South By Southwest Page 5

Another SXSW has come and gone and it has definitely been one to remember. As well as the usual display of all the best music to keep tabs on for the rest of the year, there were some brilliant films being premiered and some particularly interesting speakers at this year's SXSW Interactive. Plus, there were some major surprises which were, ironically, only to be expected.

Drake performed a surprise set at Fader Fort

First off, there were rumours all over the place that Drake was going to appear for a surprise set at SXSW this year and indeed we weren't disappointed. It wasn't long after Yo Gotti left the stage at Fader Fort on Saturday (March 19th) that the 'Hotline Bling' hitmaker appeared for his OVO Sound set. He wasn't the only one to take to the mic though as several other artists from his new label project including DVSN, Wood$, Majid Jordan and PartyNextDoor also joined him to showcase the Toronto based Warner Music Group imprint. Drake himself played six songs (sadly none of which were his aforementioned hit) such as 'Energy' and 'Know Yourself'.

Continue reading: Drake, Obama And Willie Nelson: Here Are The Highlights Of SXSW 2016

Everyone loves a good gig, but having to stand in an endless queue for hours can be very off-putting. Fear not, SXSW goers! You can now win a FastPass which will enable you to skip those pesky lines and get directly admitted into Mazda + Hype Machine's Hype Hotel.

Mazda is the official sponsor of Hype Hotel at SXSW this year and, once again, you could be in with a chance of landing yourself priority entry into the venue without the worry of getting there early to beat the queues (which, let's face it, is not an easy thing to do).

Continue reading: How To Jump The Line At Mazda + Hype Machine's Hype Hotel

SXSW has long been known as a festival of firsts, of innovations and of introductions. And now, this year, they have announced that for the first time ever, a Keynote Conversation will be delivered by the US President and his First Lady as part of their Interactive and Music sections.

Barack Obama and Michelle to deliver Keynote speech

President Barack Obama will be opening Keynote on the first day of the citywide Austin festival, March 11th 2016. He'll be talking to The Texas Tribune's Editor in Chief Evan Smith about the roles communities and individuals are playing in political, social and technological development in front of audience featuring creative talents and entrepreneurs. Obama is thought to be planning to discuss the big issues of society from leadership to climate change.

Continue reading: President Obama To Deliver Keynote Discussion At SXSW Interactive

SXSW 2014 is over. We saw 2200 bands playing over 100 stages. Well, we didn't actually see all those bands with our own eyes, but we've done all the hard work for you and trawled the web for the best reviews of this year's spectacular. Here's what you need to know about the biggest sounds coming of Austin, Texas.

SXSW 2014 Is Over, For Another Year

New Yorkers Perfect Pussy played the Red 7 Patio on Friday March 17 and did nothing to dissuade critics labelling them the band to watch out for in 2014. Meredith Graves and co served up one of the most frenetic sets of the week and those in attendance were left with appetites well and truly whet for Perfect Pussy's debut full length album, due later this year. 

Continue reading: SXSW 2014 Is Over, But Here's The Memories

Childish Gambino took to the stage at the mtvU Woodie Awards on Sunday night, singing the hook to his song '3005' while surrounding by color-shifting Christmas lights. 

Childish Gambino Performed at the Woodies

"Girl why is you lying, girl why you Mufasa," he rhymed. "Yeah, mi casa su casa, got stripper like Gaza/Got so high off volcanoes, now the flow is so lava." With his face illuminated only by the lights, Gambino was then joined by a marching band similarly lit up.

Continue reading: Childish Gambino Plays Coolest Set Of The Year At MtvU Woodie Awards 2014

Jay-Z and Kanye West gave SXSW goers a rip-roaringly good time as they collaborated in a 'Watch The Throne' style comeback show last night in Austin, Texas.

The rappers caused festival attendees to reach dangerous levels of excitement as they performed some incredible collaborative and solo hits at the Austin Music Hall as part of SXSW. The 4,600 capacity venue was full to bursting as fans desperately tried to catch a glimpse of their music idols three years after their legendary 'Watch The Throne' North American tour.

