Image credit: Alex Colindres and Nikki Hartel. Santa image taken from renaissanceronin.com.

Many music fans consider this time of year like Christmas.  Old bands coming out with new stuff, emerging bands trying to make a name for themselves, and record labels throwing parties, a music festival attendee’s dream .  South by Southwest (SXSW) is a private company based in Austin, Texas.  The staff works year-round to deliver a conference and festival that includes film, music, and media professionals.  These industry professionals and attendees comprise a major international Music and Media Festival.

SXSW takes place March 9-18

March 9-13 Interactive
March 9-17 Film
March 14 -18 Music

SXSW has been around since 1987 and in 1994 the organization recognized the growth of the industry and began incorporating conferences, festivals for the film industry, and interactive media to its repertoire.   This makes sense in a world of convergence.  Media outlets in TV, film, music, etc. are converging, and the distinction is becoming harder to recognize.

I wasn’t planning on attending SXSW this year, but Music Santa must have thought I was a good girl!  Well, not exactly.  Audiotree, where I am interning, has invited me to join them in Austin, Texas.   My SXSW adventure begins in a large conversion van on Tuesday, March 13, and I will return, forever changed and tired, on Monday, March 19.

During the festival, Audiotree will be hosting two music showcases!

Their first, Let’s Get Messy, will be on Thursday, March 15 at 512 Bar at 408 E. Sixth Street from 11:30 am – 6 pm.

Their second showcase, St. Paddy’s Day Bash, will take place on Saturday, March 17 at Swan Dive, located at 615 Red River in Austin, TX from 12pm – 5:30 pm.

In addition to the showcases, Audiotree members will be attending conferences, giving away rad Audiotree festival swag, selling apparel and music by the artist they represent, Kellen & Me (who I have chatted about before in my previous blog posts), meeting with other industry professionals, making some new friends, and of course scoping out some sweet shows!  Also, Audiotree’s film crew will be creating original SXSW content that will feature different musicians and festival attendees.

Audiotree swag, Kellen & Me Vinyl and Audiotree hooded sweatshirt.

I am totally amped for this adventure.  Not only will it be a great experience professionally, but I am also looking forward to all the great music I will discover.  Stay tuned, I’ll let you know how it turns out!