Starting the Year Off Right with Houndmouth

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Author: Bridget Benevides

Thank you, Houndmouth and Family of the Year for the amazing concert that started off my second year of college. On Monday night I walked into The Showbox, tastefully lit by beautiful chandeliers and buzzing with the conversations of anxious fans. It was my first time back to The Showbox in a few months and I was excited as ever to see some live music once again.

Family of the Year | Photo courtesy of Family of the Year

Family of the Year is an American indie rock band based in Los Angeles, CA. The band consisted of five members, all of whom sang. There was one keyboard player, two guitar layers, one bass player, and a drummer, Sebastian Keefe, who I loved watching play his heart out with a huge smile on his face. He cracked jokes and enthusiastically told the audience that Frasierwas his favorite TV show. The entire band was very appreciative of the audience’s energy. To be completely honest, I did not recognize the name “Family of the Year” at first… until they started playing one of my favorite songs: “Hero”. During that performance, I told myself that even if Houndmouth was horrible, my night was complete.

Luckily, Houndmouth was NOThorrible (though I didn’t really expect them to be so…). In my preview I stated that the band was a combination of three men, but on stage there were seven. Three played guitars, one on the keyboard, one on drums and two played miscellaneous instruments (some of which I did not recognize, but I do know there was a cowbell, saxophone, chimes, and a xylophone). I loved the integration of these unique instruments, and I could really hear the importance of their simple sounds in the midst of high energy rock. 

Houndmouth | Photo by Konner Nelson

The crowd was infectiously energetic, and I was lucky to have good company; so even though some of the songs were unfamiliar to me, I couldn’t help but smile and dance. Every member of the band had a mustache which I thought was pretty funny, and I’m curious to know if there is any significance to that. The group had a lot of character—Matt Myers’ sassy dance moves were so fun to watch and seeing the smiles on all of their faces livened up the room.

Houndmouth | Photo courtesy of Houndmouth’s Facebook page

Houndmouth played popular songs like “Coast to Coast”, “Darlin’”, and (my personal favorite) “Sedona”. They did not talk much in between songs, but I didn’t really mind because their stage presence was so joyous. What I most enjoyed was seeing the band have so much fun on stage. They would regularly look around and smile at each other, laugh at one another, and playfully jostle each other. This really made me smile; to me it just proved that they really love what they were doing.

Feeling the music rumble in my chest really woke me up and reminded me of how lucky I am to be in the city that I am, with the opportunities that I have. Experiencing live music is incredibly freeing, I believe. I am happy to have experienced it in a new light: Houndmouth.


BRIDGET BENEVIDES | “A Saturday night kind of pink” | KXSU Music Reporter

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