First Aid Kit — Live Tonight!

Like many Oregonians, I’m sad to be missing SXSW in Austin this week.

But while all you tech nerds (and I swear I say that with love) are missing the interactive program, I’m really missing the music.

And I’m especially bummed that tonight I won’t be seeing the band that has the best Red Cross-related name ever…Sweden’s own First Aid Kit.

Not only do I love Swedish musicians, I love that these two young ladies (ages 17 and 19) are already being compared to indie favorites like Fleet Foxes. And then there’s that name…do they throw band-aids out into the audience? Do they travel with gauze in case of emergency? Who knows!

Because I know you’re wondering, I did find the answer to the question about where the name came from. Per First Aid Kit’s Johanna Söderberg:

Apparently, when Klara (Söderberg, her sister and fellow performer) was 12 years old, she decided that if she was ever going to make music, she wanted to work under as pseudonym. She scanned through an English-Swedish dictionary and found the name First Aid Kit. When she started performing live with me, we decided to stick with that name. For us our band name means that our music is a sort of consolation, a comfort. Call it a plaster for the soul, if you like.

Clearly they take their name seriously. Perhaps just as seriously as the Red Cross takes teaching first aid. Awesome.

P.S. If you’re curious to see First Aid Kit in person, they’ll be playing Mississippi Studios on Friday, June 4. Just remember that we tipped you off before they were hot!