South By Southwest Festival in Austin
South by Southwest Festival 2015 will be held in Austin, Texas March 13th - March 22nd.
Every year around March, Austin, Texas is swamped by
thousands of enthusiasts from music, interactive and film industries. Some of
them are professionals, artists and others are dedicated fans and they are all
there to attend the annual event called “South by Southwest (SXSW) ”. Originally it started as a smaller local
music festival in 1987 and now almost 30 years later, SXSW has grown to become
one of the leading conferences in the industry. It is known to be the great
place for up and coming artists for launching their careers.
South by Southwest consists of three main art fields; music,
interactive and film. And since being held in Austin, the music events are the
most popular ones and it is now one of the best known music festivals in the
world. Many local clubs have committed themselves to cooperate as SXSW venues,
and local residents assist the event by working as volunteers at the various
venues. Apart from artists and the local volunteers, the attendance number for
this event is in the multiple tens of thousands. While the event is held, many people make a
visit to downtown Austin, so SXSW always promises an exciting and lively time
for this beautiful city, and the locals enjoy finding themselves dining beside
people from all over the world; from New York, Tokyo, Sydney,
London and so on.
Over the last 20 years, the festival has featured numerous
musical acts while the 10 day music festival is held. Although it is impossible
to see all the events, many of them have certain themes, often feature acts
from a certain country such as Japan or Norway, or feature acts in the same
genre or label. Past headline acts include Morrissey, Iggy Pop and Pete Townshend
and many up-and-coming acts. Even now South by Southwest stays loyal to its
roots and always features numerous acts from Austin.
As Austin's film industry is blossoming, its film has been attracting some attention
at the film festival. It features screenings and discussions. Emphasizing on
independent films including drama, documentaries, comedy and animation, the
film festival has hosted various world premieres. The interactive festival
showcase Austin at its cutting edge aspect and
feature leading media and
technology entrepreneurs together with designers , digital creators and
visionary artists.
One focal point of the event is various free concerts which
doesn’t require a wristband, and advertised just in fanzines and known by
word-of-mouth. Lots of artists participate in these unbeknown shows to return a
favor to the community which supported launch them. In the end, Austin is not
only South by Southwest hosting city, but also the capital of live music in the
world throughout the year!
Regardless you are a visitor, local, musician, film director
or enthusiast, SXSW week is really exciting time in Austin. Even restaurants
and stores are jumping and you hear the music all around the city.