SXSW Mon Mar 07 2011

Chicago (and the Region) at SXSW 2011 - Bands & Showcases

By Andrew Huff

Lisa White posted a partial list last Sunday, but thanks to some computer wizardry, we're now able to share a much more complete list of the Chicagoland acts on the South by Southwest Music Festival -- as well as those from Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Wisconsin and the rest of Illinois. We've also put together an expanded list of showcases hosted by local labels, venues, publications and others. Consider this your clearinghouse for Chicago at SXSW 2011.

The links take you to the acts' listings on SXSW; if there's no link, they're not currently on the SXSW site, which means they're playing an unofficial show or showcase. The site is still being updated, though, so they may turn up there soon. Big thank you to Scott Robbin for his help obtaining the data for this post, and to Pop 'Stache for their help tracking unofficial acts.

Chicagoland

The Alaya Conscious
A Lull
Arma
The Atlas Moth
The Autumn Defense
The Bears of Blue River
Big Science
Blah Blah Blah
Brontosaurus
California Wives
Candy Golde
Paul Cary
Cast Spells
Chaperone!
The Congregation
David Costa
The Cool Kids
Dastardly
Distractions
Eleventh Dream Day
Empires
Ezra Furman & The Harpoons
Famous Like You
The Felix Culpa
The Fireship
Flosstradamus
The Fold
Football
The Frantic
Gemini Club
Great Divide
Greensugar
Gold Motel (Oak Brook)
Gypsyblood
Heart Set Self-Destruct
Hollywood Holt
The Hood Internet
How Far to Austin
I Fight Dragons
Joan of Arc
Kellen & Me
The Kickback
Kid Sister
Kids These Days
Kirkland
L.E.P. BOGUS BOYS
L'Altra
Bruce Lamont
John Langford & Skull Orchard
Tim Larson and The Owner/Operators
The Lifeline
Light Pollution
Loyal Divide
Makeshift Prodigy
Maps & Atlases
Marco Morales
Mia LeBlon
Mickey
Midwest Hype
My Gold Mask
Bob Nanna
Netherfriends
The Noise FM
Novembers Doom
Outer Minds
Par Avion
Post Honeymoon
Rabble Rabble
Radar Eyes
The Right Now
Ronny Robinson
Santah
The Scissors
Scott Lucas & the Married Men
Secret Colours
Sissy-Eared Mollycoddles
Smith Westerns
Smoking Popes
Soft Speaker
State Champion
The Streets On Fire
These Wonderful Evils
Tiger Bones
United Federation of Planets
Veil of Maya
Very Truly Yours
Waco Brothers
Abigail Washburn (Evanston)
White Mystery
The Window Theatre
Young Man
Yourself and The Air

Region

Illinois:
Chris Bathgate (Pecatonica, IL)
Santah (Champagne)

Indiana:
Dylan Ettinger (Bloomington)
Freddie Gibbs (Gary)
Otis Gibbs (Wanamaker)
Native (Northwest Indiana)
We Are Hex (Indianapolis)
Yearbook Committee (Terre Haute)

Iowa:
Diplomats of Solid Sound (Iowa City)
Mondo Drag (Davenport)
Taterbug (Iowa City)

Michigan:
The American Secrets (Detroit)
Big Sean (Detroit)
Binary Star (Detroit)
Black Milk (Detroit)
Celldweller (Detroit)
Cheap Girls (Lansing)
Dennis Coffey (Detroit)
Dale Earnhardt Jr Jr (Detroit)
Easy Action (Detroit)
Elzhi (Detroit)
The Hounds Below (Ferndale)
Human Eye (Detroit)
I See Stars (Warren)
Invincible + Waajeed (Detroit)
Whitey Morgan & the 78s (Flint)
The People's Temple (Lansing)
Pro (Detroit)
Rocky Loves Emily (Detroit)
Terrible Twos (Detroit)
Alex Winston (Detroit)

Missouri:
Capybara (Kansas City)
Greek Fire (St. Louis)
Ha Ha Tonka (Springfield)
JAI (St. Louis)
J.R. (St. Louis)
Living Things (St. Louis)
Ben Miller Band (Joplin)
Puddle of Mudd (Kansas City)
The Republic Tigers (Kansas City)
Rockwell Knuckles (St. Louis)
Someone Still Loves You Boris Yeltsin (Springfield)
Tech N9ne (Kansas City)
Thi'sl (St Louis)
Umberto (Kansas City)

