Scottish bands showcase talent at 2006 South by South West
14/02/2006
Seven up-and-coming Scottish bands will join thousands of musical acts from around the world in Austin, Texas next month for the 2006 South by South West (SXSW) festival.
Aberfeldy, Camera Obscura, Cayto, The Cinematics, The Hazey Janes, Lucky Luke and Pumajaw are among the musicians that have been invited to attend SXSW on the basis of musical talent and their ability to impress an international market.
The bands will receive support from the Scottish Arts Council to attend the festival, providing them with the opportunity to perform and promote themselves to over 10,000 music industry delegates from around the world. Other Scottish bands supported by their record labels, but equally part of the significant Scottish presence at this year’s SXSW, are Belle & Sebastian, Mogwai and KT Tunstall.
SXSW, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, is one of the largest music industry networking and showcasing events in the world, featuring hundreds of musical acts from around the globe performing on over 50 stages in downtown Austin as well as a wide range of workshops and panel discussions featuring hundreds of international speakers.
As well as funding bands to attend the event, the Scottish Arts Council, in partnership with DF Concerts and PCL Concerts, has organised a showcase of Scottish talent on 17 March and has also coordinated a Scottish presence at the Festival’s trade show to help promote Scottish music to an international audience.
Bruce Findlay, Manager of Aberfeldy said: ‘SXSW is without doubt the best and most exciting music event in the world, because it is truly international and centred around the music and the musicians. The musician rightly takes centre stage and with the thousands of delegates being made up of music business people from around the world - record labels, publishers, agents and managers, it is a fantastic opportunity for Scottish artists to showcase their music.
‘The help with funding from the Scottish Arts Council to the Scottish artists taking part is truly worthwhile and is already having an amazing impact on the burgeoning music scene in Scotland and in the recognition of Scottish artists throughout the world.’
Ian Smith, Head of Music at the Scottish Arts Council added: ‘SXSW is one of our international priorities, alongside Showcase Scotland (at Celtic Connections) and Womex. It is the world’s most significant event for showcasing contemporary music and will attract over 10,000 delegates this year.
‘Previous Scottish bands which have benefited from SXSW exposure include Franz Ferdinand, Hobotalk and the Trashcan Sinatras. We are determined to ensure that the bands we support this year realise every opportunity to secure exciting new career potential, particularly in the lucrative US market place and showcase opportunities do not come any bigger than at SXSW.’
Notes to editors
- The Scottish Arts Council champions and sustains the arts for Scotland, investing over £60 million from Scottish Executive and National Lottery funding to support and develop artistic excellence and creativity throughout Scotland. Further information is available on our website: www.scottisharts.org.uk
- SXSW takes place from the 15 – 19 March 2006.
- For a full list of bands attending and further information about SXSW visit http://2006.sxsw.com/
- Further information about the bands can be found at their websites:
Contact email(s)
media.office@scottisharts.org.uk
Issued by: Scottish Arts Council
|