The Music Bloggers Guide to SXSW 2018

Kevin McStravick started Operation Every Band in 2010, a site dedicated to reviewing every showcasing SXSW artist before the conference kicks off each March. Pairs well with spreadsheets, headphones and soul.

For over 9 years Brandon Bogajewicz has been rambling about music he like on The Burning Ear. One of his favorite things in the world is connecting people with bands and songs that deserve more attention. Over the years The Burning Ear has hosted numerous showcases at SXSW, a series of live shows in Los Angeles, and even made a few t-shirts. More recently the website has evolved into an analog counterpart called Vinyl Moon which presses the bands he loves most on vinyl every month. He’s been lucky to work with all 5 of the bands he writes about in this booklet, and releases their music on vinyl. Brandon’s favorite part of the music industry is creating a small but happy family of music makers and music cheerleaders.

Born on the East Coast with a childhood forged in California, Reese Hayward can mostly be found brunching when he’s not watching kung-fu movies. He’s been a music writer for 3 years and counting and will literally go to any show as long they serve mojitos.

Jerseyian turned Austinite Bill Tucker writes words for a number of sites and publications. He currently serves as Lead Blogger for The Austinot (hyper-local lifestyle blog), as a columnist for skirmishfrogs.com (retro gaming), and contributor to Texas Highways Magazine. His past credits include the Entertainment Weekly Blogging Community, and penning film reviews for a variety of sites and outlets. He enjoys video games, craft beer, Austin’s incredibly vibrant music scene, and convincing his friends “Dr. Strangelove” is one of the greatest films of all time.

Marcos Hassan is a culture journalist and musician based in Mexico City. Currently, he is a regular contributor to Remezcla and Noisey En Español. Since 2007, his work has appeared on Noisey, Tiny Mix Tapes and Daily Bandcamp as well as Mexican publications like Warp, Indie Rocks, Chilango, and Letras Libres, among others. He also records and plays music as Caos Del Té.

Raj Rudolph has been an pop music obsessive ever since he heard Madonna’s iconic debut album. When he couldn’t stop playing “Music For The Masses” by Depeche Mode, he instantly knew that electronic and pop music would be his life-long passion. Raj is American born, but has lived in London since 2000. He created EQ Music Blog as a passion project from the ground up having interviewed some of the biggest names in pop like Gaga, Sia, Mika, Kelis, Robyn and every member of the Scissor Sisters. EQ Music is one of the UK’s longest running influential pop blogs, voting in BBC Sound and regularly hosting showcase nights for emerging electronic pop acts in the British capital. Raj is also a Program Manager for MTV/Viacom’s Global Entertainment Group as has freelanced as a digital producer for the likes of Google, Huffington Post, Vogue, GQ and WIRED.

When he’s not working on his falsetto in the shower and trying to win rings for the Raptors on 2K, UK-based writer Grant Brydon is Hip-hop editor of CLASH Magazine. Over the past twelve months his adventures have included a late-night drive through Houston with Travis Scott and an afternoon on an Irish golf course with Gucci Mane, both of which graced the cover of the magazine. He also curates CLASH’s Spotify and Apple Music playlists, which will get your thumbs stretching for the fire emoji.

Lisa Wright is a London-based music journalist and gig promoter. Having written for NME between the years of 2009-2015, she now works as a staff writer for UK indie magazine DIY with additional bylines in the likes of Time Out, Noisey, The Guardian, The Independent and more. She also curates live events for DIY and runs longstanding club night Antidotes which has seen early shows from the likes of Wolf Alice, Slaves, Fat White Family and more.

Tim is the editor of London-based new music blog The Blue Walrus, where he has spent more than a decade unearthing new and exciting bands from the UK and beyond. He also currently heads up the music section of new media publication The Descrier, and you will find him at gigs hunting for unicorns in and around the British capital.

Nastassia Baroni is a Sydney-based music journalist and Head of Content for Evolve Media Australia, parent company of Australian music website Music Feeds. She’s passionate about homegrown Australian music, The West Wing and defending the merits of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Matt has written and edited for mxdwn since 2015, the same year he began his music journalism career. Previously (and currently) a freelance copywriter, Matt graduated with a degree in Communications from California Lutheran University in 2008. Born on the Central Coast of California, he is currently a few hundred miles south along the 101 in the Los Angeles area.

