SxSW schedule released
Austin's South By Southwest, the grandaddy of regional music festivals, released its preliminary list of bands Wednesday morning. As always, it's a daunting list featuring hundreds of acts from complete unknowns to bands you had no idea were still together (Counting Crows, anyone?) to the current hot crop of indie stars.
Critical Mob favorites confirmed so far include The War On Drugs, Class Actress, The Magnetic Fields, Blitzen Trapper, Best Coast, Thomas Dolby and Jennifer O'Connor. On the reunion front, on-again/off-again UK indie mainstays The Wedding Present will be on the scene to promote their newest album, and for the power pop fans, Peter Case and Paul Collins will perform together for the first time since the end of their late '70s pop-punk band The Nerves.
Provided the somewhat misguided wave of vitriol that followed last weekend's Saturday Night Live appearance doesn't destroy her career before then, Lana Del Rey's set will be a hot ticket. Similarly, The Big Pink will see if their second-album transformation from mopey shoegazers to a chart-oriented pop band finds many takers.
The SxSW Music Festival takes place March 13-18. Full showcase information will be available around February 15.
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