beheard: music

Thursday, March 26, 2015

SXSW: 8 Years Later

My first trip to SXSW was in 2007, nearly a decade ago.

A lot can change in a decade. I am a different woman, living within a different set of circumstances.
My location has changed, my relationship status has shifted, my perspective on life has been altered, but my love for music and photography remains tried-and-true.

I have visceral memories of my last time in Austin, Texas. A great town with even greater barbecue and an influx of art and congestion in the early Spring. I was in the infancy of my career, navigating the professional world at an outlet that trusted me enough to give me a stack of cash and a ticket to the South to produce a number of photo shoots for their upcoming issue. I made some friends, saw some live music, met Amy Winehouse, and cut my teeth in a world I was just embarking upon but, which would remain my world for the next 8 years, and the foreseeable future. Working in media can desensitize you to some of the plain old cool experiences we are fortunate enough to encounter. I try my best not to take said experiences for granted.

When I made my first stop in Austin it was on a cross-country trip. I was 19 and my big sister was pregnant, so you can imagine not a whole lot of havoc was wreaked. The next time I was with Stuff Magazine and trying my big girl pants on for size, so I was relatively professional and eager to please. This go round, I was just old. Last time I was here the sea of faces were white, and bearded. The bodies adorned with tight t-shirts and scuffed up sneakers. The population of 6th Street, growing exponentially during the music festival season, has become more Benetton and less milky white, the sponsors have grown from local venues showcasing a relatively unknown talent, to mammoth corporations flying out the latest Disney star to go viral, but I would like to believe the spirit remains the same.

I would like to believe my spirit remains the same as well.

A lot can happen in 8 years but then you find yourself back where you began. In the pit, sweaty and uncomfortable. Elbowing for room with your camera to your face and your bag weighing down heavily upon your back. Eager to get that one shot; eager to hear that one song.

Or as some of us may call it. Heaven.