SXSW 2010: Industry bonanza
by Webmaster, 28.05.2010
At this year's SXSW festival, 14 Norwegian bands and artists played showcases. The Norwegian music industry and press was also well represented in Austin.
Most of the Norwegian concerts were well attended, and several Norwegian artists performed at several official and unofficial parties throughout the festival. Four of the Norwegian artists had the opportunity to perform at a day party arranged by the prestigious magazine Filter Magazine and Innovation Norway. Music Export Norway served as advisor for this event.
Filter has a long tradition of organizing parties like this, and they are always well attended. This year was no exception, and the party was a popular despite the fact that the event started at 11 AM. Unni Løvlid opened the party with two songs, followed by The Megaphonic Thrift, Casiokids and Serena-Maneesh.
Norwegian weather in Austin
Saturday typical Norwegian weather set in. However, this did not prevent Sondre Lerche or Big Bang from playing. At Sondre Lerche’s performance at Dickies' day party on Luster Pearl, the audience requested songs and Sondre was in great shape. A loyal fan base is emerging in the U.S, which shows that all the effort and work is starting to show results.
Big Bang also played in the freezing weather, but a 3.5 (of 4) star review from Rolling Stone Magazine probably warmed Greni his band.
Satisfied with Pirate Love
Jens-Petter Wiig from Kong Tiki Records, was at SXSW to follow his band Pirate Love. He was very pleased with both the event and band performances.
- I think this year's SXSW was good. It was better organized than expected, and the live program was pretty good. We had three concerts with Pirate Love and experienced great interest from American media, both in terms of interviews and live reviews. In addition, the band received booking offers in the U.S. and festival gigs in Europe after the concerts, he says.
Several of The Norwegian artists have received media attention through SXSW. Here is a small selection of the stories from the international press:
- Spinner interviews Casiokids
- Spinner interviews Serena-Maneesh
- The Austin Chronicle reviews Pirate Love
- BrooklynVegan has pictures and video from Sondre Lerche's concert
question & answers
- What sort of financial support does Music Export Norway provide?
- I want to play a showcase at a showcase festival. What do I do?
- How do I prepare for an industry festival or event?
- Where can I find export statistics for Norwegian music?
- What do you mean by "export ready"?
- What are the hottest Norwegian acts these days?
- Where can I find Norwegian industry contacts?
