TV On The Radio, Stromae & Courtney Barnett To Play NPR Music's SXSW Showcase
Clockwise from upper left: Shamir, TV On The Radio, Boogie, Courtney Barnett, Stromae Courtesy of the artists hide caption
What a night! NPR Music will be at SXSW in Austin, Texas on Wednesday, March 18 to present an amazing night of music. Courtney Barnett will play her entire new album live, the week before it comes out. Stromae, a European star who has racked up about half a billion YouTube views amongst his videos, is about to find a welcoming U.S. audience. All of this and more warms up to TV On The Radio, headlining and performing material from their best record in 8 years.
If you're in Austin for SXSW, the show will take place at Stubb's BBQ. If you're following along from elsewhere, we will be recording the performances — audio and video — and we'll start to post them here, on NPR Music, in the days following the concert. Here's the complete lineup:
• TV On The Radio has been commanding stages for more than a decade, and they'll headline our showcase. This mesmerizing, sturdy, sensitive rock group put out its fifth album, the great Seeds, late last year.
• Though he's new to most American music fans, we're already falling for Belgian singer-songwriter Stromae. His video for "Papaoutai" has more than 230 million YouTube views, and shortly after SXSW he embarks on a U.S. tour that includes Coachella.
• The Australian singer-songwriter Courtney Barnett has a way with words that made us take notice a long time ago, and her official debut album, Sometimes I Sit And Think And Sometimes I Just Sit fulfills all that great promise. Lucky us, she'll play the entire album at Stubb's, as part of our First Listen Live series.
• The 20-year-old singer Shamir has staked a claim as one of the most exciting new artists on the pop scene with just a handful of irrepressible, disco- and hip-hop-influenced dance songs and an undeniable presence. Expect a party.
• Boogie, a rapper who hails from the fertile ground of Compton, Calif., has a surprisingly jaundiced eye for someone with so few years in the game, but dispensing with the pleasantries makes for songs that cut deep.