By Jordan Stovka
Coming off of the Firefly Music Festival, pop-folkers Magic Giant were still adorned in bandanas, Aztec-printed denim, bohemian accessories and smiles from ear-to-ear.
That’s just the Los Angeles-based trio’s aesthetic.
Their gently rugged exteriors hark to the group’s outdoors-y personalities, a characteristic present in their debut studio album. Recorded from a shuttle bus-turned recording studio in various picturesque scenes along America’s western coast, the record is rightfully named In The Wind.
The essence of Californian redwood forests and Colorado daisy fields were brought to D.C.’s intimate Rock & Roll Hotel June 22 with resounding drums, thrilling violin melodies, shuttering banjo solos and harmonica accents.
Lead singer Austin Bisnow, a D.C. native, led the audience through the radio hit “Set On Fire” in addition to other colorful upbeat numbers like “Hideaway,” “Jade” and “Let It Burn” with nothing less than contagious, optimistic energy. He gave hugs and held hands with all who were lucky enough to be in the front row.
The night that began with New York City folk-rockers, The Ludlow Thieves, was far from over when Magic Giant entered the crowd to play “Nothin’ Left” in the center of the pit. The band held an after-party upstairs, promising to embrace and take photos with everyone in attendance.
Their “good vibes”—if you will— were certainly well received.
Featured Photo Credit: Lead singer Austin Bisnow of Magic Giant and guitarist Zang energetically incorporate booming drums into the Los Angeles group’s set at Rock And Roll Hotel Thursday night (Jordan Stovka/Bloc Reporter).
Jordan Stovka is a junior journalism major and can be reached at jstovka@icloud.com.
