SXSW Day 1

What a day.. I lost track of the count of bands I caught today but that’s why I love South By Southwest.  Today was the first official day of the 4 day long music festival although I have yet to officially register for the conference.  There’s a ton of side shows which keeps me bouncing from club to club throughout the week.  My day started off at Opal Devine’s on 6th street with an artist named Jason Eady. Jason did a great solo/acoustic which was part of a handful of great acts showcased by Pigeon’s Publicity.  I also caught a few songs from Jay Boy Adams and a great set from Walt Wilkins and Sam Baker.  Most of my day was spent over at Mother Egan’s Irish Pub for the massive Conqueroo‘s showcase. Cary Baker sure did bring out the big guns for this 9 hour long set of musicians.  Each artist played for around 25 minutes and the day was packed.  I was able to catch James McMurtry, Tom Freund, Shawn Mullins, Jon Dee Graham, Chip Robinson, Blue Mountain, Patty Hurst Shifter and The Drams.  I also checked out Palo Duro Record’s show over at Waterloo Ice House. They always do a bang up job of bringing out some terrific artists. They did a very cool round robin show with Trent Summar, Tommy Alverson, Dallas Wayne & Buzz Cason.  I logged a lot of time today with my good friend, Tom Osborne, over at Twangville.com and even got introduced to his co-writer Mayer of at Twangville.  All in all this was a fantastic day full of great music.  I logged around 12 hours of straight music today catching bands that rarely make it down to San Antonio.  This is what South By Southwest is all about! More to come tomorrow…

Tom Freund

member of The Silos stepping in with Tom

Shawn Mullins

Trent Summar, Tommy Alverson, Dallas Wayne, Buzz Cason

Patty Hurst Shifter

The Drams

Author: Gregg Geil