Born in Holland, Laura Jansen is "a woman of many worlds and an indie success story in the making," according to her bio. Jansen, who played in bands all over Europe and Asia in her teens, makes "piano-driven alt pop," in her own words. Laura Jansen brings her alt pop to the masses by touring extensively; in fact, she is touring this month and will ...

Formed in early 2007, the Brooklyn quintet La Strada, which describes its sound as "indie rock and folk with a string section," is already making waves. La Strada will be playing five shows at SXSW this year, and Spinner used this auspicious occasion as an excuse to interrogate the group. Proving La Strada is a democracy, the band members took ...

Named after the famous (and mysterious) German foundling Kaspar Hauser, Kaspar are led by two singer-songwriters who play pretty little acoustic numbers. Kaspar have performed live in Finland, Sweden, Switzerland and the US, where the group will play two shows at this year's SXSW. Spinner spoke to Kaspar's Mikael Hakkarainen as his band made ...

Formed in 2005 while the band members were pursuing higher education at UCLA, Lady Danville is a trio that plays acoustic indie pop influenced by the likes of Guster, Ben Folds and Crosby, Stills and Nash (sans Young). Not ones to remain idle, the lads will be playing a whopping six shows at SXSW this year. We caught up with all three members of ...

With a sound that falls somewhere between Otis Redding and Os Mutantes, Garotas Suecas is a six-piece Brazilian band that blends influences from their home country with a hearty mix of American soul and garage rock. And, according to their site, "Garotas Suecas will make you dance." Though the band is moderately popular in their native land, where ...