South by Southwest music, film and interactive festival—grab your cowboy hat and hold on.

What began as a regional music festival in the 1980s with 700 attendees, has boomed into two weeks covering music, film and technology with 2,200 official musical performers alone from more than 50 countries. Countless more performers lay down their jams in the streets and at non-official South by Southwest bars, as well as films and self-proclaimed social media gurus aplenty at SXSW Film and SXSW Interactive, respectively.

They do say that everything is bigger in Texas.

Like most music festivals, it starts around lunchtime but Austin’s bars play host well into the night. Even when the bars close down at 2 a.m., food vendors and the partying masses still roam until sunrise. The music festival is the largest of its kind, and the festival began with a focus on emerging talent has started to draw marquee names as well. This year’s performers alone included Prince, Justin Timberlake, Green Day and the Flaming Lips.

And with bars ranging from converted residential homes to the backyards of Stubb’s BBQ, Austin lives up to its claim of having the most bars per capita in the U.S. and being the live music capital of the world. Compared to the mega-festivals like Glastonbury or Coachella which draws a similar caliber of talent, SXSW’s venues are downright intimate. You’ll never need to worry about seeing the stage without binoculars on.

The key to having a great time at SXSW though, is getting into the know. It’s pretty easy in the uber-polite South (and makes for a great incentive to strike up a casual conversation) but sites like ohmyrockness.com, wanderless.com and Twitter also offer the latest rumors on secret shows and manageable calendars of events.

And all of these it set in Austin, Texas which mixes the twang of the South with a healthy dose of hippie and progressive. The people will give you directions with a smile, but also might be wearing a tie-dye shirt saying “Keep Austin Weird.” While you’ll find that most of the locals tend to live in the suburbs, the downtown is easily walkable and a pedicab is more than willing to help you out if you’re feeling exhausted after a long day of fun. Just make sure to negotiate the rate before taking off.

That blend of Old Texas and New World is fabulously exemplified in the food. There’s great BBQ from local favorites like Franklin’s (though expect up to 2 hour waits, and don’t bother if it’s after 5 p.m., they’ll sell out of meat) but then there’s also emerging icons of the food business like Paul Qui, 2012’s James Beard Best Chef of the Southwest winner and winner of Top Chef Season 9, whose army of East Side Kings food trucks rove the streets with inspired Asian street food.

The hardest part of SXSW (but the locals just call it “South By”) is trying to decide where to go next—and keeping your stamina up.

Key Facts

• More than 2000 musical performers play SXSW Music including Prince, Justin Timberlake, Green Day and the Flaming Lips
• Major movie screenings have included Lena Dunham’s Tiny Furniture and Kathryn Bigelow’s Oscar-winning The Hurt Locker
• SXSW Interactive is one of the biggest events on the tech calendar and is a game-changer, having been credited with Twitter’s explosion after it appeared in 2007

Why South by Southwest

• Largest event in music and web/interactive of its kind in the world
• Mixers and events for musicians, filmmakers, technology innovators and other creators are a great place to meet people
• Two week event with specialized events depending on interests
• Countless options for your whole group
• Plenty of free shows and parties during the day
• The great food and great people of Austin, Texas 

Be Aware Of

• Lens cameras require a press tag to bring into venues 
• Almost all bars and events are 21+
• Admittance for events (including the unofficial ones) go like this: badges first, then wristbands, then everyone else; and many popular events are badges and wristbands only 
• Many large events are non-official and require an online RSVP beyond a badge or wristband before SXSW starts so definitely do your homework
• The sun is strong, wear sunscreen

 

To find out more about Slipstream’s unique travel services, check out our website www.slipstream.travel

History and edge meet at New York’s biggest art fair, The Armory Show

The first Armory Show in 1913 billed itself as “the New Spirit” and as the very first American modern art show, it very much was. It was one of the first moments in which Americans were drawn away from the realists and other representationalists that they were accustomed to thinking of as art, and be introduced to European modern masters like Picasso, Degas, Cezanne, Rodin, Toulouse-Lautrec, van Gogh and Duchamp as well as groundbreaking American artists like Whistler, Bellows and Mary Cassatt.

Then located in New York City’s 69th Regiment Armory (which is now occasionally home to Marc Jacobs fashion week shows), the fair that still carries that avant-garde torch has since expanded into also one of the largest modern and contemporary art shows in the world. Tens of thousands flocked to the two piers which house New York City’s largest art fair, not far off from New York’s year-round artistic Mecca of Chelsea. The piers themselves have been home to plenty of artistic history too, from David Wojnarowicz’s “Rimbaud in New York” and Gordon Matta-Clark’s “Day’s End” where the artist sliced through the decaying reminders of industrialization to contrast it with the blinding sunlight cascading in from above the Hudson River. And it’s this play on opposites that makes the Armory Show so exciting year after year.

While it is certainly one of the most formidable forces on the yearly global art calendar, the fair pays as much homage to the selling of art as it does to artists. Norwegian duo Bjarne Melgaard and Sverre Bjertnes created a shrine to dealer Mary Boone. And this year’s official artist selection, Liz Magic Laser a performance artist whose commissioned works for the show include the official merchandise for the show: tote bags and t-shirts featuring an “audience profile” of the event including household income (a staggering $334,000) and how much it costs for a booth ($24,000).

The show collaborates with New York’s indomitable Museum of Modern Art as well as well-backed art startup Artsy which made it possible to purchase works online as well as browse much of the show. Even the show is divided into two halves: one pier houses modern art, the other contemporary. While it may be turning 100, it remains as statuesque but evolving as the day it first opened in 1913.

Key Facts

• Largest art show in New York City
• More than 120 galleries representing 30 countries are featured in the Contemporary show.
• More than 60 exhibitors present in the Modern show
• This year’s Focus exhibit zoomed in on 17 American galleries and was curated by the Director of Pittsburgh’s Andy Warhol Museum

Why the Armory Show

• More than 50,000 in attendance each year
• Other events include a film fair, concerts and many opportunities to meet and discuss with other art fans
• Almost all the major galleries in the world attend

Be Aware Of
Some of the pieces may not be suitable for all children or could offend some viewers.

To find out more about Slipstream’s unique travel services, you can check out our website www.slipstream.travel.