Continue reading: Watch The Throne Return! Jay-Z And Kanye West Team Up For A One-Off Show At SXSW

A driver hurtled through barricades and ploughed through dozens of revellers at the SXSW festival early on Thursday morning (March 13, 2014), killing 2 and injuring 23. According to police, a man driving small Toyota car went the wrong way down Ninth Street before turning onto Red River Street - which was packed with festival goers - striking numerous pedestrians and hitting a scooter, killing both the man and woman on-board.

Aerial Views of Austin Texas, Where A Drunk-Drived Killed Two, Early on Thursday

According to the Statesman, the man driving attempted to flee on foot before he was stunned with a Taser gun and detained by police officers - who had originally tried to pull the man over at a gas station. 

Continue reading: SXSW Crash Leaves 2 Dead, 23 Injured, In Horrific Scenes In Austin

SXSW isn’t just about music; it’s a cultural hub for forward-minded individuals, giving them the chance to converge and share ideas and experiences. Today (moments ago, in fact, depending on when you’re reading this) the Former National Security Agency contractor Edward Snowden spoke via video link from Russia to an SXSW crowd about the increasingly controversial subject of Government surveillance.

Julian Assange and Edward Snowden Have Been Giving Video Link Talks at SXSW

USA Today has a handy transcript of the conversation, edited for your reading pleasure over on their site. In the talk, Snowden talked about his motives for disclosing classified documents, which revealed the extent to which the NSA were had the American people under unprecedented levels of surveillance.

Continue reading: Edward Snowden Talks Surveillance And Disclosure At SXSW

2014 looks to be a big year for New York quartet Skaters who released their debut album 'Manhattan' last month and are performing as part of several showcase events at SXSW this week.

SXSW festival brings some incredible artists to Texas this year and Skaters are no exception. They'll be hitting stages in Austin from March 12th where they'll be kicking off their SXSW stretch with a show at Holy Mountain as part of the Splendour In The Grass and Falls Festival showcase. Their most anticipated show of the week will be the Eventbrite and Governors Ball Lawn Party, also taking place on the 12th, over at the Empire Control Room and Garage. The Governors Ball selection came after they were announced to be playing the festival at Randall's Park on June 6th; an event that sees Outkast, Jack White, Vampire Weekend and The Strokes headlining.

Continue reading: Introducing: NY Band Skaters, Who Bring 'Manhattan' To Texas For SXSW

It's testament to SXSW's growth that probably the biggest talk show host in America is heading to Austin, Texas, for a week of shows from the festival. Jimmy Kimmel will broadcast his 'Live' show from the heart of South by Southwest next week, setting up shop at Austin's Joe R and Teresa Lozano Long Center for the performing arts.

Jimmy Kimmel Is Heading to SXSW

The Austin shows will be Kimmel's first outside of his regular Hollywood stage since he moved to the 11.35pm time slot in January 2014 - though his did visit Brooklyn for a week in November 2012.

Continue reading: Jimmy Kimmel Takes A Road Trip To SXSW 2014

The world famous SXSW festival kicks off tomorrow, March 7 with a veritable mixed bag of cultural highlights, including a giant vending machine designed and implemented by Doritos, which Lady GaGa is now allowed to perform in. Sorry, what? The city of Austin initially denied a permit for Gaga to play the vending machine stage, citing safety concerns, but someone must have offered someone a lifetime’s supply of chips & dip because it’s happening.

She’ll mark her first performance at SXSW with her concert at the restaurant and music venue Stubb's Bar-B-Q on March 13 (the emphatic stage has been relocated there). Two nights of music – curated by the Doritos brand, under the wing of PepsiCo's Frito-Lay – will take place in the aforementioned giant vending machine after that.

