2008 SXSW Music Conference Continues to Grow, Attract Musicians and Audiences

The official motto of Austin, Texas, is "Live Music Capital of the World." That's certainly true for 10 days in mid-March each year, when the annual South By Southwest (SXSW) music, film and interactive-arts festivals attract thousands of visitors to the capital of Texas. VOA's Katherine Cole attended the 2008 edition of the South By Southwest Music Conference, and filed this report.

More than 8,000 bands and artists applied to perform one 45-minute set at one of the 72 Austin venues hosting showcases during SXSW 2008. Out of that group, only 1,580 performers, or fewer than 20 percent, were accepted. One of them was San Diego California's Steve Poltz. Poltz came to Austin to spread the word about his new CD, Traveling, home to 11 original songs, including "Rain" and describes a typical day at SXSW life.

But no matter what they play, every performer is very aware that making a good first impression at SXSW is imperative. After all, despite all the rave reviews 23-year-old Welsh singer Duffy brought from the U.K., the fact music was being performed at 72 different venues each evening meant she might just have one song's worth of time to impress the potential managers, booking agents, radio presenters, critics, and other music industry folks checking out her first ever U.S. show. Duffy later said she was taken aback by the Austin heat (35 degrees Celsius), but never faltered during her six-song set, which ended with "Mercy", the Number One song in the U.K. at the time of her performance.