Robert Baird

Sure, it’s warm here at a time when the northeast is still chilly. Added to that, you can willingly drown yourself in music. Over five days and nights, somewhere north of 2200 bands, solos and everything in between take their shots. And of course it’s always good see friends and colleagues in what is left of both the music and publishing businesses. But none of that is the essence of what Austin’s now monstrous South By Southwest Music melee is really about— at least for the first 24 hours. My needs are simpler. And hotter. For me and many others it’s all about the Migas

As someone who spent half their life in the southwestern U.S., the food in Austin is a tonic to my soul. I left the waiter at Guero’s Taco Bar a big tip and told him he deserved it because he’d help save a life today. No matter what anyone says, you cannot get anything resembling real Mexican food in New York City.

Amongst the music I saw today, was one James Bay, who hails, like the esteemed editor of this magazine, from Hitchin, Hertfordshire, UK. A solo singer songwriter, with a strong voice and some very intriguing love songs, who mentioned he’d once played in hardcore band and actually once opened for the Rolling Stones in Hyde Park, Bay has a new record coming out next week entitled, Chaos and The Calm. Singer songwriters are a penny a dozen but this young man (23 years old) has ahold of something worth a listen. Many are predicting big things from this latest member of the famous sons of Hitchin.