SXSW returned for its 30th anniversary in 2016, and had everything from both Obamas to evacuated venues. Oh, and there was some music, too, whether it be brand new bands to ultra-established veterans, tiny artists trying to get noticed to mega-stars soaking up attention – and everything in between. QRO was there for all of it, or at least as much as we could get, Tuesday-Saturday, March 15th to 17th.
Rachael Ray Feedback party @ Stubb’s
The Record Company
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The final day of SXSW 2016 opened with Rachael Ray’s annual Feedback party at Stubb’s, and acts like “We’re The Record Company – we play rock ‘n’ roll!” While the frontman’s slide guitar was strong (including a dedication to slide expert Johnny Winter), it was taken down a bit by him having to sit.
Jenny Lewis
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There was a huge line for the free food, and your correspondent only just got his slider as Jenny Lewis started. However, she was just the right mix of alt & country for this Rachael Ray event.
Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals
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An artist with a lot of buzz going into South-by was Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals, and it was easy to see why with this performance. The songman killed it with his mix of soul/R&B/sex/more, from walking on stage while singing, performing in the photo pit (where your correspondent realized that he was standing next to Rachael Ray herself), and even playing drums with his band.
Naughty By Nature
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While not exactly ‘new music’, this was the first time Naughty By Nature had played SXSW in their twenty-five year career, and they did a killer mix of nineties favorites, from their own like “O.P.P.” to getting the crowd to sing along to “Sweet Child of Mine”. They were also really funny, remarking that when the crowd was asked to sing along to a piece they loved, “That’s when you realize that you don’t know the lyrics to your favorite song…” and name-checking at the party – and Ghostbuster – Bill Murray. “What’s your favorite year of the nineties? Nineteen-NAUGHTY!”
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SPIN Magazine party @ Bud Light Factory
Santigold
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QRO’s Alex Freeman made it over to the ‘Bud Light Factory’ (temporary re-name of Brazos Hall) for the SPIN Magazine party with Santigold.
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Pandora Discovery Den showcase @ The Gatsby
Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals
Click image for full gallery – Jessica Alexander
Jessica Alexander, meanwhile, caught Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals playing another show at the Pandora Discovery Den at The Gatsby.
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FADER Fort Presented by Converse @ FADER Fort
Show Me the Body
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Of course there were major lines to enter FADER Fort on its last name – even if you didn’t know who the special guest headliner was going to be, you knew it was going to be big. Sort of randomly playing was Show Me the Body, noise-hard crazy music (including banjo), which might have been capable at what they do, but felt like a band that you might have seen in high school in the basement of a Unitarian Church.
Kelela
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After Show Me the Body, the photo pit pretty much closed, so only saw the likes of Anderson .Paak & The Free Nationals (again), Kelela, and Yo Gotti from the side.
Yo Gotti
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OVO Sounds
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Word had gotten out that the special guest headliner was a showcase from OVO Sounds, a.k.a. the Toronto music label from Drake. So everyone assumed that Drake would come on stage, but for how long? First up were his OVO artists, dvsn (his first-ever performance), Roy Wood$, Majid Jordan, and PARTYNEXTDOOR (pictured above). One expected the massive crowd, nightmare amount of people claiming that they needed to get through that crowd to VIP, even the cops & Erykah Badu in the photo pit – but all the smoke machine?…
Drake
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FADER had booked/asked Drake to play just one song, but he thankfully did more, even “Jumpman” twice, the second time with producer (and FADER Wednesday headliner) Metro Boomin. The crowd went nuts for the superstar, who is tougher on stage than the common man might have guessed from his general celebrity (like being from Toronto, or hosting Saturday Night Live).
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Hype Machine showcase @ Hype Hotel
Chad Valley
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Chad Valley brought his electro sounds to the final night of Hype Machine’s Hype Hotel.
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The Roots Jam showcase @ Bud Light Factory
Alex Freeman stayed at the Bud Light Factory/Brazos Hall for The Roots Jam showcase, which featured Naughty By Nature, Ashanti, Yo Gotti, Big Grams (Big Boi + Phantogram), comedian Hannibal Buress, Too Short, Emily King, and of course The Roots themselves.
The Roots
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Emily King
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Too Short
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Hannibal Buress
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Big Grams
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Phantogram
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Yo Gotti
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Ashanti
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Naughty By Nature
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House of Vans/Cinematic Music Group showcase @ The Mohawk
Caveman
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House of Vans at The Mohawk was at capacity on its final night, but your correspondent did get to finally catch Caveman. Frontman Matthew Iwanusa is more of an actual frontman by this point, friendly and joking with the crowd.
Joey Bada$$
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As SXSW was winding down, so did the open bar for VIPs and even artists at The Mohawk, so left as headliner Joey Bada$$ was closing the space.
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Other notes:
Rachael Ray
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-Naughty By Nature’s DJ played Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’” as Rachael Ray & her husband John M. Cusimano came on stage to introduce them (and thank the sponsors one more time), to which the couple led the crowd in a sing-along about a “midnight train going A-NY-WHERE!”
-‘FADER Fort Presented by Converse’ did give away free Converse sneakers, but you had to talk your way into them. Did hear one great story: one guy had seen the bottom of his Converses melt on the sidewalks of Vegas, which did earn him a new free pair (after showing a picture of the melted soles).
Unfortunately missed:
-Jazz Cartier @ FADER Fort. Crowd-surfed to the back of FADER Fort & back to the front, sang from crowd, all on his birthday.
-Soul Asylum (QRO spotlight on) @ Scoot Inn.
