Austin, Texas was the home of one of the most important and influential music festivals in the United States this weekend, and South By South West was an amazing experience. Even though it was rainy, cold and windy on Saturday as it came to the end of the concert, the fans didn’t really seem to care. On Thursday, March 18th, the famous Motown legend himself Smokey Robinson had been there to deliver the keynote speech and start the festival right. The crowd seemed to be a little restless the first night but as the Conference went on, the crowd and the performers only got more and more enthused.
Over the conference, several different performers were there to really bring some amazing talent and enjoyment to the concert. It was really the second day of the confererence where the fans were given the real performances, and you could see the lights go from red to green on Friday. Sadly, Alex Chilton, famous guitarist of Big Star, had passed away on Wednesday, so there were touching remembrances throughout the performance, and many of the musicians there felt a little numb by the loss. But, the audience wouldn’t let the tragedy stop the celebration of music. They were there in throngs for Stone Temple Pilots, who were finally performing together for a new album, something they hadn’t done in almost a decade. Robbie Krieger also arrived to promote a new documentary on the Doors. Cheap Trick also got to help the audience rock on.
Muse, Courtney Love, and Smokey Robinson himself were all different performers helping to keep the crowd all sorts of riled up during the concert on Friday. To bring it to a close on Saturday was Estelle and Snoop Dogg, and most touching, a full Alex Chilton tribute really brought the night to a final close.
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