Continue reading: Doritos' "Bold Action" For SXSW Is A Giant Vending Machine, With Lady Gaga In It

The South by Southwest Music Festival has released its first list of artists for the 2014 festival, notably the New Orleans rapper Vockah Redu, indie-trio London Grammar, Drenge, the Texas country singer Rodney Crowell and Swedish rock band INVSN.

The first batch comprises of 183 acts from 27 countries that will play in downtown Austin in the spring. Last year, more than 25,000 people saw 2,278 acts at the six-day festival and music conference. 

INVSN is perhaps the most interesting act from the first announcement. Featuring Refused and International Noise Conspiracy frontman Dennis Lyxzen, the band are currently on a U.S tour promoting their self-titled debut album.

Continue reading: SXSW Announces First Performers For 2014 Festival

When Sony signed up the ‘hot talent’ that was Silibil n Brains, they thought they’d struck a veritable goldmine. Little did they know that Silibil n Brains weren’t tour buddies with Eminem; they weren’t best friends with Madonna and they certainly weren’t the next Beastie Boys.

The Great Hip Hop Hoax tells the incredible story of Gavin Bain and Billy Boyd

No, they were in fact two regular lads from Dundee in Scotland, who, beleaguered and dismayed by their music industry snub, decided to adopt these fake personas. The UK had called them “rapping Proclaimers” – ‘fine then’ they said, ‘we’ll just take over America instead’.

Continue reading: Come And Learn About 'The Great Hip Hop Hoax' [Trailer]

Justin Timberlake closed the SXSW Festival in Austin, Texas, on Sunday (March 17, 2013) with one of the worst kept secrets...probably in the history of live music. The South by Southwest Festival does throw up its fair share of very secret shows, with some big names taking to their guitars in various bars at 4am, though Timberlake's show was anything but kept under wraps.

According to Entertainment Weekly, the game was given away almost immediately, when the Austin Police Department leaked news that J-T would be performing. They had prepared extra security for the pop superstar and subsequently dropped his name to the press. If for some reason that hadn't alerted fans to the fact that Timberlake was playing, advertisements for his new venture MySpace were littered all over the place. At one 800-capacity music venue on a heavily trafficked downtown intersection in Austin, passers-by were greeted by huge 'THIS IS MYSPACE' graffiti on the wall. 

And then there was another piece of graffiti, "Secret Show," inked onto the side of another wall, in the customary Timberlake typeface. It was at the Coppertank venue where the gig eventually took place, with Questlove performing a supporting set before Timberlake took to the stage to play tracks from his two albums, Justified and FutureSex/LoveSounds, and forthcoming third studio album 20/20. He also took fans by surprise when covering INXS's 'Need You Tonight.' 

Continue reading: SXSW: Justin Timberlake Plays Least Secretive Secret Show, Ever

Myspace is still a thing that exists apparently, as we were reminded during day three of SXSW. Kid Cudi, Hit-boy and Diplo all performed at the heavily hip hop themed showcase and in fact, turned it into one of the liveliest events of the musical portion of SXSW so far.

The artists performed to a packed house at Austin’s Coppertank Event Center. That doesn’t sound like too big of an achievement, considering the “house” has a total capacity of 800 seats, but those are the kind of hip underground shows that everyone wants to be at anyway, right?

The show kicked off with Hit-boy at 10.45pm, as the rapper performed some material from his upcoming project All I’ve Ever Dreamed Of. The rapper/producer has some pretty strong links to MySpace, which pretty much jump-started his career, and now, his upcoming project will be streamed exclusively on the site. The highlight of the night was probably Kid Cudi’s set though, which featured crowd-pleasers from his “Man on the Moon” project and concluded with the ever popular “Pursuit of Happiness.”

Continue reading: South By Southwest SXSW Myspace Gig Kid Cudi

The mtvU Woodie Awards have been announced, and, ahead of MTV's 30-minute special this Sunday (March, 17), Machine Gun Kelly was named Woodie of The Year in the multi-genre ceremony.

