[RH Photos] The Culture Clash at SXSW 2015
Photos by AngieStarPhoto
SXSW came and went yet again this year, and as Austin cleans it's streets and goes back to normal, many of us out-of-towners are back home still recollecting the culture combo we were part of. Whether you're from Chicago, Atlanta, California, Texas, New York City, the UK, or anywhere else in the world, SXSW has become a place where anyone can come to mix culture, share art, collaborate, and eat endless delicious food options. In the past week, I've received more CDs, mixtape downloads, Instagram followers, and openly met more strangers and brand ambassadors than I ever have.
SXSW truly is a festival of its own kind. There's much more than music, film showcases and conferences, as it's more of a combination of Texan culture, art, food, and most of all, a diversity in people. Outside of the local "Keep Austin Weird" types, you have endless writers, bloggers, photographers, videographers, musicians, and actors from all over just trying to stick out and be seen or heard, and all in an open, free spirited form. Most intriguingly, it's all random... one minute you could be listening to a rock band on Rainey Street and the next you're bumping into Wiz Khalifa downtown, then backstage with comedian Hannibal Buress and Chance the Rapper at the Fader Fort (true story). And right when you think you've seen or experienced the most random scenario, someone else will share an even more random story with you. It's on open environment that connects all types of people and this is what loved to capture on the festival. I'm not saying it wasn't fun shooting the performances at various venues, but it was the wandering, behind-the-scenes, spontaneous perspective I loved the most - the plethora of food trucks were a definite plus.
Here are some photos I gathered that I feel capture the essence of the people and scenery while walking around at SXSW. From locals, to people of all ages from different parts of the world, to the food scene, culture, ambiance, and most of all, the great American gem that is Austin, Texas. Find more photos here.
[SXSW Photos] Music Festival 2014
Photography by Kristen Wrzesniewski
Now that most of us have recovered from the madness that is South by Southwest. We sent our good pal Kristen Wrzesniewski out with her Lumix GX7 and a music wristband to cover the music festival portion of the festivities. Check out some of her shots and below.
Austin Celebrates "Free Week"
There's no better price than free.99 and the eclectic residents of Austin, Texas seem to know this better than anyone, as they town embarks on "Free Week" a seven day run of free shows around ATX that help celebrate the start to a new year. Fitting, for a city that seems to never turn the music off. On the site's website, the event is promoters say, " Since 2003, Austin has held the tradition of partying to no end during the first week of January."
The decade-old tradition is a perfect example as well of the current state of music in America, as giving it out for free seems to have begun the norm for the large swath of artists trying to come up in the industry. The week-long mini-fest features a smattering of independent acts, both local and not, that come together to start the year off right, for free. For a full list of shows, venues and activities, click here.
Elephant Revival Announces Tour
[RH Interview] The Tontons at Fun Fun Fun Fest
Photography by Niraj Mehdiratta
Bands, in large part, reflect the scenes from which they come. This sentiment rings true for indie band The Tontons, who helped to open this weekend's Fun Fun Fun Fest in Austin, Texas with a pair of sets opening for Kurt Vile on Thursday night and another on Friday, as well as dropping their new video "Veida" on the Wall Street Journal's Speakeasy blog. The trip to Texas' capital for the 8th annual music, comedy and action sports fest wasn't a long one for the four-piece act from Houston, although it was the first time playing the three day end to festival season.
Together for nearly eight years now, The Tontons are indicative of a slow-moving yet supportive Houston music scene where dues are paid before garnering the city's full support. To hear Asli and the gang describe it, breaking through to the next level in their hometown is a little different than other places in the country. The Tontons, a hodgepodge of styles, interests and musical abilities, are hard to put a finger on, precisely, but that's how they like it. Their music could most closely be described as indie pop, but they have a co-sign from Houston hip-hop legend Bun B, who introduces them at shows and they're toying with the idea of adding some metal components to some songs after hanging around FFF's Black stage Saturday.
Things are really coming together for The Tontons as they prepare to release their next album in the spring and ready for a wild 2014. Having been around for awhile and earned their stripes in their hometown though, they are ready to make things happen on their own terms. I had a chance to catch the group backstage at Fun Fun Fun and sat down for a quick chat, read what they had to say about playing the festival for the first time, being different and drinking too much Red Bull.
[Mixtape] Fun Fun Fun Fest Artist Mixtape
The 8th annual Fun Fun Fun Fest, is right around the corner and in celebration of the latest installment of the festival series, organizers put together a curated mixtape of artists on the lineup. Included on the release are FFF performers Cut Copy, Jenny Slate, Mobile Disco, Descendents, Del The Funky Homosapien and more. To put the tape together, each artist was asked to choose their favorite road trip song, culminating in the perfect thing to listen to on that long road to Austin, where music, comedy and food abound. Full download and tracks below, enjoy the preview for the fest which is quickly approaching.
[via Gorilla vs Bear]
Fun Fun Fun Fest 8 Artist Mixtape: ROAD TRIP
1. Cut Copy: The Triffids – “Wide Open Road”
2. Jenny Slate: Steely Dan – “The Caves of Altamira”
3. The Locust: Spider & Boots – “Yakety Sax (Gabe Serbian Remix)”
4. Simian Mobile Disco: The Seeds – “Tripmaker”
5. Small Black: Gene Clark – “One In A Hundred”
6. Del The Funky Homosapien: Sir Dzl – “Teen Titans”
7. Gojira: Queens Of The Stone Age – “I Appear MIssing”
8. The Descendents: Velvet Underground – “Run Run Run”
Fun Fun Fun Fest Announces Aqua Olympics
Yesterday Fun Fun Fun Fest announced their third Annual Aqua Olympics to be held on August 3rd at Fiesta Gardens in Austin, TX. This year's Olympics will consist of water competitions like SUP jousting and "field day" style land games like the classic potato sack race, balloon toss, and many more. Battling for glory, the Austin Facial Hair Club and Austin city council will be participating in an epic game of tug-o-war. The fun doesn't stop there! BMX riders will have the chance to bolt off the Lagoon Launch while skateboarders show off tricks and turns on the street course. This year's MCs include Comedian Dough Mellard who will be covering the water competitions with Riverboat Gamblers frontman Mike Wiebe and comedian Chris Cubas will MC the land games.
Opening ceremonies and registration start at 4pm, where there will be music, food and refreshments, and a chance to compete for multiple prizes, including passes for the festival. FFFF will be introducing the first ever USP (ultimate smooth pass) which is their version of exclusive and limited VIP passes for the fest because, who doesn't love to get VIP treatment? FFFF will also announce the 2013 comedy and skate/ride programming lineups at the event.
FFFF recently released the lineup for the 8th annual festival to be held November 8-10th at Auditorium Shores. M.I.A., Slayer, MGMT, and Snoop Dogg are a few of the headlining acts that will be gracing the stage, along with many other awesome artists.
Weekend 3-day passes are on sale now!