SXSW: Day 1 Coverage

Coverage by: Rupal Mehta and Madeline Robicheaux

Every mid-March, Austin, TX truly lives by its famous name “Live Music Capitol of The World” with the South by Southwest Music takeover. This year, SXSW Music Festival touched down in the Longhorn nation from March 15-20, 2016. People from all over the world and all walks of life come together to enjoy and appreciate one thing: good music. With five days of running around Austin and trying to catch your favorite artists (even if they’re performing at the exact same time at different venues), SXSW veterans claim that the festival is a marathon, not a sprint. Day 1 of SXSW Music was relatively tame. From seeing street performers in the middle of infamous 6th Street to watching amazing DJs in a compact venue to end the night, South by Southwest showed nothing less than greatness on its first day.

REC Philly Showcase at The Main
REC Philly represents Philadelphia’s artistic community for networking professionals. The event was divided into two stages set both indoors and outdoors. With a capacity of 800 (600 at the main stage and 200 at the smaller stage), The Main setup made it easy to jump from stage to stage.

Kid Felix (Photo by Madeline Robicheaux)

Arriving at the scene just shy of 9 p.m., we were able to catch the last of Kid Felix’s set. The crowd kept their distance from the stage as Philly’s rock group dazzled the crowd. Whipping his dreads with the rhythmic beats, lead vocals, Jake Falana, looked straight into the camera and instantly turned on the charm. We moved along to the indoor stage where rapper Anthony Somebody of Quite Hype was playing both old school jams remixes. Even though the crowd was a tad bit smaller than the outside stage, everyone couldn’t help but dance and snap pictures of him.

Anthony Somebody of Quite Hype (Photo by Rupal Mehta)

Chill Moody (Photo by Rupal Mehta)

Moving back to the outside stage after Anthony’s set, we were then introduced to my favorite act of the night, Jordan Shannon aka Joie Kathos. Reigning from West Philadelphia, Kathos knows hip hop like the back of her hand. Her newest EP went viral in July 2015 and it was refreshing to see the audience sing her lyrics back to her.  After driving all day and running around to catch all the acts that SXSW has to provide, Joie Kathos’ set is just what was needed to provide a late night pick me up.

Joie Kathos (Photo by Madeline Robicheaux)

Representing Philly’s finest, we will be sure to keep up with these artists, no doubt. Click the links below to stay up to date with REC Philly, Kid Felix, Joie Kathos, and more!

Keys N Krates at Empire Control Room & Garage
After a surprisingly short wait at the entrance of Empire, we walked in to see a transformed venue with low blue lights and fog coating the room. A little after 12:40 a.m. Canadian electronic music duo Keys N Krates set the Empire Garage stage with a killer set chock-full of bangers from their old and newest records. Lights and body-shaking bass took over the tiny stage as the audience raged to the duo’s electrifying beats. With no sign of stopping, Keys N Krates played until 2 a.m. and almost did an encore for the audience. What an amazing way to kick off SXSW Music in the great city of Austin, Texas. Check out a short clip from Keys N Krates’ set from Tuesday night below!

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