"As many dark times that we've had, the fans have always shown me the light and I'm ready to take on the world with them," Machine Gun Kelly - a keen fan of 50 Shades of Grey - said after winning Woodie of the Year. "No quote can describe my gratitude. F---ing thank you! Lace up." He won Breaking Woodie last year, so this is just a natural progression, right? The Breaking Woodie award THIS YEAR went to rapper and Odd Future member Earl Sweatshirt, who won over Alt-J, The Lumineers, Dillon Francis, and others. His track Chum has been one of the most popular of 2012. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis - history makers with their No. 1 single Thrift Shop - got the Branching Out Woodie, beating out Amanda Palmer, Avicii, Deadmau5, Jack White and The XX.

Amongst the performers are Zedd, who, before missing out on the Breaking Woodie, said: "I am thrilled to be performing at the 2013 Woodies!," said Zedd. "As a nominee I'm both thankful and excited for the opportunity and can't wait to unveil my set for the fans." Performances from Macklemore & Ryan Lewis, Twenty One Pilots, and a surprise visit from T.I are the other reasons to tune in on Sunday to see how it all unfolded.

Continue reading: Machine Gun Kelly Wins Big At MtvU Woodie Awards

Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds delivered a stonking SXSW set at Stubb's BBQ on Wednesday (March 13, 2013), with the enigmatic frontman stalking around the stage at the NPR Music showcase and announcing, "We're going to start off with a really long song, and hopefully by the time we're done, it'll be dark."

It would set the tone for a mysterious but brilliant set from Cave and his band, which included the Australian wordlessly mocking his texting fans by imitating their thumb movements - there were more than a few red hipster faces in the crowd. Cave, who played several songs from his well-received new record Push The Sky Away, is one of the highlight acts at this year's festival in Austin, Texas, which also features performances from Kendrick Lamar, Justin Timberlake, Prince, Sound City Players, Green Day and Depeche Mode. 

Cave has written movie scripts, novels and several great songs over the years, though speaking at the 27th annual South by Southwest Music and Media Conference earlier this week, he explained how it never gets any easier. "There are all these nasty births," he said of spawning new material,  "[It's like] pushing burning watermelons out of a tiny orifice."

Continue reading: SXSW: Brooding Nick Cave Mocks Texting Fans At Stubb's BBQ Show

250 lucky competition winners will get the chance to see Prince perform with a 21-piece band at the SXSW closing party this week. The legendary singer has been confirmed as a performer for one of the Texas' festival's closing shows, before an intimate crowd of contest winners, reports The Guardian.

Electronics giant Samsung will fund Prince's SXSW debut show, in the same way it bankrolled Kanye West's gig at a launch event in 2012. To be eligible for a ticket for the concert on Saturday (March 16, 2013), fans must be either SXSW badge-holders or owners of a Samsung Galaxy phone. The room at La Zona Rosa will be strictly limited to just 250 people, where Prince will perform a career-spanning set with his band. "Prince is a legend and true creative and musical genius who has been pushing the boundaries of music for more than 35 years," Todd Pendleton, Samsung's chief marketing officer, told Mashable. "Having Prince in Austin at his first SXSW show will truly be a one-night-only experience that our Samsung Galaxy owners and friends will remember for years to come."

It's certainly SXSW's biggest draw of the week, though the festival in Austin, Texas, is also scheduled to include performances from the likes of Green Day, Depeche Mode, Justin Timberlake and Dave Grohl's all-star group the Sound City Players. 

Continue reading: Want To See Prince Perform With 21-Piece Band At SXSW?

As the annual South by Southwest festival heats up over there in Austin, Texas, we’ve cast a jealous eye over the line-up and picked out five of some of the bigger names that you really should start queuing nice and early for and thrown in five hype bands for you, too, so you can get all hip with your friends, upon your return and start laying down all those “saw them first lines,” when they blow up next year.

