Friday night at SXSW felt uncharacteristically quiet. Where did all the smaller enticing showcases go? Why weren’t we forced to agonize over our schedule? Was everyone really at Green Day and Depeche Mode? (The first which I haven’t appreciated since I was seventeen, the second which I didn’t win tickets to.) Content to keep it to a single showcase, I spent the evening watching Caitlin Rose, Savages, and Youth Lagoon.

Few things come as more of a surprise than the third day of SXSW. Regardless of superficial whine-inducing aches, the night was filled with heavy hitters: TOY, Charles Bradley, Sharon Jones, and Telekinesis.

Despite our high hopes and daisy-fresh worldviews, Wednesday night was a mixed bag, with sets from Peace, NO CEREMONY///, Ex Cops, CHVRCHES, and alt-J.

My wife Wendy and I were warned not to bring a baby to SXSW but had little choice but to take our two-and-a-half-month-old daughter Rose to Austin with us. Here’s a recap of what I saw Tuesday and Wednesday night during the music portion of SXSW in between worrying about the new addition to our family, including sets by Divine Fits, CHVRCHES, Peace, EX Cops, alt-J, and others.

Fair or not, Is This It and Room on Fire, The Strokes’ one-two punch from the first few years of the ‘00s, loom heavy over all of their subsequent releases. And for good reason—those albums remain immensely listenable and enjoyable, the sheer pop prowess and technical chops belied by how casual they felt.

Suun’s debut full-length, Zeroes QC, stood out with a volatile mélange of electronic experimentation and big-guitar rockist leanings. This time out, the Montréal group is more consistent, diving more wholeheartedly into their Kraut-y electronic side, bringing modern-day Liars or Clinic to mind.

While Matthew Houck would not be strictly classified as a country musician, he’s taken a wonderful lesson from country about range of emotion. Muchacho, his latest album, swings from heartbroken to celebratory and back again, sometimes within one song.

Denizens of the Internet launched the word “epic” squarely into overuse territory, but with your permission, reader, I’d like to reclaim it to discuss The Chronicles of Marnia.

Despite historically lacking in big-name performances, the opening night of the 27th annual SXSW delivered the goods. I kicked off my first evening out in The Lone Star State with sets from Sirah, Charli XCX, IO Echo, Divine Fits, and Cirque du Soleil. (Yes, that Cirque du Soleil.)