I've long been an admirer of Mr. Jim James and he's long been a pal o' mine. I first saw My Morning Jacket at SXSW in 2002, an event that charted my future on an interesting course for ten years. I've watched him stretch and grow musically and as a person and have always been impressed by his desire to explore and not lead a life that is stagnant in any way.

Regions of Light and Sound of God, his first major foray outside the boundaries of MMJ, is a beautifully paced cruise through Jim's universe and what it means to wonder, what it means to be alive.

Dickies & KarmaLoop at Lustre Pearl

Dickies and Karmaloop in partnership are taking on SXSW with Filter Magazine, bringing you acclaimed music artists such as Talib Kweli, The Joy Formidable, The Divine Fits, and Fitz and the Tantrums. The Lustre Pearl is a stage you won't want to miss. Through an exclusive content partnership, Dickies and Karmaloop will be bringing you special acoustic sessions, daily recaps, interviews, behind the scenes footage, promotions, and plenty of SXSW culture.

Welcome to another edition of Speaker Spotlights, on the eve of the SXSW Film 2013 launch!

Read what conference participants Turk Pipkin, Liz Nord and Nicolas Gonda have to say about their sessions encompassing social change, cross-platform storytelling and making the most of your film's future.

Photo Courtesy of Christine Chen

We're excited to continue our relationship with AT&T as they return as a Super Sponsor for SXSW 2013. AT&T brings more to this festival than meets the eye, providing a huge amount of the technological magic that keeps the machine running both behind the scenes and right out in the open. AT&T's on the ground presence is nearly everywhere this year. They are providing more than 200 Wi-Fi Hot Spots in the Austin city area at locations including Auditorium Shores, the Austin Convention Center, and even on busy public streets like 6th Street between Brazos and Red River.