SXSW History: 26 Bands That Broke Big at the Austin Festival
- Posted by Jason Cohen
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Amy Winehouse
Brit Soul Belter Teeters on Brink of Success, 2007
John Shearer, WireImage
People came because they liked the record, but they also hoped to see a train wreck. Legend has it Winehouse missed out on a few of her scheduled daytime shows, but she blew away crowds at La Zona Rosa and the Fader Fort, clearing the way not only for her own success but that of backing band the Dap Kings.
Johnny Cash
The 'Man in Black' Schools His Disciples, 1994
Rob Verhorst, Redferns
It's not really a "break" when you've been around for 40 years -- call it a comeback. Cash's keynote speech and unannounced Emo's appearance (to promote his Rick Rubin-produced comeback album 'American Recordings') re-established the Man in the Black as just The Man. Myriad tributes, collaborations and alt-rock covers (Soundgarden, Nine Inch Nails, Nick Cave) followed.
Spoon
Hometown Indie Hopefuls Prove Not to Be a Drag, 1994
Tim Mosenfelder, Getty Images
In the early days of SXSW, Austin bands who didn't get to play the conference (or didn't want to) played rebel shows, some with names like "SXSWSUX" or "SXSoWhat." A brand-new outfit at the time, Spoon were on a six- or eight-band bill at a drag-queen-run punk rock bar called The Blue Flamingo. While most of SXSW tried to get into Emo's down the street for Johnny Cash and Beck, Spoon played to a small crowd that included Matador Records' Gerard Cosloy, who would later sign them to the label.
Janelle Monae
Musical Jill-of-All-Trades Justifies the Buzz, 2009
Tim Mosenfelder, Getty Images
The futuristic R&B-rock-pop-funk-punk-etc. queen took the stage for three big shows (Stubbs, Austin Music Hall and a Vice showcase) that had the music-crit establishment drooling in anticipation of Monae's debut album, 'The Archandroid.' When it finally did arrive, it became 2010's most acclaimed record this side of Kanye.
The Flaming Lips
Oklaloma's Freak Rockers Bring It 'Soft,' 1999
Brigitte Engl, Redferns
How do you "break" when you've already been around for 16 years? With the exception of a warm-up show in Dallas, this was the first time Wayne Coyne, Steven Drozd and Michael Ivins performed songs from their now landmark album 'The Soft Bulletin,' drummerless, with the over-the-top multimedia and let-us-entertain-you style that has defined the Oklahomans ever since.
Best Coast
Lo-Fi Indie-Pop Combo Draws Celebrity Fan, 2010
Roger Kisby, Getty Images
When does the presence of a 60-year-old man at your SXSW showcase mean you're happening? When that man is Bill Murray. Bethany Cosentino's multiple Austin shows kicked off a summer that belonged to her and boyfriend Nathan Williams of Wavves(not to mention Snacks the Cat).
The White Stripes
Crimson-Clad Fake Sibling Duo Launch Global Stardom, 2001
Nicky J. Sims, Redferns
Shortly before 'White Blood Cells' was released, Jack and Meg White brought their red clothes and fake brother/sister story to an overcrowded day show at Fat Tuesday's, as well as an official showcase. Five months later, the NME, which published an iconic photo of that show, would ask, "Is Detroit the new Seattle?"
The Strokes
New Yorkers Back Up Snotty Attitude With Stagecraft, 2001
J. Vespa, WireImage
The New York band had already put out 'The Modern Age' EP and signed to UK indie Rough Trade before coming down to Austin, where at least four dozen people tried to crash their Iron Cactus soundcheck. "Don't look at your watch," frontman Julian Casablancas sneered at someone in the crowd during the show. Wrote the Austin American-Statesman, "On set-closer 'Take It or Leave It,' Casablancas sings, 'We're gonna let you down.' Well, yeah ... but not for a couple of albums at least."
Old 97s
Alt-Country Train Makes Stop at Hitsville, 1997
Roger Kisby, Getty Images
A classic example of record company "discovery", the Dallas band's existing and fanatical alt-country following, as well as a shared bill with Whiskeytown, made this Split Rail show a hot one to begin with, and by the time it ended, they were on their way to signing with Elektra.
