Saturday, March 23, 2013

SXSW: Looking Back



South by Southwest, more commonly known as SXSW, is one of the biggest music events every year. Based in Austin, Texas, the event brings together over 2,000 musicians, performers, filmmakers, and more. It’s one of the essential events for emerging artists, breakout bands, and even widely popular groups.

Part of the beauty of SXSW is the number of lesser known artists come to perform, gaining invaluable stage time, new fans, and generally having a good time. Labels like Mexican Summer benefit especially from it because of its large lineup and diverse set of genres featured. The label, which was founded by Andres Santo Domingo and Tom Clapp’s Kemado Records in 2008, focuses on indie rock and pop, psychedelic and punk rock, metal, and experimental music. This year, they saw four bands off to SXSW.

SXSW is also like a rite of passage for music lovers and anyone interested in film or music. Tons of networking, parties, music, shows, people, and opportunities abound every year. And while it centers on indie rock and hip-hop, there’s still a little bit of everything there. It’s a rockin’ good time for those who manage to snag some stage time or a ticket to the event.

Don’t believe me? Check out this Statigram feed, which features photos tagged with #sxsw. It’s got everything from pictures of groups performing to friends posing in their hotel rooms, pictures of city lights to backyard stage sets, artist interviews to street performers and crowds of people. Mexican Summer’s Instagram captured performances from three of its four featured groups: Autre Ne Veut, Mood Rings and Part Time.

Didn’t get a chance to go? No sweat. There’s always next year.


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