Making the Most of South by Southwest
I have somehow survived my eighth year of South by Southwest, the huge four-day music festival in Austin, Texas, where more than a thousand bands descend on the city, playing official and unofficial showcases, day and night. This year, I decided to find international bands with a country music influence. That's my first tip for first-timers -- go check out a band from the U.K. or Australia. They’ve come a long way to sing for you. I was also on a mission to cover the softer side of SXSW. Raucous indie bands get all the attention, but I found a bunch of mellow songwriters that I'll be enjoying in the coming months, including Matthew Barber (from Canada), Phantom Limb (from England) and Whitley (from Australia). More advice: If you like the music, buy a CD. And musicians, carry your CDs everywhere.
It's always a treat to see local bands too, and this year the choices were plentiful, including Band of Heathens (who are outstanding in their field, as you can see above), Eliza Gilkyson, Reckless Kelly, Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis. You should eat local whenever possible, whether it's upscale barbecue at Lambert’s or famous enchiladas at Las Manitas. When you're parched in the Texas heat, quench your palate with local libations like Sweet Leaf iced tea, Dominican Joe coffee or Tito’s handmade vodka.
Then look around and see what people are wearing. It's pretty easy to get fashion advice at SXSW. This year it was big sunglasses with white frames for men and women – sometimes the only non-black piece in their whole outfit. Green plaid seems to be the spring fashion statement, whether it's short-sleeved or long-sleeved, and I personally think it's a good look with pearl snaps. But I suggest leaving the fashionable shoes at home and bringing something practical. There's a lot of territory to cover.
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steve robinson says:
The international acts at sxsw were great. Still don’t know why our locals continually go to see Austin Artists at SXSW when we can see them any day of the week.
Sweet Leaf tea with 42 vodka was brilliant at the graveyard.
Hicktown says:
You make the food sound so good I might go for that instead of a bunch of bands I’ve never heard of! Altho the local groups you mention sound like they would be worth checking out but as you say the others guys did come a long way to sing, so maybe that would be worth the trip down to texas!