Margot Sinclair returns in their “Free Margot” era
After a summer tour that stretched from California to Texas, indie-rock band Margot Sinclair is returning to where it all started — San Luis Obispo, on November 20th at SLO Brew Rock. For the group of college friends, the experience was more than a milestone — it was a turning point.
The band originally started off as a few Cal Poly students playing in a garage. However, after securing a manager and production company and playing twice at Shabang Music and Arts Festival, the band is settling down in preparation for their debut album.
While traveling on tour, Margot Sinclair worked on a new album reflective of the sound they’ve discovered over the past few months. The recording process brought new collaborators into the mix, including drummer Donovan Hess, whose dynamic playing helped shape the project’s tone.
The band has evolved over the past few months, growing into new ideas about what they want their music to feel like. When explaining their sound, bassist Owen Rice said, “There are elements of our music that pull you in the way pop songs would, but also offers elements that make you wanna rock out.”
Lead singer Kyle Mix emphasized that their music doesn’t fit a title. “I could see someone calling it indie rock. I could see someone calling it rock, someone calling alternative rock, maybe even surf rock,” he said.
“If it’s truly unlike something you’ve ever heard, then why even try to box it in?” Rice said. “Just let it be something you haven’t heard before and be excited about it.”
Their sound now expands into an indescribable mix shaped from time on the road and performing alongside bands like The Kilans and The Stews.
Their stop in Austin, Texas, stood out as the tour’s highlight.
“It’s so cool to see all these people who we’ve never played for show up and have a great time,” guitarist Luke Sutherland said. “The crowd was so into our music, which was super exciting for us because we had never even been there before.”
That night in Austin captured everything the band had been working toward — the connection, the energy and the realization that their music was reaching people well beyond the San Luis Obispo scene.
Free Margot
The group’s new material embodies a theme they call “Free Margot,” a phrase that represents their mindset as young artists balancing music, work and life after college.
“It’s about living freely and going against the expectations society outlines,” Sutherland said. “As we graduate and start working real jobs, it’s freeing that we still have this band as an outlet to create something that feels right to us.”
For Margot Sinclair, the past few months have been about more than performing. It’s been about defining who they are and where they’re headed next.
“We’re all in very different places right now as just individuals, but musically, we’re all coming together over these songs, and that’s what we want to be doing,” Sutherland said. “It really is just all about creative liberation and freedom of expression.”
With the fast-paced reality of writing a debut album while traveling on the road, they are experiencing things entirely new to the band.
“It really can be just summed up under the phrase ‘Free Margot,'” Sutherland said.
Evolving Together
The group describes their growth as both musical and personal. Weeks spent traveling, performing, and sharing close quarters strengthened their sense of trust — and refined how they play together.
They explained that this tour felt like a real chance to bring their vision to life and clarify how they wanted to present the album they’d been crafting. The experience, from their view, added depth to their sound and fueled an even greater passion for the work they’d done up to that point.
Rice said the idea of cohesion has become central to their performances.
“We don’t really jam,” he said. “But we like to bridge our songs together so the music never stops.”
That continuous rhythm has become part of the band’s identity — both on stage and in the studio, giving life and energy to the songs when they play them live.
“Even though certain songs might have a different feeling to them, they’re all going to sound the same because we recorded them together in a room and wrote them in a small beach house,” Sutherland said, adding that he hopes listeners feel that connection when the next album is released.
Now, as they prepare for their upcoming performance in San Luis Obispo, the band is ready to share that evolution with their hometown audience.
“Everybody in SLO who knows Margot Sinclair has an idea of what we sound like,” Rice said. “That’s why we’re stoked to come back and showcase this new sound,” Sutherland added.
Margot Sinclair will bring their new energy home to SLO Brew Rock on Thursday, November 20th — sharing the stage once again with The Stews — as they stand at the edge of a new chapter, profoundly in the city where it all started.
