SXSW 2010: Looking Back at the Festival That Was
Patrick Stump inside the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum in Austin, Texas.
As Rolling Stone gears up for SXSW, we can’t help but look back at last year. Nearly 2,000 bands came to Austin for the annual event, and we managed to mention most of them, in reviews, tweets, photos and videos. Here’s a quick run down.
Video
RS hosted its first showcases at last year’s festival and had our cameras were rolling both on stage and behind the scenes. Check out the clips below for songs and interviews with each act:
Courtyard Hounds
The Whigs
John Doe
Band of Skulls
Free Energy
Jimmie Dale Gilmore
Dawes
Photos
We shot some of the last year’s hottest rockers in exhibits at the Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum. Patrick Stump, the xx, Surfer Blood, Nneka, Free Energy and more bands got intimately acquainted with the Texas Revolution, the Alamo, Comanche tipis and more great moments in Texas lore. Take a look at our handiwork in our special Texas Takeover gallery:
• Rockers Reenact Great Moments in Lone Star State History
News
Every SXSW festivals has its share of big surprises. But the biggest story last year was not a surprise show or a break-out band but the untimely death of Big Star frontman Alex Chilton.
• Big Star’s SXSW Show Becomes a Tribute to Alex Chilton
• Spoon, Broken Bells Grab the Spotlight as SXSW 2010 Launches
• Hole Cover the Rolling Stones, But Courtney Love Isn’t Satisfied
• Broken Social Scene, Band of Horses, Drive-By Truckers Bring Big Guitar Rock
• Stone Temple Pilots Debut Songs, Rock With Robby Krieger
• Muse Pack Arena-Size Anthems Into Surprise SXSW Show
Twitter Reviews
Last year, we enlisted the help of contributor Christopher R. Weingarten, who had recently completed his 1000TimesYes project — 1,000 140-character album reviews in a year. For the festival, we asked Chris to review 100 shows via 100 tweets in four days.
• Day One: 27 Reports, From Andrew WK to Paul Wall
• Day Two: 26 Reports, From GZA to the xx
• Day Three: 24 Reports, From Liars to Local Natives
• Day Four: 23 Reports, From Scissor Sisters to Free Energy