The sharp music team at NPR are no strangers to SXSW - 2012 marks the fifth year that the national public broadcast team have curated events and interviews at Austin's biggest music event of the year. Each year, the network does quite a bit of field coverage from the festival, which we've covered in past years through talks with correspondent Carrie Brownstein (now of both Portlandia and Wild Flag) and showcase reviews. more ›

It's a big weekend for indie film here in Austin because the fine folks at the Alamo Drafthouse are officially releasing their first film. We hope to see lots of sold out screenings of Four Lions over the next few days to support all of the hard work of Tim League and his crew. Also, be sure to spread the word to friends in New York, Los Angeles, D.C., Seattle, Philadelphia, and Cambridge where the film is also launching today! more ›

The Magnetic Fields' ambitious triple album, 69 Love Songs, was released in 1999 to critical acclaim. Nick Mirov in a Pitchfork review wrote that "[t]here's only one question that really needs to be asked of 69 Love Songs: is it a brilliant masterpiece or merely very, very good?" More than ten years later, Gnap! Theater Projects brings Austin the workshop version of a theatrical representation of the album, with the full show scheduled to appear in a 2011 run. more ›

Stephin Merritt's Magnetic Fields don't get out much tour-wise, but they will be supporting their latest, Distortion, this fall with a short tour. The Paramount will hose NYC's favorite gloomy lovers on October 14, and tickets ($33-36) go on sale July 23. Buy them through gettix.net. more ›

Our Indieroke night returns this Tuesday to The Mohawk. What started out as a one-off fling with rock stardom has turned into a monthly gathering of like-minded folks craving that fleeting moment of exhilaration. If you haven’t made it to one yet, we strongly recommend getting there in a timely fashion to get your name and song on the list early…and often. (You know who you are!) We will have multiple song list books going forward to ease that pain. more ›

Our Indieroke night returns this Tuesday to The Mohawk. What started out as a one-off fling with rock stardom has turned into a monthly gathering of like-minded folks craving that fleeting moment of exhilaration. If you haven’t made it to one yet, we strongly recommend getting there in a timely fashion to get your name and song on the list early…and often. (You know who you are!) We will have multiple song list books going forward to ease that pain. more ›

Say you’re drunk. Or, better yet, you just woke up after one of those Mexican Martini nights, so it's one of those mornings where the sun, you’re sure, is already blazing its blaze just beyond your bedroom window, yet you can only spot a squeak of it through the blinds, and that little bit of light is really all you handle. Anything more would send you into full-on fury, but that special kind of fury where you can’t really do anything, because, truly, you feel like shit. more ›

It's not even Christmas yet, and we're still talking about Murder City Devils at Fun Fun Fun Fest, but that won't stop us from gearing up to begin bringing you the latest rumors and confirmations regarding 2008's SXSW music festival. It's right around the corner, and we're not the only ones with our minds set towards March: plenty of bands have already announced their intentions to be here for the week. more ›

It’s a free show Wednesday night at the Mohawk outside for those over 21. And, unlike most of the bars on and around 6th street, they shouldn’t need a barker to shout, “Live music! No cover! $2 shots!” (We can’t vouch for the third one). It’s going to be a free night of electro-freak indie fun. First up, The Laughing. A great name for a band that doesn’t take themselves too seriously. Bringing the... more ›

Ohio's The Black Keys have been practicing their minimalist-blues ethos for over five years now, and have carved their own niche in indie rock. The band combines the two-man band approach of The White Stripes, riffage worthy of Jimmy Page, and blues stomps patterned after Howlin' Wolf and vintage Chess artists. The trick here is that it comes off in a way that somehow appeals to fans of both Pavement and Stevie Ray Vaughan,... more ›