{"id":115347,"date":"2026-01-08T10:12:09","date_gmt":"2026-01-08T10:12:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/115347\/"},"modified":"2026-01-08T10:12:09","modified_gmt":"2026-01-08T10:12:09","slug":"life-is-but-a-dream-with-kindkeith-the-austin-chronicle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/115347\/","title":{"rendered":"Life Is But a Dream With KindKeith \u2022 The Austin Chronicle"},"content":{"rendered":"

Keith Galloway Jr.\u2019s earliest lessons were in the rhythm of a church, their stepfather\u2019s basslines, and the gentle insistence of family who saw music as more than just a hobby. The Fort Worth native began playing piano at 5 years old and, in sixth grade, adopted the moniker KindKeith<\/a> during a class icebreaker, kicking off a string of homemade songs they\u2019d never release.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been playing this instrument all my life, but in a lot of ways, it still feels like I haven\u2019t even scratched the surface,\u201d says Galloway, who plays the Chronicle\u2019s Jan. 10 Free Week showcase.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Drawn to Austin by a fascination with indie rockers White Denim<\/a>, the singer-songwriter carried those rhythms into jazz studies at UT-Austin, building a technical foundation for their intimate, genre-blurring approach.<\/p>\n

2021 debut Take What You Need fuses lush, piano-forward R&B and electronic accents, a now signature sound for the 24-year-old singer. The slow-burn collection of soundscapes layers soft synths and pulse-driven melodies alongside vivid storytelling rich with emotional depth.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think more than anything, I just want it to sound like what the word \u2018kind\u2019 means,\u201d says Galloway. \u201cI always try to make music that makes me feel happy and carefree and hopefully makes other people feel that way as well.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Following their initial release, the vocalist turned the spotlight on their kinetic live shows with Live at the Pink Palace, a recorded set that showcased their improvisational flair. Their upcoming project On Love signals a fresh direction, leaning into neo-soul and funk textures and influences. Written and recorded with best friends and bandmates Zachary Kursman of Wizards of Loneliness and Christopher Loveland of Clunis, the record taps into the songsmith\u2019s ardor for rocking out and playing loud.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI think more than anything, I just want it to sound like what the word \u2018kind\u2019 means.\u201d <\/p>\n

KindKeith<\/p>\n

\u201cOn Take What You Need, I always felt like I had to be serious [and] had to prove myself as an artist and musician,\u201d shares Galloway. \u201cOn this record, I\u2019m having a lot more fun.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

Lead single \u201cI Wanna Buy a Home With You\u201d swells with romantic grooves, full-bodied production, and bursts of brass. The framework for the two-toned track came to Galloway in a dream of domestic calm: the artist and their partner watching TV in a home they had bought. The soulful cut offers a glimpse into the singer\u2019s open approach to the record, stepping away from their previous preference for privacy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve written a lot more generic love songs, but this one feels so tied to my reality,\u201d they share. \u201cIt represents me being less afraid to be myself, and putting that into music and sharing that with the world.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Alongside a string of accolades including residencies at Chess Club and Hotel Vegas and being named Best Keyboardist at the 2023-2024 Austin Music Awards<\/a>, Galloway remains deeply focused on building a sense of community through their work. Beyond their solo project, they also perform in jazz-fusion group Mockjaw, further cementing their presence in Austin\u2019s vibrant music scene.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy goal is just to express myself honestly,\u201d they add. \u201cI want to create more safe spaces for queer Black people like me. I feel like there\u2019s not really a place that exists in Austin right now. That\u2019s huge for me.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\nKindKeith<\/p>\n

Saturday 10, 10pm, the 13th Floor\n<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Little\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tExperimental folk trio plays the Chronicle\u2019s Free Week showcase on Jan. 10\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\"Join\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\tArt-punk trio mines rich sonic textures from unfamiliarity and collaboration\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

This article appears in January 9 \u2022 2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n

A note to readers:\u00a0Bold and uncensored,\u00a0The Austin Chronicle\u00a0has been Austin\u2019s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community\u2019s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Keith Galloway Jr.\u2019s earliest lessons were in the rhythm of a church, their stepfather\u2019s basslines, and the gentle…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":115348,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[132,134,133,39199,47960],"class_list":["post-115347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-austin","tag-austin","tag-austin-headlines","tag-austin-news","tag-free-week-2026","tag-kindkeith"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115347"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115347\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/115348"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}