SXSW kicks off this week, the annual taco-and-tequila-riddled playground for bands across the globe, the industry folk and writers who love them (or love to hate them, or love them for a minute and then move on) and thousands of others who flutter about Sixth street, looking for a music fix, or at least a good rumor about where to find one.
This year, the best place to hang (in our totally subjective, non-modest opinion) will be at the Brooklyn Country Cantina, of which we are proud to be a media sponsor, along with our friends at the Bluegrass Situation. The day party, on Saturday, March 15th at Licha’s Cantina, will feature an eclectic Americana, Country and roots lineup including Robbie Fulks, JD Wilkes & The Dirt Daubers, Humming House, The Defibulators, Tall Tall Trees, The Sea, The Sea and more to be announced soon. RSVP here (which will also enter you to win a sweet Deering banjo).
We’re always clear about our dual selves – we are fully devoted Nashvillians, of course, but a little bit of our heart and soul will always be in our New York home. Which is why partnering with Brooklyn Country Cantina seemed like a perfect fit: pairing our roots back east with our new, southern selves.
Our first featured artist of the event is The Kernal, a Tennesse-based (Jackson, to be exact), a country artist with modern character who manages to infuse both hints of traditional honky-tonkers with a pop sensibility born out of the likes of Buddy Holly and 50s du-wop – he’s a storyteller, through and through. I first stumbled upon The Kernal on a Sunday night in Asheville, NC – I was in town for the night to interview Dawes, and a friend and I wandered out to the winding streets of the mountain town, on the hunt for a bite to eat and a place to hear a little music, two things which seemed rather easy to find in this nearly utopian little city. And there The Kernal was, in a bright red suit, playing a bar a few blocks down from our hotel, inspiring a midnight dance-off from some North Carolina hippies, hitting twangy notes with narratives that harken back to the days when country music could be heart-wrenching at the same time as having a sense of humor. It was nostalgic without being revivalist, and fun as hell.
Check out the music below, and visit the site tomorrow for our next SXSW featured artist, The Sea, The Sea.
Lockeland Springsteen 