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THE BOOK OF MORMON is back in Austin by Popular Demand

THE BOOK OF MORMON features book, music and lyrics by Trey Parker, Robert Lopez and Matt Stone. Parker and Stone are the four-time Emmy Award-winning creators of the landmark animated series, “South Park.” Tony Award-winner Lopez is co-creator of the long-running hit musical comedy, Avenue Q.  The musical is choreographed by Tony Award-winner Casey Nicholaw (Monty Python’s Spamalot, The Drowsy Chaperone) and is directed by Nicholaw and Parker.

Kim Exum, Conner Pierson

Conner Pierson

The Book of Mormon Washington, D.C. November 17, 2017 Photo Credit: Julieta Cervantes

This outrageous musical comedy follows the misadventures of a mismatched pair of missionaries, sent halfway across the world to spread the Good Word.The Book of Mormon follows two young missionaries who are sent to Uganda to try to convert citizens to the Mormon religion. One missionary, Elder Price, is an enthusiastic go-getter with a strong dedication to his faith, while his partner, Elder Cunningham, is a socially awkward but well-meaning nerd whose tendency to embroider the truth soon lands him in trouble. Upon their arrival in Africa, Elders Price and Cunningham learn that in a society plagued by AIDS, poverty and violence, a successful mission may not be as easy as they expected. More information on the show at Broadway.com

It’s the winner of nine Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Score (Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, Matt Stone), Best Book (Trey Parker, Robert Lopez, Matt Stone), Best Direction (Casey Nicholaw, Trey Parker), Best Featured Actress (Nikki M. James), Best Scenic Design (Scott Pask), Best Lighting Design (Brian MacDevitt), Best Sound Design (Brian Ronan) and Best Orchestrations (Larry Hochman, Stephen Oremus).

The music is a critical part of the success of this show. Read this interesting story on the music synopsis

The New York Times says “THE BEST MUSICAL OF THIS CENTURY. Heaven on Broadway! A celebration of the privilege of living inside that improbable paradise called a musical comedy.” (Ben Brantley)

The show runs 2 hrs 30 minutes with one intermission. More info and ticket info can be found at Texas Performing Arts

UT Students get exclusive access to $10 tickets to Broadway shows, concerts, comedians, and fine art performances. Buy the Bass Pass online today at basspass.org

Bass Concert Hall at UT is one of the premiere venues in Austin for the arts. Broadway in Austin presented by Texas Performing Arts brings to Austin THE BOOK OF MORMON. Broadway Across America provides production services for Texas Performing Arts.

by Diego Donnamria

Brown, Ingram, McConaughey

Tamera Mowry

Mac and Sally Brown

MJM Empower Kids

Jack and Amy Ingram

Kliff Kingsbury

Vince Young

Matthew McConaughey & Camilla AIves

Colt and Rachel McCoy

by Denise Enriquez

SXSW 2018 Music Festival Review by Alyssa Quiles

Another year is in the bag for SXSW and I’ve got to say it was pretty interesting. The festival lived up to its purpose once again, allowing up and coming bands to show off their skills and for people to new music discover music. As always, there were some huge A-list performers too (Keith Urban, Common, T.I., Nathaniel Rateliff) but far less than recent years. Overall it was a safe and more manageable SXSW this year. All genres were included and that’s pretty cool.

Just a few of the main events and showcases this year were: Sony Lost In Music, Fader Fort, Rachael Ray’s Feedback Party & Feedback House, Waterloo Records, Whole Food’s Southwest Invasion, SXSW Outdoor Stage, KGSR W Hotel, NPR, Stub Hub, Capitol One at Antone’s, Twix house, Lost Weekend, FloodFest, Bud Light, Pandora, Hype Hotel, Bud Light, Culture Collide, Empire Control Room, along with the ACC stages: International Day Stage and Radio Day Stage. See the full party lineups here. This year was the first without a SPIN Magazine presence (they usually have the biggest showcase at Stubb’s).

The week started of with a kick-off party at the Main and the Main II, with Superchunk, Bad Gyal, Pussy Riot, Lali Puna, Starcrawler and more.

Andrew W.K performed a few times at a few venues during the week giving a very energized and positive performance each time. While he was punching the air and giving us probably one of the most passionate performances I have seen, audiences danced and sang along, at one point even starting a mosh pit in the middle of the crowd at Waterloo Records.

Nathaniel Rateliff and the Night Sweats gave the crowd an amazing performance at the SXSW Outdoor Stage. With beautiful melodies and lyrics, and the city skyline behind them, they took control of the stage and made it theirs. They were the perfect end to a great day of music.