Norah Jones
Jazzy Texas Chanteuse Rocks Restaurants, 2002
Paul Bergen, Redferns
This one's only a great memory if you got into the room, but too-long lines of disappointed SXSW registrants are also part of buzz. 'Come Away With Me' had just come out in February, and Jones was booked into a small, slightly out-of-the-way venue, an Indian restaurant called The Clay Pit. She still reached out to other fans by playing daytime sets, including one at a Starbucks near the University of Texas campus ... the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
The Darkness
Cheeky Pomp-Rock Act Transforms Club Into Stadium, 2003
Ian Dickson, Redferns
What a difference a year makes: In 2002, the raucous Brits played Maggie Mae's with little fanfare; on this night Justin Hawkins and his cohorts gave a pumped-up (but still not capacity) crowd of early adopters their first taste of 'I Believe in a Thing Called Love' and 'Get Your Hands Off My Woman.' The Darkness may go in the "Whatever Happened To ..." column now, but on this night the Blender Bar at the Ritz was Wembley Stadium.
Veruca Salt
Unsigned Chi-town Sirens Cause Feeding Frenzy, 1994
Ebet Roberts, Redferns
Can't fight the 'Seether'! Then unsigned, with no more than a dozen gigs under their belt, the Chicago combo packed a tent outside of the Electric Lounge. "One couldn't help but share in the exhilaration ... [a]nd one couldn't help but feel a bit of trepidation," wrote the Chicago Tribune's Greg Kot at the time, comparing all the A&R and national media interest to "a feeding frenzy hallucination right out of 'Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas.'' They quickly signed to Geffen.
Broken Social Scene
Toronto Collective Exude Canadian Cool, 2003
Polyphonic Spree
Massed Texas Choir Inspires Indie Worship, 2002
Nicky J. Sims, Redferns
The white-robed Dallas choir performed the "invocation" before Robbie Robertson's keynote, bringing inspiration, hope and novelty to a SXSW that was still shaken (and economically hampered) after 9/11. Once everybody heard how great it was, a crowd came out to see them play a nighttime show at Stubbs, and David Bowie added them to that year's Meltdown Festival in London.
King's X
Texas Prog-Metallers With Spiritual Bent Convert Audience, 1987
Rowen Lawrence,WireImage
The Houston prog-metal trio played to no more than 30 people at the very first SXSW, but among them at the Sunday Cave Club showcase was someone from Megaforce Records, which signed the band soon after.
Franz Ferdinand
New Wave-Reviving Scots Launch Surprise Attack on US, 2004
Hayley Madden, Redferns
Six weeks before this showcase, Franz were merely the most highly touted band on UK indie Domino, and not even as well-known to Americans as headliners Electrelane. Then 'Take Me Out' began to get played on the radio, and critics got advances of the band's self-titled album. If you were already in the room to see Sons and Daughters or Clearlake, you caught one of the most seductive and explosive SXSW shows of all time. If not, you maybe heard a bit of it while still in line on 6th St.
Feist
Canadian Singer-Songwriter Works Outside the System, 2005
Nathan Shanahan, WireImage
She's one of the first (but certainly not the last) out-of-towners to break at SXSW without playing an official SXSW show. The Broken Social Scene member was newly signed to Cherry Tree/Interscope and came in at the last minute, playing a WOXY.org party as well as a Fader gig, where her cover of Nina Simone's 'See-Line Woman' was accompanied by dramatic wind and rain.
Souled American
Windy City Country Rockers Court Influential Followers, 1988
Rough Trade
SXSW A&R pelt No. 2 was this Chicago country-rock outfit, which played a show at Joe's Generic Bar that won over the New York office of Rough Trade. The band put out four records between 1988 and 1992 and remains beloved by the likes of writer Camden Joy and the Mountain Goats' John Darnielle.
M.I.A.
