KCRW + SXSW = LOVE

Listen to the full audio story

Download the MP3

    The havoc currently rumbling through Austin, Texas may not be suitable for summing up in words. South By Southwest is so loosely held together and so inviting of humanity's weirder tendencies, the result is either sublime beauty or hold-on-to-your-hat insanity. Some nights there's both, flooding out in the streets before the sun has set or openers have half a chance to plug in.
    The need to be there in the flesh notwithstanding, KCRW is pulling out all the stops to connect people to the action. The festival kicked off on March 7 with South By Southwest Interactive (SXSWi), the tech-centric portion of the shindig in cactus country, and Santa Monica's trendsetting public radio station was on the scene. KCRW Producer Jenny Radelet covered business and media trends from the field, cluing in listeners to advances in responsive narrative and all things Bitcoin.
    SXSWi ends today, so she's passing the torch to Jason Bentley, KCRW's Music Director, massively heard as the host of "Morning Becomes Eclectic." Austin now becomes a nonstop, freeform rock 'n roll circus as the festival's days dedicated to music dawn. In this story, Bently explains how he's seen SXSW change over his years of attendance, the influence it has on his musical tastes and the secret to scoring your band a live performance on his show.
    His first rule: think like a 16-year-old.
    Hear from him and Radelet in this piece, reported in tandem with Neon Tommy's Lilian Min.