Altsounds - Stage Mothers Present: The Aussie BBQ 2009

Australia may be known as The Lucky Country but our resolve has been tested recently with bush fires, floods and the global recession. In times like these we need something to look forward to and the prospect of new Australian music breaking overseas lifts the spirit.

Stage Mothers are honored to announce the full line-up for the 2009 Aussie BBQ at South By Southwest (SxSW) in Austin set for Friday 20th March from 12 noon. From the 32 Australian acts set to head over to Texas this March to showcase at the SxSW music convention, twelve will be playing the legendary Aussie BBQ. This includes The Drones, Youth Group, Gabriella Cilmi, The Grates, Birds of Tokyo, Josh Pyke, Temper Trap, My Disco, Infusion, The Fumes, The Boat People and Red Riders.

It is a young and fresh line up, however there are hardly any international debutantes here. The majority of these acts are regular visitors to the USA with some on the verge of international superstardom.

GABRIELLA CILMI is the 16 year old songwriter who scooped the pool at the ARIA (Australian Record Industry Awards) last September including Best Female Artist and Single of the Year for Sweet About Me which has been a smash hit around the world. Cilmi has had a stellar start to 2009 scoring nominations for a Brit Award (UK) and an Echo Award (Germany). Cilmi has been nominated in the ‘International Solo Female Artist’ category for the Brits alongside Beyonce, Santogold, Pink and Katy Perry. In the Echos, she’s been nominated in the ‘Best International Newcomer’ category with Duffy, Leona Lewis, Katy Perry and Amy McDonald.

TEMPER TRAP has been described as the Aussie Coldplay. This indie pop foursome started playing around Melbourne in 2006 and after releasing their single Sweet Disposition things just took off. Now the rest of the world is taking notice, the BBC included them in the Top 15 bands to watch in 2009 and they were one of the toasts of CMJ in 2008. Temper Trap’s debut album is due for release in the spring and was produced by Jim Abbiss (Arctic Monkeys, Adele, Massive Attack, Bjork, Goldfrapp, Kasabian).

JOSH PYKE is one of Australia’s most popular and talented musicians. His critically acclaimed debut album Memories & Dust collected three ARIA Awards, hit the charts at #4 and went on to sell 50,000+ copies. The album was released in the UK on Island Records, and Josh toured there extensively. A slot on the Glastonbury Festival bill preceded a run of sold-out theatre shows and festivals back home. Josh Pyke’s co-produced his second album Chimney’s Afire where the songs flow with maritime themes, childhood reminiscences and stories.

YOUTH GROUP have toured with the likes of Interpol, Coldplay, The Strokes and the Kings Of Leon and are fresh from playing on Australia’s biggest traveling festival the Big Day Out. They have released four albums so far, the most recent The Night is Ours was recorded near a derelict 1920s mess hall on Sydney’s harbour and dishes up lush layers of wide screen, surround-sound glittering melodic rock. They recently joined the remaining members of the legendary group The Triffids for a series of very special shows across Australia. Youth Group are signed to the prestigious Epitaph label in the USA where they have toured extensively and played Coachella Festival and SxSW. Their music has been featured in TV shows The O.C. and Gossip Girl.

Established in 2003, The Aussie BBQ at SxSW has become one of the must attend events of the SxSW program and has been voted number one day party at SxSW by industry, media and bloggers for the last three years in a row. Acts who have played the BBQ in the past include Paul Kelly, Hoodoo Gurus, Powderfinger, John Butler Trio, The Living End, You Am I, The Vines, Missy Higgins, Ben Lee, Airbourne, The Panics, Beasts Of Bourbon, The Stems and Gyroscope to name but a few. The Aussie BBQ is fully catered with complimentary Australian style barbecue, Australian beers and wines.

SxSW has been running for 22 years and attracts over 50,000+ people from the music industry including over 1,800 acts playing across 70 stages. Over the last seven years the Aussie BBQ has established itself among the international music community who attend the convention, as a meeting place for music enthusiasts, A&R, promotions, executives, lawyers, agents, media and bands and the perfect launch pad for Australian artists. More than 5,000 people are set to attend the Stage Mothers showcases across the USA in March 2009.

Stage Mothers is now set up as a support service for Australian musicians attending overseas music conventions. Stage Mothers is not a government organisation, but Australian music fans, who as regular attendees of SxSW, felt compelled to set up an event to celebrate Australian music. Their objectives and events have expanded each year since inception. These events come together with assistance of like minded sponsors such as Elwood Jeans, Australia’s Independent Jeans Company and an exciting new music convention taking place in Perth Australia in October called The One Movement festival as well as various beer, wine and food companies from home. Thank you to all.

The Aussie BBQ has become a SxSW institution and this year there will be two huge events on either side of SxSW, in Los Angeles (Mar 15) and New York (Mar 26).

For more information please go to the websites, www.stagemothers.com or www.theaussiebbq.com

Invite only industry showcase
Free food & drinks
SxSW Badge holders welcome, entry is subject to capacity.

Resources:
The Aussie BBQ - the biggest showcase of Aussie music in the USA
Stage Mothers