macve do that song during SXSW 2022 and having enjoyed that set, I decided to check in on her a couple of years later to see what she’s up to these days. As it turns out, a fair bit can change in a couple of years.
In the years since I last saw her, Macve’s sound has shifted from a folk/country based sound to more of a dreamy, cinematic alt-pop sound à la Lana Del Rey. As it turns out, the Del Rey comparison is an apt one – Macve’s recently released single “Suburban House” is a collaboration with Lana Del Rey.
And while some of the older tunes retained a bit of their folky delivery, the newer songs had a different, more dramatic vibe. Performed solo over just a backing track, it was a bit unusual (and more than a little Lynchian) to see a karaoke style performance in the confines of St. David’s, but Macve absolutely made it work.