Review & Photos by Megan McGinnis
Edited by Sami Knox
Slow Joy, a solo project by Esteban Flores, just wrapped up their supporting role on tour with Real Friends. Lovingly referred to by his internet community as “southwest emo,” Flores’ music takes a chill and relatable musical approach to heavier topics such as grief, writing about the multitude of angles surrounding the topic.
This was my first time seeing Houston-based Slow Joy, but hopefully, it won’t be my last. Flores was touring with two other musicians to fill out the live band, and the group had great energy on stage together while bringing Slow Joy to life. They noted on stage that they were there as a “warm up” to the headliner, and warm us up they did. While their set wasn’t super high energy like the headliner, it was still enough to get your ears open and start grooving. Don’t get me wrong, I live for the running around and screaming that so many bands provide, but Slow Joy was a band that I could just vibe out with and enjoy without worrying about an elbow to the face, which was definitely a good change of pace.
Since wrapping up the tour, Slow Joy had been pretty absent on socials, however they just announced dates for a headlining tour across Texas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Missouri, and Wisconsin! Ticket sales begin on Wednesday, December 11th at 10am on their website.