Lisa Wright is a London-based music journalist and gig promoter. Having written for NME between the years of 2009-2015, she now works as a staff writer for UK indie magazine DIY with additional bylines in the likes of Time Out, Noisey, The Guardian, The Independent and more. She also curates live events for DIY and runs longstanding club night Antidotes which has seen early shows from the likes of Wolf Alice, Slaves, Fat White Family and more.

Marcos Hassan is a culture journalist and musician based in Mexico City. Currently, he is a regular contributor to Remezcla and Noisey En Español. Since 2007, his work has appeared on Noisey, Tiny Mix Tapes and Daily Bandcamp as well as Mexican publications like Warp, Indie Rocks, Chilango, and Letras Libres, among others. He also records and plays music as Caos Del Té.

Colin is a writer, editor, show-booker and not-for-profit worker from Calgary, AB.

While he hates writing about himself, he loves coming up with nice words to say about other people, facilitating opportunities for developing artists, and boosting others up on his surprisingly broad shoulders.

He wrote about excellent bands that are playing this year at SXSW, and would cry tears of joy if you made the time to go see them.

“Donna Arendse is lover of the finer things in life, such as Rooibos tea, digestive biscuits, and golden retrievers. She holds a Bachelor degree in Communication from The University of Newcastle (Australia), with a major in Public Relations.

Donna joins her love of music and PR with agency Lekker Collective, where she harnesses her skills to conduct digital campaigns for new music releases, and provide management services and support for emerging artists. Since the birth of Lekker, it has branched out into curating intimate soul events, artist development, and playlist curation.

Donna also creates music in her future-soul project, The Septembers, writes for publications Indie Shuffle and C-Head Magazine, and works as a product and community manager at tastemaker label and curator platform Majestic Casual.”

Elena Childers was born & raised in Pittsburgh, PA, by a punk rock drummer from the mountains of Kentucky and a rebellious scientist from the capital of Chile. Now living in Brooklyn, NY—she’s a rebel with no cause needed and a podcast host/ music journalist for BTRtoday and Alt Citizen. Catch her backstage at all the coolest underground shows in NYC.

Joshua Chiang’s music appreciation runs the gamut. The uniqueness of any and all sounds finds a place within his ears. He is, however, more inclined to the gloomier, moodier, and darker corners of music. As a writer, photographer, and underground promoter, he spends much of his time keeping his eyes and ears on the next big thing as well as what has been under everyone’s noses the whole time.

Colin is a writer, editor, show-booker and not-for-profit worker from Calgary, AB.

While he hates writing about himself, he loves coming up with nice words to say about other people, facilitating opportunities for developing artists, and boosting others up on his surprisingly broad shoulders.

He wrote about excellent bands that are playing this year at SXSW, and would cry tears of joy if you made the time to go see them.

Will Oliver is photographer and writer based in New York City that founded music blog We All Want Someone To Shout For. He started the blog 10 years ago as a way to share new music discoveries with his friends and it has turned into something much more in recent years.

Derek Robertson is a freelance music writer, editor, and digital journalist with over ten years’ experience contributing to a variety of publications, both in print and online. Having written for the likes of the Guardian, the Independent, the Quietus, Clash, Loud & Quiet, and Le Cool, as well as a three-year stint as the English Editor of PERDIZ magazine, he is now Editor In Chief at Drowned In Sound, where he oversees editorial direction and is involved in digital strategy. He also contributes to Subbacultcha, a Dutch independent music and art platform devoted to emerging artists, and provides content for several internationally renowned festivals.

Sophia Gragg is currently a features writer at mxdwn, social media intern at Fearless Records and a writer for her university’s newspaper The Daily Trojan (USC). She has always had a passion for music and plans to work in the industry. Sophia is always going to concerts, finding new artists to fall in love with, and likes to make monthly playlists that her friends listen to. She listens to a large variety of music genres, but her roots will forever be in indie and rock music.

