Beach Fossils and Wild Nothing Brought Indie-Rock Vibes to the Satellite Bar

Beach Fossils and Wild Nothing set off on a co-headlining “Out in the Way” tour across North America in the beginning of October. They played all the major Texas cities, and ended their Texas run in Houston’s very own Satellite Bar. Doors opened at 7, and everyone in line couldn’t wait to get a couple of drinks in and enjoy the soothing sounds by the wonderful artists set to perform. 

The mystical Hannah Jadagu opened the show, and everyone was pure vibing! It seemed like it was mostly everyone’s first time hearing about Jadagu, but all I could see was people swaying and raising their drinks to the singer. She even played a cool cover of M.I.A’s “Paper Planes,” in which everyone was clapping and singing along to. She proceeded to play her new song called “All My Time is Wasted,” a song she said she wrote after leaving school in New York, and then boasted that she was on tour with the legendary Beach Fossils and Wild Nothing. She energetically closed her set with the beautiful mellow song “What Is Going On.”

Wild Nothing hit the stage a couple minutes later. According to a fan in the audience, the last time Wild Nothing played in Houston was in 2018, so it’s been a while since they’ve played for the Houston crowds. What I felt was the most memorable moment was the keyboardist constantly switching to play dreamy saxophone melodies, because you could just tell he was playing with passion. Throughout their set, everyone was also dancing and cheering very loud, to which the lead singer responded “Houston knows how to rock.” Wild Nothing ended their set with their most popular song “Shadow.”

Beach Fossils officially took the stage, and the crowd went wild. I even noticed two girls at the barricade with cute pun signs that said “Beach my Fossil” and “Go Down (the line) on Me.” During the show, the bassist started playing the memorable bass line from their song “Down the Line,” and as soon as the rest of the band joined, the crowd’s screaming almost blew out my eardrums (yes, even with earplugs). The most satisfying part of the show happened when the crowd powerfully screamed the lyrics “A-C-A-B,” a lyric that single-handedly brought the crowds together. 

Unfortunately, I had to leave the show a little early. I stopped at the Whataburger next to the venue to get a chocolate milkshake and fries before I hit the road, where I could still hear Beach Fossils performing. While waiting in the drive-thru line, lead singer Dustin Payseur gave a shout out to the people waiting in the line and asked for the cars to give two honks for the band! Of course, I honked. This was definitely my favorite moment because even after I left, I still felt like I was there. The last song I heard them play was “May 1st,” a truly transcendent experience even from my car. 

Spending my Saturday Night at the Satellite Bar with these bands was such an amazing experience, especially since this experience has a lot of “firsts” for me — first time photographing a show since the beginning of the pandemic, first time doing so with Coog Radio, and first time visiting the well-known Houston venue. If you ever get a chance to catch Beach Fossils, Wild Nothing or Hannah Jadagu at a show, take advantage and do it because you will not regret it!

All photos by Keylee Paz for Coog Radio.