SXSW 2015 Interview: Josh Savage

Thursday night at SXSW 2015 took me to a venue I hadn’t visited before, the Victorian Room at the historic Driskill Hotel, where I saw singer/songwriter Josh Savage after editor Mary’s enthusiastic recommendation from seeing him at a Sofar Sounds Manchester show in April 2014. Once again, Mary’s instinct was spot on, as Savage’s subtle and intricate songwriting style was perfectly suited both to my musical taste and to the delicate, intimate space of the room he played that evening.
After Savage captivated the small but attentive audience inside the Victorian Room with his understated songs and charismatically modest stage demeanour, he and I stepped outside for a very brief interview, which you can find streaming below. We chatted about his current EP ‘Spaces’, in particular the enchanting track ‘Lost In Paris’ that has quickly become a favourite of mine. During the show Savage had further charmed me by deftly persuading his listeners, who had been respectfully silent up to that point, to sing a lovely harmonisation of the song’s “ooh la la” chorus, demonstrating a level of skill and stage experience belied by his self-effacing manner.
Savage is currently honing that experience on his entirely self-reliant North American tour, which will include shows along the East Coast and in Canada through the first week in May. After his trip across the pond, Savage will play summer festivals in the UK before looking ahead to more potential live dates this autumn.
I was delighted to hear that Savage’s musical ties to French chanson and his thematic ties to French literature will continue later this year in the form of a French language EP titled ‘Quatre Épines’, which will feature songs inspired by the classic Antoine de Saint-Exupéry story ‘The Little Prince’. If you’re interested in a sneak preview, the exquisite title track from ‘Quatre Épines’ is streaming on Savage’s Soundcloud, along with all five tracks from ‘Spaces’. Previous TGTF coverage of Josh Savage is right this way.
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