Every year in March, around 30 000 people descend upon the city of Austin – that bastion of cool in the sea that is the state of Texas. The mega-event brings together music, film and tech enthusiasts, and it’s been known to launch careers of bands like the Grammy-nominated Alabama Shakes, and kick off buzz for movies like the critically-acclaimed indie Short Term 12 (a must-see if you haven’t yet). It’s biggest impact is within the tech world, where Southby (as it’s affectionately known) has been the launching pad for Twitter and Foursquare. Disturbingly, this year’s event was marred by a car crash in which a drunken performer who was…
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The 2104 SXSW Diaries
Somewhere along the time and space continuum, it became March 2014 already. So here we are, on the eve of another SXSW adventure. For that really is the only way to describe the next 10 days of tech, film and music events. This year’s line-up spans the serious – virtual discussions with Edward Snowden and Julian Assange about the issues of privacy and freedom of information – to the super fun – Bill Cosby performing to a room of 300 people (try getting into that venue!) and Lena Dunham talking about how one creates an Emmy-nominated hit TV show that’s spawned many an Internet essay. This will be my 3rd…
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Entertainment Express: The Brit Awards, Bonnaroo, SXSW, Fantastic Four, Tori Amos
* The Arctic Monkeys won 2 prizes at this year’s Brit Awards, which were, for the first time, streamed live online. The Sheffield rockers performed at the ceremony, along with the likes of Beyonce, Katy Perry and Bruno Mars. * Sir Elton John, Jack White, Kanye West and Lionel Ritchie are headlining this year’s Bonnaroo festival, making the festival sound like it’s going to be an eclectic mix of an experience. * Staying with music, Apple announced its iTunes Festival will be setting up at this year’s SXSW – Coldplay will open the music portion of the conference/festival. We’re still waiting on the announcement about who the Keynote music speaker…
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SXSW 2013: Dave Grohl’s Keynote Address
I can feel the inspiration coursing through my veins – the visceral, tingling feeling of being driven to action that comes from listening to someone passionate about their life and their living. I’ve been getting small doses of it here at SXSW, but this morning, it came in one big shot, courtesy of Dave Grohl. Donning spectacles that he got “from a pharmacy”, the Scream/Nirvana/Foo Fighters musician took to the stage of Ballroom D in the Austin Convention Centre to school those gathered in the room (and listening online) about the importance of finding one’s voice and putting the musician first. Whether or not you’re a musician, Dave’s words had…
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SXSW 2013: Elon Musk, Cory Booker, DJ Spooky, Adam Brody
This past weekend was filled with epic moments of the SXSW-kind – from hearing Elon Musk talk about how he wants to see travel to Mars happen in his lifetime, to getting drenched in a downpour after dancing to DJ Spooky in an underground wine cellar. We’re constantly hearing that this event is all about serendipity, and being open to moments as they happen; to have a plan but be ready to scrap it at a moment’s notice, and that is a great way to approach SXSW. Except for when it comes to Elon Musk. This was one talk I – or anyone else for that matter – was not…