WE FOUND NEW MUSIC is an artist discovery platform dedicated to introducing exceptional artists to music industry leaders and organizations. In the past 4 years, we have helped introduce artists through performance & interview sessions, blogs, radio shows, Concerts & DJ sets with today’s most relevant artists, including Billie Eilish, Kim Petras, FRENSHIP, and Bishop Briggs. We book the artists we discover at LA’s live music concept, The Peppermint Club. This will be WE FOUND NEW MUSIC’s fourth time presenting an official showcase at SXSW, this time, teaming up with The Peppermint Club, to create a unique 12 band lineup at The Palm Door on Sixth Street, on the evening of March 15th.

Nikki Barnhart lives and writes in New York City, where she works in book publishing, and reminisces about her glory days as the music director of her college radio station.

Virginia has been writing since her freshman year of college, penning her admiration for Best Coast and Leslie Knope via online zine Pop Culture Puke. Her work has appeared in Treble Zine, The Le Sigh, Westchester Magazine, and Paste Magazine. She is a staff writer at Impose Magazine. In October, she rewatched the Office and documented every use of Wegman’s products, which you can find on her twitter.

Jacob Moore started Pigeons & Planes in his bedroom in October of 2008. He ran the website independently for years before joining Complex and running the site as an owned and operated property. Pigeons & Planes is a music brand that focuses on discovery, produces live shows, and creates original editorial, video, and social content around new music.

Justin Spicer has been a music journalist for 15 years, writing and editing for various websites, including Tiny Mix Tapes (Cerberus), KEXP, Bandcamp, and Brainwashed. When not writing about music, Justin covers games (video and board) and is currently chasing a Masters degree in Learning Design and Technology. He also has two young daughters sure to grace a SXSW showcase stage one day if their current songwriting acumen pans out, and a lovely wife who puts up with his many varied hobbies and pursuits. Justin would also like to take this opportunity to thank the myriad bands who are helping to redefine the music business in the 21st Century, especially those that continually send him their LPs, cassettes, CDs, and digital links. Justin would not be able to contribute to great happenings such as SXSW without the many musicians who keep his passion for music alive and well.

Nathan Lankford is a 8th Grade teacher by day, and a music writer/record label owner by night. He has been active in the music community both in Austin and beyond since 2002, always trying to promote the music that’s near and dear to him. Nathan fashions himself as a fan of the best unpopular music around.

Tim is the editor of London-based new music blog The Blue Walrus, where he has spent more than a decade unearthing new and exciting bands from the UK and beyond. He also currently heads up the music section of new media publication The Descrier, and you will find him at gigs hunting for unicorns in and around the British capital.

Austin-based journalist Cassie Morien has been covering music since 2002. After graduating with a degree in journalism from the University of Central Florida, Morien served as an editor for Boca Raton magazine until she couldn’t stand one more second of Florida’s swamps and sunburns. She finally escaped to Texas in 2013.

Morien is a staff writer for Indie Shuffle and contributing writer for Teeth Magazine. She also serves as the official blogger for SunFest Music Festival. When she’s not damaging her eardrums, Morien can be found tweeting for tech giants at INK Communications Co. She is madly in love with hashtags, music festivals, milkshakes, synth-pop, and the human race.

Jake Markow is a junior at the University of Houston majoring in Public Relations. He currently writes for Elevator and Dirty Glove Bastard, focusing on up and coming hip-hop artists. Born in California, he got his start in music through playing and tour managing bands. After moving to Texas for college, Jake transitioned into producing for rap artists. Jake’s favorite artists are John Mayer and Young Thug, and he was voted “Most Likely To Be In Your Bae’s Headphones’ in high-school.

Kevin McStravick started Operation Every Band in 2010, a site dedicated to reviewing every showcasing SXSW artist before the conference kicks off each March. Pairs well with spreadsheets, headphones and soul.

WE FOUND NEW MUSIC is an artist discovery platform dedicated to introducing exceptional artists to music industry leaders and organizations. In the past 4 years, we have helped introduce artists through performance & interview sessions, blogs, radio shows, Concerts & DJ sets with today’s most relevant artists, including Billie Eilish, Kim Petras, FRENSHIP, and Bishop Briggs. We book the artists we discover at LA’s live music concept, The Peppermint Club. This will be WE FOUND NEW MUSIC’s fourth time presenting an official showcase at SXSW, this time, teaming up with The Peppermint Club, to create a unique 12 band lineup at The Palm Door on Sixth Street, on the evening of March 15th.