Dashboard Confessional had one of the larger crowds I saw at the festival, standing in the back, the experience was more enjoyable since I didn’t have to worry about if my eardrums were going pop from how loud the speakers were. They had an amazing set, giving throwing it back with some old tunes and giving us a couple of newer ones.

Rainey Street hosted an assortment of showcases from Twix House of Duos to StubHub Culture Collide and M&M’s showcase. Surrounded by mega hotels- the just opened Fairmont and the VanZandt, tall apartment buildings and new construction projects, Rainey has dramatically changed in just a few short years. The once run-down area near the convention center still allowed show goers to feel like they were in a private alcove of music and fun.

The Radio Day Stage and International Day Stage showed off some of the best music from around the country and the world. It’s always one of our most recommended showcases each year. Artists such as Nikki Lane, La Fragua Band, Lali Puna, Gato Presto, Lola Marsh, The Shacks, lovelytheband, Lo Moon, Melat, and so much more. Provided by popular radio stations like KCRW (L.A.) and KUTX (Austin), listeners were able to experience all types of genres in a single day in a comfortable environment at the Austin Convention Center.

In the Market Place there was the Flatstock music stage where you could sit down, relax and enjoy some music while recharging your phone and yourself until you were ready to take on the festival once more. Flatstock stage featured artists such as Bifannah, C-Kan, Luna Lee, Terra Lightfoot, machina among others.

Not only were there a ton of shows, there were plenty of keynote speakers and sessions as well with many professionals in the music industry. Linda Perry and Kerry Brown discussed the future of artist development. Jeffrey Goldberg, Editor in Chief of The Atlantic, talked with Ta-Nehisi Coates, national correspondent for The Atlantic and writer of Marvel’s Black Panther comic book, discussing politics and pop culture. Music keynote speaker Lyor Cohen talked about the changes he has seen in the industry and how the changes in the world and YouTube, streaming and offered inspiring words for those who want to succeed in the music business.

One of the big showcases we were most looking forward to was the Bud Light The Roots and Ludacris  at Fair Market which was canceled last-minute due a bomb threat by a local teen (who was since arrested).

Highlights: There were thousands of bands and showcases. If we had to choose (but we can’t), here are our favorites of the week: Matt Bellamy’s Dr. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band & The Stroke’s Albert Hammond Jr. at Rachael Ray Feedback Party, Sony Lost in Music, HAIM at Bumble’s party, Flo-Rida, Kurt Vile, Margo Price, Common, August Greene & Tinashe at Vevo’s party, Lukas Nelson, Caitlyn Smith, Old Crow Medicine Show, All of Willie Nelson’s Luck Reunion (semi-sxsw), Nikki Lane, Lynyrd Skynyrd (film red carpet), Jerry Williams, Matt & Kim, Pussy Riot, Tank & the Bangas, Shakey Graves, Dashboard Confessional, Bishop Briggs, Keith Urban, Cam.

Shows we’re bummed we missed: Khalid, BONES, Sons of Illustrious Father,  Acid Dad, Bad Pony, Natalie Prass, Jade Bird, Japandroids, Todd Rundgren, Sunflower Bean, The Roots, Blackilac, Max Richter, Shamir, Speedy Ortiz, Sylvan Esso, Say Anything, Porches, Willow Smith, Cloves, Wycleaf Jean (we heard he played guitar with his teeth!).

See all our 25+ posts and galleries from this year here. You can also search by SXSW.

This year was an amazing year at SXSW. There was plenty to do for everyone and so many shows to see, we can’t wait to see what next year brings us. Overall, the fact that it was a safe SXSW (despite a serial bomber in town) was truly the most important thing and we hope that trend continues.

(Lyor Cohen photo sxsw.com)

We did our homework and had our hit list for the key conference sessions this year. Not everyone is here in Austin to see live music day and night. Some of our favorite moments and experiences are getting to know more about these amazing artists, what inspires them, and all the obstacles they have overcome to get here.

Keynotes: Lyor Cohen (Global Head of Music at YouTube and Google) has worked with epic bands including the Killers, fun., Ed Sheeran, Bruno Mars, The Black Keys, Jay-Z, Kanye West, and many more. More InfoThis music keynote focused on trends in music industry business and inspiring collaboration. Although music fans might have hoped for a more artist keynote, this one was still highly popular.

