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Watch Lukas Nelson, Dessa, Frank Turner and more perform live at PledgeHouse during SXSW

Starcrawler's guitars at the indoor stage of the PledgeHouse.
Starcrawler's guitars at the indoor stage of the PledgeHouse.MPR Photo | Nate Ryan

by Jay Gabler

March 16, 2018

Five absorbing talents will plug in for sets at the Blackheart on our final day of PledgeHouse at SXSW 2018.

As soon as Lukas Nelson opens his mouth, you'll connect the dots if you haven't already: he's the son of country legend Willie Nelson, and a fiery guitarist who's recently been a key collaborator with Neil Young. It will be a treat to catch Nelson on the small Blackheart stage before he heads to the big screen, where he's collaborating and co-starring with Lady Gaga and Bradley Cooper in the remake of A Star is Born.

Stella Donnelly is the latest talent to emerge from Australia — in her case, way out west in Perth, where she's honed the sharp voice that's recently gone viral with the powerful "Mechanical Bull," a retort to male harassers. The voice of Dessa, as fluent at rap as at song and spoken word, is back and stronger than ever with Chime, her first solo studio album in a half decade.

Be More Kind is the eighth solo LP from Frank Turner, the British singer-songwriter who delivers melodic folk-rock with a bracing crunch that betrays his origins in the post-hardcore scene.

Schedule (all times CDT)
12:30 p.m. Lukas Nelson*
1:30 p.m. Stella Donnelly
2:30 p.m. Dessa*
3:30 p.m. Frank Turner*☂
Ezra Furman canceled due to illness.

*Streamed live; non live sessions will be posted in the next 24 hours.
☂Streamed live, but licenses do not allow for archiving.