SXSW 2016
Rare stop at In-N-Out at 10:30am to have breakfast/lunch in the Austin sunshine....
After hanging for few, we jumped right over to Stubb's to catch St. Lucia's soundcheck - they would be performing with Big Boi as part of the SXSW Interactive Party later that night. More on that later.
After making the rounds at a few places and linking up with some partners, our first real show of SXSW was recent Columbia Records signing Lewis Del Mar. The duo (plus their band) gives off incredible energy during their performances:
After Lewis Del Mar, we headed back toward Stubb's for the Interactive closing show where we were able to catch St. Lucia's headlining set. As usual, the band rocked the stage and had the crowd dancing all night.
A fitting way to end night one. On morning #2, we were able to explore before the crowds infested downtown to get a few pictures in:
We made a stop over at Facebook Austin HQ to link up with pop artist LunchMoney Lewis. There, he worked with Facebook to participate in one of their FB Live video chats.
Next up, some promo with up and coming UK artist Declan McKenna at Container Bar. There, he chatted with the folks at Slacker Radio:
Quick stop off at the Pandora Discovery Den and we saw Louis the Child tearing it up:
Next up was a stop over at Barracuda's to see Lewis Del Mar once again. We arrived there a little early and saw one of the opener's, Kloe.
Lewis Del Mar, once again, was the highlight of the showcase as they played music off of their recently-released EP.
Quick stop back at the Convention Center to see Declan McKenna play for radio programmers and other assorted onlookers. A true talent!
After a brisk walk across the bridge, we were able to meet up with the rest of the team at the MTV Woodies. Luckily, we had the privilege of heading backstage where we saw a number of artists:
Amazing performance, including a live rendition of "Roses" featuring ROZES.
Following The Woodies, we ran back to close out the night over at the YouTube house, where Santigold and Future were performing.
After an incredibly busy Day 2, we entered Day 3 a bit worn down (already), but were ready to go with an early show from Lewis Del Mar. Despite the 12:30pm start time, it was another amazing performance from the Rockaway rockers.
Not afraid to be one with the crowd!
After leaving to meet up with a friend, we arrived at Barracuda for Pitchfork's event. There, we caught an artist that I had been meaning to see - Little Simz.
We were able to casually swing through John Legend's private performance at the Axe Lounge and also caught the likes of Lapsley - who "won" SXSW alongside Anderson .Paak - over at the Spotify House.
Chairlift took the stage to headline the YouTube House. Amazing performance by the entire band:
Young Sith Lord Dex Kwasi tore it down to end the night:
On Day 4, we started out by heading over to the Pandora Discovery Den where we saw Niykee Heaton seduce the audience with her vocals:
A quick stopover back at YouTube to catch the illustrious Lapsley perform up close and personal:
For the second time, we were able to stop by and watch Anderson .Paak and his band handle the stage. Absolutely incredible performance by the newcomer, who was the artist that officially "won" SXSW.
Another round of Lewis Del Mar - don't mind if I do. We saw LDM and newcomer Billie Marten hold their own on their respective stages.
One last time for Declan McKenna, where he performed for Rachael Ray's Feedback concert at Stubb's. He made some fans out of the room.
We stopped by the convention center to check out Nardwuar talk about his past videos in a session called 'Nardwuar's Video Vault.' Very insightful chat with a personality that has been in the business for a few decades.
After watch Lewis Del Mar rock one more time, the grand finale of SXSW 2016 was the Bud Light Factory, where The Roots had a jam session with a number of special guests. Scroll below for a visual recap of what went down:
Until Next Year....!