Keith Urban  A fun late addition, it was awesome to listen and watch this session as Urban was interviewed by acclaimed music Scott Goldman (The Grammy Museum). Urban discussed the experiential differences of playing and touring while being sober versus the old days. He was incredibly open, real, authentic as he discussed issues in his life, his great marriage (and how he was terrible at relationships in the past) and how his music has evolved. One of the coolest sessions. More Info

Katie Couric with muslim rapper Mona Haydar discussing her new podcast for Nat Geo “The Muslim Next Door”. They discussed the proposed travel bans, the current administration, music and living through hate and uneducated times. They taped live for the podcast during the session. It was very interesting and helpful in educating attendees on current issues of race, fear, and coming together. More Info More info about the podcast at couricpodcast

Common-Common was everywhere at this year’s SXSW including several sessions and many live performances. The Grammy-winning rapper was on more than one panel session at SXSW. One he did with Karriem Riggins about their supergroup August Greene, their creative process, and their new partnership with Amazon Music. Discussion included influences behind the music, and the various ways artists are working with streaming and new technologies to amplify new releases. More Info

The other was the CHI Showtime featured session that’s a crossover of music and film at  about the drama he created and executive produced. It launched January 2018. As a native of Chicago, Common chats with colleague Lena Waithe (creator) about the struggles of the inner city -the south side and how the area still struggles from racism, poverty and major violence today. More Info See more on the show at The CHI 

Elvis Presley This session was amazing as the panel included Priscilla Presley, what a joy to hear her talk about her husband and to hear from her first hand. In addition, the videos to see and hear Elvis and Tom Petty and others was deeply meaningful and nostalgic-albeit sad too. The new film is “Elvis Presley: the Searcher”.

This documentary is a must see for all fans. Priscilla who acts in the film and was executive producer said it was incredibly important to do it proper justice and be accurate in depicting the late musician. The legendary panel discussed the three-hour, two-film presentation about Elvis Presley premiering at SXSW and will begin on HBO on April 14, 2018. We can’t wait to see the entire film! More Info

Kim Deal Kim is the bassist for alt rock band The Pixies and the lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist for The Breeders-groundbreaking music in the 80’s & 90’s. She’s open and candid with moderator (and friend) Steve Albini about her modest upbringing in a Midwest trailer park was priceless, living in NYC, drugs, and more.  She was humble and casual and almost self-deprecating on her massive success in the industry. More Info

Bronx to Billions  To understand the massive surge in hip-hop music and it’s top ranking in music consumed today, one must learn the history. The discussion included new vs. old- JayZ vs. trailblazers like Run D.M.C. (who appeared at SXSW last year), Grand Wizard Theodore, Kurtis Blow-and the current billion dollar business and how different it was for the originals living in the ghettos of NYC writing lyrics about their difficult lives and making no money. An epic session with original rappers from NYC who also shared how they stay relevant and successful today, although Kurtis Blow was a last minute cancel, it was still super cool. More Info

Niles Rogers was such a hit last year that they brought him back for an enlightening Q&A session. As a legendary producer and musician (working with the likes of Diana Ross and tons more) Rogers shared insights on music production and how to have the same longevity as in his career. More Info

Andre Harrell

Teddy Riley

New Jack Swing with legend Teddy Riley was incredible hearing about the resurgence of this music style, partly due to Bruno Mars’ and bringing back funk and some Jackson-esque style to today’s music world. They talked about the renaissance in hip-hop and staying relevant. This sound was created by fusing R&B, hip-hop, and gospel. Riley produced mega hits for Michael Jackson, New Edition, Keith Sweat and more. Listening to stories of the legendary Jackson brought us back to that time, that era, and wishing he was still around. Riley dressed dapper and stylish and was totally animated in his story-telling which made it fun. This was part of the Music Culture & Stories track at the music festival. More Info

(sxsw.com)

Linda Perry  Perry has been a uniquely successful independent musician, a difficult task today. Linda has been inducted into the Songwriter’s Hall of Fame and has been a huge influence on today’s female artists like Pink, Adele, and more. She discussed her company and record label We Are Here and how she helps young artists reach their goals by providing artists with a unique production facility home and a set of tools to help build their future. More Info Read more about hear We Are Hear

Local fave Shakey Graves  Alejandro Rose-Garcia talked about what goes into a successful music career and how to put together the right team around you. Graves also performed throughout SXSW and is a staple here in Austin. More Info

Todd Rundgren  We were bummed to miss this one. Rundgren has been around for decades and was an integral part of the music scene since the 60’s. Rundgren has made a lasting impact on both the form and content of popular music. More Info

Greg Allman More Info We couldn’t make this one as we were double booked but this was such a nice tribute to the late Allman Brother. What a loss in the music world.

One of the best parties at SXSW music festival in Austin every year! This year we caught several amazing sets. Alice Phoebe Lou, La Luz, Tennessee Jet, The Brittanys, The Teskey Brothers and more!

Tennessee Jet

The Britanys

The Britanys

The Britanys

Alice Phoebe Lou

The Britanys

La Luz

La Luz

Alice Phoebe Lou