Creative Scotland announce SxSW 2014 showcase bill

More details on the Scottish artists due to appear at this year's South By Southwest (7-16 Mar) in Austin, Texas have emerged this morning. The Scottish contingent – this year comprising Honeyblood, Young Fathers, Prides, Casual Sex, Withered Hand and Holy Esque, will be travelling to Texas with help from Creative Scotland. The funding organisation's Director of Creative Development, Caroline Parkinson, commented: "These six acts represent some of the hottest prospects to be emerging on the international scene. SxSW is an important platform to showcase Scotland’s vibrant contemporary music scene to international audiences.  Through making connections and performing to industry representatives all six acts will use SxSW as a platform to take their music into international markets."

Also attending this year under their own steam will be Cairn String Quartet, Rustie, Saor Patrol, We Were Promised Jetpacks, The Xcerts, PAWS and Twin Atlantic. For some of this year's Scottish attendees, this will not be their first rodeo. Young fathers attended in 2013: "Once again Young Fathers are heading to SxSW," a spokesman for the band commented today. "In 2013 their visit to Texas was an introduction to America as a whole and an opportunity not only for the US industry to see them perform but also to meet and discuss with international music people a wider future for the group. The success of this first, brief visit will be built upon in 2014 on their return to SxSW and their subsequent US national tour with label-mates Baths, which sees them play around 30 cities across America on the back of the release of their first album, DEAD. SxSW is a great place to start the tour and campaign, with pretty much the whole of the US music industry with a presence there, ready to do business."

Casual Sex and Honeyblood, who spoke exclusively to The Skinny last week about their selection for SxSW 2014, added further comment, with the Casual Sex members commenting: "We are delighted to be returning to America as part of the SXSW programme and we are incredibly grateful for Creative Scotland's support on this. Without Creative Scotland's support, we would not have been able to tour with Franz Ferdinand or perform at the CMJ Music Marathon first time round; let alone return as part of the SXSW Programme. With the support of our American team we'd like to find interested labels when we head to Austin in March." 

Honeyblood, meanwhile, fresh from their barnstorming set at The Skinny's 100th Issue Party, added to their comments last week, saying: "We are delighted to be a part of SXSW 2014. It's a great platform for bands to play internationally and promote upcoming releases. Also, a great experience and chance to discover the music industry."