Amy graduated with a master’s degree in comparative biochemistry from the University of California, Berkeley before discovering how deep her passion for music ran. This never-ending obsession lead her to create I Heart Moosiq, a San Francisco based blog that accentuates exceptional new music and highlights noteworthy artists, bands, and producers from all across the genres. She spends a profuse amount of her time listening to and writing about music. A lot of her spare time is spent attending shows and concerts, particularly ones at intimate venues where emerging artists are showcased. I Heart Moosiq is a rewarding experience and a heartfelt endeavor she hopes to continue for much time to come.

Katey Ceccarelli is the dance/electronic editor for the online music publication EARMILK.

Born on the East Coast with a childhood forged in California, Reese Hayward can mostly be found brunching when he’s not watching kung-fu movies. He’s been a music writer for 3 years and counting and will literally go to any show as long they serve mojitos.

Nastassia Baroni is a Sydney-based music journalist and Head of Content for Evolve Media Australia, parent company of Australian music website Music Feeds. She’s passionate about homegrown Australian music, The West Wing and defending the merits of the Eurovision Song Contest.

Will Oliver is photographer and writer based in New York City that founded music blog We All Want Someone To Shout For. He started the blog 10 years ago as a way to share new music discoveries with his friends and it has turned into something much more in recent years.

Austin-based journalist Cassie Morien has been covering music since 2002. After graduating with a degree in journalism from the University of Central Florida, Morien served as an editor for Boca Raton magazine until she couldn’t stand one more second of Florida’s swamps and sunburns. She finally escaped to Texas in 2013.

Morien is a staff writer for Indie Shuffle and contributing writer for Teeth Magazine. She also serves as the official blogger for SunFest Music Festival. When she’s not damaging her eardrums, Morien can be found tweeting for tech giants at INK Communications Co. She is madly in love with hashtags, music festivals, milkshakes, synth-pop, and the human race.

Alexandra Berenson works as the A&R for Vinyl Me, Please. She runs the Rising Program and currently lives in Denver, CO.

We are a group of mexican guys in love of music, movies and tv shows (the good ones). We also write about music trends, and the best and worst of tv series, movies and videogames; some viral things too. Everything at Sopitas.com

Jerseyian turned Austinite Bill Tucker writes words for a number of sites and publications. He currently serves as Lead Blogger for The Austinot (hyper-local lifestyle blog), as a columnist for skirmishfrogs.com (retro gaming), and contributor to Texas Highways Magazine. His past credits include the Entertainment Weekly Blogging Community, and penning film reviews for a variety of sites and outlets. He enjoys video games, craft beer, Austin’s incredibly vibrant music scene, and convincing his friends “Dr. Strangelove” is one of the greatest films of all time.

Brandon Caldwell is the editor-in-chief of Day & A Dream, a Houston music & culture website. His work has been featured in Complex, Billboard, VIBE, UPROXX, the Houston Press, Village Voice, DJBooth and more.

Lisa Wright is a London-based music journalist and gig promoter. Having written for NME between the years of 2009-2015, she now works as a staff writer for UK indie magazine DIY with additional bylines in the likes of Time Out, Noisey, The Guardian, The Independent and more. She also curates live events for DIY and runs longstanding club night Antidotes which has seen early shows from the likes of Wolf Alice, Slaves, Fat White Family and more.

Katey Ceccarelli is the dance/electronic editor for the online music publication EARMILK.

For Beca Arredondo, music has always been a part of her life. She’s been fortunate enough to be in a career that she loves, where discovering artists, writers, and working with amazing, talented people fuels her blood each and every day. You bet, she’s on the hunt for the next big thing.

Kevin McStravick started Operation Every Band in 2010, a site dedicated to reviewing every showcasing SXSW artist before the conference kicks off each March. Pairs well with spreadsheets, headphones and soul.

Chris Park is an Editor at Large for Korean Indie. He has been writing about Korean independent music since 2008 and continues to try and introduce new artists and bands to audiences around the world.

A lifelong music geek, Bill has been writing for BrooklynVegan for nearly 10 years, having lived through electroclash, shitgaze, chillwave, seapunk and and other scenes he only sort of remembers. He is currently BV’s Senior Editor.

