KCRW Showcases at SXSW

Wednesday, March 16
WHITE DENIM, LAPSLEY and DECLAN MCKENNA
Radio Day Stage
Ballroom D, 4th floor, Austin Convention Center
3:00 PM – 6:00 PM

RA RA RIOT, ELIOT SUMNER, MARLON WILLIAMS CLOVES, JOON MOON AND SOFI TUKKER
to Perform
THE FIRST-EVER NIGHTTIME SHOWCASE at
3TEN at Austin City Limits Live
310 Willie Nelson Blvd, Suite 1A
8:00 pm -2:00 am

Santa Monica, CA (February 23) – Los Angeles-based public radio station KCRW has announced the line-up for this year’s KCRW Showcases at SXSW, kicking off the convention with two official showcases on Wednesday, March 16.

KCRW is proud to present the very first nighttime showcase at a brand new venue, 3TEN at Austin City Limits, featuring Ra Ra Riot, Eliot Sumner, Joon Moon, Cloves, Marlon Williams and Sofi Tukker from 8:00 pm to 2:00 am.

Earlier in the day, White Denim, Declan McKenna and Lapsley hit the Radio Day Stage located on the 4th Floor of the Austin Convention Center in Ballroom D, from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm.

Both showcases are open to anyone with a festival badge or wristband (no RSVP required).

KCRW will also be broadcasting LIVE from Austin, TX on Friday, March 18 during Morning Becomes Eclectic, and Saturday, March 19 during Anne Litt’s program. Additional details to come!

KCRW is proud to present the first-ever nighttime showcase at a brand-new venue, 3TEN at Austin City Limits Live. As the newest extension of the Austin City Limits live experience, the 350-person capacity showcase room is equipped with the most advanced audio and lighting systems available to deliver a live music experience like no other.

The showcase kicks off at 8pm and features six of KCRW’s favorite artists:

KCRW welcomes back Ra Ra Riot – a Morning Becomes Eclectic favorite and a live force to be reckoned with. They return in support of their just-released fourth album, Need Your Light, which gets back to their house party roots without abandoning the more heady soundscapes they explored with 2013’s Beta Love. The opening track “Water,” which starts off with a syncopated groove and minimalist instrumentation before gradually building into a triumphant, 90’s soul call to arms, has been on constant rotation on KCRW since its release.

London-born Eliot Sumner has music in her blood and a sound that is very much her own. She recently released her debut album, Information, and has lent her lush vocals to Miike Snow and Trentemoller. Her songs marry haunting low-register vocals and upbeat electro-pop with Krautrock-inspired inflections, showing a range of influences from the Bad Seeds to bands like Cluster, Faust and iconic German electronica four-piece Kraftwerk.

The Parisian duo Joon Moon features Julien Decoret, a producer with connections to the Nouvelle Vague camp, and Krystle Warren, a smoky-voiced singer from Kansas City. Together they have enchanted listeners with their debut EP, Chess, and captured KCRW’s attention with the infectious track “Help Me.”

Australian newcomer Kaity Dunstan, who performs under the name Cloves, has an incredible voice that makes you stop and pay attention. The stunning, heartfelt and haunting minimalism displayed on her debut EP harkens back to the vocal greats of yesteryear, which is made even more remarkable by the fact that she is still in her teens.

Twenty-five year old Marlon Williams truly inhabits his material live and on record with his exceptionally versatile and evocative voice, tremendous stage presence, and songwriting that blends Americana with first wave rock ’n roll through a modern lens. Ever since his father turned him on to country music in his teens, his trajectory has been straight up. Williams just won Best Male Solo Artist and Breakthrough Artist of the Year at the New Zealand Music Awards for his remarkably assured and diverse eponymous debut album.

Sofi Tukker’s weirdly wonderful pop single “Drinkee” has been a favorite on KCRW’s airwaves for months. The New York duo has just finished their debut EP titled, Soft Animals. Having created a truly unique sound blending global instrumentation with modern technology (while sounding anything but machine-made) nobody can seem to agree what box to put them in… and that suits them just fine.

KCRW Showcase at SXSW at the Radio Day Stage from 3:00 pm to 6:00 features White Denim, Declan McKenna and Lapsley. The Radio Day Stage is located on the 4th Floor of the Austin Convention Center in Ballroom D.

White Denim has long been a KCRW favorite, in large part due to their incredible live shows. The Austin quintet will perform tracks from their soon-to-be released sixth record, Stiff, out March 25, 2016 via Downtown/Sony Red. Stiff is a return to the band’s frenetic rock roots, and is both a jubilant thrill ride and joyous celebration of their past ten years. Teeming with a cool ‘70s undertow, tumultuous riffs, and a feverish energy, the new album has resulted in arguably some of their biggest and brawniest White Denim songs to date.

KCRW Music Director Jason Bentley did a little digging for new music on Soundcloud over his holiday break and a track, “Falling Short,” by Liverpool artist Lapsley emerged as his favorite. The track, which combines minimalist electronica with soulful vocals, leads her 4-song Understudy EP, and now she is set to release her self-produced debut Long Way Home on March 4, 2016 on XL Recordings. At only 19 years old, it’s the perfect time to catch this rising star, while she’s on her way up.

17-year-old Declan McKenna has achieved more than your average teenager. He’s been booking his own gigs for three years, whilst recording songs in his bedroom. He also won the Glastonbury Emerging Talent contest & secured a performance at the festival last summer. He’s currently on the road in the UK and France supporting Lisbon, Foals and Mystery Jets. McKenna’s SXSW performances will be among the first-ever in the U.S.

KCRW OFFICIAL SHOWCASES AT SXSW

Radio Day Stage, presented by KCRW
Wednesday, March 16, Austin Convention Center, Ballroom D

Set times:
White Denim               3:00 pm
Declan McKenna        4:00 pm
Lapsley                          5:00 pm

3TEN at Austin City Limits Live, presented by KCRW
Wednesday, March 16, 310 Willie Nelson Blvd, Suite 1A

Set times:
Cloves                          8:00 pm
Marlon Williams        9:00 pm
Joon Moon                  10:00 pm
Eliot Sumner              11:00 pm
Ra Ra Riot                   12:00 am
Sofi Tukker                  1:00 am

About KCRW:

KCRW creates and curates a unique mix of content centered around music discovery, NPR news, cultural exploration and informed public affairs. We are driven by the spirit of LA and deliver in innovative ways — on the radio, digitally and in person — to diverse, curious communities around the corner and around the world.  A community service of Santa Monica College, KCRW can be found on the air in LA, Santa Barbara, Ventura, Mojave, Palm Springs, and via five KCRW-developed smart phone apps and online at kcrw.com.

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