SXSW is upon us once again. Beginning this Wednesday, March 16, thousands of people and musicians will take over Austin for one of the best music festivals in the world. Over 2000 bands will participate in this year’s festival. There is no question that some of the world’s most talented and up-and-coming artists will be in Austin.

The SXSW organizers did bring out the big guns: Cee-Lo Green, Kanye West, Queens of the Stone Age, Odd Future, TV on the Radio, and The Strokes. If you are unable to get in to these gigs, don’t worry – there are so many great music options every night. This year, Bandcamp and the SXSW mp3 sampler made our lives easier as far as previewing the artists; we didn’t have to use Myspace to sample their music. After sampling roughly 1700 artists, we selected 20 that have bright futures.

At SXSW, in addition to listening to evening showcases, you can catch all of the artists at daytime parties at Paste, Fader, Pitchfork, Gorilla vs The Bear, and parties around town. Have fun and be safe. If you’re not attending the festival, enjoy the music below and support these bands when they come to your town.

Bear Driver

Hometown: Leeds, United Kingdom
Label: Unsigned
Bear Driver – A Thousand Samurais

Braids

Hometown: Canada
Label: Kanine Records
Braids – Lemonade

Chapter 24

Hometown: London
Label: New Pyramid Records
Chapter 24 – Hepcats

Cloud Nothings

Hometown: Cleveland, Ohio
Label: Carpark Records
Cloud Nothings – Didn’t You

Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr

Hometown: Detroit, Michigan
Label: Quite Scientific
Dale Earnhardt Jr. Jr. – God Only Knows (Daytrotter – Live)

Davila 666

Hometown: Portland, Oregon
Label: In The Red
Davila 666 – Dimelo Ya

The Ferocious Few

Hometown: San Francisco
Label: Birdman Records
Ferocious Few – Lord, Save My Soul

Generationals

Hometown: New Orleans
Label: Park The Van
Generationals – I Promise

Hanni El Khatib

Hometown: SF/LA
Label: Innovative Leisure Records
Hanni El Khatib – Loved One

J. Roddy Walston and the Business

Hometown: Baltimore, MD
Label: Vagrant Records
J Roddy Walston and the Business – Don’t Break the Needle

James Vincent McMorrow

Hometown: Dublin, Ireland
Label: Vagrant Records
James Vincent McMorrow – Down The Burning Ropes

Le Butcherettes

Hometown: California
Label: Rodriquez Lopez Productions
Le Butcherettes – I’m Queen

Mother Mother

Hometown: Canada
Label: Unsigned
Mother Mother – Chasing It Down

The Seedy Seeds

Hometown: Cincinnati, Ohio
Label: Eurodorable Recordings
The Seedy Seeds – Verb Noun

Shark?

Hometown: Brooklyn
Label: Oops Baby Records
Shark? – I’m An Animal

The Soft Moon

Hometown: San Francisco
Label: Captured Tracks
Soft Moon – Breathe the Fire

Soft Healer

Hometown: Austin
Label: Captured Tracks
Soft Healer – Gentle One

The Stepkids

Hometown: Bridgepoint, CT
Label: Stones Throw Records
The Stepkids – Legend In My Own Mind

Sun Airway

Hometown: Philadelphia
Label: Dead Oceans
Sun Airway – Your Moon

The Vaccines

Hometown: London
Label: Sony
The Vaccines – Wreckin Bar (Ra Ra Ra)

This entry was posted on Monday, March 14th, 2011 at 3:01 am and is filed under Artist To Watch, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.