Bad Pony's SXSW Tour Diary

Since the release of their 2015 debut EP ‘Limbo’, Sydney quintet Bad Pony have set a furious pace on the path to success.

National radio play - check. Canadian Music Week 2017 - check. Australian Music Week Award Winners 2017 - check. Sold out headline shows - check. Publishing deal - check. 1.6 million (and counting) combined streams - check.


And SXSW 2018 - check. We knew the guys were headed to Austin, Texas so we asked them to write a lil tour diary of their experiences Stateside.

The group's guitarist, Mark Webber shares a few tales from the road. Enjoy.

Saturday 10 March

After a panicked half-hour of running around my house looking for stuff I should have packed days ago, I kissed my doggo goodbye and we were off to Sydney airport.

Airports are boring and busy, planes are boring and busy, and customs in LAX is boring and busy, but dammit we made it here in one piece.

Texas is bonkers. Have you been to Walmart? It’s like somebody jacked up Target and K-Mart and filled it with giant bags of tortilla chips. Of course we had to buy one of everything.


We got an enormous jar of cheese dip… it was the consistency of glue and I’m fairly certain it would be an appropriate substance to fill gaps in the roof if you were in a pinch.

We checked into our Airbnb and discovered heaps of weird, naked art all over the walls… this is the same thing that happened in Toronto last year. Is there something we don’t know about Airbnb requiring nudity to be plastered all over the walls?


I mean I’m not mad about it or anything. I just want to know. Being our first night in Austin, we obviously had to go out exploring and Jaz (in his infinite wisdom) recommended we go to a honky-tonk bar.


Holy heck it was so dope. It felt like we were in a movie. There was a dope band playing and the dancefloor was filled with people swing dancing, and everyone was just trading partners and boogying. They were all so bloody good at it and I was a little bit envious. I could not wipe the sh*t-eating grin off of my face.

In the back room there was an old piano and some absolute legend was busting out Elton John tunes and everyone was singing and I think it might be the happiest I’ve ever been in my life.

When we got home everyone went to sleep and I sat in the backyard eating an entire giant bag of tortilla chips and the pasty cheese dip. Texas is rad.

Sunday 11 March

I’ve been playing in bands for literally my entire adult life and there are a few things that I most certainly should have learnt by now.

Most importantly, it is never a good idea to eat and drink like you’re going for a gold medal in some kind of competitive glutton chorale and then stuff yourself in a car to drive three hours to a show. You’re going to have a terrible time and you will feel like throwing up.

Just don’t do it. Learn from my mistakes. A burger containing a half-pound of meat is not a meal, it’s a warning from the universe that you are making poor choices.

Our show today was in Dallas, and it was super weird and I loved it. The Decent Market Showcase was a helluva jambalayah of great tunes and cute-as-f#$% market stalls selling art, clothes and all sorts of artisanal fancy items.

I had a cup of coffee that was so yummy I thought I might pass out from the Off-Kilter Coffee Co… this chick literally roasts the beans in a pot in super-small batches so they’re all perfect. Hannah, what a coffee legend.

I was super bummed to find out that we had botched our travel time calculations, so we missed Love You Later (check them out, they’re sick).

But on the plus side they lent us some of their gear and we all had a big, great chat and they were just generally fabulous human beings. We agreed to catch up again during the week and I’m pretty sure we’re best friends now.


We played our set and had a blast. I was so nervous that I had some kind of death grip on my guitar pick and my arm got all cramped up, and I’m an enormous wuss at the best of times so this was a confusing array of feelings to be experiencing.

After we played I accidentally, nearly walked off with some guy’s beer. but he was super-chill about it and we had a laugh.

Then this motherf$%^er absolutely tore the roof off the joint with some of the most confusing and amazing music I have ever seen in my life! His band is called Phangs and it is essential you stop what you’re doing right now and listen to a tune.



He was like some kind of mix of Mike Posner/ Justin Timberlake, but also heaps heavy somehow. Look, I’m not doing a great job of describing it, but music wasn’t made to be described. just give Phangs a spin… and check out Love You Later [another band] while you’re at it.

After the show our amazingly kind and selfless managers took turns driving us back home while the five of us snoozed in the back seat.

When I awoke we were in the parking lot of a Mexican restaurant where the guys made the mistake of ordering 'Texas-sized burritos' and these monsters came out of the kitchen and they were the size of a two-year-old child. What a country.

Monday 13 March

We woke up bright and early to get to Austin Convention Center to pick up our artist wristbands. We were told that the lines could get a bit out hand, but the whole process was pretty painless.

We got some brekkie and took a stroll next to the Colorado River; many a squirrel was seen. Those guys are like little furry crackheads, they’re so on edge.


After that we went on a boot hunt. Apparently everyone wanted to buy some, but none were bought because it turns out cowboy boots are pretty pricey.

We found a really cool, awesome street with some shops and cafes. The food was the usual American-sized portions, but was pretty great. Having walked pretty far we caught an Uber back to the Convention Center, ordered some promo cards to be printed and went home.


Mark stayed behind and caught up with a friend from Australia working at SXSW as a volunteer. They saw some great bands.

The three of us went back in around 10pm and met up with Mark; he was having an existential crisis about the physical size of his head and many randoms were consulted on the issue. In the end it turns out the general consensus is that his head is pretty small, poor guy.


We met a lovely Prince-lookalike DJ called Misty Cantelope and bunch of his mates. We pub crawled for a bit, got some noms and ordered an Uber to go home.

After two failed attempts and getting an Uber this guy pulled up and asked if we were headed north and wanted a ride. Against our better judgement, and suppressing flashbacks of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, we jumped in… what's the worst that could go wrong right?

We got home around 4am and crashed hard.

Wednesday 14 March

This was probably my biggest day at SXSW. It started with an early morning manager drop into the city, followed by a 30-minute off-road detour to find a coffee spot.

I’m not the best with navigation at the best of times, let alone on my own in a foreign country. After getting back to our Airbnb we got stuck into our daily task of discussing, rehearsing and recording a cover song. All in all, a successful morning.

Later on we headed into Shiner’s Saloon to watch a few bands before my set with Son’s of the East.


Unfortunately their bassist was unable to join them over here and I was able to help fill some gaps for them. As to be expected, they put on a rad show.

We stuck around to see The Teskey Brothers after, who absolutely killed it, despite some technical issues (vocals ended up going through a valve amp). We headed to The Iron Horse after for some American BBQ. It was everything I had hoped it would be.

I was also lucky enough to run into one of my favourite bands of all-time Young the Giant. After another killer set from Son’s of the East at The Australia House, we headed back to Shiner’s Saloon for our set.

To say I was excited to play our first on-ground SXSW show is an understatement. For a Bad Pony show, it had about everything we’ve come to expect with gear problems. First I broke my kick pedal in the second song and Jarred’s snare nearly went flying off the stage… twice.


At one point I was trying to play guitar and kick, while holding Jarred’s mic stand up with my elbow so it wouldn’t knock his snare down again. That being said, it was an absolutely bad-ass show and didn’t stop us from having an awesome time.

Things go wrong at shows, that’s life, you just have to roll with it.