South by Southwest Festival

The Return of John Sayles and Other Observations from SXSW

The 10 Worst Things at SXSW This Year

Security and Cops Gettin' Wild: Look, I get it. Every drunken dickhead in town "knows someone" or thinks he has pull at the door, but that doesn't mean the hammer goes down on everyone. I was stopped by two cops who didn't want me to walk 50 yards from where the Smashing Pumpkins would be playing an ... More >>

The Ten Dumbest Things Overheard at SXSW

For every insightful conversation I have heard or had at SXSW over the years, whether it was talking to Matt Pinfield while walking the streets of Austin talking about David Bowie, or telling The Clash's Mick Jones that he was in fact, in The Clash, I have overheard a thousand awful ones. See Also ... More >>

Sad You Aren't at SXSW? Here's What You Could Be Missing...

Awwwww, I know it is a shame you aren't here with us at SXSW in Austin. I can only imagine the aching and longing in your heart for walking aimlessly and standing in long lines for no reason, and sweating through your cardigan to see a band you heard on one of the Twilight soundtracks. You don't w ... More >>

The Five Biggest Sellouts at SXSW

SXSW is not a music festival so much as it is an experiment in excess. In honor of the world's most bloated city this week, we present the five biggest sellouts at SXSW. See also: Why We'll All Try to See Justin Timberlake at SXSW, and Why That's Completely Wrong

How To Do SXSW Like A Grizzled Old Man

SXSW is in full-swing this week down in Austin, and that means a constant blast of updates in your news feed from your friends and colleagues maxing out their annual diarrhea expense accounts. Many publications are eager to tell you the best ways to enjoy your time at the festival. All of those peop ... More >>

The Most Overused Terms In SXSW Band Bios

By Craig Hlavaty Before I take any trip to Austin and SXSW, I always take more than a few days to peruse the schedule and check out a few of the hundreds of names on the roster and read their bios. Some years there are more bands with "wolf" and "space" in their monikers than usual, and some year ... More >>

Why We'll All Try to See Justin Timberlake at SXSW, and Why That's Completely Wrong

I remember one of the most exciting moments from last year's SXSW. I was walking out of my hotel and I heard the familiar strains of an iconic bassline rumbling across the avenue toward me like the vapor trail of a picnic beckoning to a cartoon wolf. "Wait, is that... Snoop Dogg?" I thought. Bad ass ... More >>

READY, SET, LOOP

SBTRKT brings the beats to Webster Hall

Muscling in at SXSW

What happens when music's big names want to be rediscovered?

Live: The Village Voice Hosts An 18-Band Marathon In Austin

Village Voice SXSW Showcase Red Eyed Fly, Austin Saturday, March 17 Better than: Drinking green beer on Sixth Street. During South by Southwest, musicians, industry folks, and people who want to have a particularly music-filled spring break head to Austin in order to soak in the less-threatening M ... More >>

The Worst Moments From SXSW 2012

Over the last few days, Village Voice Media's music editors have been regaling you with stories of the best from Austin's South By Southwest Festival. But with the best must come the worst, and our critics unfortunately came across the following borefests, technical problems, and insults to their in ... More >>

Heading to Austin for SXSW? Here's Where the Locals Say to Eat

SXSW (South by Southwest), the film, interactive, and music festival is in full swing right now in Austin, lasting through March 18. If you happen to be down at the festival at this very moment, or, perhaps, are boarding a plane on your way there, be sure to check out Our Man Sietsema's 10 Favorite ... More >>

Coming This Week: SXSW Coverage

by Chris Gray "What I want from each and every one of you is a hard-target search of every gas station, residence, warehouse, farmhouse, henhouse, outhouse and doghouse in that area." —Tommy Lee Jones, The Fugitive You don't have to spend much time at South By Southwest to know that all of ... More >>

IN UT-DEER-O

How about ‘Smells Like Deer Spirit'?

