click to enlarge Cathedrals

click to enlarge Night School

We discussed some highlights from the first SXSW lineup announcement in October, and just yesterday the perennial music, media, and free-stuff-you-don't-really-need festival announced its second round of bands participating in official showcases. A testament to the diversity and distinction of our music scene, it's no surprise that musicians from the Bay Area, across a variety of genres, will be well represented in Austin come March . Here's a quick preview of what to expect from the local talent making the long trip to Texas: Bad Vibes (Oakland)Bad Vibes are Oakland's glam and party rock revivalists, and members all play in at least three bands. Lead singer and guitarist Tennent McCabe belts out ballads of lost love through a tangled vine of blond hair, and whips his head back to charge through dizzying solos. Frequent visitors of The Hemlock, Knockout and The Night Light, they went to SXSW last year to play house parties, BBQ's, and Hotel Vegas. Looks like they only destroyed half the town and got invited back. Cathedrals (San Francisco)Haunting electro-pop that sticks to you like a ghost, their set was one of my favorites from this year's Treasure Island Music Festival. One of our best kept secrets until they signed with Neon Gold Records back in June and released a self titled 10-inch in September, their male/female harmonies and architectural songwriting will be a hit with the industry types down in Austin. Listen to "Harlem" from their latest release and see what I mean. Chuck Prophet (San Francisco)A self-made soul man with from San Francisco who's so cool there might be fog running through his veins, Prophet has built a successful musical career over the past 20-odd years. Appearing twice on national TV, and currently touring the world with his band The Mission Express, he'll be gliding into Austin with a wealth of experience and class in his wake. He can make a "Doubter out of Jesus," and will make a believer out of anyone. DJ Halo (Oakland)A producer, remixer, MC, podcast and radio host, Halo has been busy since relocating to Oakland from the East Coast. If you've been to Legionnaire on a First Friday, you know his mixes have the power to draw people in. He'll probably be spinning at some late night gatherings during those balmy Texas nights. Night School (Oakland)Reverb-heavy garage doo-wop with a side of shoegaze, these four Oakland ladies mix the charm of '60s girl groups like The Ronettes with the ethereal resonance of Cocteau Twins. Their debut EP was recently released by Graveface Records (Savannah, GA), and they celebrated with a release show at Milk Bar. Leader of the pack Lexy Morte also played in Whirr for a time, and incorporates similar songwriting into her newest project. Melodic and fuzzy, they'll cheer you up when the corporate sponsorship gets you down. The Velvet Teen (Santa Rosa)Slow moving and deliberately dissonant, The Velvet Teen's music carries emotional weight and hangs like the mist over San Francisco's summer. From Cotati, and with a debut album produced by Death Cab For Cutie's Chris Walla, singer Judah Nagler frequently jumps into a Thom Yorke falsetto while piano keys echo behind him. Expect their sets to be somber and resonant, which may go over well after a few nights without sleep and a couple breakfast tacos.Matías Aguayo (Berlin GERMANY)Lydia Ainsworth (Toronto CANADA)The Amazing Snakeheads (Glasgow UK-SCOTLAND)Kimberly Anne (London UK-ENGLAND)Asian Chairshot (Seoul SOUTH KOREA)AWOLNATION (Los Angeles CA)Babes (Los Angeles CA)The Ballroom Thieves (Boston MA)Del Barber (Winnipeg CANADA)Beat Connection (Seattle WA)BeatKing (Houston TX)Beaty Heart (London UK-ENGLAND)BJ The Chicago Kid (Chicago IL)Black Violin (Miami FL)Guy Blakeslee (Los Angeles LA)The Blind Shake (Minneapolis MN)Suzy Bogguss (Nashville TN)BØRNS (Los Angeles CA )The Bros. Landreth (Winnipeg CANADA)Tom Brosseau (Los Angeles CA)B.Traits (London England UK-ENGLAND)Cairo Knife Fight (Auckland NEW ZEALAND)Cancer Bats (Toronto CANADA)Capitan Tifus (Buenos Aires ARGENTINA)Blake Carrington (Toronto CANADA)Chancha Via Circuito (Buenos Aires ARGENTINA)ChoZe (Atlanta GA)Christian S (Cologne GERMANY)Chui (Zagreb CROATIA)Cinematic Experience (Berlin GERMANY)CJ Fly (Brooklyn NY)Coffeehouse (Santiago CHILE)Amy Cook (Austin TX)The Cribs (Wakefield UK-ENGLAND)Denzel Curry (Miami FL)Karla da Silva (São Paulo BRAZIL)Dear Boy (Los Angeles CA)Death Valley Girls (Los Angeles CA)Delhi 2 Dublin (Vancouver CANADA)Robert DeLong (Los Angeles CA)DeLorean (Houston TX)The Deslondes (New Orleans LA)The Digital Wild (Austin TX)Marianne Dissard (Paris FRANCE)The Districts (Philadelphia PA)DJ Blue Hawaii (Montreal CANADA)DJ Earl (Chicago IL)DJ HVAD (Copenhagen DENMARK)DJ Spinn (New York NY)Doeman (Houston TX)Doughbeezy (Houston TX)Dream Koala (Paris FRANCE)Dr. Rackle And The Sound Griots (New Orleans LA)DJ Duffey (Dallas TX)The Dunwells (Leeds UK-ENGLAND)East India Youth (London UK-ENGLAND)ELEL (Nashville TN)Ellie Herring (Lexington KY)Elvis Depressedly (Asheville NC)Escort (Brooklyn NY)Javier Escovedo and the City Lights (San Diego CA)EX-CULT (Memphis TN)Sean Falyon (Atlanta GA)Famasloop (Miami FL)Father (Atlanta GA)Fielded (New York NY)The fin. (Tokyo JAPAN)Diana Fuentes (San Juan PUERTO RICO)Gang Of Four (London UK-ENGLAND)Gang Of Youths (Sydney AUSTRALIA)Garden City Movement (Tel Aviv ISRAEL)Gateway Drugs (Los Angeles CA)Jacco Gardner (Amsterdam THE NETHERLANDS)Ghost Magnet Roach Motel (Tijuana MEXICO)Giant³ Sand (Tucson AZ)Girl Pilot (Austin TX)Good Harvest (Falun SWEDEN)Philipp Gorbachev (Berlin GERMANY)Jon Dee Graham (Austin TX)William Harries Graham (Austin TX)Grand Analog (Toronto CANADA)Gyptian (King Western JAMAICA)Monica Heldal (Oslo NORWAY)HEO (Seoul SOUTH KOREA)Hiatus Kaiyote (Melbourne AUSTRALIA)Highly Suspect (Brooklyn NY)Hippo Campus (Minneapolis MN)Ho9909 (Newark NJ)Reuben Hollebon (Norfolk UK-ENGLAND)HOLYCHILD (Los Angeles CA)Holy Esque (East Kilbride UK-SCOTLAND)I Am Giant (Auckland NEW ZEALAND)Ice Prince (Lagos NIGERIA)Ikonika (London UK-ENGLAND)Iyanya (Lagos NIGERIA)Jamestown Revival (Austin TX)Mick Jenkins (Chicago IL)July Talk (Toronto CANADA)Kaleo (Mosfellsbær ICELAND)Kawehi (Eudora KS)Tori Kelly (Los Angeles CA)KEN mode (Winnipeg CANADA)Kill! Kill! Pussycat! (Ange SWEDEN)Victoria Kimani (Los Angeles CA)Elle King (Brooklyn NY)King Tuff (Brattleboro VT)Natasha Kmeto (Portland OR)Kosha Dillz (Los Angeles CA)La Luz (Seattle WA)La Mecanica Popular (New York NY)Nikki Lane (Greenville SC)La Sabrosura Dura (Bogota COLOMBIA)Laza (Springfield MA)Lazyeyes (Brooklyn NY)Lenka (Sydney AUSTRALIA)LIL J (Austin TX)LITE (Tokyo JAPAN)Longfellow (Brockley UK-ENGLAND)Los Aldeanos (Havana CUBA)The