Last September, five Austin bands and more than a thousand friends and fans gathered at the Moody Theatre, home of the Austin City Limits television series, to pay tribute to Brent Grulke, the music director of South By Southwest, who unexpectedly passed away at the age of 52.

Singer/songwriter Colyn Cameron of Wake Owl has been immersed in the world of music for the past ten years. Now based in Vancouver, BC and Portland, OR, Colyn was originally born and raised in southern California. “In the beginning I was mostly into rhyme stuff/hip hop,” Colyn notes, “I wrote rap basically. I used to go around the school ground rapping my verses to whoever would listen. Then about seven years ago I picked up a guitar and taught myself basic stuff and immediately began writing songs.”

Born Adrian Michna, DJ/producer Michna combines instrumental hip-hop, electro, and IDM. Starting out his musical career as a trombonist on the N.Y.C. circuit, playing ska music in the Lion\'s Den and CBGB before he was old enough to get served at the bar, in the mid-\'90s he moved to Miami and founded the enigmatic DJ collective Secret Frequency Crew along with Matthew Brown and Matt Friedman. Their song \"Miami Eyes\" became a favorite among the underground DJ community and caught the attention of Diplo.

They pull no punches. They won’t bore you with trying to explain how multi-genre and indefinable they are. The 4onthefloor play rock music. The 4onthefloor play blues music. And they do it in 4/4 time.

The Staves are English sisters Emily, Jessica and Camilla Staveley-Taylor, whose unique vocal harmonies and haunting melodies have already seen them tipped for success by The Guardian, iTunes, Time Out, The Times, Nylon, and The Independent to name but a few. Known for their jaw-dropping live performances, The Staves recently supported Bon Iver on their European stadium tour, followed by their own headline tour of UK and Ireland before supporting Fink in India.

The Harlequins are a psychedelic garage-pop trio formed in 2007 in Cincinnati, OH. Since that time they have released three albums independently and played hundreds of shows in the Midwest and South. Their roots lie in Cincinnati\'s burgeoning DIY Scene, where they built a loyal following working with groups such as Bunk News and The Marburg Collective. Since then they have been a regular fixture at the Midpoint Music Festival and nominated for numerous Cincinnati Entertainment Awards.

T Bird and the Breaks are one of those gangs of people who could have easily banded together to steal hubcaps or hustle you out of your last dollar in a game of street craps. Lucky for all involved, they chose to make music.

Tashaki Miyaki was born out of a late night jam in early 2011. Since then they have recorded two EPs, and a single as well as toured the world. They are currently in the midst of recording their debut full length.

\"The mathy skronk of Battles, Foals’ wounded hearts and The xx’s sense of space, all tempered by a freeness of mind that only comes from breathing a dose of sea air each morning\" NME

“Everything Touching is an album that revels in it’s own ambition” 7/10 NME

“The best live act I’ve seen this year...I think they will be huge.” Jason Carter - Head of Live Music at BBC Radio

\"Pumcayó\" is Spanish for \"thump! (it/he/she) fell\". The music crafted by the quintet touches on contemporary folk acts like Fleet Foxes and Grizzly Bear, with occasional nods to progressive rock. The disparate musical strands are all held together by the glue of the band\'s indelible Mexican inheritance and the end result, much like Mexican handicrafts, is intricate, textured, colorful and raw.

Pumcayó has collaborated with visual artist Marcel Dzama and has shared stage with bands such as OKGO and Kings of Convenience.