SXSWORLD

Get Ready for SXSW 2011 – Music Fest's 25th Anniversary! It may not seem like time to start preparing for SXSW 2011, but we will start taking band applications through our exclusive deal with SonicBids in August. Last year we received just under 11,000 applications from all over the world, and we expect even more for this 25th anniversary year. We are always looking for showcase ideas to bring the music of more and more nations to the festival, so email musfest@sxsw.com if you have ideas or inquiries regarding SXSW 2011. What will be the hippest sound for 2011? Retro-electro? Stoner sludge? Raw house-party garage? Gabber-crunk? Face-smiling orchestral indie pop? Come to SXSW Music and see for yourself. VV Brown Hits Stateside at SXSW More Metal Please! On opening night of SXSW 2010, three shows of head-banging intensi- ty took place: Motörhead at Austin Music Hall, the Action! PR showcase with High On Fire, Priestess and more at The Mohawk, and the insane Relapse show at Red 7, headlined by Voivod. All three shows were at capacity, and we hope to see more metal at SXSW 2011. VV Brown SXSW was proud to announce its first U.K. Urban Music Showcase in 2010. Presented by UKTI and Ras Kwame of the BBC's 1xtra, the showcase featured a diverse array of up and coming talent. One artist, VV Brown, really had people buzzing and seems poised to be the new face of pop tinged R&B. Her strong delivery and heartfelt songs took the packed house by storm, and she has since appeared on U.S. TV shows, including Jimmy Kimmel Live! and Rachael Ray. Best Coast Go Global High On Fire Bun B Accepted to Race in the Gumball 3000 It may seem like perennial SXSW favorite Bun B gets a lot of ink in SXSWORLD, but that is because he always seems to stay in the news. Since his SXSW appearance he has been readying his third solo album and just competed in the Gumball 3000, a Can- nonball Run style road race that runs from London to Amsterdam to Copen- hagen to Stockholm, and then finishes with a run from Boston to Montreal to Toronto to New York. Other competi- tors included David Hasslehoff and DJ Muggs of Cypress Hill. 10 Best Coast After a raucous set at SXSW 2010 in a packed Club Barcelona, and a highly favorable review in The New York Times in early April, Los Angeles' Best Coast is looking like one of the breakouts of the year. An extensive European tour began on May 1 and will wind up at Primavera, a festival in Barcelona, Spain, at the end of the month. Stockholm's First Aid Kit Heal All Wounds First Aid Kit Critics raved about Swedish duo First Aid Kit's debut album, The Big Black and the Blue, released in January on Wichita Recordings. The two sisters are still in their teens, and their SXSW performance on the Young Turks showcase kept the crowd hushed for the entire set. The Copenhagen Post has already dubbed them "a vintage folk act." Artist Village Showcasing Artist Freebies! SXSW 2010 marked the second year for the Artist Village, located at Waterloo Park. Hundreds of SXSW artists ate free slices from Double Dave's Pizza along with free hot dogs, burgers and beer, got free haircuts and massages, had their clothes mended and played soccer and football, all just across the street from cheap downtown parking. Austin Bands Grow and Thrive at SXSW Spanning genres like Latin rock, indie pop, stoner sludge, garage, jazz, classical crossover, electro and hip-hop, the Austin music community was well-represented at SXSW 2010. The pool of musical talent in Austin seems to be bigger and more diverse than ever these days. One breakout candidate is Neon Indian, whose "Psychic Chasms" has been remixed by Brahms (Cale Park's new band, which played the Billboard.com Bungalow this year). Neon Indian will be on tour across the U.S. in May and June. SXSW ORLD / M A Y -J UNE 2010 JONATHAN MEHRING DANIEL BROD NAAMAN ESQUIVEL K.L. PHOTOGRAPHY

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