Dominique Young Unique

An Idiot's Guide to SXSW 2011: DFA 1979 Chaos, Kanye in a Power Plant, Screeching Weasel Assault, and More

photo by Nate "Igor" SmithTexan frat-boy didgeridoos We know you hated us, and at this moment, we hate ourselves too. Since you probably (definitely/rightfully) blocked all the spirited gluttony and gleeful ignorance cluttering your Twitter feed about SXSW, let's just accept that a few things happe ... More >>

HOCUS POCUS

Have a staring contest with Salem

ON A ROLL

Don’t even think about bringing Rollerblades

HEY, IT'S DD/MM/YYYY

So set your calendar

Superchunk Talks With Us About Their Last Show Ever, Which Will Never Happen

After chatting backstage at the Village Voice Media SXSW party with Surfer Blood (who told us about their Twittering philosophy), and Pains of Being Pure at Heart (who recounted an innocently embarrassing incident involving a condom), we cornered Merge Records honchos/Superchunk leaders Mac McCaug ... More >>

The Pains of Being Pure at Heart Backstage at the Village Voice SXSW Party

Like to pretend this doesn't exist, but the Music Slut won't, so here you go. Backstage at the Village Voice's finely tuned SXSW day party, someone who is definitely not me was conscripted into having how-is-your-SXSW-going conversations with bands who were kind enough to humor their hosts. Includ ... More >>

This Weekend! Toro Y Moi, Ruby Suns, Holy Ghost!, Bear Hands, Gil Scott-Heron, Talib Kweli, Spoon, Deerhunter, Basseko Kouyate, Miike Snow, Crystal Stilts, Love Is All, Lymbyc System, Glass Ghost, And The Big Pink

Making up for last week's paucity of shows thanks to SXSW and MtyMx, the city has an overstuffed dance card this weekend. First, chilllwave maestro Toro Y Moi will be playing with Tropicalia breakbeat-borrowers the Ruby Suns at Brooklyn Bowl. To quote one of the latter's tunes, "Kenya dig it?" Hol ... More >>

Congratulations to the Death Set for Puking on a Girl in the Front Row at SXSW

Nate "Igor" SmithThe Death Set at SXSW 2010. Guess the puker. Mad Decent, Jelly, and I Heart Comix joined brand forces during South By SXSW to throw a three-day Austin Carniville, a main-stage show space encircled with candy apples, a funnel-cake booth, and a roving pink monster. Major Lazer headl ... More >>

Week in Review: Shut It Down

Scenes from MtyMx. Photo by Rebecca Smeyne.​In the week LCD Soundsystem's James Murphy told our own Michael Musto to "eat it" and Musto sensibly retaliated by telling him to "suck it" right back, we spent a good chunk of the week unpacking the twin out-of-state enterprises that were SXSW and M ... More >>

2010: The Year SXSW Film Broke

At 17, you were going through some changes, too

Ten Headlines You Will Never Read After SXSW

Craig Hlavaty"SXSW Attendee Doesn't Want That Free Beer" 1. "Random Guy With Guitar On Street Signed To Major Record Label" 2. "AT&T Makes Up For Past SXSW Coverage With Zero Dropped Calls, Lightning-Fast Connection" 3. "Wristband Holders Have Nothing But Love And Respect For Badge Holders" 4. ... More >>

I Saw Butterfly Explosion at SXSW and They Are Not a Band of Hippies

Shoegazer shoes Butterfly Explosion March 17 Habana, Austin, Texas When you go see a band because they're labeled "shoegaze," you get a smile on your face when you see them set up 19 different foot pedals on the stage. You don't need to double-check your SXSW schedule. You know you're in the right ... More >>

Meet Tamizdat's Matthew Covey, the New York-Based Magician Who Wrangles Visas For Pretty Much Ever Foreign Band, Ever

Hilarious image via​Paging M.I.A.--this dude is the truth. Matthew Covey is the 41 year old regular fellow--"somewhere between aging punk rocker and detail-obsessed bureaucrat," reports the New York Times--responsible for obtaining musician visas for pretty much everyone who wants to play here ... More >>

Tonight! The Lovely Feathers, Hockey, and Josefin Fundin

​It may seem like SXSW is sucking the musical lifeblood out of Gotham this week, but there's plenty of talent swimming up here, against the current, anyway. Take Montreal's the Lovely Feathers (to your left), who'll transform Mercury Lounge into an indie-pop playground with their wooing vocals ... More >>

This Weekend! The Very Best, Theophilus London, Foreign Born, Woods, Real Estate, Magnetic Fields, The National, Sundelles, Darlings, Total Slacker, PC Worship, B.I.G. Karaoke, Stupid Party, and Truman Peyote

"You better buy a ticket and get your ass to Mars," advises the wise Johnny Loftus. He is, of course, speaking in reference to the latest installment of The Fader's "One Step Beyond" series, which takes place in the American Museum of Natural History's Rose Center for Earth and Space. There, you c ... More >>

Todd P's Mexico Fest, the MtyMx All Ages Festival of Art and Music, Is Fully Confirmed; Tickets On Sale Now

​There had been speculation about this show going all the way back to December. Privately, Todd P began confirming it this week. And now comes the official announcement about one of the more ridiculous bits of derring-do ever attempted by a local DIY promoter: an outdoor, two stage, three day ... More >>

Todd P Now Making Promotion Excursions Into Mexico?

