Go South by Southwest, young man (or woman)

Dodge was eating lunch at Stubb’s Bar-B-Q in Austin, Texas. when he was joined by the Arcade Fire’s husband-and-wife team Win Butler and Regine Chassagne.
“Win and Regine came out on the deck, where we were watching The Black Keys sound check below, and we talked. It was all very natural ... casual,” Dodge said, in an e-mail interview.
Dodge, a.k.a., Craig Lile, is the proprietor of Indianapolis-based music blog My Old Kentucky Blog, and in 2006 he was in Austin, Texas, to cover the South by Southwest festival. He returned in 2007, and plans to again this year.
“South by Southwest really creates that environment between artist and fan,” Dodge said.
Started in 1987 with the goal of connecting Austin musicians to the global music scene, SXSW has grown in attendance from 700 people to nearly 10,000 in 2007. It has become a major annual event combining festivals and conferences in music, interactive media and film. Running from March 7-16 this year (during IU’s spring break), SXSW 2008 will feature about 430 panels, 640 film screenings and more than 1,600 musical acts including R.E.M., Dolly Parton, Yo La Tengo, Ice Cube, Okkervil River, The Breeders and Jens Lekman.
However, the event has become best known as a launching pad for new and rising artists. Richard Edwards, lead vocalist and songwriter for Indianapolis band Margot & the Nuclear So and So’s said that, while the festival did not boost the group’s album sales, it did help to generate attention and critical acclaim.
“We were booked into a shitty time slot, at an out-of-the-way bar, but people came,” Edwards said. “That’s a great thing about South by Southwest. The shows can go as well as you want them to.”
“Our bass player busted his bass on stage,” Edwards said, “It was beautiful.”
A further appeal for Edwards was the opportunity to catch up with friends in other bands, a point echoed by Dodge, who illustrated the festival’s collegial atmosphere by citing his experience of walking down the street with Flaming Lips front man Wayne Coyne’s arm on his shoulder.
“He had no idea who I was and didn’t care, but he was happy to have me walking and talking with him,” Dodge said, “That felt amazing.”
For Bloomington-based artist Michael Dunlap, better known as Totally Michael, the combination of good times and famous faces prompted him to sign up for this year’s festival.
“I’m playing South by Southwest just because I never have and I think it’s going to be a hell of a fun time,” Dunlap said. “And I want to meet Winona Ryder and totally woo her.”
For those who would rather just stay in the audience, badges for SXSW 2008 are running $300-1,050, and its $139 wristbands have already sold out. But, for travelers who can’t afford those prices, worldwide media and music-industry attention has resulted in a proliferation of unofficial free events.
“I saw free music, drank free water/booze and ate free from noon until 5 or 6 p.m. each day of the music portion of the fest,” Dodge said of his first trip to the festival, done without a badge or wristband (as was his second). AnSemid, for the second year running, My Old Kentucky Blog is part of a coalition of blogs promoting their own free event: The March 14-15 Hot Freaks! musical showcase.
“If you’re a music geek, like me,” Dodge said, “South by Southwest is the most ideal spring break ever.”
A current listing of free events is available from the Austin-American Statesman’s Austin360.com, while lodging can be booked through the official SXSW festival Web site at 2008.sxsw.com.