SXSW TV Broadcast Features Allstar Lineup
03/06/2009
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(PR) DIRECTV, the nation's leading satellite television provider, is heading to Austin, Texas' trendsetting South by Southwest (SXSW) Music Festival for a third year to bring DIRECTV customers SXSW Live, a live television broadcast of the celebrated music event airing exclusively on DIRECTV's original entertainment channel, The 101� Network. The special, broadcasting live in HD and 5.1 surround sound, airs March 20-21 beginning at 5 p.m. EST.
Hosts Matt Pin[head]field and Robin Dorian will take viewers through two full days of festival coverage and live performances. Confirmed acts at press time include The Airborne Toxic Event, Ben Harper and Relentless7, Billy Bob Thornton and the Boxmasters, Carlene Carter, Ed Harcourt, Echo and the Bunnymen, Forever The Sickest Kids, Juliette Lewis and the New Romantiques, Lenka, The Oak Ridge Boys, The Proclaimers, Shiny Toy Guns, Shwayze, Solange Presents Sol-Angel & The Hadley Street Dreams, Third Eye Blind, Tinted Windows and The Von Bondies. Additional acts will be announced in the coming weeks.
In addition to more than 16 live concert performances, the special will also include backstage interviews with the industry's hottest up-and-coming and established artists, behind-the-scenes coverage and remote reporting from hot spots throughout the festival - all designed to make viewers feel as if they are at the festival itself.
"For the third year in a row, DIRECTV customers will be able to experience SXSW Live with a front-row seat and an exclusive look into one of the premier music festivals in the world," said Eric Shanks, executive vice president of Entertainment for DIRECTV. "Not only is this larger-than-life television special another free perk that only DIRECTV customers get to experience, there's the added enjoyment of seeing many up-and-coming acts in their first television appearance ever before taking the next step to stardom."
"We are thrilled to continue our annual partnership with DIRECTV for this special live broadcast event," said Roland Swenson, managing director of SXSW Festivals and Conferences. "Advancing our long tradition of innovation, DIRECTV allows us to offer an amazing quantity and quality of video and sound coverage on multiple platforms live from our event. SXSW Live elevates our festival above and beyond the expected, making the SXSW experience available to millions of people around the world."
The broadcasts will originate from updated state-of-the-art venues featuring The Bat Bar, a modern music club, and the traditional Lonestar Lounge. Both venues have been constructed from the ground up in the Austin Convention Center to host the exclusive SXSW Live performances on DIRECTV.
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