Derek Robertson is a freelance music writer, editor, and digital journalist with over ten years’ experience contributing to a variety of publications, both in print and online. Having written for the likes of the Guardian, the Independent, the Quietus, Clash, Loud & Quiet, and Le Cool, as well as a three-year stint as the English Editor of PERDIZ magazine, he is now Editor In Chief at Drowned In Sound, where he oversees editorial direction and is involved in digital strategy. He also contributes to Subbacultcha, a Dutch independent music and art platform devoted to emerging artists, and provides content for several internationally renowned festivals.

Jerseyian turned Austinite Bill Tucker writes words for a number of sites and publications. He currently serves as Lead Blogger for The Austinot (hyper-local lifestyle blog), as a columnist for skirmishfrogs.com (retro gaming), and contributor to Texas Highways Magazine. His past credits include the Entertainment Weekly Blogging Community, and penning film reviews for a variety of sites and outlets. He enjoys video games, craft beer, Austin’s incredibly vibrant music scene, and convincing his friends “Dr. Strangelove” is one of the greatest films of all time.

Andrew Karpan is a writer based in New York. He believes Pavement was the last good boy band.

Colin is a writer, editor, show-booker and not-for-profit worker from Calgary, AB.

While he hates writing about himself, he loves coming up with nice words to say about other people, facilitating opportunities for developing artists, and boosting others up on his surprisingly broad shoulders.

He wrote about excellent bands that are playing this year at SXSW, and would cry tears of joy if you made the time to go see them.

WE FOUND NEW MUSIC is an artist discovery platform dedicated to introducing exceptional artists to music industry leaders and organizations. In the past 4 years, we have helped introduce artists through performance & interview sessions, blogs, radio shows, Concerts & DJ sets with today’s most relevant artists, including Billie Eilish, Kim Petras, FRENSHIP, and Bishop Briggs. We book the artists we discover at LA’s live music concept, The Peppermint Club. This will be WE FOUND NEW MUSIC’s fourth time presenting an official showcase at SXSW, this time, teaming up with The Peppermint Club, to create a unique 12 band lineup at The Palm Door on Sixth Street, on the evening of March 15th.

Derek Robertson is a freelance music writer, editor, and digital journalist with over ten years’ experience contributing to a variety of publications, both in print and online. Having written for the likes of the Guardian, the Independent, the Quietus, Clash, Loud & Quiet, and Le Cool, as well as a three-year stint as the English Editor of PERDIZ magazine, he is now Editor In Chief at Drowned In Sound, where he oversees editorial direction and is involved in digital strategy. He also contributes to Subbacultcha, a Dutch independent music and art platform devoted to emerging artists, and provides content for several internationally renowned festivals.

Co-founder and co-editor-in-chief of MetalSucks

Marcos Hassan is a culture journalist and musician based in Mexico City. Currently, he is a regular contributor to Remezcla and Noisey En Español. Since 2007, his work has appeared on Noisey, Tiny Mix Tapes and Daily Bandcamp as well as Mexican publications like Warp, Indie Rocks, Chilango, and Letras Libres, among others. He also records and plays music as Caos Del Té.

We are a group of mexican guys in love of music, movies and tv shows (the good ones). We also write about music trends, and the best and worst of tv series, movies and videogames; some viral things too. Everything at Sopitas.com

Andrew Karpan is a writer based in New York. He believes Pavement was the last good boy band.

Nate Rogers is the editor-in-chief of FLOOD Magazine. He lives in Los Angeles, where he was born and raised—and will truthfully likely die. He is the magazine’s foremost expert on Nicolas Cage and Guided by Voices, as well as the frequent, understated intersection of the two. He still hasn’t seen Joan Didion in person but he looks for her everyday.

For over 9 years Brandon Bogajewicz has been rambling about music he like on The Burning Ear. One of his favorite things in the world is connecting people with bands and songs that deserve more attention. Over the years The Burning Ear has hosted numerous showcases at SXSW, a series of live shows in Los Angeles, and even made a few t-shirts. More recently the website has evolved into an analog counterpart called Vinyl Moon which presses the bands he loves most on vinyl every month. He’s been lucky to work with all 5 of the bands he writes about in this booklet, and releases their music on vinyl. Brandon’s favorite part of the music industry is creating a small but happy family of music makers and music cheerleaders.

