From KCRW Blog Contributor Kevin Ponthier:
No surprise that Band Of Skulls hovers near the top of my list. UK Southampton natives Russell, Emma and Matt hit it hard beginning with a full set at Antone’s on Tuesday, KCRW’s showcase at Haven on Weds and an encore performance at the Filter Mag/KCRW Cedar Street Showdown on Thurs.  Solid X 3!  Don’t miss them when they chug through your hood.
Biggest surprise…hands down…Pond!  Comprised of members of Western Australia’s Tame Impala last Friday nights showcase at Buffalo Billiards left me sleepless.  Freakish love children of Led …

For the last four years, KCRW Jessamyn Cuneo has been flying into Austin to assist with KCRW’s activities during SXSW. She’s a huge help and a huge music fan. Here are her reflections on this year’s conference:
The SXSW experience means catching dozens of bands, but the best music demands me on my feet, either dancing or watching in awe, as close to the source of energy as possible. Here are six of my faves from this year:
–Interstellar Transmissions, a band from Austin, had converted an old school bus to have …

This was my second SXSW and you know that Sade song, “it’s never, as good as the first time….” Well, that definitely does not apply to SX. It was a fantastic experience the second time around and I cannot wait for next year! It’s difficult to extract 5 favorite moments, as there were so many, but, these definitely stand out:

1. Seeing Kimbra live.
I have been obsessed with the New Zealand songstress for over a year now. When I heard “Settle Down” last summer I nearly lost my mind. Watching …

From KCRW DJ Chris Douridas:
The most lasting memories of SXSW 2012 for me will likely be the 3am bike rides from 6th Street back to my guest house in the foothills along the Colorado River, and all the deer I encountered along the way. Musically speaking, though, it will be the compelling conversations i recorded with Nicolas Jaar, Matt Corby and Grace Woodroofe.
We aired the session with Grace this past Saturday, and the other two will be aired in the coming weeks.
The highlights for me:
Soulful electronic musician Nicolas Jaar talked …

Every year I come back from SXSW happy and exhausted.  We tried something a bit different this year with Morning Becomes Eclectic and I hope you enjoyed it.  If you missed the shows, they are a must listen, in my not-so-humble opinion.  You can hear them both in the archives – Thursday / Friday.
Some personal highlights.  This year Jason and I spent a bunch of time talking to the great people of Austin.  The people who live there, work there, call it home and welcome us with open arms.

Liz Lambert …

They predicted thunderstorms for this year’s SXSW Music Conference. It changed the whole way I was planning my week-long trip. But they never happened. It was overcast and cloudy, but the skies never opened up.
What a relief since one of the best moments of my trip was on Saturday night in a field on the University of Texas campus (where I went to college) watching Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeros and Mumford and Sons.
I’ve been a fan of the former since the very beginning, but this was the moment …

I always go into SXSW in warrior mode.
I park my rental on 8th and Trinity armed with a laptop, a Nikon, a hand towel and power chords to charge my iPhone.  I sit in the Austin Convention Center and map out my day.  From panels to live showcases and tweets that indicate non-official SXSW events, little by little I form an understanding of what my day might look like. And then I float.
Explaining this to people is important because they have no clue as to how I catch so many bands in …

Every band on the bill for KCRW’s Friday night official showcase mentioned how much effort it took to get to SXSW.
Willy Mason and his band drove down from Massachusetts and only got one flat tire on the way.  Producer Quantic had been stranded in an airport in Caracas. Clock Opera traveled thousands of miles from the UK.
Willy kicked things off with a bunch of new songs I was eager to hear. He’s one of my favorite singer-songwriters with a voice that is truly unique and lyrics that make me …

At SXSW it’s impossible not to hit a wall at some point. Your feet hurt, you haven’t slept in days, the crowds get bigger and bigger and you feel like your ears are being assaulted from every angle (literally, you can’t walk three seconds without hearing 5 bands simultaneously). I know it’s a privilege to be here, so when I get this feeling, I try to fight my way through it.
Lucky for me, when I was flailing in indecision about taking the entire night off, my friend Jeff Safran saved …

The Temper Trap have released a new song from their forthcoming self-titled album that will be out on June 5. The Aussie band, currently based in London, will be debuting new songs at the SXSW Music Conference and we’ll get a taste of what they have in store when they play KCRW’s Showcase on Friday night. For now, here’s a video for “Rabbit Hole” to hold you over.
Epic is the word I always use to describe their music and this song has the slow, haunting build before a massive rock …