All photos via Todd P's Facebook.​Local mega-promoter Todd P latest quixotic venture? An proposed outsized south of the border post-SXSW festival in Monterrey, Mexico, a five or six hour drive from the weeklong Austin, Texas music festival from which he will be presumably drawing most of his a ... More >>

On the Gleeful, Disarming Dissonance of Micachu & the Shapes

Enter the labyrinth with Mica Levi

Interview: Josh Schwartz on His New Web-Series Rockville, CA

You know what makes a lot more logical and logistical sense than Lonely Boy and his mousy-sexy English teacher getting busy in the costume closet before the senior play? Music and the Internets! Josh Schwartz understands that. In between working on his already-established television shows (Gossip ... More >>

Food Bloggers Rock SXSW

Now that everyone and his mother has a food blog, it comes as little surprise that the talk of the SXSW Interactive Festival this year was food. SXSWi hosted its first ever panel on the secrets of successful food blogging, featuring speakers from Cupcakes Take the Cake and Midtown Lunch. [Gourmet] ... More >>

SXSW 2009 Best in Show: Janelle Monáe

She could use a little help here. Janelle Monáe (Vice) SXSW Saturday Night, March 21 Ideally at this thing you find someone to champion, whether they're a relative unknown or already loudly championed by myriad others. Definitely the latter here: Janelle's been hailed as the future of r&b for wh ... More >>

SXSW 2009: METALLICA. YEAHHHHHHHHH.

Oh why not. Metallica (Stubb's) SXSW Friday Night, March 20 "Surprise!" says James Hetfield, acknowledging the lack of same. Given Metallica fans' historically rational and peaceful responses to disappointment, it would've been way more entertaining perhaps if they'd not shown up, given the ram ... More >>

SXSW 2009: Teaching the Indie Kids to Dance Again With Passion Pit and the Bar-Kays

Passion Pit (Emo's) The Bar-Kays (Dirty Dog Bar) SXSW Thursday Night, March 19 Tonight's minor tragedy: 8Ball & MJG cancelled. Avast. No angst is perceptible at Emo's, however. The sight of three dudes bashing on synthesizers simultaneously is generally the stuff of deranged dream sequences, but ... More >>

SXSW 2009: The Fader Fort as Economic Indicator

This pic is tagged "Andrew Peeing on Fader Fort," FYI. CREDIT. I was intrigued to see this year's iteration of the Fader Fort, generally one of the most elaborate "unofficial" SXSW entities, wherein the trendsetting mag takes over some disused warehouse space or whatnot and runs a four-day alterna ... More >>

SXSW Recession Special: Free Fader Fort Wristbands On Craig's List For $200, With the Promise of Kanye West

So the biggest non-secret secret of SXSW is that Kanye West is the surprise "special guest" at the Fader Fort on Saturday night. And so some enterprising soul took the time to get these SXSW Fader Fort wristbands--which are free--and try to sell them online. You wait in a line to get them, no badg ... More >>

Diplo Outties: A Blog of Wes Pentz Candids In Which He's Peaceing Out

Jon Curtis via hereThe "Poutie Outtie" Whoever's behind the five-day-old Diplo Outtie blog clearly wants to accomplish two things: 1) to be passed around on iPhones next week at the SXSW Fader Fort; and 2) to get his ass beat. The gist: Yung Dip likes to pose for photos with a two-fingers extended, ... More >>

SXSW Tip Sheet 2009

For fans of the Beatles, Willie Nelson, non-cloying indie pop, and presidential pardons

Village Voice's Free SXSW Day Party Announced: M. Ward, Cursive, Gomez

He's impatiently waiting for SXSW too Every year, the event-planning honchos at Village Voice Media throw a Friday afternoon shindig during South by Southwest. Once again this year, it'll be completely, unequivocally free and held at La Zona Rosa, a spacious 4th-Street venue that knuckleheads thin ... More >>

Holy Fuck at the Music Hall of Williamsburg Tonight

SXSW Tip Sheet '08

The best NYC talent at Austin's annual wonkapalooza

Music

Stuff you need to know to avoid cultural ostracism

A Level Field

1,500 up-and-coming acts take the music-biz mat in Austin

Competing With Life

Annual clusterfuck pulls in hordes except when it doesn't

Work To Do