Big Yawn

Do you remember when you could have more than 20 people in a room watching live music and just how good that felt? Well, as we anticipate the possibility of that happening again – really soon, we hope – we thought we would bring back a little bit of that live music cheer by rewinding back to early February of this year. It was February 3 to be precise, the first day of PBS Drive Live 2020, and PBS staffers and volunteers were gearing up to host around 150 music lovers who would drop in to our Easey St studios especially to watch the three excellent local acts performing on Headhunters.  

 

The headliner for the night was the inimitable Sleep D. Right before that, Danika Smith played an outstanding set of her songs with the most exquisite choir. But it’s the first act that we want to highlight here because the grippingly wild energy that instrumental four-piece Big Yawn brought to PBS that night set a pretty high standard for the rest of Drive Live. The band was loud, raucous and tight. Their sound was uncompromising in just how heavy yet cool it was. The audience felt this and loved every minute of their set. This was just ahead of the release of their debut album No! which, understandably, we would run as a PBS feature album. Big Yawn is nothing short of exceptional, both in the studio and live on stage. Those who were here on that Monday to watch live radio in the making also bore witness to the talent of this band.  

 

The first day of Drive Live 2020 couldn’t have gone better and it paved the path and good vibes for the rest of the week. Big Yawn’s set is a snippet of just how festive the whole thing was. It feels like that was a lifetime ago. But we’ll do it again. We promise.  

 

Tune in to Passing Notes on Friday July 3 to share some of that time again with Big Yawn. Studio 5 Live is proudly supported by Mountain Goat.