Lowest Pair (Olympia WA)Lowkey (Austin TX)Austin Lucas (Bloomington IN)Macaco (SPAIN) (Barcelona SPAIN)The Magnettes (Lulea SWEDEN)Mallory Knox (Ely UK-ENGLAND)Mansionair (Sydney AUSTRALIA)MANTAR (Hamburg GERMANY)Mao Loading (Bogota COLOMBIA)The Mastersons (Austin TX)Mighty Oaks (Berlin GERMANY)Mirror Travel (Austin TX)Chris Mitchell (Houston TX)Moe Gang (Houston TX)Machel Montano (Port of Spain TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO)Moon City Boys (Stockholm SWEDEN)Moon Honey (Los Angeles CA)Ian Moore (Seattle WA)Bob Moses (New York NY)Mother Falcon (Austin TX)Motopony (Seattle WA)Mr Play (London UK-ENGLAND)The Mud Howlers (Mexico City MEXICO)Mumiy Troll (Vladivostok RUSSIA)My Jerusalem (Austin TX)Mysonne (New York NY)The Mystery Lights (Brooklyn NY)Israel Nash (Dripping Springs TX)Lukas Nelson & Promise Of The Real (Venice CA)Nihils (Waidring AUSTRIA)Northcote (Victoria CANADA)Nyla (Kingston JAMAICA)O Amor Existe (Porto Alegre BRAZIL)Odesza (Seattle WA)Adil Omar (Islamabad PAKISTAN)Only Real (London UK-ENGLAND)Paul Oscher (Austin TX)Oso Leone (Palma de Mallorca SPAIN)The Painted Redstarts (Austin TX)Pale Seas (Southampton UK-ENGLAND)Percance (San Jose COSTA RICA)Josiel Perez's AC Jazz Project (Los Angeles CA)Pompeya (Moscow RUSSIA)Jay Prince (London UK-ENGLAND)Public Access T.V. (New York NY)Public Service Broadcasting (London UK-ENGLAND)PUJOL (Columbia TN)Quorum (Tokyo JAPAN)Quiet Company (Austin TX)Rainy Milo (London UK-ENGLAND)Rival Consoles (London UK-ENGLAND)Daniel Romano (Welland ON CANADA)Peter Rosenberg (New York NY)Daniel Roure Quartet (Toulon FRANCE)Sadat X (New Rochelle NY)Samini (Accra GHANA)San Fermin (Brooklyn NY)Sango (Seattle WA)Saukrates (Toronto CANADA)Sean Paul (Kingston JAMAICA)Hunter Sharpe (Austin TX)Andy Shauf (Regina CANADA)Sicko Mobb (Chicago IL)Samantha Savage Smith (Calgary CANADA)Snootie Wild (Memphis TN)Socalled (Montreal CANADA)Sol (Seattle WA)Sonido San Francisco (Xonacatlán MEXICO)Sophie (London UK-ENGLAND)Southern Hospitality (London UK-ENGLAND)SPEAK (Austin TX)George Stancell (Longview TX)Peggy Stern Trio (Austin TX)Sungod (Austin TX)Surfer Blood (West Palm Beach FL)S U R V I V E (Austin TX)Sweater Beats (Brooklyn NY)Swervedriver (Oxford UK-ENGLAND)Time For Three (Philadelphia PA)The Ting Tings (Manchester UK-ENGLAND)Trixie Trainwreck (Berlin GERMANY)Tropics (London UK-ENGLAND)Truth Universal (New Orleans LA)TsuShiMaMiRe (Tokyo JAPAN)Turbo Fruits (Nashville TN)Benny Turner and Real Blues (New Orleans LA)Twin Danger (Brooklyn NY)Twin Shadow (Los Angeles CA)Jonathan Tyler (Dallas TX)Velvet Caravan (Savannah GA)Victim Mentality (Seoul SOUTH KOREA)Vision Fortune (London UK-ENGLAND)The Voyeurs (London UK-ENGLAND)MACK WARBUCKZ (Atlanta GA)Wardell (Los Angeles CA)Water Liars (Oxford MS)Juan Wauters (New York NY)Wave Chapelle (Milwaukee WI)Weyes Blood (New York City NY)Whiskey Shivers (Austin TX)Wild Throne (Bellingham WA)Alex Wiley (Chicago IL)Roosh Williams (Houston TX)Lena Willikens (Cologne GERMANY)Wolf Alice (London UK-ENGLAND)Worldwide (San Antonio TX)Xu Xu Fang (Mar Vista CA)YB (Seoul SOUTH KOREA)Young Empires (Toronto CANADA)Your Old Droog (Brooklyn NY)Yukon Blonde (Vancouver CANADA)Yung Gleesh (Washington DC)Zionstereo (Cali COLOMBIA)The Zoltars (Austin TX)The Zombies (St Albans UK-ENGLAND)Zookeeper (Austin TX)Zooly Gvng (Atlanta GA)Yumi Zouma (Christchurch NEW ZEALAND)