Pointing to a mosh pit forming during their performance, Starcrawler frontwoman Arrow de Wilde challenged the Louder Than Life crowd.
“Let’s be more like these guys in the middle… prove to us that Kentucky ain’t just a bunch of pussies,” de Wilde said.
“Let’s open it up in the middle… follow the Mohawk dude, he’s king of the pit right now.”
The dynamic five-piece, Los Angeles rock band brought high energy to the Disruptor Stage on the first day of the Louisville music festival on Thursday, September 21, 2023.
Sounding and looking like 1990’s era Courtney Love, combined with Mick Jaggar-esque dance moves, de Wilde was flanked by guitarist Henri Cash and brother Bill Cash on pedal steel/guitar, drummer Seth Carolina and bassist Tim Franco.
Sporting faux tuxedos with pink accents, the band’s look at Louder Than Life was in sync with the artwork from their latest album, and their major label debut, ‘She Said’, released in September 2022 on Big Machine Label Group.
The band’s performance was tight, loud and engaging, with hints of L7, Nirvana, Hole and The Breeders, piercing through the speakers under the bright and hot Kentucky sun.
During their closing number, the charismatic de Wilde hopped off the stage, black makeup smeared on her face, and sprinted along the rail, high fiving the front row fans before disappearing backstage.
Henri Cash followed suit and performed the final part of their encore in the electrified crowd, eventually leaving his guitar in the hands of a stunned fan as a gift.
Starcrawler’s latest album ‘She Said’ was produced by industry titan Tyler Bates, who met the band when they worked together on a stand-alone single for DC’s Dark Nights: Death Metal soundtrack.
Bates and Starcrawler set up shop in Sunset Sound’s iconic Studio 2 – “the Van Halen room” as Henri Cash points out – to create a full and ferocious sound brimming with fresh energy.
“We wanted to make songs for everyone,” Henri Cash said, in a media release.
“For people that weren’t just into punk rock.”
Highlights of the new album include the urgent,“Roadkill,”, the grunge-gone-country twang of “Stranded,”, the dreamy girl-group stylings of the powerfully personal “Runaway” and the irresistible title track, “She Said.”.
In addition to their own sonic evolution, other ventures have included collaborations with rock legends like Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ guitarist Mike Campbell, as well as the late, great Taylor Hawkins and Perry Farrell.
Arrow has made notable cameos in videos from the likes of Father John Misty and Florence and the Machine.
Foo Fighters frontman Dave Groh interviewed Starcrawler for his documentary “What Drives Us,” a star-studded rock doc on the life of touring bands.
“We were telling him how hard it was and how much we wanted to upgrade from a van and tour in a bus,” Henri Cash said.
“Then, off-camera, Dave said ‘well, you gotta write a hit then!’ That really stuck with us.”
Here are some photos from their performance at Louder Than Life by Steve Thrasher, along with some backstage, behind-the-scenes shots by Jake Miller :
Learn more about the band on their official website at https://www.starcrawlermusic.com/.