ACL Sound & The Jury Finalists Announced
As part of the Austin City Limits Festival, each year the organizers hold a virtual battle of the bands contest called Sound & The Jury. The grand prize includes a slot playing at ACL, among many other incredible benefits.
Anybody can enter, with the first rounds of competition being determined by internet votes. After voting closes, the finalists are chosen by a panel of judges. The finalists then move on to compete at a showcase at Antone’s, where audience vote and an industry panel ultimately decide the winner.
This year’s finalists are listed below, along with a short bio and links for more information. The showcase at Antone’s takes place Weds. September 24th at 8pm. The winner will take the stage at ACL on Fri. September 26th at 11:45am on the Dell Stage.
This years six finalists are The Steps, The Scotland Yard Sale, 60 Tigres, T-Bird & The Breaks, Fictionist and Quiet Company. Stick around after the jump for links and more info on the finalists.
The Steps (Rock) – Website // MySpace
Austin-based garage rockers, The Steps, invoke the spirits of 60’s Brit-rock gods The Rolling Stones, The Kinks and The Stooges to help break the modern rock mold. The resulting product is an energetic set of uplifting tunes that have wowed audiences from the UK to Japan and back. Band members include Will Thompson, Stephen Ross, Z Lynch and Sam Thompson.
The Scotland Yard Sale (Rock / Zouk) – Website // MySpace
The Scotland Yard Sale has played with bands like Cruiserweight, Driver F, and Meriwether, and has started to get tossed around local airwaves in Austin. Their new album “Cityscapes” was released on Posters on Walls Records on May 1 and is available in many Austin record stores. Band members include Carter Francis, Bobby Martinez, Josh Thompson, Ted McLean and Rob Slater.
60 Tigres (Funk / Psychedelic / Punk) – Website // MySpace
60 Tigres began in 2005, creating a musical hybrid of styles such as funk, rock, punk, Latin and psychedelic. With influences like The Talking Heads, The Clash, International Noise Conspiracy, The Who and Gang of Four, 60 Tigres has created their own style by mixing foreign influences with Spanish and English lyrics, always trying to reflect the social situation of the daily life in México. Band members include Roberto Polo, Chivo, Maicol Polo, Saverio Giandusa, and Efren Baron.
T-Bird & The Breaks (Soul / R&B) – Website // MySpace
Newcomers T-Bird & the Breaks are old souls bringing serious R&B heat. The 10-piece band indulges the requisite Wilson Pickett and Sly & the Family Stone covers but is at its best pounding out originals by dynamic front man Tim Crane, a slick-haired, gravel-voiced shouter in the mold of blue-eyed Texas soul sensation Roy Head. T-Bird and the Breaks was voted one of Austin’s best new bands at the Austin Music Awards during SXSW 2008. The debut album by band members Tim Crane, Stephanie Hunt, Sasha Ortiz, John Allison, Sam Patlove, Cody Furr, Damien Llanes, Matt Price, Stephen Beasley, Houston Rawls, and Will Ivey is due out this summer.
Fictionist (fka Good Morning Maxfield) (Rock) – Website // MySpace
Delighting audiences of all ages and musical interests with a “satisfying merging of folk, rock and pop with a classical twist” (Daily Universe, 4/06), Good Morning Maxfield (recently changed to Fictionist) is on the forefront of a new generation of rock and roll. Based out of Utah, Good Morning Maxfield boasts a roster of six multi-instrumentalists and produces a song-driven, organic sound, combining elements of classic rock, indie folk, jam rock and more. Band members include Stuart Maxfield, Jeremy Bowen, Jacob Jones, Robbie Connolly, Brandon Kitterman and Aaron Anderson.
Quiet Company (Rock / Powerpop / Soul) – Website // MySpace
This will be the second year in the Dell Lounge Sound & the Jury competition finals for Austin band Quiet Company. Band members include Taylor Muse, Tommy Blank, and Trevor Wiggins. Quiet Company has been praised for playing “tight short sets of passionate music that build and flourish and make you happy to be hearing living music.” – LAist.com. CreativeLoafing.com even goes so far as to say, “The Austin trio plays the kind of piano-driven rock that never goes out of style. Vocals float over big hooks that would make Paul McCartney proud.”
1 Comment
60 Tigres and The Steps are quality music for sure. I am going to seen 60 Tigres at the South Padre Music Festival on Halloween. They are definitely going to be a highlight of the festival for me.