There was something appropriate about Edie Brickell & New Bohemians starting their South By Southwest set Wednesday night with “Tell Me” and it’s refrain about “waiting so long for this happy day.”
The 55-minute show at St. David’s Historic Sanctuary was actually the group’s first appearance at SXSW in its 35-year history – despite the fact it hails from Dallas and certainly played a circuit with other groups who were habitual performers at the festival. “It’s a funny thing,” lead guitarist Kenny Withrow told Billboard after Wednesday’s show, noting that New Bohemians were signed out of its home town to a major label record deal, producing a double-platinum debut – 1988’s Shooting Rubberbands at the Stars – and a smash hit in “What I Am.”
“When our record came out on Geffen, nobody really knew what was going to happen,” Withrow added. “We kind of went from playing clubs to being on Saturday Night Live, so there was no in-between where the unsigned band thing used to happen at South By. We were lucky; We stayed home and somebody came and signed us.”