San Mei: Meet the Queenslander taking SXSW by storm this week

Hailing from the Gold Coast, Indie Pop Rock rising star San Mei (AKA Emily Hamilton) is in Austin this week to play at the iconic SXSW event, with a run of appearances that includes our very own showcase at the event, which is happening this Thursday night. We caught up with Emily to find out more about their run of shows at SXSW and learn more about the project…

Who are you, what is your act and how would you best describe your act to someone who has never heard or seen you before?

I’m San Mei and I’d describe my sound as dreamy, psych guitar pop

What are your anticipations for your first ever SXSW?

Firstly to be playing music for the first time in the US is a dream come true, and getting to be a part of SXSW is so exciting! I’m looking forward to playing some new songs, discovering artists I haven’t seen before and connecting with new people.

What advice have people given you leading into the event?

Enjoy the chaos!

What have been the highlights of the last 12 months? 

Releasing my second EP ‘Heaven’, playing Bigsound, getting to tour with Holy Holy, playing Falls Festival and seeing my audience grow has been really rewarding these last 12 months.

What are your plans for the year ahead, post SXSW?

Releasing more music, going on tour with Jack River, hopefully returning to the US later this year!

What do you hope to get out of SXSW 2019?

The chance to showcase my music to a whole new group of people is super exciting, and making new connections with artists and industry folk.

And of those thousands of other performances, are there any that you’d recommend we all catch (other than your own of course).

I’m really looking forward to catching Aussie legends Emerson Snowe and I Know Leopard, and Kirin J Callinan is always a good time!

Tell is a little about your song “Heaven”

My song Heaven is off my latest EP of the same name. I wrote most of this song in my head when I was driving home one day – which never happens for me usually! This song is about when love is blind and it feels like heaven, but if you step back you can see things for what they really are. It’s about waking up to reality and letting go of something that’s going to end up causing harm, even if at first it felt like a dream

What other shows are you playing at SXSW? 

San Mei will be appearing at the AU review & Hello Asia!‘s official showcase at Australia House (Lucille, 77 Rainey St) on 14th March as part of SXSW 2019. Details about that event are HERE.

SXSW 2019 runs from March 8th to March 17th in Austin, Texas.

You can find San Mei on FacebookTwitter and on her official website HERE.

Larry Heath

Founding Editor and Publisher of the AU review. Currently based in Toronto, Canada. You can follow him on Twitter @larry_heath or on Instagram @larryheath.