We don't remember much of SXSW but of what we can remember, we think we had a pretty kickass time. During the week of March 13th to the 17th, we were out surviving on what little we had time to consume (usually free, alcoholic or "containing artificial flavors"), catching every bit of sanctioned and unsanctioned SXSW goodness. While we were out on the streets and bars of Austin, we began to realize a lot... more ›

Over the past six weeks, Austinist's music writers have spoken with dozens of bands playing this year's SXSW festival. In case you're just now joining us, here's a link-filled list of all Austinist SX07 band interviews: Albert Hammond, Jr. Alexi Murdoch Annuals Aqueduct Architecture in Helsinki Car Stereo (Wars) Evangelicals Girl In A Coma Girl Talk I Love You But I've Chosen Darkness Jesse Sykes and the Sweet Hereafter Ladyhawk Lions in the Street... more ›

It's been nearly five years since an appearance on KCRW's "Morning Becomes Eclectic" rocketed Alexi Murdoch's songs into Honda commercials,The O.C., and Garden State. The teen drama association doesn't do justice to the careful and serious tone of Murdoch's music, which he recorded and released independently despite multiple offers from the major labels. After a long silence since his Four Songs EP, Murdoch's 2006 full-length debut Time Without Consequence didn't pander to casual fans.... more ›

There are several Welsh acts playing this year's SXSW, but none are newer to Texas than The Gentle Good. Essentially a one-man folk music project, Cardiff's Gareth Bonello has been playing a quietly captivating mix of English, Welsh, and Spanish folk to drunken (his words, not ours) Welsh audiences for several years. Bonello has already released an EP and is currently recording his first full-length album. He recently chatted with us about cowboy boots,... more ›

After taking last week off because we were sure SXSW would release their master plan, we now return as there seems to be no end in sight to the band list embargo. Many indie labels and some marquee acts have simply announced their appearances, as bands attempt to book routing shows in Dallas, Houston, New Orleans, or elsewhere to make their long drives worthwhile. The lack of info has started to get the press... more ›

- Rolling Stones tickets are on sale tomorrow at 10am via Ticketmaster. Prices are $75 for students, $95 for general admission, and a whopping $350 for bleacher seating near the stage. Expect at least an additional $10-20/ticket in service charges. - ACL Fest acts continue to drop like flies: Feist and Kasey Chambers have both left the bill. They join a parade that also includes Editors, Damien Rice, Alexi Murdoch, Fields, and Goldfrapp. To... more ›

There is much to report this week surrounding the Zilker Park-sized dust oven that is ACL Fest. The big news is that a ridiculous number of 'official' ACL aftershow concerts has been announced. Many of the fest's acts will take over all of our club venues immediately after the big show ends each night. All tickets go onsale tomorrow at 10am, except for Sufjan Stevens, which is already onsale. This means that either (a)... more ›

Last summer, a community radio DJ from Nashville set out to accomplish the unthinkable: she was going to profile every single band scheduled to play at Austin City Limits on her mp3 blog. We followed her progress ever since she contacted us about the Herculean endeavor; mostly, we just wanted to see at what point she'd finally throw in the towel and say, by god, enough. She did, of course, finish the entire roster. This... more ›

We can't help you with today's Tapes 'N' Tapes show over at Waterloo Records (since they're probably playing right now), but Austin's big indie retailer is chock-a-block with three more great in-stores this week. Tomorrow at 5pm, folkie/KEXP mainstay Alexi Murdoch will play tunes from his rather Nick Drake-ish disc Time Without Consequence, and as usual, there will be some free beer to drown your sorrows. Thursday at 5pm, Sub Pop favorites and Toronto... more ›

MONDAY [12] [sports] World Cup Games at Alamo Village (Through 16th, 11am & 2pm) (link) [film] Labrynth at Alamo South (Through 16th, 1pm, Free) (link) [film] Baby Doll at Paramount Theatre (7pm) (link) [film] Gram Parsons: Fallen Angel at Alamo Downtown (7pm, $10) (link) [film] Blue Velvet at Rounders Pizzeria (8pm, Free) (link) [film] GoodFellas at Austin Java (8pm, Free) (link) [film] Rolling Roadshow: Nanny McPhee at San Marcos (8pm, Free) (link) [film] Stunt Rock... more ›

You can throw a rock this month and hit a good touring show in Austin. After our usual post-SXSW doldrums, everyone seems to be scheduling Austin as an early summer stop. Check out new additions like Pete Yorn, M. Ward, Reverend Horton Heat, and indie-blogger favorite Human Television in the listings below: June: 6/02 The Roots + Blackalicious (Stubb’s) 6/03 Film School + Margot & The Nuclear So-And-Sos (Emo’s) 6/07 Arctic Monkeys + We... more ›

Musicians always claim that Austin is one of their favorite cities to play, and while this makes perfect sense to us and we hope that it's their honest opinion, we never really know if they're just buttering us up, before moving on and claiming that Houston is the coolest city in Texas. So it warms Austinist's heart and reassures our ego when we hear public praise of our fair city. Cary Brothers, whose song "Blue... more ›