The showcase will be held at The Independent, an artists’ collective located at 501 N. I-35, a few blocks from the Austin Convention Center downtown. Doors are at 8 PM. This is an official SXSW event and badges are accepted for access.

L.A. RECORD is L.A.’s biggest music publication. Founded in 2005, the independent monthly magazine was the first to put bands and musicians like Cold War Kids, Flying Lotus, No Age and Crystal Antlers on a cover. L.A. RECORD has just finished its third full year of publication, including interviews with RZA, Nick Cave, Lee “Scratch” Perry, Wale, M83, and Brian Wilson, as well as the last-ever interview with Isaac Hayes.

L.A. RECORD will also feature a comprehensive guide to L.A.-releated SXSW events in its March issue, and will be co-presenting several free, all-ages shows during SXSW.

About the bands

Headliner BLU was recently featured on the cover of XXL and was described as “the savior of West Coast hip-hop” in the L.A. Weekly. He has just signed to Warner and will be performing with longtime collaborator EXILE, with whom he released his landmark Below The Heavens album.

BUSDRIVER’s firehose flow and wordcram poetry are well-known to Los Angeles hip-hop fans. Pitchfork calls him an “underground wunderkind” and the New York Times has praised his “inventive rhymes and complex commentary on politics and culture.” He will be appearing with noted locals Nosaj Thing and AntiMC.

Cumbia-and-vallenato-inspired VERY BE CAREFUL have been fusing music from North and South America for almost ten years now. “It is top-grade organic dance music, a South American alternative to James Brown’s funk,” reports London’s Independent. Their New Year’s Eve shows are a Los Angeles institution.

THE HENRY CLAY PEOPLE are one of the hardest-working bands in Los Angeles and their Pavement-meets-Paul Westerberg rock ”n’ roll has propelled them most recently into a national tour with the Airborne Toxic Event. The Los Angeles Times called them a “must-see” for those who like their pop “smart, fast and fun.”

BLANK BLUE is internationally known hip-hop producer NOBODY and friends performing live psychedelic rock like Os Mutantes or the United States of America. The band “moves from from shoegaze soundwalls to blissed little gems that could be soft moments from Spiritualized or Telescopes were it not for the drum murmurs in the background,” says L.A. Weekly.

CASTLEDOOR are a Silverlake indie rock six-piece featured in the Los Angeles Times for their “exuberant boy-girl harmonies and layered guitars and keyboards.” They released their newest EP Til We Sink this summer and are currently recording new material.