Where to go, what to see

SXSW: Your plan of attack

With over a thousand bands playing— 1,273 to be exact— and countless unofficial day parties, South By Southwest can seem overhwhelming. Music blares from every bar, club and street corner. Fans travel in packs, yelling at one another about the line at Fader and Kanye's planned performance at Vevo Powerstation. (Check Vevo's twitter for Kanye details.)

I've based my selection of day parties on a mix of free stuff, best bands and venues. Here's my tentative plan of attack:

Wednesday March 16th Day show pick:
Yours Truly & Bella Union Party @ French Legation Museum 802 San Marcos Street, No RSVP free tacos & PBR
1:00 Lanterns on the Lake
1:40 Bobby
2:20 Alessi's Ark
3:00 Thousands
3:40 Marques Toliver
4:20 Still Corners
5:00 Vetiver

Back-up party (if it rains)
IODA SXSW Opening Day Bash @ Emo's Annex 12-6pm (No RSVP, no free food/drinks)
12PM: Withered Hand (Absolutely Kosher) - Edinburgh, Scotland
12:20PM: Geographer (Tricycle Records) - San Francisco, CA
12:45PM: Queen Sea Big Shark (Modern Sky) - Beijing, China
1:15PM: Fredrik (The Kora Records) - Malmö, Sweden
1:45PM: Weekend (Slumberland) - San Francisco, CA
2:30PM: Aphasia (White Wabbit) - Taipei, Taiwan
3:00PM: True Widow (End Sounds) - Austin, TX
3:30PM: The Bewitched Hands (Look Mum No Hands/Sony) - Paris, France
4:15PM: Typhoon (Tender Loving Empire) - Portland, OR
5PM: Beach Fossils (Captured Tracks) - Brooklyn, NY
5:30PM: Gold Panda (Ghostly International) - London, UK

Wednesday night showcase pick:
@ Club De Ville
8:00 Devin Therriault
9:00 Porcelain Raft
10:00 The Vaccines
11:00 White Denim
12:00 Tennis
1:00 Yuck

2^nd showcase pick:
@ Red Eyed Fly (715 Red River) Rockfeedback/ Transgressive Showcase
8:00 Marques Toliver
9:00 Summer Camp
10:00 Dry the River
11:00 Liam Finn
12:00 Pulled Apart by Horses
1:00 Pete and the Pirates

Thurs March 17^th
Day show pick:
UNDER THE RADAR PARTY @ Flamingo Cantina 515 E. 6th St.
12:00 PM: Violens (www.violens.net)
12:45 PM: The Dodos (www.dodosmusic.net)
1:35 PM: Yuck (yuckband.blogspot.com)
2:25 PM: Anna Calvi (www.annacalvi.com)
3:15 PM: Lord Huron (www.lordhuron.com)
4:05 PM: The Dears (www.thedears.org)
5:00 PM: Atlas Sound (deerhuntertheband.blogspot.com)
NO RSVP Needed / No free food or drinks

Thursday showcase pick:
@ The Bat Bar
7:15 Sunglasses
8:00 Sweaters
9:00 Nite Jewel
10:00 Oberhofer
11:00 Lord Huron
12:00 Chapel Club
1:00 The Strange Boys

Friday, March 18^th
Day Show Pick:
Under the Radar
12PM: Porcelain Raft
12:45 PM: Hooray for Earth
1:35 PM: Owen Pallett
2:25 PM: Surfer Blood
3:15 PM: Telekinesis
4:05 PM: Menomena
5:00 PM: Okkervil River

Friday Showcase pick:
@Klub Krucial
Lower Dens
No Joy
Puro Instinct
Toro y Moi
Tamaryn
Games
Nite Jewel

