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It was another great year of music, mingling and staying up late in Austin, TX.
 The keynote speaker this year was Quincy Jones. I must say that I haven’t heard such an inspiring call to arms in the name of the arts in quite some time. The speech included documentary snippets of all the Jones has achieved in life and when seen altogether is mightly impressive. Jones called for artists to create and do as much as they can because society needs them to stay sane and conquer some of the ills in the world.
“Economic Downturn” was not a word in the SXSW vocabulary. This year’s event was very well attended and there was no recession on a good time. The music Metallica playing at Stubb’s was a surprise to some and not so much to others. The boys showed up to play a set in support of the debut of Guitar Hero Metallica. A hard rockin’ set covering tunes from the present all the back to Kill ‘em All.  Sara Haze, a singer-songwriter from southern California has the voice and the chops to go somewhere. Definitely an impressive set.  Beast was a heavy, electronic sounding band from Canada. I was mesmerized and others around me were commenting how much they liked the band. This was a very rare occurrence.  Jim Bianco put on an amazing set of his special blend of witty lyrics and classic guitar stylings. David Tamoke, from Hawaii played his well crafted tunes that suck you in with the vibe and the meaning. Other great performances came from The Proclaimers, Third Eye Blind, Arc Angels, Nellie McKay, Cash Cash and many more. Other notables… Martin Atkins gave a humorous and very informative talk on how bands should navigate the music business especially the touring angle with his Tour Smart book and DVD.  This year’s panels focused on new approaches to old things. The panels benefited from the newer, fresh outlook and how the use of modern tools with out of the box thinking can lead to some very successful independent artists. The trade show was as good as ever with plenty of fine booths and vendors to fill your time. Did I mention the free beer that many booths offered? After missing SXSW last year, it was great to be back. It really is something you don’t want to miss for any reason. You’ll never know if you never go. Make plans to attend SXSW 2010. http://www.sxsw.com Check out the photo gallery
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