For singer-songwriter Angel White, past visits to SXSW were rewarding — but also exhausting, partly due to the scheduling demands he placed on himself.
“A few years ago, I would have easily wanted to do 10-15 shows,” he tells SPIN backstage at the 2023 event. “But the reality of that … is not sustainable. So for instance, this year, we have four — four great shows, as opposed to trying to pack in 15 gigs, just because you feel like that’s what you need to be doing.”
That aim for sustainability — for not taking on more than he can handle — is crucial to White maintaining his mental health. The the R&B-country artist points to another example at a recent festival in Texas, recalling how he “played back to back shows,” starting the first at 4:30, ending that one at 5:30, and then “[running] across the street to play at 6:00.”
“While I was onstage, I played a few songs and expressed to the crowd, ‘I’m tired, guys. I really am,’” he recalls. “Then I sat down … and I realized that was the first time I’d sat down the entire day, and I was like, ‘Man.’ Again, you have to consider the sustainability in what you’re doing and not feel like you have to do everything.”
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