Amy Winehouse at SXSW in 2007 photographed by Kenn Verstraeten
If you've got obnoxious friends that work in the music industry or just know some people who live in Texas, by now you're probably sick of reading tweets about what they're doing at indie rock circle jerk, South By Southwest (SXSW). Though more or less irrelevant to the casual music fan, the annual festival held every March in Austin, TX has managed to monopolize spring music coverage the internets over, journalists and A&R's both practicing and aspiring, racing to be the first to tout the next big thing in indie music.
And while the festival also hosts appearances from bigger names like this year's highly anticipated Broken Bells show, it's long been a chance for bands on the come up (of which there are one thousand plus participating) to make a name for themselves. Many have tried, but here are 10 artists who can say they blew up at SXSW...
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Bloc Party
SXSW Appearance: 2005
COMPLEX SAYS: Though their Silent Alarm album had just released the month prior, Bloc Party's 2005 shows proved to be one of the year's hardest to get into, helping the band build a buzz to sell 280,000 copies stateside.
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The Ting Tings
SXSW Appearance: 2008
COMPLEX SAYS: English duo Katie White and Jules de Martino had only been a band a couple of months before their 2008 appearance and some key spins of "That's Not My Name" empowered girls of all ages in the ongoing fight against unsolicited holleration.
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Franz Ferdinand
SXSW Appearance: 2004
COMPLEX SAYS: In a highly successful bid to promote their "Take Me Out" single, Franz Fredinand's performances at 2004's SXSW were praised unanimously. The song itself would also go on to sell over a million copies in the US, end up in SONY PSP ads, the movie trailer for Hancock and is currently playable in the original Guitar Hero game.
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Amy Winehouse
SXSW Appearance: 2007
COMPLEX SAYS: Having just released her seminal Back To Black the previous fall, Winehouse floored Austin crowds with a voice so sultry it sounded like it belonged to an old black woman. She'd go on to enjoy the acclaim for about 8 more months before engaging in a spirited quest of self destruction from which she has yet to rebound.
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She & Him
SXSW Appearance: 2008
COMPLEX SAYS: Zooey Deschanel and M. Ward as She & Him were only half a dozen live dates in when they played 2008's SXSW. Though Deschanel's popularity as an actress was enough of a draw, crowds would get to see the pair perform "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?" voted one of Rolling Stone's best 100 songs of 2008.
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LCD Soundsystem
SXSW Appearance: 2005
COMPLEX SAYS: Along with some early one-off singles, James Murphy as LCD Soundsystem's self-titled debut had been stewing in ipods for a few short months before his breakout SXSW performance. Murphy reportedly performed just as drunk as his show's attendees, endearing him that much more to the festival's tireless party hounds.
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M.I.A.
SXSW Appearance: 2005
COMPLEX SAYS: With little more than "Galang" and "Sunshowers" available to the masses, M.I.A. arrived to 2005's SXSW to nuff intrigue over her unique sound. Her Austin reception, along with the release of her long awaited debut Arular, would set her up for rousing success with a much larger Coachella crowd.
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Arctic Monkeys
SXSW Appearance: 2006
COMPLEX SAYS: Though their debut album Whatever People Say I Am, That's What I'm Not, released in January of 2006, was once the fastest-selling debut album in British music history (they'd be dethroned by Susan Boyle), these Monkey's would make their presence felt in the US with a series of stellar shows at 2006's SXSW.
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Hanson
SXSW Appearance: 1996
COMPLEX SAYS: Though the eldest of the Hanson brothers was only 16 at the time, as a band who'd already released two albums independently, the trio busked on the street and sang at the festival's closing ceremony before signing with a manager and going on to annoy the shit out of anyone living with a younger sister during the late 90's. Mmmm Bop!
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