PRETTY CITY: SXSW Recap

Melbourne trio Pretty City recently skipped the early part of Autumn to jet over to Austin, Texas for annual festival, SXSW. The performances marked the band's first overseas shows, serving as an ideal precursor to their debut album, which is scheduled for release this April.

Having now successfully completed the shows (and visit), Pretty City recently offered a recap of their time spent in the Lone Star state.

After a pretty damn long journey to get to Austin, we hit the festival to check out the sites. Austin is a beautiful city, full of amazing people and genuine southern hospitality. Johnny was in his spiritual home, with enough barbecued meat options to sate the most carnivorous of people. Drew on the other hand, suffers from an acute case of vegetarianism, and was forced to subsist on a diet of potato salad and beer, mostly beer though. Hugh maintained his usual pre-gig preparation of enough black coffees to kill a small animal. The festival is so large and crazy, so we've included some particular highlights from the three of us.

Yes, that is a legitimate video camera. This little beauty was enlisted to document our time in Austin. Hugh was discretely filming us, mostly without us noticing, throughout the whole festival, and I'm sure has some deeply incriminating footage, which we will release when we are washed up and need some extra publicity. The great thing about this camera is we have no idea what's on it. Can't wait to see it. Hugh kicked ass all festival, bringing an intensity and showmanship that lifted us all on stage and got more and more rambunctious as the festival progressed. He also had two different fashion bloggers come and interview him about his impeccable style. Kicking goals on and off stage.

This photo (above) reveals so much of Johnny's SXSW. When he wasn't rocking the shit out of it on stage, he was conducting his quest of inflicting Aussie snacks on the world's music industry. In between this, our man was on his own food voyage, taking the time to sample all the local specialities. Here he is, lining up for the world's best fresh lemonade in between rock and roll bouts. Johnny and SXSW are like pork and apple sauce, a heavenly combination. Johnny worked it on and off stage and was so excitable it was impossible to lose energy or enthusiasm for where we were.

Here's Drew stopping long enough between bar hopping to have a quick picture snapped of him where his eyes aren't shut. Drew had an absolute ball at the festival, each show we went just a little bit harder, and each performance saw our tubs man getting more and more excited. The energy on and off stage was insane, and there was never a dull moment.

SXSW was truly an amazing experience. We were so privileged to be a part of this absolute musical spectacle. We met so many awesome people and got to share the stage with some truly incredible musicians. We'd also love to thank the people of Austin for their warmth and hospitality, it's really beyond words. Get to Texas, you won't regret it.