Elena Childers was born & raised in Pittsburgh, PA, by a punk rock drummer from the mountains of Kentucky and a rebellious scientist from the capital of Chile. Now living in Brooklyn, NY—she’s a rebel with no cause needed and a podcast host/ music journalist for BTRtoday and Alt Citizen. Catch her backstage at all the coolest underground shows in NYC.

Mary Chang has been the owner and editor-in-chief of There Goes the Fear since 2010. Deeply passionate about spreading the word on good music, she has broadened TGTF’s original focus on UK artists, with the Web site now exploring acts from America, Ireland, Australia, Scandinavia, and more. Although based in Washington, DC, Mary has covered gigs and music festivals on three continents, relishing travel to discover music and experience live performances with the locals. She previously wrote for PopWreck(oning), quickly becoming their British music expert; DIY; and ClickMusic. Her favorite interviewee to date? Tom Chaplin. Mary’s day job is in scientific publishing.

Mary Chang has been the owner and editor-in-chief of There Goes the Fear since 2010. Deeply passionate about spreading the word on good music, she has broadened TGTF’s original focus on UK artists, with the Web site now exploring acts from America, Ireland, Australia, Scandinavia, and more. Although based in Washington, DC, Mary has covered gigs and music festivals on three continents, relishing travel to discover music and experience live performances with the locals. She previously wrote for PopWreck(oning), quickly becoming their British music expert; DIY; and ClickMusic. Her favorite interviewee to date? Tom Chaplin. Mary’s day job is in scientific publishing.

Mary Chang has been the owner and editor-in-chief of There Goes the Fear since 2010. Deeply passionate about spreading the word on good music, she has broadened TGTF’s original focus on UK artists, with the Web site now exploring acts from America, Ireland, Australia, Scandinavia, and more. Although based in Washington, DC, Mary has covered gigs and music festivals on three continents, relishing travel to discover music and experience live performances with the locals. She previously wrote for PopWreck(oning), quickly becoming their British music expert; DIY; and ClickMusic. Her favorite interviewee to date? Tom Chaplin. Mary’s day job is in scientific publishing.

Tim is the editor of London-based new music blog The Blue Walrus, where he has spent more than a decade unearthing new and exciting bands from the UK and beyond. He also currently heads up the music section of new media publication The Descrier, and you will find him at gigs hunting for unicorns in and around the British capital.

Raj Rudolph has been an pop music obsessive ever since he heard Madonna’s iconic debut album. When he couldn’t stop playing “Music For The Masses” by Depeche Mode, he instantly knew that electronic and pop music would be his life-long passion. Raj is American born, but has lived in London since 2000. He created EQ Music Blog as a passion project from the ground up having interviewed some of the biggest names in pop like Gaga, Sia, Mika, Kelis, Robyn and every member of the Scissor Sisters. EQ Music is one of the UK’s longest running influential pop blogs, voting in BBC Sound and regularly hosting showcase nights for emerging electronic pop acts in the British capital. Raj is also a Program Manager for MTV/Viacom’s Global Entertainment Group as has freelanced as a digital producer for the likes of Google, Huffington Post, Vogue, GQ and WIRED.

Elena Childers was born & raised in Pittsburgh, PA, by a punk rock drummer from the mountains of Kentucky and a rebellious scientist from the capital of Chile. Now living in Brooklyn, NY—she’s a rebel with no cause needed and a podcast host/ music journalist for BTRtoday and Alt Citizen. Catch her backstage at all the coolest underground shows in NYC.

Elena Childers was born & raised in Pittsburgh, PA, by a punk rock drummer from the mountains of Kentucky and a rebellious scientist from the capital of Chile. Now living in Brooklyn, NY—she’s a rebel with no cause needed and a podcast host/ music journalist for BTRtoday and Alt Citizen. Catch her backstage at all the coolest underground shows in NYC.

Nathan Lankford is a 8th Grade teacher by day, and a music writer/record label owner by night. He has been active in the music community both in Austin and beyond since 2002, always trying to promote the music that’s near and dear to him. Nathan fashions himself as a fan of the best unpopular music around.

Kevin McStravick started Operation Every Band in 2010, a site dedicated to reviewing every showcasing SXSW artist before the conference kicks off each March. Pairs well with spreadsheets, headphones and soul.

