Austin, Texas, continues to grow as one of the top music cities in the nation. Established festivals such as SXSW and Austin City Limits prove that the city has a vibrant music scene. With over 50,000 expected attendees, the Euphoria Festival is the next pre-eminent festival to take place in Austin.
Held at Carson Creek Ranch in Austin, this year’s top acts include Chromeo, Wiz Khalifa, Young Thug, The Disco Biscuits, The Knocks, and Chef Porter.
Two of the more impressive acts of day one included Austin natives Magna Carda and Slice Gang. Magna Carda, a band that features vocalist Megz Kelli and Dougie Do, have built a respectable buzz in Austin. Known as Austin’s version of The Roots, Magna Carda mixes hip-hop, soul, and electronica to present one of the unique sounds of this generation. Crowd favorites included “Life is Sweeter” and “The Cycle.” Megz Kelli perfectly intertwined harmony and lyrics as if she studied the prose of André 3000. “I’m feeling Cleopatra in Ceasar’s Palace, wandering my way around still can’t understand it, how you capture my attention, see I usually keep my distance, I knew when we kicked it I’d be all up in my feelings,” she rapped.
Following Magna Carda’s performance, Megz Kelli shared her thoughts on the festival with rolling out. “We always wanted to play Euphoria,” Megz Kelli said. “When we got the email about the invite, we were excited. This festival is dope in particular because you got camping, the music, and we enjoy it all. We were grateful to be invited. … We’re heading to New York after this festival to begin working on our next project.”
Another noteworthy Austin-based act included Slice Gang. Slice Gang is EDM’s version of Wu-Tang Clan. During their high-energy performance, the collection of DJs traded turns at the turntable like emcees would trade a mic during a cypher. Also, fans were able to crowd surf on their signature pizza float. Following their performance, we caught up with member, Deuces.
“Slice Gang is a collective from Texas,” Deuces said. “Producers at Euphoria reached out again. We all love heavy bass music. We have the progression from start to finish and it works. We love the EDM movemen; hip-hop is a great influence [on] our movement.”
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