Shocked Rocked!

Last night we were beyond excited to have Michelle Shocked perform at the ATXtreme festival. She was in great voice and even better humor. She told the audience that she had told her manager to book her anywhere...and so here she was in a parking lot at a coffee shop in South Austin. She then said, "I wouldn't be anywhere else. This is the real Austin, where music really matters!" The crowd loved the show, sang along with the songs and then were treated to a second unexpected set when the next act decided to blow off their set. Michelle showed she was a pro and handled it all with grace as she launched into sweet, strong songs from growing up in East Texas.

If you ever get the chance to see her live, do it! Until then, check out her website, buy her music and keep Michelle's voice out in the world.

rg

What A Week Lies Ahead!

The SXSW Festival kicked off last night and will run through March 18th. Naturally this brings all kinds of interesting people to town and the ecclectic energy of Austin reaches a whole new level.

My friends from Norway will be here with a large contingent to promote the creative economic opportunities in Kristiansand and check out the possibility of developing a Sister City relationship with Austin.

We will be preparing for the ATXtreme at Cafe Caffeine and just to be sure things don't get too mundane, I get to meet Hillary Clinton on Friday!

Now, all I need to do is get a call for the semi-finals of Oprah's Big Give show and this will truly be the best week ever!

rg

Flaunt-a-Friend Friday!

ATXtreme is the heart/brainchild of Jeff Lewis who has put together this 5-day musical event with local, national and international musicians who are all excited to get their rock on in South Austin!

Please join us at Cafe Caffeine, as we host ATXtreme which is an incredible lineup of music March 14th to 18th to benefit ONE, which is an effort by Americans to rally Americans – one by one – to fight the emergency of global AIDS and extreme poverty. ONE is students and ministers, punk rockers and NASCAR moms, Americans of all beliefs and every walk of life, united to help make poverty history.

The first chord will ring out at 11am on Wednesday March 14th and bands will play at the top of every hour until 11pm each night. The festival runs from March 14th to March 18th...and all the music is FREE!

Be sure to bring some cash for food, drink and artist merchandise. Some of the acts you've heard of [Tommy Ramone, Michelle Shocked, Pam Tillis], others you'll be happy to discover. Check the ATXtreme website for all the acts and any updates.

Jeff has reserved the entire Old South Austin Post Office parking lot for the event at the corner of S 5th & W Annie Streets. Free parking there . . .probably holds 150 cars . . . maybe more. Visitors must enter off West Annie Street side. Gate will be unlocked at 10:00am each day. The address is 1800 S. Fifth Street, about a block away from Cafe Caffeine.

We'll see you at Cafe Caffeine, 909 W. Mary, 78704...Austin's Original Hip Zip!