Indie pop band Wild Child performed for the first time in Oxford Wednesday at Proud Larry’s.
The band of seven hails from Austin, Texas and has released three albums, the latest being 2015’s “Fools.”
Kelsey Wilson and Alexander Beggins lead the group with vocals, violin and ukulele. Other members Matt Bradshaw, Evan Magers, Sadie Wolfe, Chris D’Annunzio and Drew Brunetti round out their rich sound on trumpet, keyboard, cello, bass and drums, respectively.
For Wild Child, writing music with such a large group can be difficult, but also brings more opportunity for broad creativity.
“It definitely is tough, having a lot of cooks in the kitchen, but with this last record, we kind of wanted it to be more of a family affair,” Wilson said.
The first two records mostly consisted of Wilson and Beggins’ work. For their latest, they formulated only the melodies and lyrics, then allowed the rest of the band to get involved creatively.
This organic process turned into an inventive journey that helped the music take shape and give meaning to a wide audience.
“Whenever you give something to the band, and they turn it into something entirely different that the two of us hadn’t really thought of, and then you play it for an audience and see their reaction and meet people that connected to it personally…that’s really special,” Wilson said.
On stage, the musical chemistry between vocalists Wilson and Beggins is evident. This connection also helps when it comes to writing music.
“We have been so lucky with this crazy chemistry where the two of us can just sit down together and write a song — it’s just like putting a puzzle together,” Wilson said. “It happens so naturally and it’s so much fun.”
Wild Child filled Proud Larry’s with a vibrant energy that came honestly from each member. Wilson had a large hand in interacting with the crowd. Throughout the show, she passed her microphone to various fans and jumped into the crowd to sing and dance along. The stage was no barrier for the act and the interaction from the band made for a more intimate experience.
Excited fans filled the front room of Proud Larry’s. Audience members cheerfully swayed and sang along to the jubilant music that flowed from the stage.
Although there were many upbeat numbers, Wild Child also exhibited their musical contrast throughout the show.
“It can be really good rainy day music, or it can be really good boogie-down music,” Wilson said.
Although change is on the horizon, members of Wild Child hope to keep up the creative momentum with which they’ve found success.
“We’re reworking our whole band,” Wilson said. “We’re kind of rebuilding the team from the ground up. We’ve been going on this really beautiful steady rise, and it feels totally sustainable and really good. We’re just trying to figure out a way now, like with three albums out. We’ve been doing this for 5 or 6 years, how we can just keep it going.”
Wild Child’s solo tour will be followed by a string of performances with Dr. Dog in March and April. The band is also scheduled to perform at South by Southwest Music Festival in Austin, Texas.
