Sweet summer sounds for free around Austin

It is summertime in Austin and it is HOT (which you may have noticed!). What are you supposed to do to enjoy this wonderful time of year when you are short on cash? Listed below are just a few of the amazing music events in Austin that will help keep you cool and busy. After [...]

My Education primed for “Sunrise” tour

With the release of and upcoming tour for their new Album “Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans,” I met with My Education to get a history lesson on the evolution of the band that makes it what it is today. If you are familiar with today’s sound of My Education – – entirely instrumental, characterized as [...]

A Cultural-ist Challenge, Are We Up To It?

Returning home after a busy, sleepless week in New York City attending BookExpo America 2010 (BEA), I spent a whole day in a couple of airports among the usual business travelers and familiies initiating their summer vacations. I certainly had a book along with me, as I always do, even when not traveling, but it [...]

BAM: Celebrating Black Arts

“There [are] not a lot of activities about African American culture and arts,” said Ms. Lisa Byrd, Founder and Artistic Director of the Black Arts Movement performing arts festival. Black Arts Movement festival (BAM) is a celebration of African American artists in the new millennium. This three-week long event, she said, is “an opportunity to [...]

Bomba Estéreo en Fuego: Interview with Colombia’s rising stars

The first time I met Liliana, from Bomba Estéreo, was a few months ago in Indio, CA at Coachella. Paul Dryden, with Nacional introduced me to her, saying “This is Katie, from The Austin Times.” “AUSTIN?!?!?!,” exclaimed Liliana, “I love Austin!!!!!”  She then grabbed my pen out of my hand and proceeded to write the [...]

Pachanga Latino Music Festival 2010

The Pachanga Latino Music Festival, which took place on Saturday, May 22 at Fiesta Gardens in East Austin, was a lively party indeed. Now in its third year, the event had a stellar lineup, including local and international acts ranging from DJs to mariachis and traditional Tejano to electronica infused with Latin sounds. There was [...]

Meet Mitote, playing Mexican folk music with Chicano sensibility

Don’t call Mitote a band. Members of the Austin-based ensemble of musicians consider themselves friends who are participating in the great tradition that is “Son” (pronunciation: sohn, meaning: traditional) music. Armed with instruments not traditionally seen around Austin, the group plays Son Jarocho- and Son Huasteco-style traditional regional Mexican folk music, from the states of [...]

Interview with Crafty Chica about “Waking Up In The Land Of Glitter”

I get the feeling that Kathy Cano-Murillo is the real deal, without even having met her in person. You get what you…well, feel. That is, you can’t help but feel energized and creative when you come across anything that has been touched by Kathy. That is how reading her debut novel, Waking Up In The [...]

Sony expands Music Ticket + program to Latin music tours

Latin music fans will get song downloads and other bonus content along with their concert tickets this summer, as Sony Music Entertainment ramps up its “Music Ticket+” bundling program. Sony is preparing to offer Music Ticket+ downloads this summer to fans attending shows by Chayanne, Camila and Daddy Yankee in the United States and Latin [...]

Diversifying SXSW

Just last week, it was announced that the Austin History Center will be hosting an exhibit on “The 25 Year History of SXSW” from February to July 2011. South by Southwest (SXSW) has become one of the largest festivals in the United States and generated more than $100 million for the Austin economy this year. [...]