SXSW Update

Hypebot's spies at SXSW called this year's confab one of the best ever with lots of great music. The HollywoodReporter.com wrote, "Seeing the Texas-bred act Los Super 7 seemed an appropriate way to close out the 2005 South by Southwest Music Conference & Festival. The Tex-Mex act -- whose SXSW incarnation included such regional luminaries as Joe Ely, Raul Malo, Ruben Ramos and Rick Trevino -- wrapped up Saturday night's festivities with a 1 a.m. set at the cavernous outdoor venue Stubb's. It was a perfect reminder that an all-encompassing music event like SXSW, which closed Sunday with its annual barbecue and softball tournament, could only take place in Texas, where they grow everything big. But the conference's visibly weary managing director Roland Swenson noted Saturday that SXSW has clearly expanded far beyond state boundaries in its 18th year in existence. "It still reflects Austin and Texas," Swenson said. "But from the start it was always about reaching out beyond Austin and Texas. That's why we started it. ... It was always about the rest of the world. We started out trying to create something for people who were interested in music but didn't live in Los Angeles or New York or Nashville."