Austin (Texas)

The Five Biggest Sellouts at SXSW

SXSW is not a music festival so much as it is an experiment in excess. If Coachella is a glass of water that keeps getting bigger until it more resembles a kiddie pool, then SXSW is a flood with a neglected cup somewhere in the middle. The natural result is rampant crowds and ever more rampant lame ... More >>

The Best Shows in St. Louis Week: March 4 to 10

Welcome to March, aka insane show season in our fair city of St. Louis. Bands from all over begin to defrost from winter weather and warm up to the road once more, loading up vans and booking mini tours to Austin's South by Southwest fest and beyond. Catch some in the act as they swing through in co ... More >>

Win Tickets to See Bob Schneider at Off Broadway

Austin Texas-based musician Bob Schneider comes to Off Broadway on Tuesday, February 5, and we've got two tickets! Schneider is well-known for his impressive range and diverse set of influences -- he's a singer-songwriter who employs dashes of funk, country / Americana and rock to create memorable ... More >>

Here's a Look at So Many Dynamos in the RFT Over the Years

This week's music feature on So Many Dynamos is the latest piece on the band in the pages of the RFT. In that feature, singer/keyboardist/guitarist Aaron Stovall says the group's latest release (a self-titled EP that comes in the form of a digital download whose only physical presence is a SMD 'frid ... More >>

The Octopus Project

8 p.m. Sunday, October 14. The Firebird, 2706 Olive Street.

Blackfinn American Grille Opens This Week

Blackfinn American Grille will have its official opening this Thursday, March 29, at the St. Louis Galleria (South Brentwood Boulevard & Clayton Road, Richmond Heights). Curious? You don't have to wait till Thursday. The restaurant, which is taking over the former Mark Shale space in the mall, has ... More >>

Why You Should See Nones Tonight at El Lenador

8 p.m. Tonight. El Lenador (3124 Cherokee Street). Every Spring we Midwesterners reap the benefits of shows from bands that are touring to and from the SXSW festival in Austin. We're usually stoked about coastal bands that had previously been too lame to swing through the Lou, but this year we can ... More >>

The Worst Moments from SXSW 2012

The last few days, Village Voice Media's indefatigable music staff has been regaling you with stories of the best from SXSW 2012. In the midst of these discoveries, we've been culling another list: the worst shit. The acts that ranged from huge bore-fests to downright lame. Below, you'll find our cr ... More >>

The Best of SXSW Music: Thursday 3/15/2012

If you're familiar with chaos theory, which in its basic form is the attempt to find patterns in the random acts of shit on Earth, then you may understand the difficulty that comes with describing a full day at SXSW. To break down the bright, scintillating chaos, Village Voice Media's roving music e ... More >>

Norah Jones, Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band Do it Right: SXSW 2012 Day 3

Thursday, March 15, 2012 1 p.m. SXSW is time machine, not always dialed towards the future. Though the clubs change names every season, the gimmicks get more and more outrageous -- witness the skyscraper-sized vending machine stocked with minivan-sized bags of chemically-enhanced corn chips whose n ... More >>

The Ghost Wolves' Thoughtful Request To Be Removed From RFT's "Worst" Band Name List

On Tuesday, RFT Music posted a list of the best and worst band names at this year's South By Southwest. The Ghost Wolves was deemed the sixth worst name, leading the Austin, Texas duo to send this email in response: "Just fyi - our name isn't "trendy" ... we actually travel with a 125 pound arctic ... More >>

Download the iLLPHONiCS EP Before Tonight's Release Show

Since its early days back in 2006, when the iLLPHONiCS was working out of the recording studio at Webster University, the group has shaped and molded its style into the well-polished hybrid genre that its members now call "hip-hop fusion." While the iLLPHONiCS may lean on a variety of different musi ... More >>

Pretty Little Empire Explains How to Survive on Tour

Photos courtesy of Pretty Little Empire.​Local Americana mainstays Pretty Little Empire recently returned from a few weeks on the road. Its stops included Chicago, Asheville, North Carolina, Lee's Summit and Austin for SXSW. The band comprises Justin Johnson on acoustic guitar and vocals; Wil ... More >>

South Central Regional Barista Competition: And the Winner Is...

