NPR Music to cover SXSW

NPR Music makes a break for Austin to live broadcast and webcast more than a dozen performances – including Bright Eyes, Raphael Saadiq, The Antlers (premiering its forthcoming album in a “First Listen Live”), WILD FLAG, James Blake and tUnE-yArDs – during the South by Southwest Music and Media Conference, March 16-20. The concerts will be available to audiences everywhere through live webcasts and streaming video at npr.org/music and the NPR Music iPhone App, and broadcasts on NPR member stations across the country. All concert recordings, videos, blogs, photo galleries and daily podcast wrap-ups will be at npr.org/sxsw, along with the Austin 100, a streaming sampler of must-hear bands of SXSW, and archives of the past three years of SXSW coverage.

Joining NPR Music are six NPR member station partners – KUT Austin, WFUV New York, WXPN Philadelphia, KCRW Los Angeles, KEXP Seattle and The Current from Minnesota Public Radio. Throughout the week, find artist interviews, reports and live performance sessions at npr.org/sxsw and at the stations’ web sites. Stations are also hosting many of their own concerts and events.

Just in time for SXSW, NPR Music welcomes critic Ann Powers, one of America’s finest music observers, to its team. Powers will host the concerts with Bob Boilen, host and creator of All Songs Considered and its Live in Concert series, and David Brown, host of Texas Music Matters on KUT. Get collective musings from Boilen, Powers, Robin Hilton and Stephen Thompson at npr.org/sxsw; follow their every move @allsongs; and subscribe to podcasts for daily wrap-ups and automatic downloads of all concerts post-festival. Once the Austin glow fades, Powers will assume the role of an NPR Music critic, offering her critical ear and insights on air, on our music news blog The Record and on episodes of All Songs Considered.

NPR Music is live broadcasting and webcasting acts from two SXSW showcases, and packs the stage for its annual daytime concert at the Parish. Here’s the calendar:

NPR Music Live from the Time Out North American Showcase at Stubb’s
Wednesday, March 16 at 8:00PM (CT)
*SXSW Badge Required*
Dapper and dynamic soul singer Raphael Saadiq tops NPR Music’s live coverage from the Time Out North America showcase, along with Houston rapper Bun B; London electronic musician and producer James Blake; and garage-rockers the Smith Westerns.

NPR Music Presents Live from the Parish
Thursday, March 17 at 12:30PM (CT)
*Public (21+) Event, Space Limited*
Headlining is indie rock trio The Antlers, who will deliver a “First Listen Live” of its highly-anticipated forthcoming album. The bill buzzes with five more acts set to break out: punk-rock supergroup WILD FLAG, with former Sleater-Kinney members Carrie Brownstein (also an NPR Music alum) and Janet Weiss, indie darling Mary Timony and Rebecca Cole, formerly of The Minders; Welsh alt-rockers The Joy Formidable; afro-beat star Khaira Arby, whose robust voice and women’s rights work has made her a legend in her native Mali; tUnE-yArDs, the DIY music project of Merrill Garbus; and saxophonist Colin Stetson, of Arcade Fire and Bell Orchestre. Support for NPR Music Presents at the Parish comes from Pabst and YouTube.

NPR Music Live from the Ground Control Touring Showcase at Auditorium Shores
Saturday, March 19 at 3:30PM (CT)
*SXSW Badge Required*
Bright Eyes, midway through its tour for The People’s Key, headlines the Ground Control Touring showcase at Auditorium Shores. The concert also features infectious Catskill folk-rockers The Felice Brothers; Middle Brother, indie trifecta Dawes, Delta Spirit and Deer Tick; the always exuberant Man Man, known for frenetic live performances; and rising Philly singer-songwriter Kurt Vile and the Violators.

Since 2008, NPR Music has broadcast and webcast a slew of concerts from SXSW, debuting new albums from Spoon, R.E.M. and the Decemberists, and introducing audiences to Sleigh Bells, Vampire Weekend, K’Naan, Bon Iver, G-Side, The Dirty Projectors, Yeasayer and many others. All past concerts, along with artist interviews and live audio and video performance sessions, are archived at: npr.org/sxsw.

NPR Music celebrates great music in every genre and is an industry leader in music discovery. The multimedia site offers more than 300 new features monthly and an extensive archive, in collaboration with NPR’s newsmagazines, 12 public radio member stations and the passionate NPR community. NPR Music creates and distributes inventive music coverage across multiple platforms – from web, to radio, to podcast, to mobile, to social media, to live events – with first listens to new albums, live performances, concerts at the Tiny Desk, interviews, reviews and blogs. Its newest addition: All Songs 24/7, a non-stop stream of every song ever played in 10 years of the show.