John "Hollywood" and his Dirty Limo

After stopping by the Manatt/Red Ghost party for some sunshine, tacos and tunes, day two of SXSW saw a trip to South Congress (SoCo to the locals) with a little help from the Dirty Limo (pic above) to see Jason Poe. You can catch him at the Purevolume house on Saturday at 4:15pm, following April Smith and before Joe Purdy… From there we made our way to catch a stellar set from Audra Mae, where she played some songs from her upcoming full-length, before heading to the SESAC showcase to catch OPS, Ten Bears and Get Busy Committee… Amid the ping-pong and taco truck at the Dickies/Filter show, NY’s Cymbals Eat Guitars filled the tent with an epic wall of sound.  A jaunt to the BMI showcase for a set from Imagine Dragons was followed by a pop-in for Austin’s Quiet Company and then on to Boston’s Bad Rabbits. Finally back to the Driskill bar for a nightcap of course. Stay tuned…

Danger Mouse & James Mercer are Broken Bells @ SXSW Kick Off Show

Recently SXSW announced that their kick-off show on March 17th will be presented by NPR Music and will feature indie icons Spoon, Broken Bells (the uber-duo featuring Brian Burton aka Danger Mouse and The Shins’ James Mercer), as well as Sharon Jones & the Dap Kings, The Walkmen and Visqueen… Every year the festival features a wide array of artists; from up-and-comers, to established artists, to “unknown” potential breakout acts -it’s a mixed bag. We thought it was timely to pick out some of the artists who should be on your Austin calendars this year in part 1 of SXSW Who To Watch…

Brooklyn’s Cymbals Eat Guitars are making SXSW stops as they cross the country on their headlining tour with support from Bear in Heaven and Freelance Whales. With recent features and nods in Pitchfork, NY Times and NME to name a few, be sure to find ‘em at the Alternative Press, Dickies/Filter and WOXY parties among others… Lots of curiosity around fellow Brooklynites Das Racist who exploded online last year and have become infamous for their antics – at one of their recent shows instead of performing they simply popped on the Beastie Boys Paul’s Boutique, leaving fans confused and us impressed… L.A. local Lex Land has had a #1 iTunes folk album, has played live on KCRW and can belt out a version of the Habanera from Bizet’s “Carmen” better than any opera singer you can name… You may know the young Swedish pop-singer Miss Li whose ridiculously infectious song “Oh Boy” is in the new Volvo car commercial, she’s at the Victorian Room at the Driskill on Saturday… Other internationals to keep an eye on include Manchester’s Ten Bears and kiwi pop-rockers Kingston. Stay tuned for part 2…