Saturday, March 19^th
Day Show pick:
Music for Listeners Party at Red House Pizzeria 1917 Manor Rd
12:00 P.M. - 1:00 P.M. The Long Tangles (Austin, TX)
1:00 P.M. - 2:00 P.M. Summer Camp(London,United Kingdom).
2:00 P.M. - 3:00 P.M Young Legionnaire(London,United Kingdom).
3:00 P.M. - 4:00 P.M. Cloud Control( Sydney,Australia)
4:00 P.M. - 5:00 P.M Sea of Bees(Sacramento,California)
5:00 P.M. - 6:00 P.M. Dinosaur Pile -Up(London,United Kingdom)
6:00 P.M. - 7:00 P.M. The Spinto Band (Wilmington,Delaware)
7:00 PM - 8:00 PM Still Corners(London,United Kingdom)

Showcase pick:
@Swan Dive
8:00 Youth Pictures of Florence Henderson
9:00 Little Tybee
10:00 Alcoholic Faith Mission
11:00 Freedom or Death
12:00 Golden Ages
1:00 Army Navy

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I've based my selection of day parties and showcases on a mix of free stuff, best bands and venues. (Note: Official showcases always have a cover fee and never have free stuff.) Here's my tentative plan of attack:

Wednesday night showcase pick:
@ Club De Ville
8:00 Devin Therriault
9:00 Porcelain Raft
10:00 The Vaccines
11:00 White Denim
12:00 Tennis
1:00 Yuck

Thursday showcase pick:
@ The Bat Bar
7:15 Sunglasses
8:00 Sweaters
9:00 Nite Jewel
10:00 Oberhofer
11:00 Lord Huron
12:00 Chapel Club
1:00 The Strange Boys

Friday Showcase pick:
@Klub Krucial
Lower Dens
No Joy
Puro Instinct
Toro y Moi
Tamaryn
Games
Nite Jewel

Showcase pick:
@Swan Dive
8:00 Youth Pictures of Florence Henderson
9:00 Little Tybee
10:00 Alcoholic Faith Mission
11:00 Freedom or Death
12:00 Golden Ages
1:00 Army Navy

If you'd like to create your own schedule, use these guidelines. If you're looking for the most amount of free booze/food, check out this spreadhsheet (https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=txe-peqWZaCab6veR72udhQ#gid=0) from friends of kiyannaproject.com with parties rated 1-10 on "awesomeness" (i.e. free stuff!). If you wait the straight hard music facts along with RSVP links, try this day party spreadsheet compiled by friends Bradley Short, Amena Sengal and others. For night time showcases, the official schedule is your best resource.

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welcome back, frank!

Broadcaster Frank Billingsley finds second act at Houston radio station

Al Torres Photography

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When he announced his retirement from KPRC, Frank Billingsley told the late Ken Hoffman that he probably wasn’t done with media.

“I love all forms of communication so I'm sure I'll gravitate toward that either as a hobby or a second act. I'll weigh options and go from there,” he said in May.

Turn out that second act will be at one of Houston’s most prestigious radio stations. Billingsley has joined Houston Public Media as an executive producer and meteorologist.

"Frank Billingsley’s reputation as a Houston legend precedes him,” station manager Josh Adams said in a statement. “His experience and connection to our community align perfectly with Houston Public Media’s mission to inform and inspire. We are thrilled to welcome him to the team and look forward to the impact his presence will have."

Beginning in early 2025, Billingsley will serve as one of the hosts for a new talk show called Hello, Houston!. Led by Billingsley, veteran HPM host Ernie Manouse, and producer Celeste Schurman. Hello, Houston! will tell stories about a wide range of Houston happenings.

“Of course, I'll still get to talk about the weather, but Celeste, Ernie, and I will have fun and fascinating discussions about politics, arts, concerts, restaurants, clubs, people: everything that makes this city so great,” Billingsley said. “We have a great team behind us and I'm really looking forward to the challenge!”

Frank Billingsley worked at KPRC for 30 years. Prior to that, he worked at ABC13 for six years. He has earned multiple honors from the Associated Press, Houston Press Club, Houston Press Newspaper, and Dallas Press Club.

media celebrities frank billingsley