First up, the acts that have already broken, that you really need to check out, or at least pretend that you did, if you were stuck in that queue for BBQ wings…

1. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – their ‘Thrift Shop’ song really blew up, especially online, where they challenged Carly Rae Jepsen’s chart record for ‘Call Me Maybe.’ No one can predict whether or not Macklemore’s going to be a one hit wonder or whether he’s got more up his sleeve, he’s known for putting on a good show, and all six of their shows are likely to be rammed.

Continue reading: SXSW Movers And Shakers: The Biggest Names And Best New Acts At South By Southwest 2013

Short Term 12, the teen-based drama by director Destin Cretton, was crowned top narrative feature length at the South by Southwest festival in Austin Tuesday night (March 12), taking home the the grand jury prize for best narrative feature. Also scooping awards on the night was William and the Windmill, which took home best documentary; and Burma, which won best ensemble cast.

Short Term 12 aas the big winner at the Grand Jury awards at this years SXSW

Continue reading: Short Term 12 Takes Home Feature Length Jury Prizes At SXSW

Harmony Korine's new movie 'Spring Breakers' premiered at the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas, on Sunday (March 10, 2013) with its stars Selena Gomez, James Franco and Ashley Benson turning out for the screening. The movie follows four friends, (Benson, Gomez, Rachel Korine and Vanessa Hudgens) as they rob a bank to pay for their spring break trip, though get thrown in jail before being bailed out by a drug dealer, played by Franco.

The movie premiered at the Austin Convention Center, with Gomez showing off an elegant looking Cushine et Ochs frock. The dress featured cut-out detailing at the shoulders and across the midriff - Gomez certainly showed her ex-boyfriend Justin Bieber what he was missing. The sexual and violent themes in 'Spring Breakers' are certainly a departure from Gomez's usual Disney movies, though speaking to FlavorWire at SXSW, director Korine said he isn't too concerned with analysis of his films. "It's funny for me to listen to it," he said, adding, "But I don't really have that much to do with that part of things, I don't have a relationship with that type of analysis. I usually make the movies, and I put them together, and I put them out into the world and then I just go home and cut off as much as possible from all that."

Spring Breakers runs this week at SXSW and opens Friday (March 15, 2013) on limited release. The movie receives a nationwide opening on March 22. Watch the Spring Breakers below.

Continue reading: Selena Gomez Brings 'Spring Breakers' Premiere To SXSW

All the hail the ‘Mode! That’s right, Depeche Mode, the multi-million selling and, recently, credibility-gaining synth-rock group have announced a new tour of the US for the summer and autumn, with their much-hyped appearance at this year’s SXSW just round the corner.

The group will kick off proceedings on August 22, 2013 in Detroit, to start a mighty 19 date-long tour that will run on until October 8^th in Phoenix. In a statement, the band’s Dave Gahan said "I'm really looking forward to getting out there and performing. There are so many die hard Depeche Mode fans who have been with us every step of this journey that I can't wait to see.” The tour is in support of the group’s forthcoming studio LP Delta Machine, and Gahan commented “I also hope that we gain some new fans with the release of Delta Machine, and I look forward to exposing them to a great Depeche Mode live performance.”

Continue reading: Depeche Mode To Follow Up SXSW With Fall US Tour

Comedienne Sarah Silverman and actor Michael Cera launched the new YouTube comedy network 'Jash' with sketch duo Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim and rap-comic Reggie Watts at the South by Southwest Festival in Austin, Texas, on Sunday (March 10, 2013). The high profile foursome jumped at the chance to start-up the network after being approached by Google to produce comedy material for a new online source.

"We each have pages within Jash and we each can curate those pages," Silverman told the Hollywood Reporter at the Texan festival, "This is what we think is funny. It may not be your cup of tea, but there's no testing involved, there's no second-guessing of what a 14-year-old boy would like. It's just a place to do stuff and fail or not fail." The group is already hard at work on material to fill Jash's pages, with Silverman preparing a "French film noir trailer" while Cera - fresh from working on Netflix's Arrested Development revival - is creating a 25 minute short film. 

