Can you hear the music from way down south? Friday marks the midpoint for this year’s South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas. The event is one of the largest music festivals in the world, involving more than 2,000 bands. And it’s grown into such a behemoth that it affects the entire United States touring economy.
Just how does SXSW alter our microcosm in Denver? Let’s just say the next few weeks will be prime time for live music in the Mile High.
“When you put a new record out, it’s a given that you’re going to South by Southwest,” said Michael Benjamin Lerner, who is better known as Telekinesis, the punchy indie-rock act on Merge Records. “And it’s also a given that if you’re going to South by Southwest, you’re going to route a monster tour around the festival.”
Lerner was speaking from Atlanta earlier this week — and then he was onto Baton Rouge, La., before moving onto Austin for a number of shows at the trend-defining, tastemaking festival. His group — label-mates of the Grammy-winning Arcade Fire — will then land at Denver rock club the Hi-Dive on Tuesday.
And he won’t be alone on the Colorado-bound highways. Plenty of bands will swing through Colorado on their way home — or perhaps to their next festival stop. And it’s all a pre-spring ritual that has become a rite of passage for bands, songwriters and DJs at all levels.
“For me, South by Southwest is like a vacation — playing with other bands and seeing other musicians and running into friends,” said Camila Grey, frontwoman for electro band Uh Huh Her. “We all collide in Austin, and then we all go our separate ways.”
Uh Huh Her will also play Denver on Tuesday — but at The Walnut Room in the warehouse district. And if you ask Grey about her time in Austin — her hometown — she’ll surely have a number of stories from this year’s festival.
While The Denver Post has two critics and a staff of freelancers on the ground in Austin (check out our live coverage at ), not everybody can make the trek. And so here are 10 shows where you can take part in the SXSW buzz — we’ll call it the post-festival hangover.
Some of these performers are national acts touring through Denver, and others are homegrown bands and DJs who made the trip to Austin this year. But all of them are playing Colorado venues in the next seven days, so plan accordingly.
1. Hosannas
Portland, Ore., rock band Hosannas play off the juxtaposition of slicing, angular guitars and soft- spoken, willowy vocals. Download their latest release, “The People I Know,” for free at . (Monday, Hi-Dive)
2. She Wants Revenge
If moody, guyliner-enhanced ’80s revisionism is your thing, then you likely already know L.A. rockers She Wants Revenge. The band’s latest music sounds more like Echo & the Bunnymen than it does Joy Division. (Monday, Bluebird Theater)
3. Telekinesis
Seattle rockers Telekinesis like guitars both jangly and fuzzed- out, but the smart, pop-minded melodies are a consistency that keeps the fans bopping. The band’s latest, “12 Desperate Straight Lines,” was recorded with Death Cab for Cutie’s Chris Walla. (Tuesday, Hi-Dive)
4. O.M.D.
This isn’t a new group aping a popular ’80s band’s name or sound. This is the real thing — Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, the original group behind “If You Leave,” the popular hit on the “Pretty in Pink” soundtrack. And the band has a new record. And it’s actually pretty good! (Tuesday, Bluebird)
5. MarchFourth Marching Band
Yes, we love our marching bands. And this seismic Portland, Ore., export proves that — yes, sometimes — bigger is better. (Tuesday, Belly Up, Aspen; Wednesday, Agave, Avon; Thursday, Fox Theatre, Boulder; March 25, Gothic Theatre, Englewood; March 26, Ramskeller, Fort Collins)
6. Uh Huh Her
This all-female rock act is known for its savvy electronic flourishes as much as its breathy name, which is borrowed from a killer P.J. Harvey record. (Tuesday, Walnut Room)
7. The Mumlers
This folk-rock outfit hangs its hat in San Jose, Calif., and its instrumentation includes raspy strings, bold brass, minimalist percussion and soulful vocals. It sounds like a cross between chamber-pop and cabaret — with a smidge of circus music thrown in for good measure. (Wednesday, Hi-Dive)
8. Designer Drugs
These New York club DJs will play Denver smack between sets at SXSW and the influential Ultra Music Festival in Miami. The two DJs that make up Designer Drugs are all about the big beats and pop-rooted hooks, so bring your dancing shoes. (Thursday, Gothic Theatre)
9. Chain Gang of 1974
Denver artist Kamtin Mohager is known for making the masses dance, and judging from his seven — yes, seven! — shows scheduled over three days at SXSW, he could be playing to larger crowds very soon. (March 25, Larimer Lounge)
10. Boyhollow
Local DJ Michael Trundle is one of the most visible figures in Denver music. Yes, he’s the architect behind long-running club night Lipgloss — which takes over the party every Friday at La Rumba — but he’s also a barfly with a voracious appetite for live music. (March 25, La Rumba)
Contact Ricardo Baca: 303-954-1394, rbaca@denverpost.com; @RVRB on Twitter
