Say She She Tear Down the Walls Disco-Style at Levitation Festival in Austin

Female-led group, Say She She illuminated the stage at Empire Garage and Control Room in their  alternating black and white-colored dresses. The crowd was instantly transported to Studio 54, as the  band started concocting their feminist disco-soul infused tunes.

Band members included Piya Malik of El Michels Affair, Chicano Batman and 79.5, Sabrina Mileo  Cunningham and Nya Gazelle Brown of 79.5 on vocals as well as Matty McDermott on guitar, Steve  Okonski on the keyboard, Izaak Mills on the flute, Nikhil Yerawadekar on bass, and Andy Bauer on  drums.

The band passionately got into their performance as they belted out harmonies from their newest  album, Silver, which evokes both a spiritual eureka and an unapologetic urgency. Some of the most  notable tracks of the night were “Astral Plane”, “Questions”, “Forget Me Not” and “Bleeding Heart”. 

As they prepared to get into “NORMA”, Malik explained the drive behind it, which stemmed from when  the supreme court was going to overturn Roe vs. Wade, and women's rights were being neglected yet  again. The lyrics “Write a letter to the state!” and “Nows the time today” are repeated throughout the  song along with other pressing pleas, which made it clear to listeners that they have an important  message to carry along.  

To close out the night, the group encouraged audience members to turn around and face each other to  dance to “C’est Si Bon”, which livened up the dance floor, that was already pumping along, and the  crowd got to know each other through funky pulses. Say She She is re-inventing disco in a way that will  keep you dancin’ a new groove well into the night. This is a group that you shouldn’t sleep on!  Their live performance is one to get to!

Review & Photos by: Rachel Imre

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