With the talent in place, Jash has called in the heavyweights to pull the levers backstage. Douglas De Lucas - a co-executive producer on Jimmy Kimmel Live! - and Daniel Kellison, the creator of Crank, Yankers and The Man Show, will oversee things. 

Continue reading: Sarah Silverman And Michael Cera Launch 'Jash' Comedy At SXSW

Sarah Silverman, Michael Cera, SXSW, YouTube, Google… is this the hippest thing the comedy world has ever seen? If it isn’t, it’s got to be a close second, surely. The Hollywood Reporter have spoken to comedian Sarah Silverman about the new Google-funded YouTube comedy channel that she and comic actor Michael Cera have launched, named Jash. 

Sarah Silverman has launched a new online comedy channel named Jash

“We each have pages within Jash and we each can curate those pages," Silverman told The Hollywood Reporter. "This is what we think is funny. It may not be your cup of tea, but there’s no testing involved, there’s no second-guessing of what a 14-year-old boy would like. It’s just a place to do stuff and fail or not fail.” The Pair are joined by Tim Heidecker, Reggie Watts and Eric Wareheim in their new venture, which launched at the annual South By South West arts and technology festival in Austin, Texas. 

Continue reading: Sarah Silverman, Michael Cera Launch YouTube Comedy ‘Jash’ At SXSW

Of all the unsung heroes during The Beatles reign as pop kings, none of them are more unsung that Freda Kelly: assistant to the legendary Liverpool band for 9 years.

Always graceful and loyal, Kelly never ‘sold’ her story; she never released intimate truths to the public. Now a film celebrating her work with the band has been handed it’s debut at SXSW. Such was Freda’s affection with the band, Ryan White – the director of the documentary – was granted use of four original Beatles songs to use in the piece. “That was amazing,” Freda told The Hollywood Reporter of the gesture. “To be quite truthful I felt positive but also negative. I’m usually quite cautious and didn’t know which way that was going to swing. I got a lump in my throat when I found out and I’m not an emotional person.” Before the film was given it’s premiere last night (Sat, 9), the film’s star explained how she was feeling. “All this is just starting to hit home with me,” Freda confessed. “I’ve always played things low-key and I’m now getting adjusted to it. I suppose my side of things should go down in history, for Beatle fans.” Kelly took control of The Beatles fan club, which, probably not to her knowledge, would turn out to be a huge undertaking. Especially considering she gave her home address for sending fan mail.

"She would go over the Beatles' houses and bring sacks and sacks of fan mail and make them sign it while they were watching television," White explained "Or she'd take a pillowcase over to Ringo's house and make him sleep on it and sign it ... Things like that just don't happen anymore."

Break out the bikinis and beer bongs – SXSW has begun and with it, spring break is officially on.

Ok, so the technology portion of the festival (SXSW interactive), which kicks off the festivities, might be more of a geek fest than anything else, but whoever said geeks don’t know how to party, was just plain wrong! There might be more iPhones than beer bongs during this particular portion of the fest, but it’s still a big deal – one of the biggest tech events of the year, in fact. As such, there will always be critics. There’ve been a lot of people commenting that SXSW has lost its original intimate spirit lately and that expanding the festival has only made it worse.

Hugh Forrest, the SXSWi director was quick to object to those accusations in an interview with ABC News: "We have faced that criticism for a long while," he admitted, but stressed that: "I still think that what we focus on in 2013 is what we focused on in 2004: creativity and inspiration." According to Forrest’s numbers, there will be between 27 and 28 000 registered attendees at the fest this year, and that’s not even factoring in all of the visitors for peripheral events, who will probably round up the number to about 45 000 flooding into Austin, TX during the event. That’s a lot of people to please, and with everyone having their own opinion about what SXSW is and what it should be, it doesn’t take a genius to figure out that there are going to be some disgruntled attendees.

