Sxsw Official: Dustin Kensrue, Kevin Devine, River City Extension, Francisco The Man, Hard Girls And Fatherson Fatherson, Hard Girls, Franci

SXSW Official SHOWCASE: APA Presents: Doors at 7p 8p - Fatherson: Fatherson are a band based in Glasgow, Scotland. Following EP releases and support slots with Frightened Rabbit, Feeder, Twin Atlantic, Panic! At The Disco, Lonely The Brave and Idlewild, their debut album, I Am An Island, was released in April 2014. The album was met with widespread critical acclaim and stormed the iTunes chart. The band and label worked to together to independently finance and release the record. The release was a great success and went to No.11 in the Scottish Album Chart, Top 40 in the UK Independent charts and peaked at No.5 on the iTunes alternative chart. The first single "I Like Not Knowing" received airplay throughout BBC Radio 1 with support from Dj's such as Greg James, Zane Lowe, Huw Stephens and Ally McCrae. The band then toured throughout the UK pulling their biggest audiences to date, culminating in a sold out show at Glasgow's Arches. Fatherson have played at festivals throughout the UK... 9p - Hard Girls Much like the science fiction and philosophy books into which they are known to delve, Hard Girls explore the wondrous and sometimes dark paths of human existence with a seasoned honesty that belies the unbridled energy of their songs. For their second full-length record, this San Jose, CA based post-punk trio recorded with producer Jack Shirley (Deafheaven, Joyce Manor) to capture their alternately desperate and introspective sound. "A Thousand Surfaces" recalls early post-punk pioneers like Wire and The Clean, while also drawing a clear lineage from the earnest, everyman indie rock of Sebadoh and Track Star. 10p - Francisco The Man It took roughly seven years, a teenage instrumental rock band, a debut EP, additions and subtractions, a roller rick and a near death experience to arrive at Francisco The Man. Following a two-year hiatus beginning in 2008, the band relocated from Riverside to Los Angeles, CA, bringing along a new addition, guitarist Brock Woolsey. With the help of Small Plates Records, they released two 7"s, In the Corners and Tiger. Their debut LP, Loose Ends, due out on Small Plates as well, gives it audience a more encompassing look at Francisco the Man. With each song, more and more honesty permeates through the lyrics. "I think the LP shows a broader, more realized, version of Francisco The Man," Scotty Cantino explains. "You can't do that with a single". From the beginning of the first track, questions and anxieties are the substance. With each subsequent verse and track, they seem to find the answers in themselves. "Even though I write the songs, we really hash them out… Arrangements and parts are formed on the fly. It's constant improvisation," Scotty says. Each song comes in with a certain message, but with a sound that blends garage rock, new wave, and shoegaze, the message becomes enveloped in something complete different. 11p - River City Extension Three years after the release of their critically acclaimed sophomore album Don't Let the Sun Go Down on Your Anger, Toms River, New Jersey band River City Extension will release their latest full-length Deliverance on March 10, 2015 on Anchor & Hope Records. Deliverance is comprised of ten tracks that successfully create a succinct, effortlessly executed indie rock opus reminiscent of Tom Petty, Paul Simon, Girls and Dirty Projectors. While guitarist/vocalist Joe Michelini originally served as the core of River City Extension, Deliverance sees Michelini and long-time collaborators John Muccino (guitars/vocals/strings) and Patrick O'Brien (keyboards, vocals) expanding into a full band with the addition of Josh Gilman (bass). Michelini was heavily influenced by Ayn Rand during the writing of Deliverance. Much of the record was informed by her thoughts on morality and productive work, as Michelini applied these to his search for identity within the music industry and as an artist. The songs weigh the importance of staying true to oneself within the complexities of the modern world. Deliverance was produced, engineered and mixed by Pat Noon over 14 days in a vacant ski-lodge in the Poconos. River City Extension formed in 2007, and have released two full-lengths and numerous EPs and splits including a 2011 split with Kevin Devine. Paste named the band a "Band to Watch" in 2010, and NPR has hailed the band's "serious ambition". The group has toured the country extensively, performing everywhere from the Newport Folk Festival to Bonnaroo to Austin City Limits. 12a - Kevin Devine Kevin Devine - one of the most prolific singer-songwriters in the punk and indie rock world, and an artist who had released six studio albums to critical acclaim - was uneasy. The man who released two Billboard 200-charting albums (2009's Brothers Blood and 2011's Between the Concrete and the Clouds) was hesitant about using crowd-sourcing platform Kickstarter to fund the release of his seventh and eighth LPs. But, as odd as it felt to fund an album with support directly from his fans, he was also disillusioned by his experiences in the traditional label system. In the late months of 2012, as he continued to write, Devine's uneasiness with the Kickstarter model began to recede. He proceeded with the belief that he would be doing something different and true, placing his trust in the audience to guide him. "I've made six records. In America they've been released on five different labels. It's a pretty unstable industry. What's made it a sustainable and justifiable career for me has been the audience and their close, passionate connection to the music." 1a - Dustin Kensrue http://dustinkensrue.com/