Photos: Berklee at SXSW
Jen de la Osa '01 and Henry Beguiristain '01 of Aloud
Photo by Kelly Davidson
Stage be damned! Jen de la Osa '01 kick-starts Aloud’s set, singing sans amplification from the audience.
Photo by Kelly Davidson
Three-fourths of Art Decade’s string quartet: students Scarlett Deering, Ada Pasternak, and Kim Lonetree
Photo by Kelly Davidson
Ben Talmi '10 of Art Decade brings down the full force of his ax.
Photo by Kelly Davidson
Ryan Daniel, Berkleemusic student Gerritt Tisdale, and Andy Gonzalez of Audio Runner
Photo by Kelly Davidson
Audio Runner pumped up the crowd with its rocktronic stylings.
Photo by Kelly Davidson
Kailynn West '10 of Black Kettle
Photo by Kelly Davidson
Keeley Bumford '09 of Black Kettle
Photo by Kelly Davidson
Austin-based artist Dave Madden '03 MC'd the event.
Photo by Kelly Davidson
Student Emily Elbert performs with the Boston Boys, left to right: student Duncan Wickel, Josh Hari '09, Elbert, and Eric Robertson '10.
Photo by Kelly Davidson
Eric Robertson '10 of the Boston Boys tears it up on electrified mandolin.
Photo by Kelly Davidson
Student Julia Easterlin created a one-woman band with her trusty looping machine.
Photo by Kelly Davidson
Laura Jansen '04 performed songs from her U.S. debut, Bells.
Photo by Kelly Davidson
Nikki Dessingue and Kurt Schneider '03 of Stereo Telescope
Photo by Kelly Davidson
The Clem's ranch in Johnson City, Texas
Photo by Margot Edwards
Zebras greeted attendees on arrival.
Photo by Margot Edwards
President Roger Brown, Kathy Clem, and trustee David Clem
Photo by Kelly Davidson
David Clem prepares to present the Ruba Cup to the winners of the shootout.
Photo by Kelly Davidson
The aftermath
Photo by Kelly Davidson
In March, 13 bands containing nearly 30 alumni and students played Berklee's three events at the 25th anniversary of Austin's SXSW Music and Media Conference—one of the largest music festivals in the country.
Berklee, Berkleemusic.com, and Heavy Rotation Records (HRR) hosted their sixth annual official SXSW day party at Friends with a stellar lineup featuring Boston bands Aloud, Art Decade, Stereo Telescope, and the Boston Boys (HRR); Julia Easterlin (HRR) from Augusta, Georgia; Emily Elbert (HRR) from Coppell, Texas; Audio Runner from Houston; and Los Angeles artists Laura Jansen (Decca/Universal Records) and Black Kettle (HRR). The event attracted its biggest audience yet, with attendees numbering nearly 750 throughout the day.
A crowd also came out on St. Patrick's Day to party and hear some great music at Berklee's second unofficial SXSW show at the Lucky Lounge. Austinites were well represented with performances by Royal Forest (formerly Loxsly), Tucker Jameson and the Hot Mugs, and the Jitterbug Vipers featuring Austin alumni chapter head Sarah Sharp, who also MC'd the event. New York group Teletextile also played, along with Easterlin, Elbert and the Boston Boys.
Easterlin, Elbert, and the Boston Boys made it a hat trick, performing at all three events, culminating with a private barbeque hosted by Berklee trustee David Clem and his wife Kathy at their picturesque ranch outside of Austin. This year, the ranch was the site of the Ruba Cup Barbeque Shootout, where four of the top barbeque teams in the state competed for the title, judged by Berklee president Roger Brown and others in attendance.
Click the image at the left to see photos from Friends and the barbeque, and check out Berklee-Blogs.com for photos from the Lucky Lounge and performance videos from all three events.