Music convention showcases rising talent

If 2010 is remembered as a big year in music, it will be because of events like Coachella,Pitchfork Fest, and South By Southwest Convention (SXSW).  

The biggest of the three is SXSW.  The city of Austin, Texas, plays host to more than 4,000 names in music, television and film as it spans from March 12-21.  Showcasing the latest and greatest in the underground’s best-kept secrets, SXSW almost completely closes the downtown area of Austin to accommodate the waves of attendees.  Mike Dugan of Washington University will be attending this year.

“It (SXSW) is a way for up-and-coming bands to get exposed to record labels and music channels while they try and get signed.  It’s a also a music hub where people come and say ‘let’s party really hard and listen to some great music,” Dugan said.

The music portion of the convention begins on March 17 and goes until March 21.  SXSW is one of the few events hosting more than 1,000 bands and rumored to have as many as 1,800 performers.

It is not uncommon for many bands to get their start in Austin, only to go on to many smaller events with huge, newly acquired reputations in tow. 

Jes Aurelius, 21-years old of Tempe, plays drums in the local act Pigeon Religion (PR).  PR will be joining fellow artists during the “LoadRecords” Showcase at SXSW March 20.  Like some artists there, Aurelius plans to attend just to attend.

“...Some bands play because they want to be discovered and then some bands play because there is a ton of people in town.  Of course, you also have bands like us who play because we’ve been offered free drugs and alcohol,”  Barnett said.

Competing festival Coachella is a three-day festival that takes place in Indio, Calif., at the Empire Polo Field from April 16-18.  Unlike SXSW, Coachella is in a fixed location but offers an equally impressive line-up. Fans regard this festival to be more of a camping event than a concert. 

Coachella features huge names in mainstream music like “Jay-Z,” “Faith No More, and “Muse.”   It also boasts a well-known list of corporate sponsors ranging from “Heineken” to insurance company “State Farm.”  Dimitry Goldman, a student at UofA, said, “It’s organized and its broken down into three days where all I have to do is be there to catch these acts.  If anything, I’m excited because it’s cool performances I have to travel for only once.”

Lastly, is the new and anticipated “Pitchfork Fest.”  Pitchfork is an online “webzine” that reviews and showcases new and rising talent.  This year, Pitchfork plans to reach a broad spectrum by bringing out artists of differing genres, including Rhode Island’s noise duo “Lightening Bolt” and Alternative musicians “Modest Mouse.”   The fest takes place from Jul 16-18 in Chicago, Ill.  The line-up is still building along with it its fans anticipation for what is sure to be a great event.