The setup at one of the stations at the South Central Regional Barista Competition.​Several former baristas work here at Gut Check International Headquarters, and sometimes when we're really, really bored, we gather in someone's cubicle and compare war stories. Oddly enough, none of these stor ... More >>

Photos: Scripts N Screwz Does SXSW

courtesy of Scripts N Screwz​(Scripts N Screwz was one of many St. Louis acts playing SXSW this year. Screwz was kind enough to send along some photos and some thoughts about what he saw. Read on below! Congrats to the group as well: Its "On 10" music video was picked up by MTV! ) This is Scr ... More >>

SXSW Days 3 and 4: Dum Dum Girls, Joy Formidable, La Sera, The Vaccines, Josh Ritter, Lucinda Williams, Venice Is Sinking, Eli "Paperboy" Reed, Asobi Seksu, Hurray For the Riff Raff and Twangfest Party, Friday, March 18 and Saturday, March 19

Dana PlonkaLa Sera at Waterloo Records​At the end of the final night at South By Southwest 2011, I walked down 6th Street, a scene you can surely picture without my assistance. But I have this press badge to earn, so: By 1 a.m. on Saturday night / Sunday morning, downtown Austin was a zombie m ... More >>

SXSW Day 2: Toro Y Moi, The Civil Wars, The Baseball Project, Bob Geldof, Vandaveer, Abigail Washburn, Charles Bradley, Ron Sexsmith and Surfer Blood, Thursday, March 17

Dana PlonkaThe Civil Wars​12:24 In the South By vortex, all news - or at least news not related to Jack White pop-up performances, Cee-Lo Green cancellations, Kanye gossip and R.E.M. show rumors - gets obliterated. Japan's nuclear nightmare is no exception. Glancing at an RSS reader under 75 d ... More >>

So, Who's Going to SXSW from St. Louis This Year?

Image via​In a little over a month, bands from all over the world will converge on Austin, Texas, for this year's edition of SXSW. The lineup, as always, has a mix of legends and upstarts -- everyone from the Bangles to Cloud Nothings and Das Racist are appearing. (The list of bands showcasing ... More >>

How to Eat Your Christmas Tree

Chef Rene Redzepi thinks it's a shame that Christmas trees are used for a few days then discarded, so he writes in the New York Times that perhaps we should considering eating our Christmas trees. "Maybe for us Westerners the Christmas tree becomes, if only briefly, like a beloved pet. And who would ... More >>

Heartless Bastards

8 p.m. Monday, April 12. Blueberry Hill's Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Boulevard.

Five Questions: Vocalist Brian Kelley of Irish Lo-Fi Band, So Cow

courtesy of Tic Tac Totally Records​At a day party on the last official day of SXSW, aggressive, garage punk filled the small confines of Trailer Space Records. Sharing the bill with the likes of West Coasters Thee Oh Sees and Nodzzz, Ireland's So Cow breezed through their ninth SXSW appearanc ... More >>

An Exclusive Excerpt of Steve Almond's Rock and Roll Will Save Your Life, Part Two

Jimmy BruchBob Schneider, rocker, object of Steve Almond's drooling fandom.​Austin singer-songwriter/musician Bob Schneider is performing at Blueberry Hill's Duck Room on Wednesday, March 24. To go along with this appearance, we're going to run an exclusive excerpt from author Steve Almond's n ... More >>

An Exclusive Excerpt of Steve Almond's Rock and Roll Will Save Your Life, Part One

Austin singer-songwriter/musician Bob Schneider will perform at Blueberry Hill's Duck Room on Wednesday, March 24. To go along with this appearance, we're going to run an exclusive excerpt from author Steve Almond's new book, Rock and Roll Will Save Your Life, which Random House will publish next mo ... More >>

