SXSW Fever Begins: Cheap Trick to play free outdoor show

The big South-by-Southwest (SXSW) music festival in Austin has begun its annual preseason of rumors, speculation and the occasional announcement … with the very real confirmation that pop-punk-rockers Cheap Trick will play a free show at Austin’s Auditorium Shores park on Friday, March 19.  Opening act will be the BoDeans, who will have a new album out this spring.

These big shows are official SXSW events designed for the locals who don’t want to go to other “official” SXSW showcases.  In recent years, the 0utdoor concerts have featured acts like Spoon, Ian Hunter, Rosanne Cash, Public Enemy and Mastodon.  These free shows will usually feature more recognizable names, as opposed to the literally thousands of emerging artists that SXSW is supposed to be about promoting.  However big stars like Kanye West and Metallica slipped in last year to steal a lot of the thunder from the new bands, so we wonder if SXSW will continue that trend this year.

SXSW music festival official website