Chris Park is an Editor at Large for Korean Indie. He has been writing about Korean independent music since 2008 and continues to try and introduce new artists and bands to audiences around the world.

Nathan Lankford is a 8th Grade teacher by day, and a music writer/record label owner by night. He has been active in the music community both in Austin and beyond since 2002, always trying to promote the music that’s near and dear to him. Nathan fashions himself as a fan of the best unpopular music around.

I’ve been covering the L.A. music scene for half a decade. When I’m not hunting down talent, I’m writing about it and talking about it.

Colin is a writer, editor, show-booker and not-for-profit worker from Calgary, AB.

While he hates writing about himself, he loves coming up with nice words to say about other people, facilitating opportunities for developing artists, and boosting others up on his surprisingly broad shoulders.

He wrote about excellent bands that are playing this year at SXSW, and would cry tears of joy if you made the time to go see them.

Derek Robertson is a freelance music writer, editor, and digital journalist with over ten years’ experience contributing to a variety of publications, both in print and online. Having written for the likes of the Guardian, the Independent, the Quietus, Clash, Loud & Quiet, and Le Cool, as well as a three-year stint as the English Editor of PERDIZ magazine, he is now Editor In Chief at Drowned In Sound, where he oversees editorial direction and is involved in digital strategy. He also contributes to Subbacultcha, a Dutch independent music and art platform devoted to emerging artists, and provides content for several internationally renowned festivals.

Will Oliver is photographer and writer based in New York City that founded music blog We All Want Someone To Shout For. He started the blog 10 years ago as a way to share new music discoveries with his friends and it has turned into something much more in recent years.

Brandon Caldwell is the editor-in-chief of Day & A Dream, a Houston music & culture website. His work has been featured in Complex, Billboard, VIBE, UPROXX, the Houston Press, Village Voice, DJBooth and more.

Co-founder and co-editor-in-chief of MetalSucks

Joshua Chiang’s music appreciation runs the gamut. The uniqueness of any and all sounds finds a place within his ears. He is, however, more inclined to the gloomier, moodier, and darker corners of music. As a writer, photographer, and underground promoter, he spends much of his time keeping his eyes and ears on the next big thing as well as what has been under everyone’s noses the whole time.

For over 9 years Brandon Bogajewicz has been rambling about music he like on The Burning Ear. One of his favorite things in the world is connecting people with bands and songs that deserve more attention. Over the years The Burning Ear has hosted numerous showcases at SXSW, a series of live shows in Los Angeles, and even made a few t-shirts. More recently the website has evolved into an analog counterpart called Vinyl Moon which presses the bands he loves most on vinyl every month. He’s been lucky to work with all 5 of the bands he writes about in this booklet, and releases their music on vinyl. Brandon’s favorite part of the music industry is creating a small but happy family of music makers and music cheerleaders.

David Nadelle is a record collector and writer for Tiny Mix Tapes. He lives with his family in Ottawa, Ontario.

One of The Wild Honey Pie’s founding members, Lauren has spent the past seven years winding her way through the world of music journalism and marketing. In addition to being a longtime contributor and editor for the site, she has taken on roles within artist management – previously at Red Light Management and currently at Foundations Music, leading their in-house marketing team. All the while, she’s stayed true to The Wild Honey Pie’s ethos of music discovery, promoting up-and-coming artists from across the musical spectrum and absorbing songs and sounds from as many genres as possible.

When he’s not working on his falsetto in the shower and trying to win rings for the Raptors on 2K, UK-based writer Grant Brydon is Hip-hop editor of CLASH Magazine. Over the past twelve months his adventures have included a late-night drive through Houston with Travis Scott and an afternoon on an Irish golf course with Gucci Mane, both of which graced the cover of the magazine. He also curates CLASH’s Spotify and Apple Music playlists, which will get your thumbs stretching for the fire emoji.

We are a group of mexican guys in love of music, movies and tv shows (the good ones). We also write about music trends, and the best and worst of tv series, movies and videogames; some viral things too. Everything at Sopitas.com

Jacob Moore started Pigeons & Planes in his bedroom in October of 2008. He ran the website independently for years before joining Complex and running the site as an owned and operated property. Pigeons & Planes is a music brand that focuses on discovery, produces live shows, and creates original editorial, video, and social content around new music.

