STL Represents at SXSW

We hear a lot from people who don't think there is much going on in the music scene in St. Louis. Eleven Magazine would like a few words with those individuals. The magazine was started by Wash U students and within the last year has become the source for music information locally. Jonathan Fritz, one of the founders of the magazine, MOT, and all around power-entrepreneur took the time to write a quick update about his recent trip to Austin for South By Southwest (SXSW). Read on for More!

Last week, the entire nation’s media consciousness was focused on Austin for SXSW 2010, a massive conference/festival showcasing the hottest new music, multimedia, and film. All of the “next big things” that will surface throughout the rest of the year in these fields were found somewhere in one of SXSW’s numerous panels, showcases, trade shows, and screenings. Eleven was invited to cover the music portion of the festival, and obviously I jumped at the chance to lead an expedition from STL down south to report on the scene and the hundreds of bands playing sets during the second half of the week.

Calling SXSW a madhouse is an understatement – with a new band beginning a set every forty-five minutes in the seventy venues in a 7x7 block area, downtown Austin was flipped upside down. And considering this onslaught began each day at noon and lasted until 2 AM, there was no shortage daytime parties, nighttime events, and, of course, trouble to get into. My favorite sets of the weekend were buzz-band Local Natives, hip-hop upstart Fashawn, indie mainstays The Walkmen, and rampant party-starter Andrew W.K. For Eleven’s daily SXSW coverage, be sure to check out http://elevenmusicmag.com/tag/sxsw And, hopefully you’ll make the trek with us down to Austin next year!