The annual South By Southwest Music Festival means a lot of things to a lot of people. We wandered around asking some of our favorite bands what SXSW meant to them. Only some of them said booze. ...

South African rockers BLK JKS have a sound that's at home on a tour with Mali’s Vieux Farka Toure and perfectly welcome at indie love-in South-by-Southwest. They're one of our favorite bands, and they've honed a prog-rock sound that's distinctly their own -- one that's sprinkled with Afropop

With artists from Kampala, Zimbabwe to Choco, Colombia (and that's only in the first two hours of performances), Texas' South by Southwest Festival is the United States' -- and maybe the world's -- most openly international, inviting a whopping 1800 bands down for a long weekend of music. But it

Hi, Loomis and the Lust here, making preparations to head out to the world famous South by Southwest music festival. We are really psyched to be playing in Austin and are making preparations for the plunge into Texas with great gusto. We will be documenting our whole trip (as well as an exciting

South by Southwest, as a music festival, is incredible. You can see one mind-blowing band, walk half a block, and get to experience another amazing act. We've had the pleasure of watching some of our favorite artists perform, including Muse, Band of Horses, Exene Cervenka, She and Him, and Wayne

Austin's South by Southwest Festival was once an alternative, outsider music fest that happened off the hype grid. Now, of course, like all things pure it's been invaded by the corporate sponsors and media congloms. Our own dear producer Woody, who's headed to Austin tomorrow, is worried that the

Todd P is one of the few household names in the Brooklyn indie scene who isn't a musician. So what's he famous for? Probably the best thing one can be famous for: Throwing parties. He honed this reputation by hosting concurrent alt gigs at Austin's South by Southwest Festival (which we wrote about

If you're going to be at South by Southwest this year... a) You lucky f**k. b) Wear shorts, it'll be warm. c) Thursday afternoon, go see Daedelus, Baths, Mexicans With Guns, Shlohmo, and more at Barcelona! A lot of Iggy's favorite producers will be at SXSW this year, and a surprising number of them

Right now, (from March 12-21 actually) Austin, the easy-going liberal enclave  in the heart of God'n'guns Texas, is the place to be for music fanatics. It's the 23rd annual South by South West (abbreviated SXSW) festival of music, film, panels, and more....but let's be honest, it's mostly about

In the world of music, the word “cover” invokes thoughts of bad singing and a fuzzy webcam. Yuna, a folk popper from Malaysia, changed our minds with her smooth,...

So, sure, the whole tribal folk sampling by privileged kids in indie bands might be a getting a little excessive, but as much as I want to ignore Yeasayer, I can’t. They can make an audience lose their sh** dancing, yet, unlike countless jam bands, they're able to do so by producing cohesive songs

Dorm rooms don't seem like the best places for creative inspiration. But it was in one at the University of Virginia that Tim Be Told recorded their first LP, Getting By. Having written nearly 50 songs before he got to the University of Virginia, the band's frontman, pianist and vocalist Tim

Electronic psyche-pop misfits Health are one of our favorite leftfield experimental bands. They've been remixed by Javelin and Crystal Castles already – not bad for a quartet of nerdy dudes from L.A. In this clip the group considers the viability of having people in other times listen to their

The golden age of hip hop that lasted until the 90s is filled with gems that never saw much light. Masters of the Universe are one such crew, their discovery today hindered by a Binary Star album of the same name (though that album is pretty nasty as well). The group Masters of the Universe...

SXSW may be old hat to Mexican punk rockers Vicente Gayo, but their experimental rock and 80s electronic fusion is as fresh and bizarre as ever. Vicente Gayo himself doesn't exist. It's a band of dudes with a penchant for loud, old school chaos. They released their self-titled debut two years ago

“You guys made me hot enough, I had to take my coat off!” Glasgow, Scotland-based indie/folk rock band Frightened Rabbit have developed a bit of a reputation for being maudlin. Perhaps part of this has to do with the fact the mastermind behind the project, Scott Hutchison, has songs that include

With Spring around the corner, you probably lack the attention span to read long, coherent blog posts. So keep updated with our quick daily round-up of all the news that's fit to blog! From Justin Bieber's latest ramblings to Ricky Martin's latest dilemma... SXSE -- New Festival To Take Place in

The MtyMx Festival had the potential to be a disaster. One-third of the 75-or-so bands scheduled to hop down to Monterrey for the biggest indie fest the Americanized Mexican city had ever seen cancelled -- citing causes as diverse as tour buses that never materialized and a State Department travel

You hear about big bands doing secret shows -- Vampire Weekend at the low-ceilinged Mercury Lounge last month, for instance. And there's something totally hilarious about these huge arena-rock tour bands playing little indie clubs. But this is ridiculous. Spin reported earlier today that Muse --

The easiest way to sneak alcohol into Rang Bhavan was to hide it under a girl’s jacket. The notoriously long queues of people waiting impatiently to enter Mumbai’s legendary open air theatre were predominantly male, which meant that the security guards at the gate would only frisk guys.

Watch the News Video "South By Southwest Fest Rocks Texas" for free on MTV.com. Watch free full length News Videos on MTV.com.

Watch as MTV News cameras capture Odd Future's adventures at the 2011 South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas.

Watch the News Video "You Hear It First: South by Southwest Blitz" for free on MTV.com. Watch free full length News Videos on MTV.com.