Austin-based journalist Cassie Morien has been covering music since 2002. After graduating with a degree in journalism from the University of Central Florida, Morien served as an editor for Boca Raton magazine until she couldn’t stand one more second of Florida’s swamps and sunburns. She finally escaped to Texas in 2013.

Morien is a staff writer for Indie Shuffle and contributing writer for Teeth Magazine. She also serves as the official blogger for SunFest Music Festival. When she’s not damaging her eardrums, Morien can be found tweeting for tech giants at INK Communications Co. She is madly in love with hashtags, music festivals, milkshakes, synth-pop, and the human race.

Ben Kaye is News Editor for Consequence of Sound, a leading online magazine covering the latest in music, film, and television. Raised just outside Boston, educated on Long Island (Hofstra University), and living in Brooklyn, Ben has been covering music for some seven years now. In addition to helping run CoS’ daily news section, he contributes heavily to live coverage and features with both his pen and his camera. He has also worked in comic book journalism and owns what some would call an obscene amount of comics and memorabilia.

Kellie MacDougall is a 21 year-old artist living in East Nashville, Tennessee. She moved there from Boston in 2015 to pursue an education in audio engineering and have since graduated with an Associate’s degree. She volunteers at DIY punk venues around the local scene and works as a stagehand setting up at arena concerts. She came into music journalism through zines and live photography. Some artists that inspire her work are Joan Didion, Kathleen Hanna, and Bob Gruen. In her spare time she paints, plays electric guitar, and works part-time as a dog walker.

Brian Furman is a writer originally from the kingdom of hopeless optimism that is Cleveland, OH. He has been writing professionally for 10+ years with multiple pieces of Fiction published in multiple mediums. He currently lives in Tampa, FL with his beautiful, and patient, wife, two children, dog, and cat. He loves his family, David Bowie, and the Cleveland Browns.. not necessarily in that order.

Jake Markow is a junior at the University of Houston majoring in Public Relations. He currently writes for Elevator and Dirty Glove Bastard, focusing on up and coming hip-hop artists. Born in California, he got his start in music through playing and tour managing bands. After moving to Texas for college, Jake transitioned into producing for rap artists. Jake’s favorite artists are John Mayer and Young Thug, and he was voted “Most Likely To Be In Your Bae’s Headphones’ in high-school.

For over 9 years Brandon Bogajewicz has been rambling about music he like on The Burning Ear. One of his favorite things in the world is connecting people with bands and songs that deserve more attention. Over the years The Burning Ear has hosted numerous showcases at SXSW, a series of live shows in Los Angeles, and even made a few t-shirts. More recently the website has evolved into an analog counterpart called Vinyl Moon which presses the bands he loves most on vinyl every month. He’s been lucky to work with all 5 of the bands he writes about in this booklet, and releases their music on vinyl. Brandon’s favorite part of the music industry is creating a small but happy family of music makers and music cheerleaders.

One of The Wild Honey Pie’s founding members, Lauren has spent the past seven years winding her way through the world of music journalism and marketing. In addition to being a longtime contributor and editor for the site, she has taken on roles within artist management – previously at Red Light Management and currently at Foundations Music, leading their in-house marketing team. All the while, she’s stayed true to The Wild Honey Pie’s ethos of music discovery, promoting up-and-coming artists from across the musical spectrum and absorbing songs and sounds from as many genres as possible.

Nathan Lankford is a 8th Grade teacher by day, and a music writer/record label owner by night. He has been active in the music community both in Austin and beyond since 2002, always trying to promote the music that’s near and dear to him. Nathan fashions himself as a fan of the best unpopular music around.

Adam Rothbarth is a music critic and journalist based in St. Louis, MO. After completing his M.A. in Musicology, he joined Tiny Mix Tapes as a staff writer and has been a regular album review contributor to Apple Music; his work on music and film has appeared a number of leading publications and radio stations, including Pitchfork, Spin, Vice, KEXP, and Gimme Radio. Recently, the BBC noted his review of Arcade Fire’s album Everything Now as one of the 7 most scathing record reviews of 2017. Outside of writing, Adam’s interests include baking, classical music, philosophy, Kanye West, and vegan food.