A Mexico-Based Competitor to SXSW Kicks Off this Weekend

The mammoth SXSW 2010 has competition this year from a new, independent music and arts festival south of the border in Monterrey, Mexico. Called Festival de Musica y arte para todas las Edades -- or simply MtyMx -- the three-day festival lasts Saturday, March 20 through Monday, March 22, and is bill ... More >>

SXSW Day Two: KDHX/Twangfest Day Party, Ray Davies, John Hiatt, Morning Benders, Roky Erickson/Okkervil River -- and More

Hating on South By Southwest is too easy. Just look around: Shit-faced lawyers waxing bizness gobbledygook to shit-faced salesmen of exercise bikes, members of psych-metal bands (probably called Red Octopus or Purple Cobra) barely remaining vertical for all their unbathed rock studiousness, the endl ... More >>

13 Worst Haunted Houses in the USA

Photo: Steve Truesdell​It's the beginning of October, and that means it's the season to stand in line outside a building blasting pulsating, industrial music and then paying to have for some creep come up behind you and scream bloody murder. But enough about downtown St. Louis! It's haunted house ... More >>

Brewster McCracken Wins! Austin Mayoral Candidate is "Ass Clown of the Week"

A portrait of the politician as an ass clown. If Brewster McCracken loses his bid for the mayor of Austin, Texas, this coming Saturday, he can take solace in knowing he won at least one election. This week, readers of Daily RFT overwhelmingly elected McCracken as St. Louis' Ass Clown of the Week -- ... More >>

St. Louis Weekend Concert Calendar, March 20-22

With all the buzz bands playing in Austin, Texas at South By Southwest, who's left to entertain us here in the Midwest? Post your show in the comments section!Friday, March 20* Kim Massie, The Gramophone* PMtoday/Hereafterhis, Adelaid/Hey Nightmare, Cicero's* The Dirty Blondes, Deluxe* Big Bambou, F ... More >>

Texas Tornado: St. Louis bands make a solid showing at SXSW

MP3 Monday: Dead Confederate, Goldcure, The Yuppie Pricks

Tonight: What Made Milwaukee Famous, Black Joe Lewis at Off Broadway!

Tonight at CBGB: A Faulty Chromosome, Mahtpa and

St. Louis Weekend Recap: Schlafly Repeal of Prohibition Fest, Dan Deacon, Feist, Alice Rose, Wash Ave. Club Pics, Flamenco Dancing

SXSW: The Random Picture Post

Texas Tornado: St. Louis musicians invade SXSW

Marcia Ball

8 p.m. Friday, January 11. The Sheldon Concert Hall, 3648 Washington Boulevard.

Meat Puppets

9 p.m. Saturday, November 3. Blueberry Hill's Duck Room, 6504 Delmar Boulevard, University City.

Explosions in the Sky

All of a Sudden I Miss Everyone (Temporary Residence Limited)

Yo Quiero Actual Musicians

B-Sides talks to Alejandro Escovedo, explores hip-hop's essential albums

Sibling Rivalry

A brother and sister discuss a brother and sister, plus we take a look at Twangfest

Southern Exposure

South by Southwest welcomes some St. Louis acts that merit the spotlight -- and one that doesn't

Various Artists

Almost You: The Songs of Elvis Costello (Glurp)

Spankin' Material

With songs about marijuana and Christmas, the Asylum Street Spankers combine old American music forms with a postmodern sensibility

On Tap

Most of the world's top tap dancers are gathering in St. Louis for the 10th annual All That Tap festival

Local Heroes

Bonus points to St. Louis bands for warming the winter

Lo and Behold

Hot nightspot Lo has rescinded its prohibition of drum & bass

Gateway Groove Festival, featuring Koko Taylor, Sonia Dada, Nathan and the Zydeco Cha-Chas and Chris Duarte

Saturday, June 3; Casino Queen parking lot

Road Trip

Co-written and directed by Todd Phillips

Hit Parade

Days of Heaven