SXSW (South By South West) festival kicks off this weekend in Austin, Texas. Since 1987, it's been besieged with bands and journalists, with an average of 1400 acts playing in the town's 80 venues across the week.
It's always a good place to get a heads up on who is likely to be the next big thing, although that could be a mixed blessing: both Tapes N Tapes and Clap Your Hands Say Yeah were buzz bands of the festival but we're unsure of the exact location of those two now. Alongside the music and copious amounts of record company employees pretending it's 10 years ago, there's also a sizeable film festival side, which last year screened the premiere of the Academy Award-hoovering The Hurt Locker.
Right at the heart of the mayhem is Red Bull. First up is Red Bull Big Tune, a head-to-head battle inspired by the DJ battles of Jamaica's reggae/dancehall scene. Selectors (DJs) would "clash" with other selectors by spinning the latest/heaviest "Riddims". This year, it will be held at The Belmont, and will star the likes of Fashawn, Evidence and compered by Vitamin D and J. Moore with DJ DV One on the wheels.
On the next day, Saturday 20, Red Bull throw their Big Thre3 Style event at the Austin Warehouse district. The host for the event will be Mad Skillz, and features the likes of Cut Chemist and Jazzy Jeff (pictured).
Find out more from SXSW.com, Red Bull Big Tune and Big Thre3 Style.
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