Stephen Moyer and Radha Mitchell's new horror thriller movie 'Evidence' has been snapped up by Image and will receive a theatrical release this summer. In something not unlike a scene from Entourage, a deal for the movie was made in Austin, Texas, on the eve of SXSW, which begins today (March 8, 2013)

Directed by The Fourth Kind's Olatunde Osunsanmi, Evidence focuses on two detectives (Moyer and Mitchell) who attempt to discover what happened at the scene of a brutal massacre using recording devices found nearby.

"Evidence is a unique, gripping and gritty thriller unlike others since it constructs the story from the perspectives of the victims," Bill Bromiley, Image's chief acquisition officer, said in a statement. The deal was negotiated by Bromiley, as well as Mark Ward and Michael Bayer on behalf of Image Entertainment, with Miles Mogulesco and Alex Coffee from Bold Films. 

Continue reading: Stephen Moyer's Horror Flick 'Evidence' Gets Snapped Up At SXSW

You may well recognise Christopher Abbott, the star of domestic drama 'Burma' which debuts at the South by Southwest Film Festival on Sunday (March 10, 2013). The 26-year-old is perhaps best known as Charlie, the down-on-his-luck former boyfriend of Marnie, turned social media guru, in Lena Dunham's HBO series 'Girls'.

In 'Burma,' written and directed by Carlos Puga, Abbot and Gaby Hoffmann (Uncle Buck) play siblings forced to take in the father who abandoned them and their dying mother a decade earlier. Addicted to drugs and still mourning the loss of his beloved mother, Abbott's character Christian reluctantly agrees to take in his father, plunging an already volatile family into further chaos. Director Puga has by no means a glittering credits reel - working as producer for MTV's documentary series 'True Life' and directing the short film 'Satan Since 2003' - though 'Burma' is creating serious buzz ahead of its screening at the Alamo Ritz at SXSW this weekend. Should any South By Southwest attendees miss the screening, it's also showing on Monday afternoon (March 11) and Wednesday morning (March 13).

'Burma' bolsters a strong film line-up at this year's festival, which includes the world premiere of comedy 'The Incredible Burt Wonderstone,' starring Jim Carrey, Steve Carell. Steve Buscemi, James Gandolfini, Alan Arkin and Olivia Wilde. Elsewhere, Alex Winter's Napster documentary Downloaded will also have its premiere, as will the long awaited Evil Dead remake and new movies from Harmony Korine and Joe Swanberg.

Continue reading: 'Girls' Star Christopher Abbot Brings Drama 'Burma' To SXSW, Austin, Texas

Dave Gahan and Depeche Mode will make a rare conference appearance at the SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, later this month. It will mark the veteran British rock group's very first visit to South by Southwest and one of their first public appearances since signing a high profile deal with Columbia Records last year.

A statement this week confirmed Depeche Mode for an exclusive conversation with KCRW music director Jason Bentley at the Austin Convention Center on March 13, covering the group's past, present and future. There's no word yet on whether the group will perform at SXSW, though.

In a statement issued today, organizers promised the March 13 conversation at the Austin Convention Center would cover Depeche Mode's past, present and future, though there's no word yet on whether Gahan, Martin Gore and Andy Fletcher will perform a concert during the week.

Continue reading: Depeche Mode To Make Rare Appearance At SXSW In Austin, Texas

Dave Grohl’s Sound City Players will be taking their classic rock vibes to this year’s SXSW festival in Austin, Texas. The assortment of rock’s superstars, including the Foo Fighters frontman himself, will be appearing at the influential music festival in support of Grohl’s documentary, Sound City, which follows the success and eventual demise of California’s Sound City recording studio.

The line-up of the Sound City Players at SXSW will be just as star-studded as the inlay booklet of their recent studio album Sound City: Real to Reel would suggest. Stevie Nicks (Fleetwood Mac), Rick Nielsen, Rick Springfield, Corey Taylor (Slipknot), Chris Goss (Masters of Reality) and Brad Wilk (Rage Against The Machine). The band will be playing at the rock hall Stubbs and the opening band for the evening will be the Meat Puppets – Grohl’s grunge buddies from his days drumming with Nirvana, who are shortly releasing their 14th studio album, Rat Farm. Sound City Players have already played to a host of fans in Los Angeles, New York, the Sundance Festival and in London, where Grohl appeared to be relishing the chance of playing more intimate venues; not something he’s often able to do as the frontman of Foo Fighters.

