A range of K-pop groups and rock'n'roll bands have been wowing their U.S. fans at the South by SouthWest (SXSW) Music Festival, which took place from March 7 to 16 in Austin, Texas. A total of 15 Korean performers took to the stage at various venues across the festival. SXSW is a collection of film, interactive and music festivals and conferences that takes place every year in Austin.

At Austin’s Elysium club on March 12, seven Korean signers and groups put on wonderful performances for their U.S. fans. These groups were hip hop singer Jay Park, Hyuna from the girl group 4Minute, Jambinai, a band that performs Korean traditional music in a modern manner, and four other rock‘n’roll bands: Jang Kiha and the Faces, IDIOTAPE, Hollow Jan, Nell and Crying Nut. Famous U.S. pop singer Lady Gaga surprised the audience by showing up to enjoy the live concert, reflecting her strong interest in K-pop.

Nell, IDIOTAPE and Jang Kiha and the Faces, were invited to the festival by the general manager of SXSW, James Minor, as he was impressed by these three groups when he saw them at MUCON Seoul 2013, an international music fair held in Seoul last October. Minor says all three bands have great potential and are really high-quality musicians.




Apart from the seven groups that performed at the K-pop Night Out showcase, eight more Korean bands gave performances at the festival. They include singer and song writer Big Phony and then the rock’n'roll bands No Brain, Hollow Jan, SmackSoft, Glen Check, Rock‘N’Roll Radio, Love X Stereo, and, finally, YB, also known as the Yoon Do Hyun Band. This year saw the largest number of Korean bands at the festival.

SXSW acts as a stepping stone for many up-and-coming artists across various genres, helping them penetrate overseas markets. One example is the rock band No Brain. They signed a contract with well-known U.S. music producer Seymour Stein after participating in last year’s SXSW K-pop Night Out concert and the 2013 Seoulsonic North American tour.

Beyond music, ten Korean start-ups participated in SXSW’s “start-up Korean village” during the SXSW Trade Show, which took place from March 9 to 12. To be invited to the show, they had to undergo fierce competition. They had to apply at the Contents Korea Lab Startup Incubating Program, a venture program run jointly by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, the Korea Creative Content Agency and the Banks Foundation for Young Entrepreneurs.

Many now-famous bands have emerged from SXSW, including John Mayer, James Blunt and The Polyphonic Spree. The festival has also helped shine a spotlight on some now-global firms like Twitter, Foursquare, a location-based social networking app, and Pinterest, a visual discovery tool that people use to collect ideas for their different projects and interests.

By Yoon Sojung
Korea.net Staff Writer
arete@korea.kr