Words and photos by Sarahana

Icelandic songstress Olof Arnalds and her charming multi-instrumenalist friend David Thor Jonsson had spent the whole day at a Russian spa, so when they played at Union Hall on Tuesday night, they were in an entirely festive mood. Olof was wearing a flowing dress of no particular shape, which she later confessed was too slippery to let her sit comfortably on the stool, but its free-spirited nature was a fit for the night’s mood.
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Doug Sahm is a man whose role in Texas Music is not to be underestimated. Combining blues and country with the sounds of the Mexican music he heard growing up in San Antonio, Sahm was a fountain of music who died at 52 as one of the pillars of Tex-Mex music. Considered a child prodigy on the mandolin, steel guitar and fiddle, he made his debut on the Texas airwaves at age five. Taking the name Little Doug Sahm, by age eight he was a featured player on country radio mainstay Louisiana Hayride and sharing stages with many of the honky-tonk heroes of the day, including Webb Pierce and Hank Williams. By his teens, Sahm had been offered a regular gig on The Grand Ol’ Opry but had to refuse when his parents insisted he finish school. He met lifelong friend and musical foil Augie Myers soon afterward. The two left their respective bands to assemble The Sir Douglas Quintet at the behest of local producer Huey P. Meaux. Growing their hair and adopting a Cajun two-step beat, TSDQ was Meaux’s stab at trying to capitalize on The British Invasion that was sweeping the U.S. at the time. The result was the huge 1965 hit “She’s About A Mover”.
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