SOUTH BY SOUTHWEST festival entertained concert-goers
Bailey McBride
Issue date: 3/25/09 Section: Lifestyles
This year's South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas, was a combination of surprise concerts, new international bands and multimedia that presented fun and entertainment for people from all walks of life.
"South by Southwest (SXSW, Inc.) is a private company based in Austin, Texas, with a year-round staff of professionals dedicated to building and delivering conference and festival events for entertainment and related media industry professionals," according to the music festival's Web site.
Most people, however, know SXSW for the musical portion of the weeklong festival. The event encompasses a majority of the bars and venues in Austin for the week and features artists from across the globe.
"Just like any music festival, it provides a fun environment with good entertainment," UA junior Robert Dudley said.
Hundreds of bands from Europe and across the United States performed to prove themselves as musicians and gain exposure at the festival, many of the bands playing in the South for the first time. The musical styles featured were extremely varied, from bluegrass to death metal.
The big draw to the event, in addition to the diversity of music, was the "surprise" shows that festival organizers waited to announce until the week of the event.
The entire festival was surprised Saturday night when Kanye West showed up to perform, bringing big-name acts Common and Erykah Badu along with other artists from his record label in a 90-minute show on the Levi's stage.
This year also featured appearances by Metallica and The Decemberists at Stubb's Bar and Grille and a show by Jane's Addiction at the Playboy "Rock the Rabbit" party.
Although they had previously announced their plans to play at Stubb's Wednesday night, The Decemberists surprised the crowd by playing their new album, The Hazards of Love, in its entirety. The Decembersits' music, which ranges from sea-shanty style ska music to hard rock, seemed to please all in the crowd in one way or another.
"South by Southwest (SXSW, Inc.) is a private company based in Austin, Texas, with a year-round staff of professionals dedicated to building and delivering conference and festival events for entertainment and related media industry professionals," according to the music festival's Web site.
Most people, however, know SXSW for the musical portion of the weeklong festival. The event encompasses a majority of the bars and venues in Austin for the week and features artists from across the globe.
"Just like any music festival, it provides a fun environment with good entertainment," UA junior Robert Dudley said.
Hundreds of bands from Europe and across the United States performed to prove themselves as musicians and gain exposure at the festival, many of the bands playing in the South for the first time. The musical styles featured were extremely varied, from bluegrass to death metal.
The big draw to the event, in addition to the diversity of music, was the "surprise" shows that festival organizers waited to announce until the week of the event.
The entire festival was surprised Saturday night when Kanye West showed up to perform, bringing big-name acts Common and Erykah Badu along with other artists from his record label in a 90-minute show on the Levi's stage.
This year also featured appearances by Metallica and The Decemberists at Stubb's Bar and Grille and a show by Jane's Addiction at the Playboy "Rock the Rabbit" party.
Although they had previously announced their plans to play at Stubb's Wednesday night, The Decemberists surprised the crowd by playing their new album, The Hazards of Love, in its entirety. The Decembersits' music, which ranges from sea-shanty style ska music to hard rock, seemed to please all in the crowd in one way or another.
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jivetownjimmy
Caleb Rose
posted 3/25/09 @ 7:40 AM CST
Interesting article. As a SXSW attendee over the past two years I am surprised that SXSW is painted as a place of "celebrities" (don't forget the Rachel Ray Day Party!!!) and surprise performances because the history of SXSW is that it was a music showcase for up and coming independent (not to be confused with 'indie') bands who would leave rust on the strings and blood on the knobs in an attempt to get signed to a label. (Continued…)
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