March brings two things to mind: the first day of spring and SXSW.
I am little bit disappointed that once again this year I won’t be attending South By Southwest Interactive. Brian and I attended SXSWi (the first of the three festivals under the SXSW umbrella that are held in Austin, TX each March) in 2011 and 2012, but sat out last year and this year. As much fun as the chaos is (and the pretty awesome swag) we decided to use our time off this spring adventuring to Hong Kong.
I would love to go again next year, maybe even stay a day or two for the music or film festival. The music festival is part of SXSW that most people have heard of. Once the domain of small venues for up and coming acts it now attracts big names like the Foo Fighters and PitBull for concerts. It’s even spilled over into special events during the interactive festival like indie bands in the Blogger’s Lounge and exclusive concerts at Austin City Limits.
Since I won’t be attending this year, I decided to celebrate with a SXSW inspired workout playlist. Check it out for some old and new favorites. And if you’ve never been to SXSW, check it out for your 2015 schedule. No matter what business you are in, there is something you can learn about communication, social media, technology and marketing at SXSW Interactive.
- Part of Me by Chris Cornell: Soundgarden is part of a massive concert organized by iTunes. Chris Cornell alone would be worth the price of a ticket.
- Timber by Pitbull: Also on the bill of the iTunes Festival. What a ticket!
- Bridge Burning by Foo Fighters: Our first year at SXSW Brian got sick. We stayed in instead of following up on rumors that Foo Fighters were playing the closing night party at Stubbs. I hear it was amazing.
- Born to Run by Bruce Springsteen: The Boss gave a keynote speech one year. You never know when you are going to get to learn from the masters.
- Holy Grail by Jay Z (ft. Justin Timberlake): Amex hosted a special cardholder only Jay Z concert at SXSW in 2012. It just so happened to be on Brian’s birthday. Not bad celebrating your birthday front row at a Jay Z show.
- Cult of Love by Dum Dum Girls: Finding new things is half the fun of all the festivals. While not new artists, they are new too me. So retro!
- The Way You Move by Outkast: You don’t need a conference badge for all the events. We won tickets playing Four Square to see Big Boi.
- Atomic by Blondie: The members of the band will be part of the festival this year. Jealous.
- Left of Center by Suzanne Vega: One of the many cool chicks who have been featured in SXSW over the years.
- Crazy by Gnarls Barkley: Cee Lo Green is doing a live interview at SXSW this year. Would love to hear that one!
Ever been to the craziness that is SXSW? I’d love to hear your best memory!
