This week is the SXSW music festival in Austin, Texas. I’ll be heading down for a few days to play a little music, soak up the sun, eat some good food and hear some great musical artists. If you are in Austin this week, stop by Austin Java which is located at 1206 Parkway (@12th/Lamar) for one of the GoGirls Showcases during SXSW. I’ll be hosting and playing their Friday March 18th showcase from 12-5pm. On the bill is Allisong Smith, Danika Holmes, Mieka Pauley, Charlie Dane, Hana Pestle, Emily Zuzik, Sue Quigley, Rachael Sage, and Left on Red.

Go Girls is also hosting 3 other showcases on March 18th and 19th. Check out the schedule right here.

All shows are free and open to the public. Check out Austin Java’s Website

If you won’t be in Austin this week, you can still join us by watching live on Ustream

You can also check out what I’m doing during the festival by following me on Twitter.

I had an amazing time performing at the various showcase stages and rooms at the 2009 Indiegrrl Conference. I gained some new fans, received some really great responses to my performances and songwriting, and learned more about what performing at conferences entails. The flip side of the fun performing is the amazement and fun I had discovering new artists when I went to hear other showcases. I’ve listed some artists below that I think are well worth checking out. This is only a small sampling of the cool musicians that I heard at the conference. Stay tuned for info on some projects I’ll be doing with a few of them in the near future.

Pantera Saint-Montaigne, Amy Campbell, Regina Sayles, Hudson K, Erika Carey and The Calamities, Rachael Sage, Sonya Heller, Jamie Sue Seal, Linda McCrae, Michelle Monte, Stark

Below are some more snapshots and a video from the conference!

Click here for a video of me playing the Women’s Radio Guerrilla Room Showcase. Video shot by Brian Ball.

Rachel Lee Walsh

I recently returned from Nashville where I attended the 2009 Indiegrrl Women in the Arts Conference. It was an absolutely amazing experience. I played four showcases, including the Indiegrrl Main Stage, the Tryxo Entertainment Stage, the Women’s Radio Guerilla Room Showcase, and the Texas Women’s Guerilla Room Showcase. I attended some great workshops and panels. I also met many many fabulously talented performers, many of whom I’m looking forward to working with in the near future.

Opening Night Banquet

The opening night banquet, which included keynote addresses by David Llewellyn, 2008 winner of the John Lennon Songwriting Contest and Karen E. Reynolds, the host and director of “The Writer’s Block” radio program, was a wonderful way to start the conference! One might normally expect keynote speakers at a music conference to focus on the business aspect of ways to succeed, but both Llewellyn and Reynolds talked a great deal on how important community is to our lives as musicians in our efforts to succeed. I don’t think there was a dry eye in the place! Leave it to songwriters to speak eloquently and move everyone to tears!

Honorary Indiegrrl Members

Also at the banquet were the Honorary Indiegrrl Members who presented and performed at the conference. Pictured here is Rachael Sage, Karen E. Reynolds, Gilli Moon, and Sonya Heller, along with Vicki Blankenship, the founder and president of Indiegrrl Women in the Arts. Throughout the conference, I was able to attend panels, showcases, and performances led by each of these women, which were each absolutely astounding. It was so energizing and inspiring to hear each of these women’s stories, whether I heard it in the form of their advice about succeeding in the biz or I heard it in one of their quirky or beautiful songs!