Raleigh based American Aquarium cranks out soulful Americana songs that evoke hazy memories of smokey bars, cheap beer and whiskey and good times. I’ve been fortunate enough to catch them live about half a dozen times and have never been let down by their high energy performances alongside lead singer BJ Barham’s clever lyrics.

This time was a bit different from many of our Acoustic Alley sessions in that while it was acoustic and in an alley, it was also inside their van which lead to my favorite interpretation of percussion I’ve seen while watching in any of the sessions so far. I unfortunately didn’t get to witness it first hand as I wouldn’t fit in the van and didn’t have a camera or mic, so that probably only made it better. I did make sure no one stole the whiskey while I waited, so it wasn’t like I was completely useless. Definitely one of our highlights of SXSW 2013. – Everett Verner