Watch David Shaw at the Paste Magazine East Austin Block Party Presented by Ilegal Mezcal

We packed our flight cases and built a pop-up version of the Paste Studio on the indoor stage of The Coral Snake in Austin to host three days of sessions during Paste’s 2024 East Austin Block Party, presented by our friends at Ilegal Mezcal.

We usually record sessions like these in relatively quiet and more controlled (controlled-ish, ha!) environments, but this year we leaned into a different strategy to see if we could capture studio-quality audio with a hundred or so partygoers in attendance, in search of a showcase/session hybrid. David Shaw’s performance hit the nail on the head, giving the “studio” audience an electrifying show, at the same time keeping things intimate enough to feel like a traditional Paste Studio Session.

First up, Shaw played “Love Somebody” from the currently-untitled forthcoming record. Marcella Ratcliff and Josh Kegler’s background vocal “oohs,” hinted at great things to come, while lead guitarist Ari Teitel launched into the main riff. The group vocals on the chorus between Shaw, Ratcliff, and Kegler were the main event, rounded out by the voices of drummer PJ Howard and keyboardist Sam Muslin. Along with Howard on drums, bassist Noah Young propelled the rhythm section through one of the highest energy “studio” sessions I’ve ever been a part of.

Second in his session, Shaw played another new song called “Arms of the River,” equally intense as the first song, but slower tempo and even more vocal-centric. Shaw took us out on a high note with the third song “Shaken,” heard on his first solo release, 2021’s self-titled album.

Big thanks to the musicians, to The Coral Snake, and to Ilegal Mezcal for bringing Paste’s East Austin Block Party to life. We have a ton of incredible sessions in the pipeline, stay tuned!