Headed to Austin for SXSW?

Travel Blog  •  Eva Holland  •  03.12.09 | 11:26 AM ET

Well, consider me envious. The sprawling festival somehow stays right on top of the music, film and new media/tech scenes, and it’s hosted by one of the country’s favorite smaller cities to boot. Just in case you haven’t already got your every minute mapped out, I’ve rounded up some last-minute recommendations and ideas.

The SXSW Insider’s Guide has a hot thread debating the year’s must-see bands (and hey, some of the posters even give helpful rationales/context for their picks), while the Screengrab bloggers offer their picks for must-see documentaries (parts one and two) and narrative feature films.

And—most importantly!—there’s plenty of foodie scoop to be had, too: Travellious has a round-up of cheap eats in Austin, Chowhound’s Austin board is always hopping (read up on the best mac and cheese or most authentic Mexican torta in town, for instance), and Yelp has a best-of page devoted entirely to the city’s food stands.

Over on the interactive side of things, be sure to wave hello to our own World Hum editors, and to contributor Pam Mandel.

Finally, I can’t speak to the torta situation myself, and I certainly won’t claim to know all 1400 bands slated to play, but I can recommend Toronto’s K’Naan, a Somali-born rapper who’ll be performing in an Afropunk showcase. Here’s his first big hit, “Soobax”:

Tags: Festivals, Food, Movies, Music, Pop Culture Travel, North America, United States, Texas, Austin, News and Briefs

Eva Holland is co-editor of World Hum. She is a former associate editor at Up Here and Up Here Business magazines, and a contributor to Vela. She's based in Canada's Yukon territory.


1 Comment for Headed to Austin for SXSW?

Sophia Dembling 03.12.09 | 1:30 PM ET

The Nervebreakers, one of Texas’ seminal punk bands (they opened for the Sex Pistols at Dallas’ Longhorn Ballroom in 1999), is having two free shows, reunion gigs, during SXSW. They’re unsanctioned shows but should attract a crowd.

Yeah, OK, lead singer Tex Edwards is a friend of mine. But believe me, the Nervebreakers were contendas. I won’t be at the Austin gigs but they’re coming to Dallas, too, and I wouldn’t miss it.

Learn more here: http://www.myspace.com/nervebreaking
(If you’re at work, be warned that the music starts playing immediately.)

Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.