Dave Grohl will also deliver the festival’s keynote address on the morning of the Sound City Players concert, according to Rolling Stone. The album, Sound City Players: Real to Reel will be released two days before the gig, on March 12. 

Continue reading: Dave Grohl Takes His Sound City Players To Austin, Texas, For SXSW

Chart-topping duo Macklemore and Ryan Lewis are heading to SXSW in Austin this month to perform at 'The Warner Sound Captured by Nikon' showcase. The three-day live residency, held between March 12-14 at The Belmont Austin, is shaping up to be one of the most anticipated line-ups of the festival, with Alt-J, The Flaming Lips and Paramore also having signed on.

Macklemore aka Ben Haggerty scored a huge hit this year with 'Thrift Shop,' a track created with his collaborative producer Ryan Lewis that reached No.1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart, selling over 2.2 million copies.

The accompanying video has been viewed on YouTube more than 135 million times.  His debut studio album The Heist charted at No.2 on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, selling 78,000 copies in its first week. The pair will headline the first night of the Warner Sound event, after sets from the likes of rapper Action Bronson, Rockie Fresh, Icona Pop, Blondefire, Charli XCX and Sirah. They are due on stage at 12.10am and are likely to play an electrifying set through till 1am. 

Continue reading: Macklemore And Ryan Lewis To Headline SXSW's Warner Sound Showcase

In one of the more intriguing bookings for this year's SXSW festival in Austin, Texas, Stevie Nicks has been announced as taking part in a very special event at the Austin Convention Center on Thursday, March 14, 2013.

The enigmatic Fleetwood Mac frontwoman, who's since forged a hugely successful solo career, will sit down for a discussion about her most memorable years in the music business. 

It's shaping up to be a busy year for Nicks, who is the subject of new documentary 'In Your Dreams' - which screens at the festival - focusing on her latest album of the same name. She features in Dave Grohl's SXSW Keynote documentary 'Sound City' about the famed Los Angeles studio and will later this year embark on a huge sold-out world tour with Fleetwood Mac.

Continue reading: Stevie Nicks Set To Talk 'In Your Dreams' At SXSW 2013

Punk rockers Green Day will make their debut at Austin festival SXSW on March 15, 2013, some twenty-five years after first forming in Vallejo, California. The group - who released three albums last year - will screen two movies at the Paramount Theater before playing a set as part of the ACL Live series later that evening, at the Moody Theater.

One of the films - Broadway Idiot - will have its world premiere at the festival. The documentary follows frontman Billie Joe Armstrong's trials and tribulations during the adaptation of American Idiot as a Broadway musical. The second movie, ¡Cuatro!, chronicles Green Day's recording of their recent ¡Uno!, ¡Dos! and ¡Tré! trilogy - a process that preceded an arduous touring schedule, which ultimately landed Armstrong in rehabilitation for substance abuse. The band were forced to cancel and postpone shows until the 41-year-old completed his recovery though, refreshed and ready to rock, Armstrong, Mike Dirnt and Tré Cool resume their tour on March 28 in Chicago. The North American jaunt passes through Pittsburgh, New York, Philadelphia and other cities before heading to Italy, Germany, the United Kingdom, Poland and Russia.  

The Green Day movies are open to SXSW ticketholders with Film, Gold & Platinum badges, Music Press Badge Holders, Film Wristband holders and Idiot Club winners. Those hoping to check out the live performance at the Moody Theater will require SXSW Music & Platinum badges or SXSW Showcasing Artists and Music Wristbands.

Continue reading: Green Day To Make SXSW Debut After 25 Years In The Business