Several Athens-based musicians rocked Austin, Texas audiences from March 14 to 18 during the music portion of the annual South by Southwest festival, taking the opportunity to network with like-minded musicians and music lovers.
She Bears played at its label Deep Elm Records’ showcase, while Joey Hebdo performed in the street and during an Ohio showcase.
Hebdo, who strummed a ukulele while a trumpet player he met simultaneously blew his horn, said he felt obligated to play on the street “kind of to fuel the machine, in a way. … It’s almost like an honor or a duty of the musicians to kind of keep that going, so everyone who comes to experience it can kind of contribute in that way.”
South by Southwest has blossomed into one of America’s preeminent music festivals since it was founded in 1987, and for artists such as Hebdo and She Bears, it represents opportunities that other festivals do not.
“People are there to find new bands, while a lot of times people at festivals like Austin City Limits or Bonnaroo are there to see a group of bands they already know,” said Stephen Pence, who plays guitar and sings for She Bears.
Austin is littered with opportunities to be seen during the festival, whether that means playing a showcase at a packed bar or playing on the street.
“It’s just kind of this big vacuum, this big tornado of networking and creative minds,” Hebdo said. “… You’re just there to push everyone further along, including yourself.”
A major component of that motivation is the networking the festival offers. Because there are so many people from the industry there, independent musicians have the opportunity to familiarize themselves with each other and with the work they are doing.
“As an independent musician … people who don’t have labels can really build relationships with each other,” Hebdo said. “When you’re just around people with the same mind frame, all of those worlds unite.”
Hebdo went on to compare the festival to a docile, significantly more serious version of Athens’ Halloween festival, albeit 10 times larger.
“(South by Southwest) is a gathering of most everyone in the music industry,” Pence said. “… You can play Austin City Limits, and it’s not the same thing. It’s fans of music, whereas South by Southwest is fans of music, but people in the music industry.”
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