Political Electro-Dance Artist Jets In at Last Minute, 2005
Jana Birchum, Getty Images
As with Franz Ferdinand and Norah Jones, not being able to get in was a key component of the buzz. Hampered by visa issues, M.I.A. herself arrived in Austin only hours before this blow-the-roof-off show -- and was probably still up in the air when lines began to form outside the 300-capacity goth club Elysium.
Bon Iver
Folkish Singer-Songwriter Unites Indie Blogs and Kanye, 2008
Joey Foley, FilmMagic
Before Kanye ever heard of him, Justin Vernon rode the critical momentum of 'For Emma, Forever Ago' into a packed evening at Mohawk that was implausibly trendy, given the sylvan beauty of his music. Vernon and Co. also played that same Pitchfork/Brooklyn Vegan Emo's day show.
Helmet and L7
Grunge Standard Bearers Cause a Near-Riot, 1991
Mick Hutson, Redferns
It was "The Year That Grunge Broke," and this was one of the first SXSW shows where people's interest overwhelmed the venue: the beer garden of a club called Main Event. Many fans were stuck outside a fence they almost toppled; some enterprising kids climbed up on a roof across the street to watch. Eventually (and luckily), the show went off without a riot.
'Bounce' Showcase
New Orleans' Hip-Hop Gender-Benders Get the Party Sizzling, 2010
Erika Goldring, Getty Images
This New Orleans block party of foul-mouthed hip-hop with DJ Jubilee, Ms. Tee and transgendered "sissy bounce" artists Big Freedia and Katey Red was singled out as one of the year's best shows by Jon Pareles of the New York Times. Big Freedia made her triumphant return to Austin at Fun Fun Fun Fest eight months later.
Arctic Monkeys
English Indie Boys Hit Austin at Their Peak, 2006
Tim Mosenfelder, Getty Images
Unlike their Domino labelmates, Arctic Monkeys peaked too soon, coming to Austin with the biggest-selling UK debut album ever (fueled largely by the band's early MySpace/download following). Their La Zona Rosa set became one of those shows where so many people assumed it would be hard to get in that they didn't even try. The place still reached capacity and then some, but frontman Alex Turner clearly didn't like the "show us what you've got" industry/media vibe.
Fleet Foxes
Northwest Troubadours Bring Sensitive Folk Music and Comedy, 2008
Tim Mosenfelder, Getty Images
The Seattle folkies' debutante setting was Emo's, on the daytime Pitchfork/Brooklyn Vegan bill (the former site had just given the band's first Sub Pop EP an 8.7). Preceded by a mini-skit from 'Human Giant' comics Aziz Ansari and Rob Huebel, they performed the first of several soaring, perfect, gorgeous SXSW sets. Before one song, seated frontman Robin Pecknold nervously joked that he found Pitchfork to be "scarier than 'Two Girls One Cup.'"
Tapes 'n Tapes
Fledgling Minnesota Act Survives Press Juggernaut, 2006
Michael Loccisano, FilmMagic
The Minneapolis band came to Austin with a national reputation (Rolling Stone, the New York Times and, of course, Pitchfork and Brooklyn Vegan) that was surprising to the Minneapolis Star-Tribune's Chris Riemenschneider. "Bands never landed eight showcases at SXSW when they couldn't even earn the headlining slot at a dive bar back home for their CD-release party," he writes in the just-released 'SXSW Scrapbook.' "Come to think of it, before that era, bands never played eight SXSW showcases, period." Now, 16 shows is not out of the question.
Foster the People
L.A. Indie Pop Act Rides Violent Ditty to Top of the Charts
Kenneth Partridge
When Foster the People hit Austin for SXSW 2011, they were still two months away from releasing their debut album, 'Torches.' Frontman Mark Foster had only started the band two years earlier, while working on and off writing commercial jingles. But after SXSW, where they opened our showcase at Stubb's, that all changed: You seemingly couldn't go anywhere without hearing their single, 'Pumped Up Kicks.' Who knew a catchy little tune about a kid's violent revenge fantasy would be a hit?
- Filed under: Concerts and Tours, The Hit List
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