Austin rock band Sweet Spirit celebrated their new record release with two nights of shows at Barracuda this weekend.

Story by Gabrielle Sanchez

Photos courtesy of Belicia Luevano

At midnight, the 8-piece band cramped themselves onto the stage of Barracuda and got the show started with a track from their first album “Take Me To A Party,” which garnered enough energy to fuel a large city for hours.

The night before, the band played their new album, “St. Mojo,” from start to finish. On Saturday night, however, they took requests from audience members such as “All Mine and “Baby When I Close My Eyes.” They also gave the audience a taste of the new album, playing tracks such as “Sweet Jesus” and “Salvation.”

Although the stage was small, their moves were mighty. Members danced freely, with plenty of body rolls, swaying and tumbling onto the floor. As the energy increased, so did the dancing, ending with full on rump shaking by saxophonist, Leslie Matthews. Everyone on stage interacted with one another like friends hanging out at a party, and made the audience feel as though they were also part of the cool kids club.

At one point, the band began asking fans for cover requests. They took on the challenge of David Bowie’s “Young Americans” and gave it their best go. Although the song only made it to the two minute mark before dissipating when the key changes hit, the lack of completion bothered no one. Everyone laughed and enjoyed watching the band attempt to figure it out on the spot. Undoubtedly, their cover glory was redeemed when they played “Stay With Me” by The Faces at the end of the set.

The set stretched on through the night and into the early morning. The band rounded off with “The Power,” the lead single from their newest album. As the title suggests, the track carries messages of self-empowerment and remaining true to self. While Sweet Spirit is a band of men and women, the entire set proved the power of the women of the band as they took charge, expressed themselves without remorse and played rock music as it should be, recklessly and with a smile.  

While hard copies of “St. Mojo” were sold at the two shows, the album comes out for wide release this Friday, Apr. 7.