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Nick Fitzsimons reports for UlsterMusic.com: The annual orgy of live music that is South by Southwest (SxSW) took place barely two weeks ago in Austin, Texas. Some 1,800 bands played on 80 stages all day and all of the night throughout the 4-day festival, and Ulster was well represented: Oppenheimer, The Answer, Foy Vance and most notably Van Morrison graced stages throughout the city - some of them playing 3 or 4 times in different venues during the festival. The Northern Irish contingent had it’s shining moments at Latitude 30, a club on the main festival drag, and renamed The British Music Embassy during SxSW in honor of the Welsh, Scottish and English showcases it hosted there also.

At the Belfast-Nashville Songwriter Showcase, Foy Vance rocked a packed house (at 1pm) with his soulful songwriting, including a rapturous performance of “Be With Me” and a surprising cover of AC/DC’s “Back in Black” that needed to be heard to be believed. Justin Earle, son of Nashville great Steve Earle, followed Foy’s noise with a wonderful set and the showcase ended with an unexpected, but rousing, acoustic set from Downpatrick’s The Answer. There was more to come from The Answer as later in the day they rocked out for SxSW LIVE!, a programme broadcast on DirectTV to over 4 million viewers. It was a spine-tingling performance, with lead singer Cormac Neeson holding sway over the crowd like a seasoned veteran.

Northern Ireland’s attendance of SxSW would not even be possible without the hard work of Ross Graham and Sandra Gourley at NIMIC. It was the NIMIC showcase which really gave America a belt of what we’re about. (Again) playing to a packed and expectant house, Oppenheimer stole the show (which also featured Driving by Night, In Case of Fire and The Answer) with a set which included 5 tracks from their upcoming sophomore effort “Take the Whole Mid-Range and Boost It”. The new material is head-and-shoulders above anything these two ne’er-do-wells have ever recorded and the new record, set to hit stores in May, is sure to be a must-have. Their headline slot at Emo’s (SxSW’s largest and most well respected venue) on Saturday night was another feather in the lads’ cap, but not resting on their laurels, the boys were on the road that very night to continue their US tour with They Might Be Giants. Among the clamor and noise of SxSW, it’s safe to say Norn Iron made quite an impression…

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