Wisconsin:
All Tiny Creatures (Madison)
Codebreaker (Milwaukee)
Differing Opinions of Good (Eau Claire)
French Horn Rebellion (Milwaukee)
Gayngs (Milwaukee)
Jaill (Milwaukee)
Stephen Jerzak (La Crosse)
Locksley (Madison)
Maritime (Milwaukee)
Screaching Weasel (Madison)
Heidi Spencer and the Rare Birds (Milwaukee)

Showcases

Alligator Records celebrates its 40th anniversary with a showcase on March 16 at Speakeasy featuring Smokin' Joe Kubek & Bnois King, Guitar Shorty and Marcia Ball.

Pitchfork is taking SXSW by storm this year, with an official showcase March 15 at Emo's and an Austin edition of its #Offline series March 17-18 at the East Side Drive-In. The Smith Westerns will be the opening act at #Offline.

The 16th annual Bloodshot Records Party is March 18 at Yard Dog Gallery, with Whitey Morgan & the 78s, Ha Ha Tonka, Waco Brothers, Eddie Spaghetti, Exene Cervenka, Maggie Bjorklund w/Cobirds Unite & special guests, Ben Weaver, Lydia Loveless, FREAKWATER and Carolyn Mark w/the Jack Grace Band performing. The fun kicks off at noon, and it's free for everyone, no wristband or badge required. Bloodshot's official showcase March 19 at Red Eyed Fly, featuring Lydia Loveless, Maggie Bjorklund w/Cobirds Unite & special guests, Exene Cervenka, Eddie Spaghetti, Waco Brothers, Ha Ha Tonka and Whitey Morgan & the 78s. Label acts perform throughout the festival; details here.

The Hideout hosts its annual SXSW Sendoff Party Saturday, March 12, starting at 1:30pm, Outer Minds, Chaperone!, Joan of Arc, Mickey, Radar Eyes, Tiger Bones, Skull Orchard, Paul Cary, Rabble Rabble, Waco Brothers and Kids These Days perform. Tickets are $10 at the door. 21+

Schubas and Lincoln Hall team up once again with Threadless for the 15th annual SXSW Round-Up March 17 at Yard Dog Gallery. The party starts at noon, with Alejandro Escovedo, Alex Winston, California Wives, John Vanderslice, Kopecky Family Band, My Gold Mask, Reptar, Screaming Females and Walk the Moon, plus DJ sets by Flosstradamus and Midnight Conspiracy. It's free and 18+.

Bottom Lounge, CHIRP and Lawyer4Musicians.com host an SXSW send-off show on March 12 at the Bottom Lounge with Blah Blah Blah, The Idle Hands, Elephant Stone, Big Science, Scott Lucas and the Married Men and California Wives. They'll also be hosting two unofficial day parties in Austin, themed by genre: The hip hop showcase is March 18 at Aces, featuring EPMD, The Cool Kids, Ninjasonik, Doomtree, Shad, Rockie Fresh and Audiodax. On March 19, the rock showcase at Long Branch Inn features The Idle Hands, Blah Blah Blah, Elephant Stone, Empires, Big Science, California Wives and Scott Lucas & the Married Men.

Hozak Records is doing a free two-part showcase on March 18. The first half is at Beerland from 1pm to 6pm, featuring Mickey, Heavy Times, Outer Minds, People's Temple, Fungi Girls, Xray Eyeballs, Squish and Shrapnelles. At 6:30pm, the action moves to Cheer Up Charlies, where Rayon Beach, Women in Prison, Radar Eyes, Teepee, Sleepovers and Reading Rainbow perform.

Lastly, JBTV and Threadless will be hosting three days of free showcases, featuring more than 40 acts, mostly from Chicago. Check out the full schedule here.

What did we miss?

Know of any Chicagoland acts heading down to Austin to perform unofficial shows that we've missed? Did we miss a showcase? Let us know in the comments. And stay tuned for live coverage of the festival!