LA Bands to check out at SXSW This Year

Oh Texas my Texas...my birthplace my home.  The place that houses the proud capital of the one and only Austin.  The magical city that for roughly 3 weeks a year is invaded by peeps from NY,  LA, and beyond....Lapping up all of the hospitality, BBQ and Tex-Mex, and the music/film/comedy they can stand.  Being a Texan and having been in Austin for South By as they call it now, it's interesting to see the small city come alive in this one special spring time event every year.  Now living in LA, I'm feeling a little disappointed that I can't just hop on over this year and check everything out like I used to.

So, instead of focusing on not being there, I wanted to focus on some of the cool LA bands that are out performing in the Lone Star State this week.

AM and Shawn Lee -- Dark into Light

AM & Shawn Lee - "Dark Into Light" by Ubiquity Records

I'm a sucker for a transatlantic collaboration, and this is the product of exactly that. AM in LA, and London composer Sean Lee. I'm interested to see what the response will be for this album.

The Belle Brigade -- Sweet Louise

Sweet Louise by The Belle Brigade


LA Bro-Sis duo, and just-so-happen-to be John Williams grandkiddos make pretty cool music as expected.  KCRW has been pushing them and I think they'll have a good showing in Austin.

Lord Huron --Stranger

I think maybe it's best to just let the music video serve as the enticement for this one. There is something magical in his music, and the word on the street is that this guy really knows how to fill up a space with sound in a live venue.


Lord Huron - "The Stranger" from Giant Eel Productions on Vimeo.

I'd also like to recommend this tune, which takes a while to warm up, but oh so worth it!

Lord Huron - Mighty by Half Pint


Eastern Conference Champions -- To the Wind



Now this isn't one of the newer tracks (their new album is due out in April and it's been four years) but I like the video and song, and figure it's enough to get you to explore this band further if you like what you see.

And finally, if you're going to be in Austin, check out Voxhaul Broadcast why don't ya?

I've been hearing about these guys bred in Orange County for quite some time now...gotta say I appreciate their rock guitar.





-Laura in LA