Bloc Party performing at Stubb's BBQ in 2007
South by Southwest (SXSW) is a set of interactive, film, and music festivals and conferences that take place every spring in Austin, Texas. Originating as the Austin Battle of the Bands, SXSW officially began in 1987 and is centered on the downtown Austin Convention Center. Each of the three parts run relatively independently, with different start and end dates.
SXSW is one of the largest music festivals in the United States, with more than 1,400 performers playing dozens of venues around Austin over four days, in March. Though it is an industry-based event, SXSW Music links locally with events such as the annual Austin Music Awards show. According to the Austin Convention and Visitors Bureau, SXSW is the second highest money-making public event for the Austin and Travis County economy, trailing only the annual Republic Of Texas Biker Rally. [1]
In 1994, SXSW added film and interactive conferences. SXSW Film has become one of the world's premiere film festivals, focusing on new directing talent. Similarly, SXSW Interactive has attracted a strong following among web creators and entrepreneurs.
SXSW has spawned other festival such as North by Northeast (NXNE), an annual three-day live music festival and music conference in Toronto, held the second weekend in June.
SXSW also offers a free musical sampler each year, distributed through BitTorrent. This has grown from the inclusion of 775 MP3 tracks in 2005 to 941 in 2006.[2]
SXSW 2007
The 2007 music festival included performances by The Stooges, Spoon, Kings of Leon, Donovan, The Buzzcocks, Fratellis, Bloc Party, Straylight Run, The Black Angels, The Bravery, Hawthorne Heights, Armor for Sleep, Jack's Mannequin, Amy Winehouse, Badly Drawn Boy, Against Me!, This Is Me Smiling, Jandek, Kava Kava, The Horrors, The Sword, The Briefs, Lily Allen, Bobby Lounge, The Early Years, The Stitches, Austin TV, Circa Survive, Eisley, Gallows, Razorlight, Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly., Ozomatli, Die! Die! Die!, Maritime, Russian Circles, Dustin Kensrue, Moros Eros, Albert Hammond, Jr., Bob Mould, Far-Less, Powell St. John, Tally Hall, Tub Ring, The Cinematics, Sparklehorse, Best Fwends, The Wombats, WinterKids and Cold War Kids. Conference speakers included David Byrne (of the Talking Heads) and Pete Townshend (of The Who).[3] The festival took place from March 14 to 18, and more than 1,400 acts performed. One of the top film premieres this year was the highly anticipated Elvis and Anabelle starring Blake Lively and Max Minghella.
SXSW 2008
The 2008 music festival included performances by MGMT, The Airborne Toxic Event, Airwaves, The Black Angels, 17 Hippies, Kaki King, Ash Grunwald, Steer Clear, Hotstop, Story Of The Year, Delorentos, Elevation, Ben Harper, Billy Bragg, Your Vegas, White Light Riot, Monte Negro, Kimya Dawson, Dandi Wind, The Lemonheads, Hanson, She & Him, Kaddisfly, The Cool Kids, The Parlor Mob, The Black Keys, FM Belfast, Paul Kelly Plushgun and X. Conference speakers included Stu Cook (of Creedence Clearwater Revival) and Trachtenburg Family Slideshow Players.[4] [5]
SXSW 2009
The 2009 festival will be held March 13-22. Band and event line-up is yet to be announced.
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