In November 2008, Choffel was featured on the cover of The Austin Chronicle headlined "The Next Fun Fearless Female Rock Star," a reference to her semi-finalist finish in Cosmopolitan's StarLaunch™ campaign, following her Grand Prize win in the Nationwide FameCast Competition. She was awarded "Best Indie Band" at the 2009 Austin Music Awards, where she headlined the official kick-off show at the annual South by Southwest music festival. Chicago Sun-Times critic Jim DeRogatis wrote that Choffel "impressed me more than any I've heard here with a unique sound equal parts Beat poetry, smoky soul grooves and indie-pop eccentricity. Think Feist meets Erykah Badu, with a hint of Tex-Mex seasoning."
Choffel played the CMJ Music Marathon in 2008, South By Southwest (2009–2012), and Voodoo Experience festival in 2009.