Death Valley Girls (Photo Credit: Aly Mcclaran)
One of our favorite destinations every year during SXSW is making it out to the east side to Hotel Vegas. With impressive showcases and cool all around vibe, it makes for a great place to catch some amazing bands. Showcases like Burgermania and Levitation never dissapoint.
All Images Courtesy of Aly Mcclaran. Do Not Use Without Permission, All Rights Reserved!
One of our favorite events every year at SXSW is the Pandora at SXSW event. With a slew of guest artist performing all week they manage to capture the essence of every tastemakers dream, from hip to country chances are you will find it at the four day and four night event. This year some of our favorites included sets from Jimmy Eat World, Lewis Del Mar, T.I, PVRIS, Rob $tone, Powers, and more check out our photos from the event below.
Photo Credit: Aly Mcclaran and and Robert Castro. DO NOT USE WITHOUT PERMISSION. All Rights Reserved.
Cedric Bixler-Zavala of At The Drive In (Photo Credit: Aly Mcclaran)
The annual House of Vans Showcase once again took residency at The Mohawk in Austin during this year's SXSW. The two day, two night showcase featured an array of talented an amazing musicians. One particular surprise guest decided to pay us a visit on Wednesday night. Although the guest was kept secret leading up to the festival we received a tweet on who it would be. The much rumored At The Drive In decided to play an hour set full of classics and a couple new joints from their upcoming album due out later this year. That alone made for one of the best showcases of the festival. Other standout performances came from Temples, Black Lips, Denzel Curry, NONAME, The Big Moon and Polica. Always pushing the boundary for new music as well as showcasing legendary acts The House of Vans continues to be a primary destination for all SXSW goers.
Photo Credits: Robert Castro and Aly Mcclaran. Do Not Use Without Permission. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.
Photos: Aly Mcclaran
Photos: Robert Castro
Black Thought of The Roots (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)
Bud Light took SXSW by storm as the brand transformed 800 Congress Ave into a performance hall for the 2nd Annual Bud Light Jam Session with The Legendary Roots Crew and Friends. The night was filled with electrifying performances by The Roots, - who took Bud Light’s current marketing campaign, “Famous Among Friends” to another level inviting some of their closest friends like CyHi Da Prynce, Jidenna, Frenship, Method Man and Redman, Shakey Graves, Cloves, Nick Grant and James Hershey to jam with them. As if that was enough, the crowd was in for a special treat as surprise performers like Rae Sremmurd, De La Soul, T.I. and Brandy dropped in and jammed along with The Roots through some powerhouse vocals, superior stage presence and true artistry for some of their greatest hits.
Tuba Gooding Jr. of The Roots (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)
Aside from amazing music, attendees were even able to savor delicious plant-based burgers by Impossible Burger, and snap photos with their best friends at the photo booth, all why enjoying cold Bud Lights – complete with an awesome new Austin-themed design by resident Austin artist Nate Duval that reflect the city’s mantra “Keep Austin Weird.”
All images by Robert Castro (Do not use without permission) All Rights Reserved.
T.I. (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)
Rae Sremmurd (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)
Friendship (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)
Cloves (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)
Shakey Graves (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)
Brandy (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)
Jidenna (Photo Credit: Robert Castro)
On the eve of SXSW we have gone through all of the hundred of press releases that have flooded our inbox the last two weeks and have narrowed down 10 bands you must see at this year's SXSW. From country to r&b, we have a feeling some of these will be household names in no time at all.
Sad13 is the side project of Sadie Dupuis of the grunge pop outfit Speedy Ortiz. She toured most of last fall including a stop here in Denver at Larimer Lounge. Her solo project is a fun filled discography of pop goodness while still maintaing that street cred grunge we have come to love.
Hailing from Tijuana, Mexico, Mint Field is making its way to SXSW this year riding the wave of their 2015 LP "Primeras Salidas". The trio manages to blend the catchy goth like tones subtly layered with shoegaze distortion giving us a perfect mix of sound. Reminiscent of early sounds of Nada Surf and Sonic Youth the trio got a rousing welcome during their performance at Coachella last year.
Big Waves / Small Waves, the debut record from NY based Colombian-born pop outfit Salt Cathedral is set for release in 2017. Heavily influenced by Brooklyn's Jamaican dancehall scene, the album features collaborations with dancehall legend Assassin (best known for his recent appearances on Kendrick Lamar's 'The Blacker The Berry') dub pioneer Lee Scratch Perry and Matisyahu. Set to perform at SXSW and Firefly Festival this year and with over 9 million streams on Spotify, Salt Cathedral is poised to be one of the most exciting emerging acts of 2017
Describes as cupcake punk, The Regrettes have been solidifying their fan base in the Southern California area playing with some of the best in their respected genre. Lead by outspoken frontwoman, Lydia Night, and comprised of Genessa Gariano on guitar, Sage Nicole on bass and drummer Maxx Morando, the group have left the LA rock scene floored, managing to capture the hearts of jaded rock critics while opening for acts like Kate Nash, Jack Off Jill, Bleached, Pins, Deep Vally and more. With nothing but demos available online, the group are already beginning to generate hype, from outlets like NPR, and with NYLON already heralding them them as a “punk act you should be listening to”.
Fair comparisons to Lorde are just the tip of the iceberg for the singer from Norway. Displaying remarkable songwriting ability as a skilled lyricist, with hard-hitting and empowering words laced over unexpected and expansive melodies, Sigrid wrote her first song at 16-years-old and in just two weeks – when Sigrid’s older brother challenged her to write an original song and perform it at a local gig with him.
It didn't take us long to fall in love with Jain. It takes just a few seconds of listening to Jain to know that you’ve stumbled on someone special. Pick a song – any song – from the Parisian’s glorious, globe-trotting debut album, Zanaka, and the effect is the same. Instantly, you’ll be startled, smitten and smiling.
These guys just played Denver a few weeks ago to a warm reception, we have had them on repeat for the latter part of the year. Take our advise on this one. The three-piece, led by vocalist / guitarist Hannah Joy, and producer / multi-instrumentalist Tim Fitz, with Harry Day on drums, first came to public attention with the release of their debut single 'Edge Of Town' in May last year. Sir Elton John declared himself a fan of the song, added it to his Apple Music playlist and aired it on his Beats 1 radio show. Triple J placed the song on high rotation, while in the US, the song has had airplay support on over 30 AAA/Alt stations. To date, 'Edge Of Town'has accumulated over 3 million streams on Spotify. Not bad for a band that, when they recorded the single, hadn't played a single show.
Weaves are Jasmyn Burke and Morgan Waters. Burke and Waters met by chance, quickly taking advantage of their immediate chemistry to collaborate by recording demos based on the former's iPhone voice memos. The tracks were reworked and the pair did not shy away from hooks, noise or bombast. An experiment of sound that transformed into their own unique brand of soul sludge, held together by Jasmyn's distinctive voice and melodies.
Having proved her immense talent in her years touring alongside Jack White as a member of his band, Lillie Mae is ready to strike out on her own. With Forever and Then Some, her Third Man Records debut and produced by White himself, there's no stopping Lillie Mae from claiming the country world as her own.
Khalid is an up-and-coming R&B artist out of El Paso, Texas, who burst onto the scene after Kylie Jenner featured “Location” in one of her snaps. His previously released singles, such as “Coaster”, “Saved”, and “Let’s Go,” made it into his debut album, American Teen on March 3rd 2017.
Jason Pendleton
