Barbados’ rock band Kite will be flying high tonight and taking the national flag with them.
That is because the band – Brian Marshall and JJ Poulter – has been chosen from hundreds of international acts to headline the South by South West (SXSW) Music and Media Conference tonight in Austin, Texas.
The SXSW celebrates its 25th anniversary as the most revered music and media conferences in the world where by day thousands of conference registrants network in the halls of the Austin Convention Centre on their way to do business in the SXSW trade show, sit in on panel discussions featuring some of the industry’s key players and gain insight from legendary keynote speakers. By night, SXSW showcases hundreds of musical acts from around the globe on over 80 stages in downtown Austin, Texas.
“We are playing two shows. One show is the Barbados Showcase featuring Kite and five other acts from Barbados. It’s going to be quite something with a real party atmosphere and will be seen by hundreds of music executives attending SXSW 2011,” Marshall told WE Magazine.
The second show will be Kite’s official SXSW showcase.
“After performing last year we were invited to perform with bands from all over the world this year. This gives us a unique opportunity to showcase our songs to music entrepreneurs the world over,” Poulter explained.
Right now SXSW 2011 is the most creative spot on earth. Acts performing this year include The Foo Fighters, Muse, Kanye West, Duran Duran, The Strokes and much more.
The band was chosen to headline after they applied through Sonicbids – an online application to SXSW 2011 but both members suggested the reason they were selected was because their songs were only played on several American prime-time television shows like CBS’s Jericho, ABC Family’s Lincoln Heights and having their recent single Firefly featured in an international movie trailer The Stone Angel, a movie based on the international best-selling novel by Margaret Lawrence.
“Also, we bring a unique vibe to SXSW as a rock band featuring the steel drum,” Marshall added.
When asked how the other local bands were representing the island, he said: “All our peers – Nexcyx, Threads of Scarlet, Wesu, Indrani and Philip 7 – have given very impressive performances already in the acoustic sessions we have been doing at the heart of SXSW 2011 at the Austin Convention Centre. We are proud to be alongside such talent. We have to pinch ourselves sometimes at their performances. Goose bumps, man!” he said.
Feedback on their own performances has also been “a bit overwhelming”.
“Our acoustic show was on ABC TV yesterday (Tuesday). The other artistes have been getting good TV coverage too. It’s awesome and humbling all at the same time,” said Poulter.
After tonight’s climatic performance, Kite will return to continue recording their EP and looking forward to several shows in Barbados next month.
